Tuesday Tip: Website: Web Address

You've decided that you want to have a website of your very own. Great! Now what?

First, you're going to need a web address. That's the address that people type into their web browser to get to your site. That address can either be a subpage on someone else's domain (ie: www.facebook.com/mercyloomis or www.myisp.com/bobsauthorpage), or else you can have your own domain name (ie: www.mercyloomis.com).

The nice thing about a subpage is you can probably get one for free or very cheap through the company you get your internet through. However, it's not quite as professional (or satisfying) as having your own name in that address.

You can't own a domain name, you just rent it. (Yes, this costs money.) All internet domain names are handled by domain name registrars which are overseen by ICANN. Examples of domain name registrars are GoDaddy.com and Network Solutions. Since you're getting the same domain name (the one you picked, if it's available) regardless of which registrar you go through, the main difference between them is in the packages offered, customer service/support, and the pricing. Do your homework. For myself, I got recommendations from my IT buddies as to what service they liked.

Choose a web address that will work for you: either your name/pseudonym, or the name of your book if the website is to promote a particular release. Personally, I think you get the most bang for your buck by starting with your name/pseudonym. You can always add pages later for your books.

If the www.yourname.com that you want is already taken, you can always try www.yournameauthor.com or www.yournamewrites.com, or another similar variation. If too many of those are taken, you may want to consider using a pseudonym that's a little less common.

100 Words About: Patience

Yeah, I know I talk about patience a lot. It's probably the biggest non-writing asset a writer can have. There is so much waiting in this biz. Lately the waiting has been getting to me: I hadn't heard anything on two projects that were supposed to be out in February or the one for March, or one that was delayed from last year. Send out emails for updates and wait some more. Arg! But then all at once I heard back from one of the Febs and the March one, yeay! If I miss getting something pub'd in Feb but double up on March, does that still count?

Leave a comment with your 100 words!

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday Tip: Do You Need a Website?

This is something you'll want to think long an hard about before jumping in. Do you need a website outside of your blog/Facebook page/Myspace page/etc? Every good author has one, right?

Maybe, maybe not. Here are some things to consider:

• Unlike Wordpress and Blogger and Facebook and the rest, a webpage will not necessarily be set up for you. It's going to involve a lot of work up front.
  
• The aforementioned social networking tools are free. A webpage will cost you money.
  
• Odds are you are already sinking time into your aforementioned social networking pages. (If not, you should be! Do that first.) A webpage will involve even more time away from writing. Just like your other pages, a webpage needs to be updated regularly to maximize its marketing power.
  

Also, just what, exactly, do you want your webpage to do for you that is not already being done by your other accounts? Your website should fulfill a specific need other than just being the go-to place for all things you. Certainly your website should have links to your Facebook page, the RSS of your blog, your Twitter feed, etc, but it should also have its own purpose. Know what that purpose is before you dive in.

In my case, I wanted a website where I could easily and effectively display information about my work without making people dig through my blog posts, where I could also collect and display my reviews and interviews. I wanted more organization capability than I had with any of the tools I was using so far.

It's been interesting, to say the least.

Next week we'll look at the first steps of starting your own webpage.

(And oh yeah, by the way, I have a website.)

100 Words About: Hiccups

When I was a kid, my sister and I swore to the effectiveness of pickles as a cure for hiccups. Any time either of us were afflicted, eating a pickle would take care of it. Other people testified to the merits of swallowing a spoonful of sugar, or drinking out of the far side of a glass, or just drinking water. My old martial arts instructor even showed me a pressure point that was supposed to help.

But as I've gotten older, the only thing I've found really works for me anymore is diaphragm exercises: very slow controlled breathing or holding my breath while doing very slow controlled abdominal isolations. Who knew Middle Eastern dance would lead me to a hiccup remedy?

Leave a comment with your 100 words!

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday Tip: Know When to Blow Off Work

This is sort of related to what I said about priorities. Know when to buckle down and get to work, and know when it's ok to blow off your writing session.

For example, when you're working nine hour days all week and you have a friend in the hospital who is deathly sick, it's ok to not get your blog post done and go out with a bunch of friends to drink in his honor.

(Of course, since you knew ahead of time that you wouldn't have time to do the blog post on Monday, one could poke at your lack of planning ahead as well...I suppose there's a reason I don't talk about time management as much, LOL.)