What should a writer keep in mind when writing a story that will be viewed on-line?

Write the best story you can. Ultimately readers fall in love with the story whether it is in the print, electronic, radio, television, or film media.

In romance, readers want to connect emotionally with the characters. Love, hate, fear and anger are some of the most powerful emotions. If your reader laughs or cries, or even gets angry with a character, you’ve hooked her emotionally. Keeping the characters three dimensional (giving them strengths and weaknesses the readers can identify and connect with) helps create this emotional response. If your reader doesn’t care one way or another about the characters, you’ve failed--at least for that reader with that particular story.

Choose an electronic publisher with a solid reputation, someone who can market and sell books. You also want someone who is selective. Despite the perception that electronic publishing is easier than print publishing, in every format, there will be excellence and mediocrity. You want your publisher to be known for excellence.

On-line readers tend to be more technically savvy than other readers. They are often willing to read stories that don’t conform to traditional romance patterns. So if your hero time-travels by hacking into computers and manipulating quantum mechanical wave functions, an on-line audience is more likely to find that premise accessible than a more traditional reader.

There is more latitude in what you can do with electronic publishing. For example, Echelon Press has a wonderful program called "Dollar Downloads" which features shorter stories and novellas which are not commonly seen in the print houses. The format is a fun way to experiment with new ideas. It also forces you to hone your craft by making each scene, even each word count.

Finally, marketing and sales strategies differ between electronic and print formats. You will get limited market penetration if you try to sell electronic formats to "paper generation" readers. Rather than the traditional bookmarks and book-signings, you need to focus on electronic advertising and developing a web presence.

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