Googling/Website?

Miriel

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I've heard that agents Google prospective clients, so it's good to have a website about yourself. My name's generic enough that when I Google myself, a whole lot comes up -- none of it me. I don't really have anything to put on a website at this point, either. My credentials are a big, fat folder of rejection letters from a variety of novels and short stories which are getting better all the time, plus one sale that hasn't seen print yet at a semi-pro magazine. I have a novel right now that I think is very good -- a cut above everything else I've done. I really want to give it the very best shot I can.

Will not having a website hurt me? Will being essentially un-Google-able be a red flag?

*And does anyone know why there's an angry thumbs-down on this, and how to fix it?
 
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Terie

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Not having a website is better than having a bad one. :) Don't worry about it; not having a site yet isn't a red flag to a prospective agent.
 

Jessianodel

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And I doubt agents will be mad if they can't find you on Google.....otherwise I feel sorry for all the John Smiths in the writing world.
 

Danthia

It won't hurt you. I had nothing when I got my agent, and that's probably normal for a lot of writers.

If you wanted to do a website, you could do something very basic with one of the blog sites. With the new tabs, Blogger lets you do a basic "website" look where you can have different pages (tabs) with information. A friend of mine did a very nice site using Blogger. She has some publications to put up there, but you can see how she highlights her work and the fantasy worlds she writes in. She uses the home page for news and updates, but everything else stays the same.
 

Miriel

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Beautiful blog -- it does look just like a website. Thanks! I bookmarked it for a reference for when I have some publications to list.
 

suki

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I had little web presence. I was on twitter and facebook, but keep my facebook page pretty private. And it didn't hurt me. Can having a strong and positive web presence help? Maybe, sure. But if the book works the book works, and then they will talk to you about ways to increase your web presence, if they want you to.

Don't worry - if you don't want a site, don't have one. As Terie said, no site is better than a bad or even lackluster site with few followers. ;)

~suki
 

PhoebeNorth

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No agent or published novel yet . . . but two weeks ago I had an agent, who had sent me a form rejection recently, email me to tell me that she looked at a teaser of my new WIP on my blog, and that she wanted me to submit a full to her directly when I finish it.

Nicest contact I've gotten through the querying process. I think this kind of thing is rare, but it does happen.
 

Susan Coffin

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No agent or published novel yet . . . but two weeks ago I had an agent, who had sent me a form rejection recently, email me to tell me that she looked at a teaser of my new WIP on my blog, and that she wanted me to submit a full to her directly when I finish it.

Nicest contact I've gotten through the querying process. I think this kind of thing is rare, but it does happen.

:Thumbs:
 

Truth and Fiction

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Don't worry about this, especially since it sounds like you don't have many writing-related things to put on a website right now anyway (which is fine!).

If you have a real interest in blogging, however, it might be a good idea to start a blog under your full name. But only if you really want to do it. Not having a website at this stage is most certainly not going to hurt you.
 

stormie

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Not having a website is better than having a bad one. :) Don't worry about it; not having a site yet isn't a red flag to a prospective agent.
I agree. I've seen some websites of writers that include photos of their kids or have cutesy flowers and balloons or a sudden burst of music. Not professional, if that's what they were going for. And worse--poor grammar or spelling errors.

I know this was about four years ago, but the three agents who were interested in repping me at that time didn't even bother searching me on the internet. And the agent I did choose, still didn't do a search of my name. I had a website then and a simple search would have shown several links to published online work.
 

Sleepyhead

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I agree with the advice to blog, but I'd just like to add that for a small fee (Blogger charges $10/year), you can usually give your blog a domain name of its own. For example, "www.mynamehere.com" vs. "www.mynamehere.blogspot.com."

I did that, and it really raised my Google profile.

Using an initial also helped separate me from the mass of other people with the same name.

Best of luck.
 

nkkingston

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My full name belongs to a relatively famous actress, so if someone wanted to actually google me they'd have to be pretty determined. I have a website (a couple, actually) and I usually stick a link at the bottom of emails. It's saved me from rejection before; if a certain editor hadn't checked out my website and found out I was in a tent in the middle of nowhere she'd have written me off as a non-responder and moved on.
 

Ken

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I have a novel right now that I think is very good -- a cut above everything else I've done.

... in that case your manuscript alone should get you interest. No need to slap on any fancy dressing and frills. So get it out without further delay and quit this fussing. G'luck! :)
 

Juliette Wade

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Wow - thanks, Danthia, for directing everyone to my site! I'm so glad you like it. I did want to make a note on the $10 own-domain-name idea. I'm hoping to move to having my own domain name on the site, but it's actually harder (in a technical sense) to link the blog to that name if you already own one - rather than asking Blogger to purchase one for you if you don't have one yet. I'm still working on how to do the transfer without having the site crash (in my not-so-copious free time!).
 

Jamesaritchie

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More often than not, agents and editors don't Google a prospective writer looking for a pretty website, they're looking for dirt, for diva masters, for reason why the writer is going to be a problem child.

If you have a book that's good enough to sell, no website and no blog isn't going to hurt you in the least. A website or blog where you complain and whine and bitch about agents, editors, and the publishing industry, or where you display severe diva like qualities in any area, can make any agent or editor shy away.
 

Truth and Fiction

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More often than not, agents and editors don't Google a prospective writer looking for a pretty website, they're looking for dirt, for diva masters, for reason why the writer is going to be a problem child.

If you have a book that's good enough to sell, no website and no blog isn't going to hurt you in the least. A website or blog where you complain and whine and bitch about agents, editors, and the publishing industry, or where you display severe diva like qualities in any area, can make any agent or editor shy away.

Wait. Are you advising that I delete the "Why I am the most awesome writing diva 4eva and why the publishing industry can SUCK IT" post from my blog?

But seriously, yeah. I totally agree that agents must look for dirt. You can't believe some of the stuff that's out there. I sometimes come across sites (posted under the blogger's real name, mind you) that just blow me away...so unprofessional.

Also, plus five points to anyone who writes a blog post with that title above and actually publishes it on their blog!
 

Jack Parker

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James, I went to check out your blog and and received an error message:
The blog you were looking for was not found. If you are the owner of this blog, please sign in.
 

rmgil04

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Wow! I have blogspot, but I have not kept up on the additions.

I have a relatively new blog and just changed the background to something that looked more customized. You can find some interesting templates at Pimp My Profile.

For an example check my blog. I just revised the background.
 
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KingM

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I google all the writers from whom I have requested a full, but usually after the fact. I don't worry over much when something odd shows up; I already knew that writers can be quirky people. I'm mostly just curious.
 
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