There's not much to report writing-wise. My aunt-in-law passed (as expected, cancer), and my spouse and I have been dealing with her estate. (Draaaaama.) Hope to be back to a normal routine again soon.
Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Janet Alcorn, SE White, Victoria Marie Lees, and Cathrina Constantine
Feb 7 question -
What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog?
- When there is a logo or link thing to social media (Facebook, etc), but clicking it goes to Facebook or whatever main site. Instead of to the author's social media site. Or it's a broken link. I know stuff happens, but especially if you're in a hop and expecting an influx of guests, check your stuff. Ask a friend to check your site. Heck, ask me beforehand. Goodreads is a big one where authors put a link to the main site but not to their own author page. Why? Unless you are getting paid, that is a waste of your time and mine. Link to places where there is more YOU. Your books, your social, you, you, you.
- A dead blog. No posts for half a year. Why am I on the site?
- If I have to log in and/or sign up to leave you a comment-- BYE. ✋
- The WordPress or Blogger dashboard. I can't get to your blog from that. You need to know your own website URL. We have discussed this at A to Z, so I know there are resources to teach noobs how to figure this out.
- Difficult navigation. If I can't find what I came for in 45 seconds, I'm gone and won't be back.
- Mocking reviewers, readers, etc. I don't want any part of it.
- If I can't see it. Black text on a black background. I'm not highlighting everything. I don't have all day. Yellow text on white. What? Is this an eye test or a blog?
I know links break, sites go down, servers time-out, THINGS HAPPEN. But on a regular day, your site should be easy to access, navigate, and use. I consider myself an expert in this area, having been to thousands of blogs and author sites. I know I am not alone on this list. I am the #AtoZChallenge captain, and in April, people message me with complaints about blogs that make those errors. PLEASE avoid the easy mistakes.
Happening at the A to Z ChallengeFebruary- Jayden's post-- Fall in love with your blog and blog hops again
March- J -Post to Announce the April challenge is coming (post during the first week of March)
