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Horror Author Roundtable
10.
AOTW: How has the Internet impacted your writing career? Did you or your publisher use the web to promote your book? If you have a website, how are you using your website?
Suzy McKee Charnas: Couldn't do without it; it's the best publicity machine ever, and the cheapest. Publishers are usually dead worthless at using the Internet for you, because using the Internet effectively is time intensive, and corporate owners demand high profits from the publishers they own, which means cutting back on all services traditionally offered to authors. If you find yourself with an enthusiastic young editor who wants to try, you are very lucky but will still end up doing most of the work yourself.
I have been fortunate enough to be put into contact with a very able and eager young man who acts as my net-scout, scouring the net for useful sites and putting out net publicity for my work, for which I pay him. He is, in my opinion, worth his weight in gold, but of course there is as yet no way that I can actually examine the results with statistical accuracy. Nevertheless, I am so glad to have a way to do something for myself and my work that I don't really care about measuring effectiveness. It helps preserve my mental health to be able to get something done to help promote my work, which without the Internet is nearly impossible. Signings are badly attended for the most part, and I don't live the kind of life that a media publicist would find usable.
I have a website, www.suzymckeecharnas.com, which I definitely use to promote my work. I post essays on the work (as well as on other things), announcements about the progress of the work and its author, and in the case of my newest book, My Father's Ghost, I will fairly soon make available on my site examples of my old man's artwork and story-writing, to extend the exploration of his character that takes place in that book, for readers who are interested in a little more depth. As I read further in the journals my father left me, I plan to add more such material. I also list all my previous work, with comments and sales links, to help visitors in selecting and getting hold of something of mine to read. It's a wonderfully versatile instrument, and fun to fiddle with besides.
Gregory Maguire: I have a website and it delivers information to my readers, especially about extracurricular activities: the films and theatrical things spinning off my books.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro: It's another venue for exposure and discussion that is just beginning to demonstrate its use. My publishers have a number of approaches to using the Internet, some of them using it extensively and skillfully, some of them are less inclined to use the Internet. I find that secondary uses, such as this roundtable, can be more interesting and effective than a simple advertisement on a website, but that is because there is more feedback from discussions than ads.
Geoffrey Huntington: My website has been an enormous help in bringing readers in to learn all about the world of the Nightwing and the mysterious house of Ravenscliff.
Fred Saberhagen: I have a website set up and maintained by my hardworking and lovely wife, Joan. It has a good amount of information on all the books, and I believe the nucleus of a fan club for my Swords series. Also the volume of e-mail from fans is much higher than ever came through the post office. And then there are occasional projects like this one. Thanks for the invitation to take part. The website can be reached from www.berserker.com and from www.fredsaberhagen.com.
F. Paul Wilson: The Internet has let me get in more direct touch with my readers. My website (www.repairmanjack.com) has a very active message board where people have come to know each other and some have even become fast friends. The most interesting thing I've learned is that I don't have a "typical" reader. They run the gamut from cops and soldiers to radiologists and nurses and postal workers. Jack appeals to a lot more women than I would have thought.
Michael Norman: I do a lot of research using the Web, particularly about those places and times I write about. Also, I've kept up a correspondence with folks I've interviewed.
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