One of a Writer's Least Favourite Tasks

Updating the website! And, do email signatures matter? And, do writers read differently to other "normal" people?

Maybe it’s just me, but the necessary evil of updating my writer website fills me with dread and gives me a huge headache!

One of the reasons is the site builder platform I use and, before well-meaning readers offer myriad suggestions of alternate sites, believe me, I’ve investigated the many out there, and it turns out that sticking with my old sticky, flawed buddy is the best option. Also, I’ve been with them for so long that switching over just isn’t worth the hassle: better the devil you know!

I use Homestead.com and when I say sticky, I mean that adding elements changes the master page and then, once I’m done, the site doesn’t publish without logging out and logging back in a couple of times. Also, sometimes new images don’t load without logging out and logging back in. The site offers seemingly easy tools but the problem is, a lot of them don’t work, or they work after being fiddly and causing a lot of verbal frustration!

For a while, it seemed like author websites were becoming a thing of the past and I was quite relieved but then they made a resurgence.

Anyway, I think it looks quite nice and it’s got all the necessary information. I’ve tried to keep it as clean as possible, designing specific artwork in InDesign and Photoshop, for a polished appearance.

The challenges of updating the site was one reasons I switched The Minerva Reader to A Turn of Phrase here on Substack. This forum is much easier to use.

Another housekeeping issue I’ve attended to is my email signature. Some authors have brilliant signatures, with graphics and links, but when I try to add images, the signature takes up most of the message.

And I’m not entirely sure – do email signatures matter? I’m sure they do because I for one, am fascinated by them. But perhaps, much like reading the acknowledgements in a book before I begin, this is just me!

I read the acknowledgements because I’m interested in how much work and how big a village it took, to get the book out. Because yes, that does influence my reading of it. And perhaps that’s because I read most books with the intention of reviewing them and if the team was a small one, I’m way more inclined to give typos and errors a pass than if the book is from a big publisher.

Also, I’m fascinated by author voice and I find that the author voice in a lot of bestsellers is quite generic. Perhaps the book has been carefully copy-edited by the trending genre cookie-cutter of the moment.

I’d take a less polished, less generic, less copy-edited book over a replica style which leaves you wondering, have I read this book before?

I think, as an author, it’s impossible to just ‘read’ a book. I analyse it from multiple points of view which doesn’t lessen the experience, it just makes it more complex.

Well, I’m glad my website is updated, for now! And if you’d like to check it out, it’s lisawriter.com