posted
I am wondering about the use of names and trademarks in writing stories.
Example - if you mention a character drinking a Coke (as opposed to a cola) there doesn't appear to be a problem. But what if you write a story and discover the name of your character's company or website or whatever is actually one that exists in real life, or very close in name (say .org instead of .com)? I suspect that that could be a problem.
I discovered this, even after I had done a search to make sure the name I picked was available - apparently someone is sitting on the domain or not ready to use it(there is no actual site, but the domain is owned). I'm debating buying a domain (I've changed the name I used originally) to avoid this issue. A cheap enough choice, but maybe I don't need to?
posted
I would buy any domain I referred to in a story. If only because when its published, some of the more curious readers are going to have a look to see what's there, and you could do something rather cool if you owned it :-) Posts: 626 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
People buy up domain names with the idea of selling them when someone comes along wanting to buy one with that name. I'd buy my own if I were to use one just to prevent having to buy it at an inflated price later when your book sells. Then they have you painted in a corner--I'll sue you for using my name, or you can buy it for this inflated price.
posted
Thanks! Ok, do you think I need all the major versions (.com, .org, .net) or can I just go with the one that fits my story best? It will go from $10/year to $30/year, which while still not a lot, starts to seem unreasonable for a story...
Kolona - an average price to register a domain is $10/year, but you can sometimes find sales by the sites that do this. My husband has used registerfly.com but there are others. There is an organization that oversees the whole process (ICANN, which then accredits "registrars" to sell domains) - you can check out internic.net for information.
I'm not an expert - I'm sure someone out there is though
posted
I would suggest finding a place that will let you purchase it cheaply, but also some of the sites will use thier own information in the Domain name database so you don't get spammed forever. One problem with the domain database is that it requires email addresses that can be captured by email collecting programs. I pay about $20 a year for my domain and the added service of not getting spammed.
If you want to know the one I use let me know and I will look it up. I can't remember what it is off the top of my head.
You can also get services that will allow you to point multiple domain names at one site. This is a nice thing to do since you only have to maintain one web site for however many domains you end up getting. If you can get the domain name for the novel title, get it. If you cannot manage to get the novel published, you can always let the domain name go.
posted
You can register a domain for $7.95 at http://godaddy.com , which is where I've regeistered over 50 domain names. I've been with them over two years, and never had a problem.
One of their free options is to point the domain name at another site, so as long as you have one web site, you're OK.
posted
Eric beat me to it. GoDaddy is the best. I have about eight domains now using them. They are cheap, easy, and will park the domain for free (that means you don't really need to have a website if you just want to hold the name). They also offer the email obscuring service LD mentioned.
Posts: 77 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
So it's $7.95/year and I don't have to do anything with it -- which is good, because I have no idea what to do with a domain. But I see the value of securing a name ahead of time.
I'm afraid to ask this next question, knowing how much info you people can throw at me, but once you secure a domain, do you need to hire a domain builder/website tech or something, or is this where all that html stuff comes in? (Talk about showing off a body's stupidity. )
posted
Thanks you all - I appreciate it. Lord D, I'd appreciate knowing what you use. I did check out godaddy and it does look good! I'm the kind to do my research based on recommendations before taking the plunge. The price sure is right! I have so much to think about now - I might buy the domain and sit on it, or direct it to our site, or have it as an additional site on the host we already have... maybe I need to do more writing!
Kolona - we all have to start somewhere - I'm just lucky to have married a geek (I'm just a geek wanna-be). Once you own a domain, if you want an actual web site, you need a host for your domain. A company that will provide you with space (say 100 megs), for some amount of money per month or year, to which you upload your files. You can get free FTP software (file transfer protocol) to do this. You will also get e-mail accounts with this - you can get the e-mail just like you do now. I forget the name of our web hosting service, but I bet the others have some good recommendations. I'm sure the web host site will provide good directions. My husband has been doing this for us, so I plan to have him help me do it so I know for myself what is going on.
As for making your site, you don't need to know html in the beginning, or hire someone. You can use your wordprocessor - I used WordPerfect to design my first two web sites. The book I used (and LOVED because it was so easy) was called "The Non-Designer's Web Book" by Robin Williams and John Tollett, out of Peachpit Press (1998 - may be a more current version out now). I sat down one Sunday with that book and in an afternoon had created a fully functional web site. I'm a social studies teacher by trade, so that tells you that anyone can do it!
[This message has been edited by punahougirl84 (edited January 27, 2004).]
posted
There are various website hosting companies that offer free websites (usually with advertising banners on them.) They have templates you can use to create a site, so you don't have to know any HTML to create a site.
My day job is with one of those companies: Freeservers.com. I think they're the best, but I may be biased. There are a bunch of similar companies; just do a search for "free web hosting".
Most of the free hosting services will allow you to upgrade to get rid of the banners and to get more web space and features.
[This message has been edited by EricJamesStone (edited January 27, 2004).]
posted
Okay, bear with me. What you're saying is that after spending $/month for aol or whatever (aren't they considered a server?), you also pay per month/year for a domain, which has to have a place to go so you pay per month/year for a web site. And if you have multiples of any of the above, or upgrades, you increase your payments per month/year. (Pardon my penny-pinching aghastness. )
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
A lot of ISPs include web space, I think AOL might do that. If you get your domain from someone who can do a redirect (like somebody above said godaddy does, I've never used them before though...) then this space will be fine, unless you want to do anything fancy like sell stuff, have discussion boards, or things like that.
You'll probably find you get about 10Mb, which in my experience is enough for almost all sites.
posted
The problem with an isp's web space is that they normally do not want your domain name associated with their web server unless they are getting paid for it. 10M of space is actually quite cheap and most ISP give you some, but it goes under thier domain to make sure it is concidered a "home" site, not a business site.
I know it is a bit dumb, but if you want a domain you are normally going to either have to host it yourself (which most of you won't want to do) or pay the money for a hosting company. Most of the companies that host sites are not that expensive.
posted
Eric beat me to the punch again, but if you don't want to go the free route, you can get a hosting account for cheap. I just finished moving all my sites (I have a couple and several others I do for clients) to an outfit called HostedToday. You can get a very good site for $55/per year plus the initial setup charge. They also allow up to five domains per account. They allow up to 500 email addresses per account (you could set up acounts for all your friends and family) as well as PHP and MySQL support (for the geeks who care).
Even if you just want the domain and email, I think it is worth it. It beats being beholden to Hotmail or Yahoo for your email addresses.
posted
I guess the problem is - all these services that cost money are rentals - it is not like we own anything!
1) AOL or whatever is giving you access to the Internet/WWW - you surf, do e-mail, post to bbs...(rented per month or year) 2) Now you want your own website. So you need - a domain name (rented per year), and a host server that will take your files and make them available to anyone with net access (rented per month or year)
Then, of course, if you want to own more sites, you need to pay for the domain names. Our "cyberrent" goes to all the services that set up and maintain all the good free stuff we get access to (like our free access to Hatrack - someone is paying for our ability to be here for each other) - we will pay for others to have access to OUR stuff.
There are the free options if you don't mind the ads and pop-ups (which many people can block) and limits on space and what you can upload. For many those are not issues. If you go the free route, all you pay for is your initial access, and the once yearly domain name rental. It is a great way to try things out, and the domain name is the cheapest part anyway, so your risk is minimal - as they say, the first one is free kid!
Our web host provides a certain amount of space, and we can host multiple domains for no extra charge, so that is something to look for - you would not need to pay over and over to host more than one domain.
I thank everyone again for the info - any other web hosts you want to recommend? We e-mailed ours - found out we are paying more than their listed prices - either they change what they charge us or we will transfer our site...
posted
Well, there are a couple more options regarding domains that will be used in fiction:
1. Use a free subdomain through one of the free hosting services. For example, you can get http://punahougirl84.8m.com for free through Freeservers.com. No domain registration fees, no hosting fees (unless you decide to upgrade to get rid of the ads.)
2. Use a domain that looks real but can't exist under the current domain system. (This is a good choice for something taking place in the future.)
One way to do that would be to think about domain extensions that might be allowed in the future, such as ".inc" or ".ltd" for businesses. So you could say the website was http://www.companyname.inc , but it wouldn't actually work.
Another way would be to use a non-existent country domain. Country domains are two-letter codes such as ".us" or ".ru" (Russia). Just find a two-letter code that is not on this list ( http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.htm ), and you can use it like this: http://www.companyname.pu
Of course, nobody can get to the site if you do that, but you don't have to worry that someone else has gotten the domain you want.
posted
I second EJS on his...um, second option. That's what I do for most fictional domain names...partly because I like to write mid/far future fiction.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I do so admire all of you who do this stuff, but I doubt that I'm ready for a web site. Buying a domain name to get dibs on something to do with my book manuscript seems sensible, though. So do you buy bookname.com, bookname.net &/or bookname.org, etc., or is one sufficient? If one is not sufficient, then each has its $7.95/year cost?
Posts: 1810 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
My question is this: Why have the domain name at all? Is it THAT important to the story? Sure, it might be. But isn't it like a phone number? How many phone numbers do you see in a book? If they're there, does it help the story that much? I just wonder if you're fretting over a detail that can easily be excluded.
Posts: 68 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Bookname.com should be sufficient. People naturally tend to assume that a domain ends in .com, and will only try the others if the .com isn't what they were looking for.
Posts: 1517 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
If you do see (US) phone numbers in a book, they almost always start with 555 and are invalid to prevent the Tommy Tutone phenomenom (people calling the number and annoying the real owners). Although Scott Adams once had a real number of his in his strip under a "Date a Dilbert" advertisement and got a number of people who were looking to date a dilbert calling...
Is there a similar "555-****" convention for domain names? Assuming you don't reserve the domain name for some entertaining advertising for people who read the book and decide to come visit, of course.
posted
Option #2 in my post that begins "Well, there are a couple more options . . ." would be the domain equivalent of a 555-XXXX number. Posts: 1517 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Ah...I thought we were talking about two different things, but maybe it's been one all along. Some of these posts refer to phone numbers/email addresses/domain names as part of a fictional work, which I understood.
But I thought the other thing we were covering was anticipating titles of our published work and the websites that could be generated from them in real life, like (now I'm making this up) Hunt for Red October.com being controlled by some Communist fringe group. When I wrote 'bookname.com,' I meant getting a domain name with whatever my eventual book's name is and registering that to keep it in the family, so to speak.
quote:The problem with an isp's web space is that they normally do not want your domain name associated with their web server unless they are getting paid for it.
A lot of the cheap domain name providers will happily redirect you to an ISP site from the domain. The ISP can't really do anything about it, because what happens is the domain name provider receives the request and sends back a response that effectively says, 'that isn't here... try over there instead'.
quote: So do you buy bookname.com, bookname.net &/or bookname.org, etc., or is one sufficient?
I would only ever get the .com, or possibly .co.uk if I thought my primary market would be in the UK.
The others are all supposed to be for specific things (.net is for people involved in providing internet services, .org for non-profit organisations). A lot of people don't follow them, but the habit people have got into of registering everything they can that's even approximately like their name has left a shortage of short, concise domain names for the rest of us.
quote:I do so admire all of you who do this stuff, but I doubt that I'm ready for a web site.
It isn't hard, actually. One thing you might want to do with a 'bookname.com' site is borrow this template:
Put that into notepad and save it in a file called index.html. Then change all the bits in block caps to something relevant to your book. SOMEWHERE ELSE would ideally be the address copied and pasted out of your browser's location bar of somewhere that you can buy the book, e.g. its page on amazon.com.
Then upload the resulting file to wherever you put your web page (see your ISP's instructions for this).
Very simple, probably fairly useful. It'll pick up people trying to find your book on search engines, or typing the name in, and then persuade some of them to buy it.
You can even sign up as an amazon affiliate and earn commission on top of your royalties... see amazon's site for details of how to do that.
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