New site surveys authors to compile directory of author-focused Web services
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine a whole new way of marketing and displaying literary works, where electronic media is used to promote or to create adaptations of traditional literature, and you have Books & Wires ( http://www.booksandwires.com), a new service providing author Web sites, digital book art and a glimpse at the literary future.
The company has surveyed over 200 authors about their Web service providers. The results: There are nearly as many Web service options available as there are authors with Web sites. Books & Wires is using respondents' comments, along with its own research, to create a directory of Web service providers that specialize in author Web sites ( http://www.booksandwires.com/providers.php).
Author Laura Purdie Salas echoed comments made by many survey respondents. "I tried creating my own site. It looked bad. Very bad," Salas stated. "It was functional, but it looked completely amateur. If you want a professional Web site to reflect your writing as a profession, I think you just have to suck it up and pay [for] it."
To help authors decide which Web service provider to use, Books & Wires has created a "things to consider" page (http://www.booksandwires.com/suggestions.html ), along with a page reviewing the various Web terms and costs generally involved with getting a Web site. Books & Wires is looking for more service providers recommended by authors; the company's directory is currently limited to Web service providers that work specifically with authors.
Books & Wires is the brainchild of Neil Gabriel Kozlowicz, a published poet who has coordinated lectures and readings for award-winning authors. Kozlowicz also co-founded the online journal Dislocate ( http://www.dislocate.org) when completing an MFA in creative writing at the University of Minnesota. As a Web service provider, Books & Wires offers domain name registration, Web site design and hosting, blogs, e-mail list management, Web site updates and maintenance, and Flash adaptations of authors' scenes or poems.
The company also provides a unique service for authors looking to get exactly the right look for their Web sites: a design contest. Following an author's interview with Books & Wires, five or more designers use that information to create multiple designs; the author can comment on each design and request revisions. Additionally, Books & Wires maintains a searchable index of author Web sites noteworthy for their multimedia content. To learn more, visit http://www.booksandwires.com.
Contact:
Neil Kozlowicz
Books & Wires
Tel/Fax: 503-946-8792
Cell: 503-758-0146
This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com. SOURCE Books & Wires
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