Reinventing the wheel yet again

[rolanni]

I love this. Like it would never occur to an author to have a professional website, the easiest and least expensive kind of PR that there is in this Age that We Live In. And, of course, you-an-author need to "claim" your page on their site, to make sure that it's not claimed by somebody who isn't you, and oh! I'm just really aggravated by the whole thing.

Anyhow, have "claimed" my page, ill-temperedly: http://www.filedby.com/author/sharon_lee/584329/

I have no idea if anyone can actually read it and don't expect to be updating it any time soon, if at all. For what it's worth. Relevant article below.
******

New Site Hosts 1.8 Million Author Web Pages ( A PW newletter snip)

By Jim Milliot

A new Web site that features 1.8 million author Web pages has been launched
by Filedby, Inc., a new company founded by former Ingram executive Peter
Clifton and industry analyst Mike Shatzkin. Filedby.com host Web pages that
provides a brief biography and a list of works for all American and Canadian
authors. Users can login and write reviews or make comments about authors.
Authors, or their publishers, can update or link to the page.

Clifton noted that filedby was intentionally designed to highlight authors
rather than books. “It helps make authors discoverable,” Clifton said. In
addition to the social networking aspects of the site, there are links
enabling users to buy the book. Filedby will host the site for free, but
will charge a fee for authors or publishers who want to add more options
such as media postings, event listings and online press kits. Clifton
believes that with publishers looking to cut costs, filedby provides an
inexpensive way to give authors a Web presence.

http://www.filedby.com/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Comments

[aspidites.livejournal.com]

Yeah... aggravating.

Maybe I'm just a Luddite, but I tend to use social networking sites very little in seeking out new authors, depending rather on friends, my local independent bookseller, and field research (I actually go to book stores and libraries and browse the shelves).

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Somebody wants to be "Facebook for Writers", I'm betting.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

It's more like blackmail. Unfortunately most writers do not have lawyers to fend off predators like this one.

[simianpower.livejournal.com]

"...a brief biography and a list of works for all American and Canadian authors."

That's a rather grandiose claim. And total BS, too, since for every published author there are probably 20 unpublished ones looking for a way in.

And yeah, it really does look like a wannabe Facebook for Writers. LAME.

[victorthecook.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is unlikely to go anywhere -- and their veiled threats are kind of silly. I mean, if "Tom Clancy" is staked out by Tom-from-Iowa who wrote a little book on mid-19th-century pipe fittings, and so on, their site becomes sort of useless for its stated purpose. And nobody will want to give them money. So in the medium run, they have every interest in reserving the names of authors in print, as much as possible.

innnnnteresting

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

(Sunday coffee friendsfriends cruising)

I'm glad I saw this. It does look like a form of cybersquatting---setting up pages and then requiring authors to claim them to prevent impersonation instead of waiting for authors to set up their own pages is where the the line is crossed. I suspect publishers are not going to be keen on paying somebody else to host web pages full of stuff that the publishers' own, branded, image-controlled websites are hosting already.

There have been author-listing sites previously, but they haven't pretended to represent the author AFAIK.

The Authors Guild seems not to have said anything about this, but I sent an email asking about it. I don't like it; it presumes much and imposes more.

Re: innnnnteresting

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

The Authors Guild seems not to have said anything about this, but I sent an email asking about it.

Could you let me know what they say, if and when?

Re: innnnnteresting

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Sure. I asked them because they fought and won the cybersquatting case for authors a few years back (2003?).

[lagilman]

I claimed mine, mainly so I could put my 'official" links on it, but be damned if I'm going to pay them to host media files or whatnot when I already have a site. Especially when their claim to make authors 'discoverable' doesn't seem to be supported by any plan more thought-out than "people will come here to surf" rather than some other site -- or using a general search engine.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I claimed mine, mainly so I could put my 'official" links on it,

Exactly my reasoning; use the silly thing as a pointer to the Real Stuff. But paying them? I don't think so.

Honestly, it's like they never heard of Google...

[(Anonymous)]

And they want $400 per year for their services? But they don't provide any _I_ can see!

You have had a perfectly good website that all your loyal readers have been visiting for years. Not to mention your own blog space here.
Why should we bother with these dumkoff johnny-come-latelys???

Eta

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Oh, they want $400 for the bells-and-whistles account. The basic, throw-up-a-bio-and-provide-a-couple-links is free.

I don't think they're going to do as well as they hope. It's not like most authors with a webpage aren't perfectly findable through Google.

Uhhh....

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

....Google already made author's sites discoverable.

Truly.

[elbales]

Cretins.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

with publishers looking to cut costs, filedby provides an
inexpensive way to give authors a Web presence.

Show of hands for authors who ever believed that publishers ever had anyting to do with giving them a "web presence"?

This argument is akin to linking strawberries with typewriters.

[keristor.livejournal.com]

"linking strawberries with typewriters"

That sounds very messy, and would likely stop the typwriters from working (as well as ruining the strawberries). I suppose that is rather like their idea...

[baggette.livejournal.com]

well, I wrote ya a couple of reviews, just in case it might help somebody discover how great you guys are.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

Odd thing: Sharon Lee's is apparently now the most-viewed page on FiledBy, even above J.K. Rowling.

Here's an interview with the co-founders (http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/30/filedbyauthor-qa-with-cofounders-peter-clifton-and-mike-shatzkin/) on the e-book/publishing blog I write for (though written by someone other than me). I brought up this LJ post and the comments that followed it in the comments.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Sharon Lee's is apparently now the most-viewed page on FiledBy, even above J.K. Rowling.

Oh, that's too funny.

I brought up this LJ post and the comments that followed it in the comments.

Taking the link to the interview to the top, so people can read and comment there directly, if they like.