Well, this was a long time coming, over half a year in the making, mainly due to my need to "get it right."

Now that I've had several short story sales, I decided it was time I had a website.  And I wanted my first website to reflect the type of stories a reader could expect to encounter if they bought one of mine. 

As I expect my writing career to blossom over time, and because first impressions count, I also wanted a "look" that would stand the test of time, at least for the next few years, lol.

So, instead of building my own site, I hired a company whose work I’ve admired for a while (Stonecreek Media Inc) to give the website a branded and professional looking identity.

Since then, this whole process of setting up a website has been a great learning experience about the mechanics of:

• finding appropriate art,
• manufacturing suitable text,
• finding out how to set up the domain name,
• and the host site, and
• learning the particulars of administering the site once the design company leaves the field and you’re on your own. 

But I also learned something quite unexpected.

In order to set up this website, I needed to be sure of who I was as a writer and what type of stories I was selling.

If I'd had novels published with a major publisher, I think this would have been easier.  The book cover would have identified the type of stories I tell.  Their glitzy marketing department would have packaged me, wrapped me up and tied a bow with an arrow that said, “Look, here is this kind of book, written by this type of author.”

Instead, I discovered I needed to identify my own voice, my “brand.”

You’d think I’d know who I was, but I must confess, despite all the manuscripts I’ve completed, all the critique feedback I’ve received, and judges' commentary on my entries, I didn’t really “know” how my writing came across to others.

Only after I made two short story sales with The Wild Rose Press, and as a result received reviews for them, did I begin to understand how “readers” perceived my stories.

So, when it came to setting up the look of the website, I took my lead from those reviews.

As I look at the website now, it says to me:

Shereen, this is who you are as a writer.

This is the type of stories you tell the world.

This is your creative persona.

Shereen

www.shereenvedam.com