Building Buzz in YA: Websites

Okay, I'm stepping up to talk about websites for young adults (or the young at heart).


APPEARANCES ARE EVERYTHING
Okay, not really... but they count.

• Follow basic design principles.
• Pick a color scheme appropriate to your voice.
• Overcrowding in schools is bad enough. Make sure there’s plenty of “white space”
• Make navigation easy.

FRESHEN UP BEFORE YOU GO OUT IN PUBLIC
How to turn your standard, basic pages into something teen-worthy. (The links go to examples on my own website.)

• Write a bio that people want to read. Make it fun and consistent with your voice.
  
• Value added book pages that give the readers a behind-the-scenes view.

BEYOND THE BIO AND THE BOOKSHELF
Pages for professionals that might be interested in deeper information about your books.

• Teachers
• Schools
• Librarians

It’s all in good fun. Teens want fun content they can use on your page and off.

• Quizzes, polls, and games.
• Wallpapers, screen savers, and buddy icons.

NOT ANOTHER AUTHOR PAGE
You can have more than just your author page. Look for possible bonus websites in your book.

• Characters -- Your characters are people, too. (Sort of.) They can have pages just like real teens.
  
  • Blogs -- Have a character keep a blog that corresponds with the action of the story.
    
  • MySpace -- Get them a MySpace page where fans can friend their favorite characters.
    
• Schools -- Blur the division between reality and fiction. Give the school in your book a real website. (Bonus Fun: If it's a private school, include an application that fans can fill out and send in to your mail box.)
  
• Miscellaneous
  • Countries -- Did you create a fictional country in your book? (Like Meg Cabot's Genovia.) Make an official country website.
    
  • Myths -- If you incorporate myth in your story, why not give those ancient deities an online presence. (Think Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter website and forum.)
    

Websites for a teen audience benefit a lot from lateral thinking. Don't just do what every other author does. Look for ways to make the world of your books come to life in the virtual world.

Remember, we're taking questions this week. Now is the time to ask everything you ever wanted to know about marketing your YA book!

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. "an effervescent, fast-paced read" -- Publishers Weekly
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming May 2009)
http://www.teralynnchilds.com