Why authors reach out on the Web

"Our reader recommendations are usually from those who want to redesign our site. We want to avoid bells and whistles, and the kind of dizzying busyness that characterizes CNN Headline News.

"Konch is a continuation of a print version which I lugged around the country for about nine years, selling them at colleges and book fairs," Reed continues.

"With the website Konch, we've been able to reach thousands of readers and publish writers from all over the world. example, while visiting Ghana, I promised some Nigerian writers whom I met there that I would publish them on the site. Two years later, when I visited Nigeria, they asked whether I had published them. We went into the computer room and I was able to download their contributions [instantly]. It was like magic."

"I love the interactivity and the immediacy of the web," says author Judy Blume (www.judyblume.com), known for her young-adult novels like "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" and "SuperFudge."

"But it's not easy to keep up with e-mails. Right now I'm trying to finish a book - as my grandson said last week, 'Are you ever going to finish that book?' I certainly hope so, because this one is to be dedicated to him. It's a 'Fudge' book, and if I don't finish soon, he'll be too old to care! So - I spend much less time interacting via my website when I'm writing than when I'm between projects.

"When I do have time, I try to get up new info," says Blume, whose site is run by her husband, George Cooper. "My site is more informational than some, because I get thousands of letters every year from kids doing reports, college students doing research papers, and graduate students doing theses.

"It's my goal," he says, "to guide them to the info they need. The more I can get up there to help, the better I feel about not being able to answer individual questions - especially when many of their questions are the same. I still try to answer all the personal e-mails and answer the quirky questions. I have one trusted assistant who helps me keep the e-mails up to date."

Mr. Jakes says privacy and the fast communication with his audience were the primary spur to his forming a site.

"The difficult part of this is trying to keep up with a large volume of reader responses - a couple of hundred queued up at any one time. I try to answer them in batches of 10 - very briefly - or have my assistant take care of the less important ones (e.g., 'When is the US video version of North and South III coming on the market?')."

Blume says the potential negatives of having a site are the same as with other forms of reader contact, but in real time.

"We do have to monitor the e-mails," she says. "Occasionally we get rude comments from people who are trying to shock. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but I felt the same way about snail mail."

Page: 1 | 2