What I did on my day off

[rolanni]

As threatened, I worked with my spiffy new layout program, which was remarkably soothing.  I’ve also made a start on a Carousel Tides website.  It’s not by any means done yet; I want to add a cast of characters, and some sample chapters and a post about why I wrote this book — to, yanno, defuse those folks who will ask Why On Earth I wasted my time writing urban fantasy.

If you have a couple moments, do you mind going over and taking a look at the place?  Let me know what you think, and what you might find useful in such a site.

Thanks — and I hope everyone had as relaxing a day as I did.

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I liked your post and loved the cover. I can't WAIT to read it! That said, here's what I think about an additional site.
I read A LOT of blogs - some SF but mostly romance. In general, the romance sites are very well done. Do you think you need a separate site for 1 book? Those of us who know and love your writing will try ANYTHING you write - maybe you need JUST a Sharon Lee (and Steve, too of course) web site with your blog, a book list, what's new and what's in the works, etc. You'd be easier to find if you have one main site.....
You might check out some of the romance author sites to see how they've done it - especially those who are writing in 2 sub-genres, like Christine Dodd, for example.
Barbara in Texas

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Do you think you need a separate site for 1 book?

For this book -- yes, or, yanno, I wouldn't be doing it.

Those of us who know and love your writing will try ANYTHING you write

It's nice to think that readers of the Liaden books will read anything else Steve or I write -- but it's a conceit that's proven not to hold water. Also, Carousel Tides is very, very different from the Liaden books -- it is an urban fantasy. Therefore, it will possibly appeal to a group of readers to whom Liad is a Huge Yawn, and who will never think to look on the Liaden-themed websites for news of a book more in keeping with their interests.

Given that there is a segment of Liaden readers who think, vociferously, that we-or-I ought to be writing nothing else, Carousel Tides automatically loses readers from that pool.

There's also the issue that Baen isn't known for publishing urban fantasy, so readers of that genre won't necessarily pick the book up from the publisher's site, either.

It's not that we don't love and treasure y'all (we do), but Out There the reaction to even our "well-known" work is pretty evenly divided between "Whotheheck are Lee and Miller?" and "Oh, them! They've been doing the same thing FORever."

All this to say that Carousel Tides needs -- and I think, deserves -- whatever push I can give it, to get it in front of people who may enjoy it on its own merits.