If you want my bucks, don't insult me

 Nothing says "hire me" like a sales pitch that starts out "your website is crap." Really, NOTHING. I can't tell you how many of these pitches I get in a week. Most of them from other countries (you can tell by the names of the (I assume) men who sign the emails).

Okay, maybe my site isn't as sophisticated as say ... Barbara Freethy (romance author) or Mary Kay Andrews, but then I'm pretty sure they don't update them, either. They've got the bucks to hire someone. Me? I'm running on a shoestring. My goal was to have a site easy to maintain so that I didn't have to wait for an update. My first website designer was also a writer (like my current one), but she only did updates once a week. She had enough clients that sometimes it took as long as three weeks for her to get around to fixing whatever was broken. And if you wanted a site where she DIDN'T make the updates (where I had to pay for every tiny change), then she charged you three times as much to set it up. Uh...needless to say we parted ways.

I found Jo (my current designer) because I someone I knew had a site done by her. I wasn't that impressed, but I looked at Jo's portfolio anyway and realized that she had probably given the author exactly what she wanted. (Her books were set in a swamp--that's what she got.) I wanted something that said "cozy" and Jo gave it to me. And if I have a problem, she almost always answers within an hour of my email, and often doesn't charge me. She's wonderful and I'm happy to call her my friend. (We hung out at a Ninc writers conference several years ago. It was great to have a friend there.) If you're ever looking for a website designer, Glass Slipper WebDesign is the place you should go.

Anyway, maybe you'll go and check out my website. There are lots of hidden pages (links to the maps of Victoria Square and Lotus Bay), Breakfast at Blythe Cove Manor, etc. Fun things you can find if you just explore a little bit. (Same with my Lorna site.) Here's a link.

http://www.lorrainebartlett.com

So, have you gotten a sales pitch where the person giving it starts out with an insult?

My Brain Hurts Thanks To Website Woes

Over the years, I've learned just enough HTML code to be dangerous. I can update certain things on my website, and I recently learned how to embed a PDF. (If you go to my Lorraine site, on the From Katie's Kitchen page, you can download a couple of Katie's recipe cards.)

About six weeks ago, I was informed that the company that has hosted my website(s) since day one (and we're talking more than a decade), was going out of business. I've leaved in dread ever since then because I knew it was going to be a GIGANTIC pain in the patootie. And guess what. It is.

First, I contacted my website designer. We've been going back and forth about new hosting faculties while we talked about refreshing the look of at least two of my sites. Today was the day she said she was ready for the sites to be moved. (She's backed up everything and is ready to move forward.)

Gulp. That means it's my turn to figure things out.  So on Thursday, I spent over three hours talking with a prospective new host, the old host, and the people that take care of my domain names. And. I'm. Not. Done. Yet.

By the time I got through all that, it was Happy Hour and brother did I need a couple of strong belts.  Friday, I called the new hosting guy (a fellow name of Gene) and once I give him my authorization codes, he said he will "take care of the rest."  Whew, thoguth I was rescued because thinking about all that rigmarole made my brain hurt!

So, bright and early Friday morning I emailed Gene all my information to get the website shift in motion, including my phone number because that was going to be a LOT faster than doing on their website on my own.

Then I waited.

I only had one errand planned for the day, but it was to be a fun one.

Three hours later, I figured I wait until after lunch.  Sure -- I had HOURS left when I could run my errand.

And I waited.

By 4 pm, I'd gotten a little tire of waiting. I emailed Gene.  "Hey, are we going to do this today?"

No answer.

My goal is to call the company at the crack of dawn and see if somebody else will help me with this shift. I was told this company had good customer service.  So far, I'm not seeing it. But I'll give them another chance. ONE more chance.

But the good news is, my site will be moved. I'm getting a great 3-year rate (less than I paid for one year with the old host), and my website(s) will be refreshed.  I'm starting with my Lorraine site.  Here's a sneak peak.

So what do you think?