Secrets of a Smart Reader - Part One

If you're not going to your favorite author's websites on a regular basis, you're missing out on a lot of helpful information that could save you money, time, and add a lot of enjoyment to your reading activities.  Here's my list of the things you can expect from most author's websites.

Info on Author's themselves:

• Interviews, Question and answer pages, Photos, Favorite websites, authors and books
• Calendars of appearances and special events
• Links to the author's blogs, fan clubs and Facebook page, Twitter, etc

Books

• Lists, sometimes printable, of all the author's books and what order they're in
• Excerpts, free short stories and sometimes free whole books (WOW)
• News of when new books are coming out
• Where to go to buy their books - usually click-able links

Other

• Merchandise - some authors sell t-shirts and other items if you want to advertise your fan-dom
• Community boards/message boards where you can communicate with other readers about the book or series.
• Contact Info - makes it easy to let the author know what you think about their work.

In Part Two, I'll begin giving some details on how these items can save you time, money, and make your reading more enjoyable.