You’ve got a MySpace page. Maybe you own a domain in your name and you’re blogging on it.

But are you using technology to its best advantage to remind your readers about who you are and what you offer them? Think iPhone, not rotary dial.

As a reader — and I have to admit, something of a technology nerd — I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cringed when I’ve been disappointed by an author’s online offerings. When I was at Romance Slam Jam, author Donna Hill gave a presentation about promoting books, and from the questions she got, it became clear that not every author knows as much as s/he should about the various ways to present oneself on the Internet.

Hill talked a lot about MySpace as a place to present yourself and engage your readers, but why stop there? Why let the dark lord make money off the clicks that could be going directly to your site?

And there are plenty of other social-networking sites you could be using to your advantage to push readers toward your site.

Are you on Facebook? Because your audience is. So’s your future audience; I’m long out of college, but I was surprised to note how many college-age women on Facebook claim Eric Jerome Dickey is their favorite author. They should know your name, too.

You’re probably aware of LinkedIn, Inked-In and other social networking sites. You may even post on various message boards.

But have you considered Twitter, the hottest thing in social media right now? It’s a microblogging service that allows you to express an idea in 140-character posts or less.

Sound limiting? Maybe not. There’s an author who’s writing a novel using Twitter.These social networking sites are great way for authors to market themselves (for free, mostly, and with much less effort than an actual book takes) to readers like me, who want more, more, more. We want more books, of course, but we also want to know more about your characters and more about you (in a non-stalkery way, I promise).

Definitely keep up with the latest in social-media outlets. Yes, it’s a gamble, because you don’t know which ones are going to become successful, but you should at least be aware of them so you can be poised to be involved with them as they take off. A good place to keep up with what’s new in social media is Mashable.

So maybe you’re a Facebook fiend, a MySpace maven, and you’ve even got your own Web site. Here are some DOs and DON’Ts to make sure your personal site/Web offering is the best it can be. You’re probably doing some of these things already:

• Don’t have music playing on your site unless you have a clearly labeled area that will permit users to turn it off. I’ve heard (*cough*) that some slackers people surf the Internet at work and want to be able to close something out quickly in case a supervisor turns up. Adding music to your site can make it load more slowly, not to mention that it increases the chance that the reader will get caught. And do you have copyright permission to play that song? The RIAA actually cares about these things.
• Share a little about yourself — but only as much as you feel comfortable doing. Here’s an easy one: What are you reading? I’d take a book recommendation from one of my favorite authors anytime.
• Don’t post a visit counter on your site. This is contrary to the advice Donna Hill gave in her session at Slam Jam. Don’t do this. Really. Don’t do it. That’s an old-school Internet technique that isn’t done as much anymore. If you do it, your site will look as frozen in time as Cindy McCain’s forehead.
• Do think musically. Maybe you’ve got a soundtrack you listen to when you write — or in your character descriptions, you’ve decided what music your characters like. Create a muxtape for yourself or the character. Trust me, your readers will be interested in knowing what makes you — or your character — tick. This, of course, only works if you’ve got really good taste in music. I’m just saying.
• Don’t use a flowery, curliqued font, especially if you intend to have any copy in all capital letters. This makes it that much harder for your reader to grok what’s happening with your site.
• Don’t ignore your readers. It’s a good idea to engage them when they do come to your site. Even if they disagree with something you’ve said, thank them for stopping by. Keep it moving.
• Give the fans what they want, but on your terms. Are your fans clamoring for more information about a particular character, but you don’t feel like writing too much more about him/her? Why not write a short story or quick bio and post it on your Web site? Author Kelley Armstrong uses this technique to excellent effect to fill in holes in her stories and provide background on her characters. (If you do decide to make novellas, short stories or bios available for free on your site, please copyright your work through Creative Commons. As a matter of fact, you probably should slap a copyright on your whole Web site, just to be certain).
• Got a video camera somewhere? Don’t forget about video. Sure, you can make podcasts, but if you keep it short, visuals plus sound are always better than just sound. And when you make those videos, be sure to crosspost them at your blog and your various social-networking sites. In an age when so many authors have books trailers or videos of readings online, when I look for your name on YouTube, Vimeo or one of the other major online video sites, I should find something.

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  I’m a busy wife and professional writer/editor (albeit not in the book-publishing industry) in Florida. I spend most of my leisure time reading, and choose to write about some of the books I read and the industry they come from here at WriteBlack.
  
  My likes include Octavia E. Butler, macaroni and cheese, Beverly Jenkins, Carl Hiaasen, biographies, St. Augustine of Hippo, books that make me laugh, romances, mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy if it’s really good, small houses, shelter magazines, a hot pair of boots, bright colors, cookbooks, root vegetables and lazy Sunday afternoons.
  
  My dislikes include bad dialogue, chocolate (don’t ask), stupid plots, John Travolta, sweating, raising my voice, modern dance, female book characters who seem to be too dumb to walk and chew gum at the same time and bad sex scenes.