Creating A Worthwhile Web Presence

Over the last few months, I have been doing a little bit of research from things authors say in
submissions. These are coming from both unpublished and published authors. We, as in editors and agents, will frequently tell authors to go ahead and mention their web presence in those query letters. This often gives us a feel for who you are and what proactive moves you have made in this publishing world. What I found, however, was a web presence that really didn't do much.

Regardless of what approach you want to take with drawing attention to your work, your presence needs to be something that is intriguing and memorable. You want people to keep coming back to your website over and over again.

Just having a website, or simply sending out a link to your book is not enough. Your followers want to feel like they are valued and not simply someone you are selling books to. Whether you like it or not, you have become a celebrity in the eyes of your reader. You are doing things they could only dream of doing. Think of it... how many times have you heard someone ask you, "How do you come up with all of those story ideas?" They are impressed and your presence has to reflect that.

MEANINGFUL
What you put out there has to be useful and worthwhile. It is easy to get caught up in the casualness of social media, but just putting crap out there to have your name out there is not enough. This can really happen on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Think of it this way. How much junk mail do you throw out on a daily basis? How many of those SPAM ads that show up in your inbox do you actually read? The odds are, probably none. If all you are putting out there is garbage, this is what you will become known for.

Lately, I have seen people, especially on Twitter, posting just random things, such as a random daily horoscope, or even launched into a political rant about something. Sure, freedom of speech is great, but you have to think, "How is this helping to advance my career?"

UP-TO-DATE
This is a big one. If you blog or have a website, it cannot be static. It cannot just sit there with nothing new on it. I know this is tough. When I first started this blog, it was a chore. Trying to come up with something 5 days a week can be exhausting. Yes, there have been days I have missed, but I don't think I have missed more than a week. I have made a commitment to my readers and so should you.


REFLECTS WHO YOU WANT TO BE
This is a big one. You are now in the public eye. People are looking to you. What you say and what Facebook where pictures and thoughts can go viral before you know it. That selfie you took when the Seahawks won on Sunday might have been fun at the moment, but when it reflects a drunken fool with your boyfriends Seahawks underwear on your head might not be the best thing.
you do reflects on who you are as an author. This is really important on those sites such as

Web presence IS important, but it has to be something that works FOR your and not AGAINST you.