QUILLBLOG

The very model of a modern author website

Authors and publishers who are still wondering what kind of information they should be putting on this thing called the Internet should take a look at the website D.F. Bailey has built for his new novel, The Good Lie (Turnstone Press). He’s got a detailed synopsis of the book, the first page of text, and book club questions – but that’s only scratching the surface. Also on the site are an essay about the genesis of the book, a “novel diary” with notes made during the years Bailey was writing the novel – including material that he cut from it – plus a bio of Turnstone editor Wayne Tefs, some of the e-mails that Tefs and Bailey traded regarding the editing of the book, and more.

He also links to Turnstone, though, sadly, his book doesn’t seem to appear anywhere on the publisher’s own site. Sigh.

Anyway, Quillblog is impressed – blown away, even. And we have to wonder, if Bailey can do this without the support of a multinational publisher, why is a site like this one such a rarity?

We also can’t help contrasting such a generous, content-rich initiative with the recent embargo trend we’re seeing among large and medium-sized presses – the apparent desire to cling to information jealously.