Dear Christian Author, A Special Offer for You

I know what it's like to desire to take advantage of all the new features of the internet for your writing career, and to be at a loss for lack of knowledge or training. I've been there, - still am, to a degree.

However, I've taught myself how to design a variety of web pages and sites, and although I've got many irons in the fire I've sensed a burden to provide a service that is affordable to you, and provides a little income for me. (My friends often say I don't make money because I give all my talents away; well, I'm trying to start charging a little... ;)

Why? Because I have a soft heart for Christian authors who are new at this web site building stuff. I'd like to give you that boost that will widen your opportunities and reputation.

I'm working on a very simple plan, nothing extravagant, but since we all read and hear that to be known and accepted in today's freelance writing world you need a professional-looking web site, - and because I already have a full schedule - I've created a few sample templates to indicate what I would do if you wanted me to make one for you.

A lot of the free sites that have built-in web editors create quite grotesque looking sites, throw up popups in the vistor's face, and are sometimes quite unreliable.

It is far better to work from basic HTML code and build a site that looks and behaves as it should, and has a more professional appearance. This is really not that hard, but the time involved to teach yourself, is something not everybody has. Right? :)

I started seven years ago on the net, so naive and stone-broke ... well, it is hard to get lower than I was. But I resolved to teach myself no matter how long it too. It was only a few months before I had my first efforts up on the web, but I've learned just heaps and heaps of more since then! Both in the technical aspect, and in what is considered in good taste, and what is blatantly newbie.

Last year and this, I've been giving all my sites a make-over, just a few pages a day, and incorporating new things I've learned like CSS, includes, and I'm working on shopping carts next!

If you are willing to pay me a bit you can skip the seven years of learning-by-trying, and have a site up in a few weeks, depending on my waiting list, a site you will be able to maintain and add pages to it as you will.

Most authors sites are only a handful of pages, maybe 5 or 6.My own domain web site, http://Ruthes-SecretRoses.com now has around 500 pages on it! But I often add a batch of pages every few days or after an evening's work.

My secret plan lies in designing templates for each "area" so that when I want to create a new web page for say, an article, I just pull up a template in my web editor program, insert the article at a certain point in the long page of HTML gobbedly-gook add two br enclosed in angle brackets < > after each paragraph, put before words I want to make bold, and after them. I insert the title in a certain marked spot, and I change the meta tags at the top to match the contents of this page. Then I name it with the file name I want it to have on the web, and save it. I open the index page, also always saved on my computer, and add a link to the new page. For that matter, on other pages too, so that visitors will be able to discover this new one.

Lastly, I upload all these new and updated pages to my site, which takes a trice if they are not heavily loaded with pictures or graphics. Voila. Done.

So if I were to prepare some basic simple design for your web site, and;
1. marked the spots where you as the writer-owner, will insert your content or text-body when you want to make a new page,...

2. also where to put in your title, and how to change your meta tags (this is so the search engines will find you and send you visitors!)

3. and showed you how to upload your pages each time yourself...

- well, then, you'd be all set!

Do you think you could learn to follow those simple steps?

If that spooks you, or if you don't even know how to copy and paste text from one page or program into another, then this is too complicated for you. You need to find a webmaster who will do "Everything" for you, including all the maintenance.

Now there are web designers out there who have a smaller base of design skills than I, who charge you $75 for the first page (template) and $25 for each additional web page. Ouch! that is quite out of my budget range! Yours too?

But I only have a few hours free offer this, and I know it will take me at least one or two evenings to design your basic template. More if you are not happy with it right away, and I need to change it. But if you are content with a simple one of the quality you see here (links...) I'll do that first template for $25.

Now you might like that basic template fixed up into a few more such as; About Author, Contact, Links & Webrings, Books (the ones you've written and want to sell), etc. Those will need a bit different html coding in spots, but can be fixed so that you can add or change basic content on them by looking for the highlighted clues as to where and how to add or change things. Those additional pages could be whipped up in another evening, so I'll say they'll be $10 each.

I bet you're beginning to wonder how this will add up and get expensive after all.

Let's stop and do a bit of math. If your main index and template page is $25, and you ask for say another 5 other pages, using the same template, that would cost you $75 altogether.

Next, you will need a registered domain name, and a web site hosting plan. That is, your official web-site name, and the place you rent for your business on the web.

For your domain registration I suggest you go to GoDaddy.com" and get one there for $8/year, or less.

There are now web hosting plans that only cost $10/year. I have several sites hosted at HostingRevolution.com for that price. That's only 50 mg of space, but for most small sites that is plenty. (It has taken me three years to fill one up so that I think it is time to ask for an upgrade and pay just another $10/year for 100 mg more space).

So I'm saying that for less than $20 US, recurring annual fees, it is possible to have a professional web domain and hosting. If you learn how to maintain and grow your site on your own, those should be your only expenses!

That's $75 + $8 + $10 = $95 total for your start up year, and $18/year after that. (Unless, of course, you switch to a more expensive host).

Naturally, if you can afford a bit more, you'll get better quality, and as you gradually learn more and more HTML you'll want to add guest books, forums, affiliate banners, etc., (some of those require CGI forms), and maybe shopping carts, too?

However, even with the above plan I'm offering, you can be selling your books or services. I would recommend that you join PayPal, and e-Gold, and then I could insert the coding for the buttons. When people want to pay you, they would just click the payment method of their choice, and any of these three free web payment plans would send you an email telling you of a sale! Naturally, then you would correspond with them and give them the instructions for completing the purchase.

You'll see how this works if you decide you want to order this service from me. Come to think of it, you might be ready to place an order. I better tell you how, right? :) Let's jump to a new page for this topic.

Or, if you are ready to ask for my services, simply fill out the Request Form. As you answer those questions I'll get a snapshot of what your site looks like in your mind, and what you hope to accomplish with it. Follow the instructions there so we can evaluate whether we can work together or not.

Blessings & Thanks!
Ruth