Monday, April 13, 2015

The Fun in the Dream - Book Giveaway

So, I'm living the dream. This time next year my debut novel will be a real thing. Out in the big wide world standing on its own merits (or not). In the last couple of months since it all became public I've been mired in the crazy world of developmental edits and trying to stay in schedule for writing my contracted second book.

Here's the thing about having a contract. You have to show up. Whether you feel inspired or not. Whether you want to or not. Whether the muse is in-house or not. There are some writers who have honed this skill pre-contract. Me, not so much. With two preschoolers, a job and a myriad of other commitments, writing was the nice-to-do hobby. Now it's the other job. 

I'm living the dream. And I absolutely wouldn't have it any other way. But, the truth is, when you've spent three weeks solid wrestling with the same 300+ pages and it feels like you're trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again and failing, it has moments of un-fun.

But then there are the incredible surreal days like March 27. The day that I spent two hours with an amazing photographer, Jenny Siaosi, to take photos for my website and my publisher's promotional material. The day that I sat in a salon and got to tell my hairdresser and make-up artist that I was having photos taken because I was having a book published. And practice my story pitching techniques on my captive audience. The day it started becoming all a bit crazy exciting real.






So, since I'm in marketing research mode, let's talk about author websites. Do you care about them at all? If you do, what do you like? What do you not like? What would you expect to see? I'm about to start designing one from a blank page and am looking for all the suggestions and advice I can get :) All comments with a contact email address go in the draw to win a copy of Then There Was You. (Winner announced in the Sunday Edition)



Kara Isaac lives in Wellington, New Zealand. Her debut romantic comedy, Then There Was Youis about a disillusioned academic-turned-tour-guide and an entrepreneur who knows nothing about Tolkien who fall in love on a Tolkien themed tour of New Zealand. It will be an early 2016 release from Howard Books. When she's not working her day job as a public servant, chasing around a ninja preschooler and his feisty toddler sister, she spends her time writing horribly bad first drafts and wishing you could get Double Stuf Oreos in New Zealand. She loves to connnect on Facebook at Kara Isaac - Writer and Twitter @KaraIsaac


15 comments:

  1. Hey Kara, YES! Author websites are necessary! I like to see a bio, their books, speaking schedule, etc.... Good luck on putting yours together! Then There Was You sounds wonderful. I'm looking forward to reading it. It's good to know that you keep great spreadsheets.....

    psalm103and138[at]gmail[dot]com

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  2. Kara, hi. This is a fun time prepping for launch and yes, those edit days can be a real challenge. But trust in the Lord, He'll keep guiding you through the process.

    AUthor's website. What you put on it in some ones depends how you ultimately plan to use it. There are the essentials like: Bio, Book Info, How to buy book, Contact info and EMail Newsletter signup (very very critical this last step). If you don't plan on drawing your readers back to the site for some purpose (e.g., regular new content) then I reckon you can get away with the basics.

    Interesting that email seems to still be the best way for maintaining relationship with readers (well, those younger than 25). A few years ago everyone thought email would be replaced by social media but people still read majority of emails sent to them while FB, Twitter, etc can be missed/ignored. I'm not sure what the latest thinking is re: younger readers who haven't built a dependency on email.

    Enjoy this time, Kara.

    PS. Lovely photos, BTW.

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    1. Thanks for the tip re email newsletters, Ian. I had it as an option but didn't know how important it was!

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  3. Hi Kara, I like websites that load really fast. Speed is more important than pretty, imho. If the site doesn't load quickly, I assume it will be a pain to navigate and I don't bother going any further. I also like websites that are device friendly and easy to read on phones and tablets. I love your photos and I'm glad you're enjoying the journey :)

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    1. I'm with you, Narelle. If I have to sit around waiting for a site to load I usually don't!

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  4. Oh good for you Kara! Yes, it is an exciting time...enjoy every moment of it. Looking forward to And Then There Was You. A catchy title.

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  5. So excited for you, Kara! And yes, do enjoy the journey. I agree with Narelle that speed in loading is important. And I want to be able to find things easily. Books for sale, author info, etc.

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  6. I love getting to know new authors trough their websites!
    mmyheartishere@gmail.com

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  7. Congrats on being published Kara!! How exciting! I like author websites that really showcase their branding and personality as well not being too cluttered or hard to navigate.

    morganleanna16@yahoo.com

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  8. I'm one who won't wait around for a website that is slow to load. I like to see the author's books, and a short bio rather than whole life story. I do like them to look attractive and reveal something of the personality of the person. For example anyone who looked at mine would soon know what my favourite colours are. Congrats on the book.

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