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Friday, September 01, 2006
Little Mistakes... The Obtrusive Sig Lines


Sig lines... those little very helpful things at the bottom of an email. I love 'em and have discovered a lot of kewl new authors and websites because of them. But, if not done right, they can be horribly annoying.


I admit, I was one of those authors with the obnoxiously long sig line when I first got started. I didn't mean to be, but I think what happened is that as my books came out, I just kept adding them and couldn't force myself to take any away. Luckily, I wised up and stopped or my sig line would look something like this...


Michelle M Pillow

www.michellepillow.com

BOOKS AT ELLORA'S CAVE

Pleasure Cruise (with Mandy Roth)

Maiden and The Monster
Red Light Specialists


BOOKS AT VIRGIN PUBLISHING

Wicked Words Anthology - Print only

Fierce Competition - Print only

Opposites Attract - Print only
Bit by the Bug - Print only

BOOKS AT NEW CONCEPTS PUBLISHING

Dragon Lords: The Barbarian Prince

Dragon Lords: The Perfect Prince

Dragon Lords: The Dark Prince

Dragon Lords: The Warrior Prince

Lords of the Var: The Savage King

Lords of the Var: The Playful Prince

Lords of the Var: The Bound Prince

Mountain's Captive - Contemporary CAPA Winner

Cupid's Enchantment

Ult.......


Well, you get the point, lol. I don't have the energy to list them here, that's why I keep the website. :)


Most experts say (and by experts, I mean vocal bunch who happen to be saying it) that sig lines should be no more than 3-4 lines with only the necessary info-- You name, website link, newest release or a review quote or small one liner from the book or latest award or link to join a group/mailing list or contest announcement with link to get more info.



Sig lines should be clear, easy to read and shorter than the email or board posting. A three line comment shouldn't have a ten line ad at the end of it. Those I tend to ignore. In an informal setting, a pretty or sexy picture/banner can be nice, but only if it's small and doesn't take my high speed internet connection a year to download--I can't imagine the people on dial up.


Some people use catchy little slogans or funny sayings. I once had some that said:

Michelle M Pillow
Arguing with characters is cheaper than therapy.
www.michellepillow.com

(still VERY true, lol)

Michelle M Pillow
RED LIGHT SPECIALISTS - Coming June 15th, EC
Pleasure Cruise- Now from EC!
Read 'em, Love 'em, otherwise complain to Mandy


(Of course, this one was on a group who knew Mandy Roth and I wrote books together, had my website addy already, and who know I am hardly every serious-unless forced to be, lol.)



For a bigger look there is:

Michelle M Pillow
www.michellepillow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maiden and the Monster - Historical - Ellora's Cave
RT BOOKreview Magazine TOP PICK
"the writing is superb"

See how I ignored the 3-4 line rule? LOL That's, um, cause I'm a rebel and.... oh, nevermind. Rules aren't set in stone by any means.


For simple and to the point:

Michelle M Pillow
www.michellepillow.com

These are good when you aren't sure of the group's etiquettete. It's simple, to the point and gives an easily clickable way for the readers to find out about you. A lot of times, if a readers likes what you've said in your comment, they'll want to check you out.


Whatever your sig line, there are a few things they should always have-- Your name and a link to find out more about you, whether it's a book buy link, your website, your author page on the publisher's website. I prefer the links to be clickable--less work. If I have to copy/paste a link and open my browser, I'm less likely to do it.




posted by Michelle Pillow @ 11:55 AM  

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Michelle M Pillow
Author of All Things Romance (tm)

Name: Michelle Pillow
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