After more than a month of work we are excited to announce the launch of our new and improved web site!
Please take a look around and tell us what you think…and if you find any bothersome glitches, feel free to leave your comments.
Kuddos to Thomas Umstattd and his team at Authormedia.com for their work (Sam, Paul, and Katie). They bent over backwards and put up with my obsession over the most minute of details (my ears were burning, so I know they were talking about it…). I know just enough about web design and typesetting, not to be dangerous, but to be annoying.
Our old site was my own design and had served us well since the launch of the agency in May 2004. But was time we did a facelift.
For those of you who have an older site or one you created on a shoestring budget? (Don’t get me wrong, you can create some dynamite sites on your own, but not everyone has a designer’s eye.) Let me encourage you to hire Thomas’ team. They are easy to work with, sharp as tacks, and charge a reasonable price. Consider moving away from the “free sites” and get one where you control your own destiny.
Remember that your author’s web site is a picture of you and your work for the world to see. Facebook gives a completely different picture and you’re not able to customize that site very much. Think of yourself as a consumer. What do you think when you go to a site that is not very pleasant to look at or very easy to navigate?
If you are wondering, we also moved the hosting of the site to a server Author Media recommended. After the debacle I had with godaddy.com’s security issues I made that switch early last month. The responsiveness and speed of the site quadrupled overnight.
In addition we changed the backbone of our email system to the paid version of Google Apps. This gives us more flexibility and mobility as technology grows and changes.
Elise Stone
Absolutely gorgeous!
That was my first thought when I landed on your home page this morning. There wasn’t really anything wrong with the old site, but this one is certainly eye-catching.
If I ever do manage to sell a novel, I’ll be sure to contact your web designer.
Sally Apokedak
Very nice.
One small glitch. That line is still there about YA’s being hard to place so you don’t represent very many. I think whoever wrote that should have his keyboard privileges revoked for a week. 🙂
Steve Laube
Good point! We still take very little in the YA fiction category. That market has changed dramatically in the last couple years, but it still has its limitations.
Sally Apokedak
I was kidding. I know how you agents love to be told that yous should represent stuff you don’t want to represent. I was just yanking your chain. The new site is marvelous.
Steve Laube
But you did make a great point and I changed the wording ever so slightly to reflect the current market. Thank you.
Susie Finkbeiner
Very nice…and easy to navigate! I like it a lot!
Robert Treskillard
Everything looks and works great, Steve!
Rebecca Barlow Jordan
Steve, Your new design looks relly good and is very easy to navigate! Great job! By the way, I’m glad I wasn’t the only “picky” one when working on my website with Thomas last year. He was so patient with me, and I was very pleased with what he did for my site! I, too, highly recommend his work. Thomas is especially good for authors who may be a little “technically challenged.”
Steve Laube
Anyone reading these comments should go to Rebecca’s site (http://www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com/) Check out her great books!