![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Dear authors ...
So, when I discover an interesting-sounding new author via an interview or web ad or comment thread or whatnot, and click on their website, the #1 thing I want (the only thing I want, really) is an easy-to-find, nicely organized list of their books and/or stories, preferably with a little about each one and information on availability. The key words here are "easy to find" and "nicely organized".
I don't click on an author's website because I want to see pictures of their cat or read about some contest they're running or click around for ten minutes through eyebleed-inducing graphics that look like they were made in MS Paint trying to figure out if this person has ever published anything other than an out-of-print anthology from 1985 that they're apparently quite proud of.
I know that a lot of authors, especially older authors, don't have much website design savvy, which is understandable but for pete's sake, I just want the basic facts, ma'am - I don't want to go on a treasure hunt! If I have to go look you up on Wikipedia or Amazon to get basic publication info, I'll probably already have lost interest by that point.
I don't click on an author's website because I want to see pictures of their cat or read about some contest they're running or click around for ten minutes through eyebleed-inducing graphics that look like they were made in MS Paint trying to figure out if this person has ever published anything other than an out-of-print anthology from 1985 that they're apparently quite proud of.
I know that a lot of authors, especially older authors, don't have much website design savvy, which is understandable but for pete's sake, I just want the basic facts, ma'am - I don't want to go on a treasure hunt! If I have to go look you up on Wikipedia or Amazon to get basic publication info, I'll probably already have lost interest by that point.