REVIEW: Pub Site

When offered the chance to explore, experiment with, and review Pub Site, I jumped at the opportunity. In the past, for my own author needs, I've simply used Blogger, but there are more advanced and targeted tools out there for authors. Pub Site is one of those tools, and I was curious to learn more.

..........

"Up and running within an hour." - - - Okay. I'd take that challenge. I set a timer for 60 minutes and started from scratch, knowing nothing about the site. 


Here are the important items I learned in 60 minutes:

1. The tools on Pub Site made the process quick and easy for me to get started.

2. I followed their step-by-step process.

3. Pub Site offered ten templates to choose from and color variants within each.

4. Once I chose my template, a box popped up offering a tutorial video to help me customize my template. Because I wanted to see how long it would take me on my own, I waited to watch the video later.

5. The "Add Titles" option was confusing to me at first, because I thought it meant add headers or banners to the various pages of the website, but it actually meant add titles of books or other products I wanted to sell on the site. And upon closer examination, I realized when you hover your mouse over the icon, the site pops up an explanation that clicking here will allow you to add products to your site. Admittedly, I was rushing, trying to beat that 60 minute timer to build my site. My advice: take your time and read the little pop ups that are offering assistance.

6. I didn't understand the field "order by" . . . Most fields I was able to figure out, but this one left me baffled.

7. Pub Site offers tons of fields to add purchase links, which look very professional in the final web page.

8. For traditionally published authors, I'm not certain how necessary the "e-commerce" pages are, but I can see that these would be especially beneficial for self-published authors, publishing companies, and collaborative ventures.

9. Since the site gives you the option to add multiple authors, I see the potential for group marketing that could benefit all involved. Small publishers may find this web service especially helpful in designing a professional site.

10. After 50 minutes of adding content for myself as the author and for one of my books, I clicked on "view site." WOW. I had high expectations, and yet, I was still pleasantly surprised at how professional the site looked after only a short amount of time invested by me.

11. I was also pleased to see in the "view site" option, there were many easy-to-click edit buttons to add taglines and additional content.

12. I was confused on how to add a blog page - but keep in mind, I did not watch the tutorial before experimenting to see what I could accomplish in the first 60 minutes.

So, there you have it. Those twelve items listed are the major things I accomplished and learned in the first 60 minutes. No. My site was not finished. But I was thrilled with how it looked after just one hour invested. I'd predict, it would probably take at least another hour to get it closer to being finished. If you have more than five books to enter data for, it would take even longer. Probably plan data entry time of about 5-10 minutes per book, depending upon whether or not you already have the content created. For me, it was simple to copy and paste the data into the new website.

But that's not all. 

After signing up for my free 14-day trial, I received an email from the company welcoming me and offering to personally answer any questions I had. I replied and asked about setting up the blog page (see #12 above). I received an immediate response with helpful tips.

Terms of Use
While I am not a lawyer and cannot offer legal advice, the terms of use appeared pretty standard. Nothing popped out at me as alarming or unusual. The terms are long and thorough, but I encourage you to take the necessary time to read before agreeing to them.

14-day Free Trial
I highly encourage you to take advantage of the free trial to experiment with the site and see if it works for you.

So, how much does it cost?
According to the site: "Streamlined and affordable pricing - Our all-in-one package is just $19.99 a month and includes all of our current and future releases and features, including a complete ecommerce solution, and book-specific features. It also includes industry leading website hosting."



Final opinion from me:

I had high expectations of Pub Site and was still pleasantly surprised at how professional my author website looked after only fifty minutes entering content into Pub Site's easy-to-use template.

Spring 2017 - Young Adult Scavenger Hunt - #YASH

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! 

I'm Margo Kelly, and I'll be your hostess for this leg of the hunt. I write thrillers, and I'm excited that my second novel, UNLOCKED, has been born into the world! Somewhere along this scavenger hunt, I've shared exclusive content related to UNLOCKED, and clear down at the bottom of this post, I'm giving away a signed hardback copy of it (exclusive to readers of this post) along with a super cool flashlight key chain! Yup. That's right. 

(So be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the bottom of this post before you hop off to the next site in the scavenger hunt!)

By the way, you are currently hunting on TEAM BLUE.

This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors ... and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt.

Add up the clues, and you can enter for the prize -- one lucky winner will receive:
one book from each author on the BLUE team! 

But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online until noon on Sunday, April 9, 2017!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM -- but there are five other teams, each with a different set of books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE RULES

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by April 9, 2017, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

I am happy to introduce you to the author I'm hosting for the hunt:
Sarah Ahiers

Sarah Ahiers has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and lives in Minnesota with her dogs and a house full of critters. She's the author of ASSASSIN'S HEART and THIEF'S CUNNING and when she’s not writing she fills her time with good games, good food, good friends, and good family.

Find out more information by checking out Sarah's website or find more about her book here!

Allegra Saldana has always had to look over her shoulder. As the niece of the infamous assassin Lea Saldana, Allegra is used to hiding from people who want her dead. Once the strongest clipper family in the Kingdom of Lovero, the Saldanas are now the most hunted. Their number one enemy is the Da Vias, whose thirst for retaliation is almost two decades in the making.

At least that’s what Lea has told Allegra her whole life, but lately Allegra’s been feeling like things are being kept from her—including her parents’ identity. So when Allegra finally learns the truth--I’m a Da Via—her world crumbles. Feeling betrayed by the people she trusted the most, Allegra turns to Nev, a Traveler boy whose presence makes her feel alive in ways she’s only dreamed of. But getting caught up in Nev’s world has consequences Allegra never saw coming.

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
 from Sarah Ahiers

Her inspiration board!
Click here to view the full board on Pintrest.

Here is a sampling of Sarah's inspiration:

* * * * *

Now don't forget to enter the YASH contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me and 19 other authors on TEAM BLUE. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on team blue, and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

But before you go, you'll need to know that my favorite number is 11, and there are 11 chances in this exclusive Rafflecopter giveaway for you to win a signed hardback copy of UNLOCKED and a super cool flashlight key chain! (This contest is separate from the YASH contest. Only visitors here are eligible.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author: AMY PLUM

Tweet #YASH

Announcing YA Scavenger Hunt Teams - Spring 2017 #YASH

For all of you who love finding new reads, I have just the thing for you. The YA Scavenger Hunt is coming. If you’ve never heard of it, the hunt runs twice a year in the spring and in the fall. During the hunt we showcase new and upcoming young adult releases, give out tons of prizes, and release special bonus material. Sound interesting?

This spring we will have one hundred authors split into five teams of twenty. Each team is assigned a color. The blog hop begins April 4th and runs through Sunday, April 9th. It’s easy to play. All you have to do is either start on my blog or head directly over to the YASH website. There you’ll find a list of all the authors participating as well as an answer sheet you can print off to gather the info you’re hunting for and to keep track of any bonus contests you may have entered.

Are you ready to see all the books featured this season? Here they are!

 

You could win ALL the books! EEK. Mark your calendar, and join the hunt on April 4, 2017. ;)

Teen Bookfest by the Bay 2017

WOW. What an amazing weekend. The organizers of this event went above and beyond on every level imaginable. Before I became an author, I used to arrange huge events, and so I'm familiar with the inner workings of such a thing. So from both the inside and the outside, here are the main items I observed this weekend:

1. There is a dynamic committee that works year round planning and executing this event. Each person on the committee has a different responsibility such as fundraising, public relations, transportation coordinator, treasurer, and so on and so on. Leading the committee is the fearless Debbie VanZandt, who is humble and inspiring.

2. A top goal of the committee was to make sure the attending authors felt spoiled and valued. Goal achieved! The accommodations, the meals, the swag bags, the thoughtful moderators on the panels ... all were beyond fabulous.

3. The event was well publicized. They incorporated student artists to design logos for the event. They reached out to schools and community advocates. And ... I thought it was a great idea to have local vendors set up downstairs for attendees and authors to shop.

4. The event was well organized. The schedule ran smoothly, and the attendees had plenty of interesting panels and workshops to choose from each hour.

5. The list of attending authors was impressive, including New York Times best-selling authors and distinctive award-winning authors.

6. And most importantly, people smiled. Everyone. I never saw a dissatisfied person at the event. That says a lot right there!

As soon as the 2018 dates are announced, I highly encourage everyone to mark their calendars and plan to attend.

My hat goes off to an amazing 2017 Teen Bookfest by the Bay - Corpus Christi, Texas.

Thank you.

Touring the Old Idaho Penitentiary

When author Joshua David Bellin came to town to co-teach a writing workshop with me, I wanted to show him some local points of interest. The first thing that came to mind was the old penitentiary. I hadn't toured the facility since I was a teenager, and I found it fascinating in different ways this time. Oh, the stories those walls hold! We had a fabulous tour guide who shared many of those stories with us. Plus, Joshua knows author Leah Pileggi, who wrote a novel, Prisoner 88, inspired by the story of the youngest prisoner held at the old pen. The boy was only ten years old, and he was imprisoned with hardened adults. Here are a few pictures from the tour: