Gotta get a website...

Maria Gill, head of children's writers organisation Kiwiwrite4kidz has just started up a blog, discussing and promoting children's books by New Zealand authors. www.KidsBooksNZ.blogspot.com . This blog is still being set up but is definitely worth keeping an eye on.

I read a very interesting post this morning by author Maureen Crisp at http://www.maureencrisp.blogspot.com/ , her third post on marketing one's books using the internet. This one deals with websites and talks about knowing your audience (in our case children) and making the site a mix of information and interactive fun. I got a bit of a fright when she said this,

In the states publishing contracts for children’s authors are beginning to state that providing extra content on websites is part of the book contract.

Yikes. I would love to have my own website but confess I am put off by the cost and the expectations involved. If publishers require it, do they contribute to the cost? When I was growing up, books were all about reading and the interactive part happened inside my readers brain. But times have changed and my brain, raised on reading as reading only is not sure how to turn this round to become interactive fun on the net. I think I'm going to have to get past my ignorance and fear and get on with it though because this is an incredibly beneficial marketing tool I can't ignore. I am a member of the Australasian chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and apparently publishers regularly check out their website (http://www.scbwiaustralia.org/ ). I believe an overseas publishing deal was offered for a book noticed on the site. My books are named on the site but i need my own website to provide further info on me and my books to take full advantage of this. I had a bit of a squiz at one author's website listed on the SCBWI site for author Deb Abela which blew my socks off - kids must love this - http://www.maxremy.com.au/. If only I'd trained one of my children up to be an IT whizz!