Finally! After several days of endless rain, we have beautiful sunny weather! Yay to October!

I started working on the outline for All the King's Women. I wasn't going to do one, but I realized that maybe I should, esp. since it's nothing like I've ever written before (historical fantasy romance). I spent most of the day filling out character sketches. Tomorrow, I'll be working on the basic setting info sheets.

BTW — Hero Material found this on the Internet. Very cute. No animals were harmed in it, I don't think.

If you haven't done so, please read the previous installments titled Identifying Your Site's Purpose and Audience, Go-Live Date, Your Budget, and Your Technical Aptitude, Identifying Your Website Needs and Design Preferences a.k.a. Doing Your Homework, Contacting Designers and Getting Quotes and Evaluating Quotes and Designers before reading this week's article.

I was going to do lessons learned, but I realized that I really don't have anything to share, esp. since my experience with Frauke has been so smooth and pleasant. I really lucked out.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. The designer works for you, not the other way around. She should provide you with a satisfactory design that meets your specifications.
2. The designer is not a mind reader. If you're not satisfied with something, you must communicate as soon as possible.
3. Don't stay with a designer who is rude, late, uncommunicative and/or incompetent. Believe it or not, there are a lot of incompetent designers. You can usually tell by their design portfolios and/or their response to your requests, etc.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want to plug any designers you've worked with before, feel free. :)

1. I have Hero Material who reads everything I write and helps me with line edits.
2. I signed with a great agent who gives me fantastic advice.
3. I have a sharp-eyed editor who helped me improve my writing.
4. I have a solid group of beta-readers.
5. My debut novel is coming out next month from Samhain under my other pen name Angelle Trieste.
6. My mom told me I was too smart to be a writer when I first started writing, but now she's very supportive.
7. My dad and brother are totally behind me 100%.
8. Hero Material's mother and sister are very interested in my writing.
9. They're interested enough to pay money to read my books.
10. I make enough money working part-time to support myself.
11. My friends and former roommate sent me messages, congratulating me on my debut ebook and getting an agent.
12. Even my cousins in Korea said they were interested in reading my books, provided that they're translated into Korean.
13. My chief councilor May keeps me grounded.

If you haven't done so, please read the previous installments titled Identifying Your Site's Purpose and Audience, Go-Live Date, Your Budget, and Your Technical Aptitude, Identifying Your Website Needs and Design Preferences a.k.a. Doing Your Homework and Contacting Designers and Getting Quotes before reading this week's article.

Within a week or so, most of designers you contacted should've responded with quotes and/or questionnaires. You should fill out those questionnaires and surveys as accurately as possible so they know exactly how much to bill you, especially if it's fixed fee work. It's very important to not change the spec in the middle of a fixed fee job because that means either the designer will refuse to make the changes (since it's above and beyond what you said the work would entail) or you'll have to pay more. Some designers might do the extra work for free, but I wouldn't count on it.

If designers bill you by the hour, you should still ask for an estimate based on your spec, so you know whether or not the work can be completed within the budget you set aside for your site.

Before you sign on the dotted line, ask for their service agreement.

Pay close attention to the following:

• Who owns the domain name? This is especially important if your designer registers it for you. Set a definite time frame on when she must start the domain name transfer process should you part ways. (You cannot stipulate that the transfer be completed within a week, etc. because she can only initiate and send appropriate forms, etc. and the rest is up to the registrars, etc.)
• How quickly does she update your site? How often? This is critical if you're planning to retain her services for site maintenance. (Otherwise, it's irrelevant.)
• Who owns the site designs, graphics, files, etc.? If you can't take them with you when you leave her, it's going to be a problem.
• Is the site going to be cross-browser compatible? If the site looks great on Firefox, but not on MSIE or vice versa, you have a problem. The site should look fantastic on Firefox, MSIE and Safari (Mac OS and Windows).
• If the work is unsatisfactory, what remedies are available? I'd say don't hire someone who refuses to refund your money. If the design is unacceptable and/or broken, you shouldn't have to pay. If the designer doesn't update your site as agreed, you shouldn't have to pay.
• Understand the payment terms. Do you have to pay by check, credit card or PayPal? When is the money due? Some designers require that you pay the full amount upfront. Are you comfortable with that? (FYI — Frauke at CrocoDesigns requested that I pay her in full before the work started, and that didn't bother me at all because she's done a lot of design projects for other writers who are very happy with her service. So I knew she wouldn't take the money and run. But I might have hesitated if it had been someone new or someone I didn't know very well, etc. So know your comfort level, which may vary depending on who you're dealing with.)

If you don't understand anything on the service agreement, ASK. Don't assume. Else you're more likely to be frustrated and disappointed. And most importantly, walk away if you aren't comfortable with the terms of the agreement.

Next week, I'll talk about my own experience and lessons learned.

Last night, I finally wrapped up The Last Slayer revision and emailed the entire manuscript to Agent. May threatened to send ninjas after me if I continue to sit on it and tinker with it, so it had to be done.

I'm feeling accomplished since it was the most difficult round of revision I've ever done. But at the same time I think it made the story better. Hope Agent feels the same way as well. (Not about the difficult part, but about the it making the story better part! ;) )

From today's New York Times comes this gem:

…an American Express cardholder whose maximum has been reduced to $1,000 from $1,200 has that much less to spend on clothing or meals out, purchases that lift the economy.

I really hope the New York Times business section gets better writers.

An American Express cardholder whose maximum has been reduced by $200 and thus is unable to spend that amount on clothing or dining out has no business buying clothes or dining out in the first place. An economy floating on debts that people can't pay back can't sustain itself. That's the main reason for the current financial crisis. People in America are generally overextended. That's why when they lose their jobs for even a couple of months, they're unable to pay their bills and fall behind.

It's astounding that some people are still advocating unsustainable consumer spending as the primary means of “fixing” the economy.