Websites: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

First let me say hi to you all. I am going to be blogging here on a regular basis and I'm delighted! This is a great topic because websites and blogs should be good but very often they are bad or downright ugly. When they don't attract viewers they're bad because they aren’t fulfilling their potential. So why is that?

Speaking for myself, what often turns me off is what motivated me to create my own blog! Self-indulgent posts in a blog turn me off immediately as in:

'I SOLD THIS—AND I SOLD THAT--! or 'MY BOOK, THE RISE AND FALL OF EVERYTHING (for example) HAS WON THE HOOBEY DOOBEY PRIZE FOR LITERARY GENIUS!'

You get the idea. No reason why the same information can’t be told in a more interesting way! I believe in using images, in slide shows. I’d put up a marching band if I could! Just wanted you to know where I am coming from. Both websites and blogs basically do the same thing. But blogs are not static that’s why I love them. I have seen authors’ websites that I find boring. I think the same thing can be done but with interesting text, presented possibly with some imagination.

I am working on my website now so I can’t really refer you to it YET! There again, I want it to be interesting. I can discuss my own blog, though. Blogs can make you want to scream or fall asleep—or they can hold your interest. I’ve had pretty good feedback about mine.

Before my book was released I had been blogging about the horror genre: books and films with the intention to garner general interest but to do it in a positive way. In the two months leading up to my book’s release (and I am still doing it) I have been blogging solely about my novel, The House on Blackstone Moor.

If you look at my blog:

http://carolegillofficialauthor.blogspot.com/

Purely for educational purposes (!) you will see these posts that discuss the characters, themes and storyline in the novel. I have, I am happy to say, been getting very positive feedback. I am getting a lot of traffic and I am delighted. I put up information that I would wish to read if I were looking at a blog. My blog is my love child! I really am pleased with it. The next test for me will be if I can devise a website that I feel as positive about. Time will tell!

Until next time!