Copy that, Quirky

For the last week or so, we've been focusing on polishing off the copy for the Nemesis website, which we're hoping will go live in the next few weeks.

We're as good as finished, other than one or two areas that need a tweak here and there, and it's a bloody relief to finally cross it off the to-do list. It's been in stasis for a while, mainly because we didn't want to launch the site before we were ready to firm up details of our first books; it's difficult to make something sound sexy when you've got nothing concrete to back up your claims.

Writing the copy has been mighty tricky. There's an art to creating appealing website copy, hitting the right note for the type of site you're looking to develop and the kind of audience you want to attract. We are aiming for a chatty and informal approach, but one that is professional at the same time. We don't want to be a stuffy publisher, distant from readers and writers alike.

That's not what we're about, and we don't think that is what publishing is about any longer. We've looked at other indie publishers who have cool websites - Snowbooks and Salt are great examples - and, rather than just try and repeat what they've done, we've tried to use their approach to inspire ours.

When researching websites, we were horrified at some of the car crashes that are publishers' websites - and we're not just talking small indie presses here, but some of the bigger names in the industry. Online is such a huge potential market, and the use of social media so fundamental to the success of publishing, that I can't believe these businesses aren't looking at their sites, and those of their savvy rivals, and thinking, hang on, we need to pull our damn finger out and improve our online presence. Still, if they won't go down that line, it only makes it easier for us to stand out.

Have we got the look and feel of the site bang on the money? We think (hope...) we have. It's difficult to gauge, to be honest, and we'll only really know when people start firing feedback over to us. The design is pretty cool (thanks to the web guys at Isle of Man Advertising & PR), so it is all down to the copy hitting the mark. The beauty is that, if after a short while the feedback points to certain areas needing to be tightened or expanded, then it's an easy fix to amend.

The last page to be completed was, of course, the 'about us' section. Always find it difficult to write mini-bios. In fact, they are quite easy to write. It's writing one that doesn't make you sound like a pretentious arse, that's the problem.

Till next time.