It was the day after Valentine’s Day. The night before, the subway became a roving flower shop as roses crammed between eager bodies heading toward their better half. By morning, last night’s couples sat side-by-side, staring blankly out the subway car windows. The streets were a lot less crowded that evening. No one was carrying flowers. It was a good night to attend a book club.
A group of coworkers from the publishing house where I work—ranging from managing ed to design and children’s books—went to MediaBistro’s Book Club Party at Bar 13 on February 15. You know, because we don’t get enough books at the office.
And what a reading it was! Francis Tapon read a scandalous tale of his traveling days in The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us. Susan Schneider then treated us to what it’s like to work as a writer for a wedding magazine when she read from her novel The Wedding Writer. Hint: It’s glamour gone ruthless. Kio Stark read from her debut novel Follow Me Down about a woman who finds a twenty-year-old envelope containing a photograph.
MediaBistro doled out free copies of the books, and the bar had a great two-for-one special on a wide variety of drinks.
What I really want to point out, though, is the authors’ websites. Tapon, Schneider, and Stark each wrote very different books, and their websites reflect that. Their websites are great examples of what an author website should look like—visually compelling, blurbs from media outlets that make you want to pick up the book, the option to buy the book, social media links, excerpts from the book, and a blog. If you’re in the process of building your author platform, you may want to take a few cues from these authors.
PS: Here are the pics from MediaBistro’s Meet the Teachers Cocktail Party at Stone Creek in New York.
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
Stephanie,
Thanks for blogging about the event! I wish more people who came to had done so. You’re the only one.
I’m scared to encourage you to read the chapters about Macedonia and Greece in my book, because you’ll find it even more scandalous than what I read at the event, but if you do, since you have my book, please tell me your thoughts.
My email is on my webpage, which brings me to a tip to budding authors out there: allow people to contact you. My email is plain-as-day all over my webpage and I hardly get any spam (that my spam filters don’t catch). The upside of being accessible is huge. Some people don’t want to fill out forms or do public tweets.
Well, it wouldn’t be a trip to Greece without a little romance!
Thanks for the tip about email. I completely agree. I updated my profile a few weeks ago and must’ve accidentally deleted my email address with it. I’ve reinserted it now.