Don’t Try This Experiment at Home

Sometimes I wish I knew how to think small. Big dreams can cause big headaches for someone with a small (try miniscule) pocketbook.

I recently tried to expand the Web presence for my company by creating multiple Websites. What a disaster! After carefully designing each site and linking each with the others, I discovered that my computer needed to be reconfigured to host multiple sites. I don’t know how to do this, and I can’t find a clear explanation on the Web.

Here are a few warnings for fledgling and future publishers:

1. Start small unless you have enough money to hire someone or know someone who will volunteer their services.
2. Stick to what you know. If you try to wear too many hats without prior experience, everything will begin to suffer and you will burn out. Until now I was the type of person who felt you could learn anything by just reading a book about it. Some things are best learned through experience, and experience takes time. I hope to return primarily to writing and editing as soon as I extinguish the technical fires I’ve created.
3. If you’re not technically inclined, beware of any product or service that claims to be easy to operate. Techies think everything is easy, but they seldom know how to explain their procedures in plain English for the rest of us. I’ve tried two hosting services, and both have presented substantial roadblocks that could not be solved through their support services. I never figured out how to use the first service, and I am calling in reinforcements to work with the second after having invested too much time to bail out.

These tips should help you avoid some painful experiences in the publishing experience. I really love it in spite of all my complaining.