I’ve been struggling with my new website, and I’ve mostly learned how to use the website builder, or at least as much as I need to know for right now. I’ve pretty much set up the bones of the site; now it needs to be fleshed out with information about me and my books. The book part, while time-consuming, is easy. It’s just a matter of coping and pasting the blurbs and such that were on the old website.
The “about” needs to be updated. I can no longer brag about being a nomad as I did in the previous bio since I am as unnomadish as a person can get — the furthest I’ve been from home in the past few months is a mere handful of miles. But the bio is really just a matter of finding something to say about me. Whatever it is, it won’t be on the homepage; people will have to go looking for it, so it doesn’t have to be as catchy as some of the other parts of the website, such as the tagline.
Taglines are hard. You have to give the essence of your books or yourself in a matter of a few words. This morning I woke up thinking that “Author of provocative fiction and profound works of grief” would be good, but a few hours later that tagline seemed as if it would be too off putting for people who are simply looking for a bit of information about grief. Of course, search engines wouldn’t be sending them to my website for such information — they’d send grievers to one of the grief posts on my blog. Chances are, the only people who would end up at the website would be those who were specifically looking for information about me.
More importantly (to me anyway), I’m trying not to second guess myself too much and to stick with the first ideas that come to mind. Still, I want to hook people into staying, not push them away with pedantry.
So, what about “Author of intriguing fiction and insightful works about grief”?
Originally, I just used, “Author of fiction and non-fiction,” but that is boring and uninspiring to say the least.
If you have any suggestions for a tagline, I’d be glad to hear it.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator
Bertram's Blog 
December 29, 2020 at 2:47 pm
How about, “Author of Stories Only She Can Tell”?
December 29, 2020 at 6:01 pm
Cool idea. I’ll think about it. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m putting a quote from your review of Madame ZeeZee’s Nightmare on the site. Giving you credit, of course.
December 29, 2020 at 6:02 pm
I would be honored. Would you mind including some of my own writing credits as well? Like, “author of Rose and Snake”?
December 29, 2020 at 7:12 pm
Okay. Will do.
December 29, 2020 at 7:13 pm
Thank you!
December 29, 2020 at 5:06 pm
The mind of the author.
December 29, 2020 at 6:02 pm
Could be.