Laurie Halse Anderson: The web is good for
research, but it's easy to get carried away, to think you are researching, when in truth
you are just wasting time. My website (www.writerlady.com) has been a great way to
publicize my books. The only problem is the amount of time and energy required to keep it
updated. There is always an evil voice whispering that I should be working on the website
more. I think publishers are just beginning to realize the potential impact the web can
have on their books. And teenagers are eager, panting, anxious, impatient, for some decent
Teen Lit websites. Hint, hint, hint...
Meg Cabot: Through my website, I get something like
20-30 emails a day from fans. And I write back to them all, telling them of new books I
have coming out, etc. All in all, I would say the Web has revolutionized the author-reader
relationship. I never had an author write back to me when I was a kid. Now, authors can
write back with a few keystrokes, giving a kid a sense of connection with an adult whose
work they admire. And given the busy lives many of the adults in these kids lives are
leading, that's more important now than ever, I think.
Garth Nix: Yes, both my various publishers and
myself use the web to promote my books and keep readers informed. I have a website, and I
participate in quite a few Web-based initiatives, such as authorchats.com and various
online interviews and so on.
I don't find the web as useful as I would like it to be for research, but every now and
then something comes up that makes it invaluable. The Internet in general makes it much
easier to be an Australian author with an international readership, as without e-mail the
process of working with American publishers and staying in touch with readers around the
world would be much more difficult.
Walter Dean Myers: HarperCollins does use the web
for promotion. I don't know how effective it is. I used to spend hours at the library
looking for small bits of information. Now I spend time on the web each day and find
information I would never have found without this research tool. As a historian and
photograph collector, specializing in African American history, I am also a resource for
researchers all over the world! Researchers contact me for photographs, documents, and
information. What an interesting time we live in!
Sarah Dessen: I have just put up a website, www.sarahdessen.com, so I'm
just learning about to use it to get the word out about my books. I know that most
teenagers are really web-savvy, so I thought this would be the best way for them to reach
me, and for me to promote my books in a way that goes beyond just appearances and
signings. I think the internet is such a huge thing that we haven't even begun to tap into
its potential as far as books and publishing. As far as research, I do use the internet
the way I used to go to the library, which is to get answers to inane questions that I
know eventually a copyeditor or editor will ask me about the small details of a book.
Plus, it's the ultimate procrastination tool, as I find every time I sit down to write. It
takes even more discipline than it used to!
Chris
Crutcher: I have a web page now, and my publisher used one to promote my latest
book. I do a little research on the web, but not a lot because I don't do a lot of
research anywhere but in my and other people's lives. I think it is a useful tool for
promotion, but I really wouldn't know a lot about that.
