Writer's websites -- For good or eeeevil?

I'm a graphic artist and web designer in my off hours (though concentrating more on writing now) and the importance of a writer's website has been raised in conversation more than once at the Absolute Write forums. What should you add? Samples? Flashy pictures? Anything more than a toothy grin and an email address?

Each writer has their own vision of how they'd like to present themselves to the world but ponder this: would you hand an editor a torn piece of paper with your name and number scribbled on the back and hope they'd call? Or present a professional semi-resume of your work that is easy to access?

Things to include in your writer's website:

- Name (duh)
- Contact information: don't make this hard to find, people have very little patience for cute buttons or tiny fonts.
- Samples: up to each author whether or not they'd like to post but it can be very helpful when an editor pops by to see if you're a good fit for their project
- Graphics: keep these to a minimum. Absolutely nothing animated nor flash pages to slow down your load time.
- Keep it clean: use lots of white space to ease the eye. Nothing screams amateur more than a page glutted with excess distractions that take away from your message.
- Links are great but don't lead people away from your site unnecessarily. Keep your personal blog or that of your dog off your professional site. Linking to your work, however, is a great way to show off your talent.
- Domain name. Keep it short, such as yourname.com or yourname.net if possible.

I recently updated my site and it's always up for a good tweaking as my experience grows. Don't neglect the website and it won't bite you in the butt in the future.

Hmmm, now there's a bumper sticker...

Fickle Freelancing

Last month I was swamped with work. Three new blogging gigs, one website design and copy, copy editing and more copywriting, four websets and I was exhausted. Christmas week turned out to be me huddled at my desk sipping soy nog and looking like the ghost of Christmas Past when I took a break. The girls were busy with their new Wii and I managed to pull off a great Christmas dinner/birthday for Wynter but it did make me examine what goals I was aiming for. Was it worth it?

Things I've learned about freelancing for 2007:
- be careful what you wish for, you'll probably get it and then there's trouble
- budget your time wisely, know when to say "HELL no" then talk to them a week later ;)
- if you announce it, they will come
- your kids can be excellent fodder for last minute columns when you're coming up dry
- network your wee brains out, THIS is where you really get the work

This week I'm getting back to a normal workload. Looking for new markets, following up on old ones, sending out a query a day and blogging twice.

Pass the nog, I'm headed back in.

Erma Bombeck Essay Competition

I heart Erma Bombeck.

This is the woman that taught me more about motherhood than any pseudo-celebrity book I could find on the shelf and a stack of parenting magazines could ever hope to do. Where else would I find the guts to rinse off a pacifier found clinging to the coffee grounds in the garbage or give myself the freedom for a little drinky-poo to celebrate another "no-baby" month?

Show your love by entering the annual Erma Bombeck Writing Competition. It's free to enter and a heck of a score on your writer's resume if you win.

Deadline: Feb. 17th, 2008. Get those pencils sharpened, people!

Freelance Daily

Tiny little plug here for a friend of mine, Suzanne Franco, at Freelance Daily. I use this newsletter and have gotten some great leads, and it sure beats the heck out of surfing the web on my own for gigs.



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