Hey Folks, Here is the link to my writing website: www.ervin-author.com Only one glitch (covers not showing on the Recommended Authors page), unless you find any others. That will be repaired shortly. (I'm certainly not a web design guru ) I'll also be adding pics and other graphics over time, as well as additional content. You can find information not only about what I've published (stories and articles), but current market information and just some fun stuff as well. Pop on over when you get the chance and let me know what you think. Terry
Hey Terry just wanted to say that the site looks really good and well done with it. I for one will be sure to have a good look at it. You may not be a web-design guru, but you have done a marvellous job with it. And the information you have out on there is just outstanding. You have done a very commendable job and should be ever so proud of your accomplishments Terry. Torana
To be very honest, this is not the most esthetically pleasing site, but this is an informative site ... It serves its purpose ...
Hey all, thanks for looking and commenting. Torana, Thanks for the compliment. I hope to expand a little every now and then and keep things up to date. Lycos, The "flipping" was something I saw on another website and as it is not common, decided to see how it worked with mine. Online.Education, The main reason for much of the content is to be informative. I hope to add some graphics and more pics over time, maybe a few more scrolling marquis (spelling?). I'll learn as I go along. That may help with your concern about esthetics. Terry
Personally, I'd prefer just the information without distracting graphics. But perhaps that's just me... Anyway, I thought the site was very good
Terry, Enjoyed your site. Congrats on FMAM and the anthology. Hope you do well with your sub to Baen; it's an intriguing setting for your novel, according to your teaser. Take care, JohhB
Banzai, It is hard to please everyone. Trying to do something a little different. If it makes my website stand out due to annoyance, that's the wrong path. In any case glad you liked the site overall. JohhB, Both of my novels are now sitting with Baen...and the waiting is long...hard, but gives me time to work on writing other things, right? Thanks for popping onto my website. This site will be one of the first to know if Baen does eventually accept one of my works...I doubt both will be accepted at the same time... Terry
Hi Terry, Sorry I didn't get to your site sooner. Very informative, well laid out, and I feel like I've gotten to know you and your writing better from visiting. The one thing I didn't like: red text on black - I absolutely hate that for readability. I know it's a popular combination, but it slways loses points with me. Other than that, a great site.
Hey all, Updated my website. More visuals, a little change in the fonts and some colors. More information in markets, etc. http://www.ervin-author.com The website is meant to be a balance of showcasing what is going on with my writing and also to be a source for other writers to help them along. Take a look if you get a chance. If possible, let me know what is useful to you and to definately keep or expand upon. Let me know other things you'd like to see, or what isn't working for you. Terry
Can I suggest a more disabled-friendly style? That site as it stands would be a bit unpleasant for anyone partially-sighted, and I see a variety of issues. Here's the technical summary of w3c compliance for your site: http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ervin-author.com%2F&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0 It's not optimised for text readers, and I think a bit of thought on that subject wouldn't go amiss. It's been mentioned before in this thread that red-on-black isn't the easiest colour scheme for readability. I think that bears repeating. In tests, it's noticeably more comfortable for most readers to read dark text on a light background rather than vice versa. Generally, serif fonts are best for readability on paper, but sans serif onscreen. (This site uses verdana, which is one of the very best, not least because you know that people who view your site will see it as you intended.) There's more scrolling than necessary because the font size is unusually large--perhaps to compensate for the serif font and red text on a black background? Many readers won't see your scrolling marquee (personally I only knew it was there because I looked at the source code). Script-blockers (such as noscript for Firefox) are quite common and a good idea from the point of view of web safety. Animated arrows are a bit distracting.
I do agree with much of the above, however, I see a lot of potential for the site and its a good starting point. If you ever need any help with your HTML or anything else give me a shout, i'd be happy to help.
i'm with cog on the color scheme... i clicked it closed as soon as i saw that... but then, i don't go for fantasy and blood and gore, so i'm sure not your target audience/visitor...
Well I think I am on my own with saying that I liked the style of the page. But then it really depends on the target audience. I like the dark backgroud and red lettering. Bu that is just me, I can see why others wouldn't though. But I think you have done a really good job with your site Terry and it has some very helpful links and information on it. So I would definately tell people about your site and pass on the link for them to take a look at.
Hey Folks, Thanks for taking the time to give me the input. As you can guess, not only from this forum, but a few other places, I am getting mixed reviews...some like certain things, others do not. It's less like a crit of work than a crit of a paiting or other such art piece. For example, I've been told the arrows are cool and the page transitions are a positive and been told the exact opposite. Weaselword, You may or may not have noticed, but some of the pages, I've altered the color scheme. I will probably stay with a dark background, but am playing with blues and am looking at a pale goldish color for the font instead. The scrolling, the size of font may solve it, but the page content could too. Some pages are long on the scrolling (the recommended reading and maybe some of the market information pages) but for me it's always been annoying when such a thing was broken down by alphabet (a-g, h-s, t-z for example) on separate pages. So I guess that is where personal preference comes in. I started and I think I will be moving more to the veranda for text/lines and paragraphs, I think. I am not sure yet about the optomizing for text readers. Will have to print out and read that link over in detail. Kit603, I'm pretty much self-teaching/figuring my way through this. One will probably see that evolve over time. Thanks for the offer and if I do hit a brick wall, I'll shout your way. Mammamaia, The red on black has little to do with blood--or that was not my intention. I know you avoid writings with violent content. I will admit that the cover of the Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine has a somewhat violent cover, but my story in it ("Drug Dogs") is devoid of violence. Actually my next story to be published, "Vegetable Matters" lacks violence too. My novels out on submission are a bit different on that score. Just depends on the subject I guess. But each person/reader has their likes and dislikes and that adds spice to life. In any case, thanks for clicking over. Saying that the color scheme on the home page doesn't appeal to a potential visitor is information. Torana, I am glad you found that the links and information on the site would be helpful to you or other writers. In the end, that's my goal...sure to showcase some of my work/writing successes, but also to be a place where writers can go if they're looking for something or to get some ideas. I'll never be a Ralan's or Preditors & Editors, nor a forum active like here, writingforums.org, but maybe a place where a writer can start or double check on a market, for example. I've had quite a few say they like the black background and don't mind or like the read as the primary text color...although I did have someone tell me the red and yellow reminded them of ketchup and mustard on a hotdog, and made them hungry--which was distracting and not a good thing. Thanks for taking the time to explore a bit and comment. ========== I will be working on another update for next month. Already, I learned that one of the publishers (StarDust Press) will be shutting down by October 1, and have a few new markets already to add. Anybody else who cares to visit and comment in this string...I'd appreciate it...and I hope if you go there, you find something interesting and/or helpful too. Terry
glad to hear you don't specialize in blood and gore, as the color scheme seems to indicate, terry... fyi, aside from my not liking violence in fiction, i also find red and black to be among the worst colors for a website, from just a reading/viewing pov, so you may want to consider that in deciding whether to keep it, as i doubt i'm alone or among just a tiny minority on that... hugs, m
