Author Websites

[Stewart]

I've been trawling through a number of official author websites over the past couple of days and can't say that there are that many good ones that I've come across thus far.

Some of the better sites:

• Stephen King
• Anne Rice
• Poppy Z. Brite
• Iain Banks
• Ian Ranking
• Dan Brown
• Terry Pratchett

Some of the worse ones:

• Patricia Cornwell
• Clive Barker
• Dean Koontz
• Thomas Harris
• JK Rowling
• Kathy Reichs

My feelings on the better author sites were that they provided information on the author, on their books, future appearances and other projects, offered a method to puchase books, and offered some sort of interaction between the author (or an appointed representative) and the author's fanbase whether it be a forum or a regularly updated FAQ.

Those whose 'Official Site' was just some directory of their publisher didn't score at all no matter how good they looked as these were just pages set aside to sell books - they were not for the fans

I was disappointed to find no official site for authors such as Richard Laymon, JG Ballard, and - at least in English - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

I've also went into the sites of small press authors and they are, for the most part, shoddy. These are constantly filled with sloppy HTML, bad colour schemes, unprofessional titles and descriptions, and misplaced links, etc. How the authors expect to have an online presence, I don't know, but if they are going to represent themselves online then they should at least make an effort.

What's your opinion on author websites? Want to share any bad ones...or good ones? What do you think an author should provide or include on their official site?

 

[Wabbit]

What about Neil Gaiman's site? It's pretty good. It has all those things you mention that you would like to see. It tells you where he is now. It has extra content, EG: stories by him. It even has it's own forum. It's all wrapped up in a slick looking web site design!

 

[Freya]

Where's the one by that Rolf Harris look-a-like? That was the worst ever.

 

[Stewart]

What about Neil Gaiman's?

That's a good one. The forum's minging as it doesn't fit with the rest of the site. It's a common thing, from the sites I've looked at thus far, that the forum (if they have one) is usually some freebie forum when they could easily use a good bit of forum software (even phpBB for free) and customise a forum to suit their web.

 

[Stewart]

Where's the one by that Rolf Harris look-a-like? That was the worst ever.

Can't remember. I found it through a long link trail that I started from Fiction Addiction.

 

[VTChEwbecca]

Fannie Flagg's Website is fairly decent, though more interaction with the fans would be nice.

 

[Stewart]

Yes, that looks okay and offers more despite being a directory in the publisher's site.

 

[Freya]

Behold! The worst author site on this side of the interweb -

Mario S. Fedele

 

[VTChEwbecca]

Carolyn Hart's Website has all the elements you call for. It is also easy to navigate and I like the section entitled "Carolyn on writing."

Vince Flynn's Website is lacking. There are no descriptions of the books, and no way to contact the author or representative. In addition, the biography was not written by himself, so it lacks a certain personal factor.

 

[VTChEwbecca]

Behold! The worst author site on this side of the interweb -

Mario S. Fedele

That is terrible!

 

[Stewart]

As is Vince Flynn's. That is ghastly and the public appearances is out of date.

 

[magemanda]

I quite like George R R Martin's www.georgerrmartin.com

Robin Hobb's official site is not fantastic.

Considering her writing isn't so hot, Sara Douglass (Australian fantasy writer) has a pretty decent site.

 

[Rogue]

The website of Matthew Reilly is pretty good.

 

[Stewart]

I quite like George R R Martin's www.georgerrmartin.com

None of the graphics fit the style. Looks cheap.

 

[Stewart]

The website of Matthew Reilly is pretty good.

That is a better site.

 

[Wolhay]

Chuck Palahniuk
Attractive website with an active forum.

Johan Norberg
Mainly a blog which makes it more interesting but there's also enough information about the author and his books.


I think that forums is appreciated by the readers since they can discuss the book with others that have read it and make a herd of people with similar interests.

 

[magemanda]

None of the graphics fit the style. Looks cheap.

Ah, but I go there for the info provided on his progress on A Feast for Crows and the links page, which is comprehensive.

Although I prefer a website to look pretty and not interfere with my info-gathering, to me the info provided is paramount.

 

[direstraits]

Melanie Rawn's website used to have a nifty mouse effect - your mouse pointer leaves a trail of stardust like particles. Very cool. This was many many years ago, when I was reading her stuff.

On reading this thread, I made a trip back and found the following:
1. The effect is still there, but it's not the same anymore. This one has no trailing effect, and looks like silly fireworks that somehow sticks to your mouse pointer.
2. Firefox will not render this effect.
3. She is apparently back with a new book.

ds

 

[Freya]

ds - You be right. That mouse thing sucks. Hey - why don't we have a pretty sparkly mouse pointer thing here? Oooh and can we change it from blue to pink? Yey

 

[magemanda]

Not sure why I didn't immediately think of this author's website, since I hang around there more than I do in this website.

www.kelleyarmstrong.com

This author is fantastic in her attitude and reaction to her fans. She has recently completed her third novella in as many years, which is connected to the Otherworld series she writes, and is available only from the website. She also has a very active forum, which she browses regularly and answers those questions that only she would know the answer to. The forum also contains a writing group section, where you can submit work and have it critiqued by other budding writers.

Again, the graphics and such may not meet Abu's so strict criteria, but this is a fabulous site.