Should we try a repeat of Friday’s delayed post, and ignore the crazy that precipitated it?
Who am I kidding? If you hang out around here, you probably got up close and familiar with “crazy” some time ago. (Actually, more to follow, but let’s make today about celebration rather than intellectual excercise.)
This was the original post:
So…I have more changes, prompted by the need to register my domain. I figured while I had it, I might as well park a very simple website to collect my links and refer people here, if they are interested.
Unfortunately, the dot com domain had already been claimed by a gentleman in South America, who I’m certain is very nice, but entirely too smart for my own good. Therefore, I got the next best thing — appropriate to a Canadian writer anyhow: janohara dot ca.
If you take a look, I’d be delighted to hear your feedback. I haven’t set up the other site to accept comments, except through e-mail, so you’ll have to do it in the space below.
Does the site look simple enough? Inviting? Anything I’m obviously missing?
Did you notice the little seal at the bottom? Hee. That’s how I, creator of Tartitude, have planted my citrusy flag of approval. 😀
Also, please note the heart icon to the right on this page, in the Want More Tartitude? section. It’s there for completion, really, since I aim to keep this my dominant place for fun.
Since writing that post, my Business Cards o’ Doom arrived. Aside from the $19 import fee I don’t recall being told to anticipate, they’re perfect, IMHO. Wanna see?
Said in hopeful tone of voice: 
We’ll ignore the fact they don’t include my website, since that’s really just a referral mechanism to here. Right?
Right?
ETA: The black box is my e-mail address. A special “thank you” to Glinda Harrison for pointing out I may not wish to hang it out in the breeze for all to see. Doh. The Tart clearly needs more coffee!
The web site looks BEAUTIFUL! Love it! All of the links work and the colors and themes reflect Tartitude.
I did the same thing with my web site — most of it refers back to my blog and I kept things very simple.
I hope you get millions of hits and shame on that guy in South American for stealing your handle. ;-D
Love it. Very tarty.
Love it! Congrats!
I like the business cards! I like the site, too. It looks simple, clean, and is easy to navigate. Also very citrussy.
Teresa, I know; his mother was an inconsiderate person, wasn’t she? 😀
Beki, Donna, Abby, thank you! I must say you’re a friendly crowd, but glad to know it appeals to you all the same.
The site looks great, Jan! Definitely simple yet attractive! And the heart seal is way cute. ^_^
~Lia
The picture on the site is fabulous! I’m wondering if you were having a little tarty-fun modeling, or if it was stock? Another question — Are the “Contact” and “About” links supposed to go to the same page? If so, maybe you don’t need both. Great seal of approval!
No worries that your website isn’t on the business cards. All the information they need is right here. And, you can always jot the name of the site on the back of the card for someone if you feel the need. Congrats!
Lia, thank you!
Average Girl, LOL, I’d love to be that model, but it is a stock photo. I looked at quite a few, but this one seemed to capture the meme I was going for. Plus, I really liked the color scheme. (Who knew I was so visual?)
And *excellent* point about the Contact and About page. I’ll merge them into one and see how it looks. Thank you for the comment!
Nice and clean and fresh.
Coupla nits: In first sentence of “about” copy, need an apostrophe to make it “it’s.” And “offence” is British English; U.S. would use “offense”–don’t know if you care about that.
Similarly, “focussed” and “fuelled” would be “focused” and “fueled,” using Associated Press style.
Second paragraph: Maybe move “in grade school” up in sentence–“And though she knew in grade school she wanted to write fiction…”
Third paragraph: consider adding “the” before “ability.”
Now here’s a more nebulous thought. For your last two paragraphs, consider not doing the self-mocking stuff…especially the “should you still wish to contact her.” If YOU aren’t confident an agent or someone would still want to talk with you after they’ve read this, why should THEY think you’re worth contacting? I’ve had to force myself to cut down on this kind of thing, so maybe I’m more aware of it than other readers.
Oh, rats, a major thunderstorm is hitting…going to post this right now in case we lose power.
Sheesh, MJ, when I need a copy editor you’re my lady! Thank you. You’ve given me much to think about.
OK, storm has settled down.
One last comment: The photo on your home page says “Wizard of Oz” to me. Do you incorporate magic/supernatural stuff in your work? If so, cool.
Like I said, it’s all nice and clean and accessible. A great step into the world.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Love the satin skirt, love red and black stripes, love, love, LOVE the glittery red heels!!! Cool font, too. How exciting!
MJ, I incorporated quite a few of your suggestions. Thank you! Need to do a little housekeeping here too, now. As for magical realism, no. I was aiming more for the suggestion of quirkiness with romance.
Anya, LOL, I should have predicted you’d be partial to the image. Thank you for coming and commenting!
LOL – I knew you’d catch that, even though I’m wearing a mask and cape today.
How fun! I like how you keep tiptoeing into the deep end of the publishing waters. LOL I think it’s a good idea to do it this way, so it isn’t overwhelming, AND so you’re prepared!
Anya, and a cute mask it is, indeed!
Donna C, sometimes it feels smart and graduated. Other times I’m working to upgrade what is already obselete. Glad you approve, however. 🙂
Very nice website, Jan. It’s so exciting to have a domain, isn’t it? And those business cards are super cute.
I forgot to add that for your next round of business cards you’ll have to add the new website.
Medeia, you’re right. Thank goodness I only ordered 100 this time. LOL. I might get this right by 2014. 😉
Very nice. I have a few recommendations.
1. Please arrange for a program like ‘captcha’ (not sure if that’s spelled correctly, sorry) that requires people to enter a code that spiders and ‘bots can’t read and recreate. Otherwise, you may end up getting spammed like I did. Fortunately the web host I use installed the ‘prove you’re human’ detail shortly after I disabled the contact page. It’s back up now and I haven’t gotten a single ‘bot or spider generated contact.
2. Consider a web host service if you’re going to have a lot of content on your site. It can be well worth the expense when things need ‘fixing’ and it’s more than an author can handle.
WordPress does have Akismet built into it, and thus far, it’s done a great job of protecting me. Also, first comments by any one IP address have to be approved by me. I have to delete only a few comments a week. Did you have those protections in place and still get bothered? Eek.
About your second point, are you referring to having someone else set up the website? It’s a good thought, and one I’ll have to consider if/when I have content that’s more involved or complex than I have there at present. Thanks for you input!
Askimet is great for WordPress but I keep my blog and website separate, with links to each other.
My web host was recommended by my publisher since the two companies are affiliated. When a new novel comes out I email the host to request the files directly from the publisher. They contact me once everything’s uploaded so I can approve the way it appears on my site or request changes.
If you’re not seeing income from your writing or don’t have multiple titles to promote a web host might not be worth the expense. What you’re doing seems to be working and that’s the important thing.
I so enjoy the simple quirkiness of your home page….am soooooooo loving the red glittered shoes!!! Congrats!
Aw, thank you! The shoes make it, don’t they?