In a comment thread, Amanda asked:
If you were a writer who had a new website that was RIDDLED with spelling and grammar errors, would you want a reader to email you about it?
An author I like has a terrible website, the errors are all over the place. I’d like to mention it to her, because I don’t think it represents her well. I’m sure the site is outsourced and she doesn’t actually do the rotton spelling, but you think she might look at it every once in a while…
Or should I do a big butt-outski?
Her question was a very good one and I didn’t want it to be missed in the discussion.
My thought is: a kind email pointing out some errors would be welcome. A snide one would not. But everyone knows better than to be snide, right?
Pointing out spelling or grammar errors is not the same as saying, “Your website sucks,” but then, what if you go looking for information that isn’t there? So I’d also like to widen the question to more than grammar: if you thought there was a feature that an authors website could benefit from, should you suggest it? Some sites that I’ve seen don’t list the books that an author has published, let alone information about the books themselves. Would it be rude to ask for that info, or should you head over to Amazon or another site for that info?
What’s your call?