The focus of InkIT Publishing blog is to do with writing, publishing and the technology to support. Follow us there to keep up with great insights on the technology used to support independent authors become successful!
Saturday 7 December 2013
Last Steve Shouts Out post on Blogger
With the launch of InkIT Publishing website and blog, Steve Shouts Out on Blogger will no longer be active. All posts have been moved to InkIT Publishing and all new posts will be there also.
The focus of InkIT Publishing blog is to do with writing, publishing and the technology to support. Follow us there to keep up with great insights on the technology used to support independent authors become successful!
The focus of InkIT Publishing blog is to do with writing, publishing and the technology to support. Follow us there to keep up with great insights on the technology used to support independent authors become successful!
Saturday 16 November 2013
Love Learning with Lynda.com - Part 2
In Part 1 of this two-part post on Lynda.com, I raved about how useful Lynda.com was and how quickly I have come up to speed on a number of topics, especially the Adobe Creative Cloud product suite. This post focuses on why I selected the Lynda.com subscription option I did, and also on the why and how I use Lynda.com effectively.
There are two main decisions you need to make when you sign up for Lynda.com. The first is if you want to sign up on a monthly basis or minimally for one year. The other is if you want to sign up for just the training videos or for the training videos plus exercise files that you can download. I decided to pay $37.50 monthly for the exercises in addition to the training videos (which would have cost $25 per month). The 50% for getting the training exercises is well worth the money! Not just for learning via the Lynda.com courses, but they also provide useful templates and starting points for work you may want to do personally.
The prices mentioned above are for a month-by-month subscription. This is the most flexible option if there is only one or two courses you want to take and have the time in a couple of months to complete them. But with approximately 2,250 training courses available and having to come up to speed on so many many different topics, I decided the sign up for a years subscription. By doing so, I get a 2-month break on price. Therefore, I paid $375 for the annual premium (ability to download the exercises) subscription instead of $450. I knew during the trial period that I would be taking many, many courses over the next several years, so signing up for the annual subscription was an easy choice for me.
The other great thing about the annual premium subscription is that you can download and watch courses on your iPad (and iPhone or Android tablets). This was great for me as I could watch courses during any free time I found as I always have my iPad with me. Additionally by downloading the courses, I can watch them if my wife is 'hogging' our Internet bandwidth without competing with her. When I am on my laptop, I use the video streaming mode for my courses without any problems. However, if my wife is uploading or downloading videos (which she does a lot as she has a YouTube channel for makeup videos), then I prefer to use my iPad with previously downloaded training videos and not need to consume any bandwidth. Therefore, I can continue training even as my wife is doing large movie uploads and downloads! I have about a dozen courses downloaded to my iPad and watch them every free minute I get. And all work completed on my iPad and laptop is synchronized, so I can switch between platforms with ease. (I tend to work more from the laptop if I am following the exercises closely.)
I also love the Lynda.com Playlists. These provide me the option to developed a structured training program and keep everything organized. I have about 50 courses tagged in various training playlists to lead me through my training. I do not need to search for what do I do next.
Lynda.com is an extremely high quality offering. I have looked at some of their competitors who charged $19 for a single, much shorter training course and the quality of the videos and screen capture is significantly inferior to Lynda.com. But what really blew me away is the great support Lynda.com has. Both during the trial and since, I have had several questions and initial issues with downloading extremely large exercise files successfully (it was a problem with dynamic IP assignment on my laptop) and whenever I asked a question, it was addressed in less than 24 hours with a great deal of attention to detail and the issue. Their support is amazing!
I continue to use Lynda.com for learning in the areas presented in my many playlists above. I am happy to be using this learning site for a long, long time. I am even hoping to become a trainer myself some day!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
There are two main decisions you need to make when you sign up for Lynda.com. The first is if you want to sign up on a monthly basis or minimally for one year. The other is if you want to sign up for just the training videos or for the training videos plus exercise files that you can download. I decided to pay $37.50 monthly for the exercises in addition to the training videos (which would have cost $25 per month). The 50% for getting the training exercises is well worth the money! Not just for learning via the Lynda.com courses, but they also provide useful templates and starting points for work you may want to do personally.
The prices mentioned above are for a month-by-month subscription. This is the most flexible option if there is only one or two courses you want to take and have the time in a couple of months to complete them. But with approximately 2,250 training courses available and having to come up to speed on so many many different topics, I decided the sign up for a years subscription. By doing so, I get a 2-month break on price. Therefore, I paid $375 for the annual premium (ability to download the exercises) subscription instead of $450. I knew during the trial period that I would be taking many, many courses over the next several years, so signing up for the annual subscription was an easy choice for me.
 |
| Lynda.com training on my iPad |
The other great thing about the annual premium subscription is that you can download and watch courses on your iPad (and iPhone or Android tablets). This was great for me as I could watch courses during any free time I found as I always have my iPad with me. Additionally by downloading the courses, I can watch them if my wife is 'hogging' our Internet bandwidth without competing with her. When I am on my laptop, I use the video streaming mode for my courses without any problems. However, if my wife is uploading or downloading videos (which she does a lot as she has a YouTube channel for makeup videos), then I prefer to use my iPad with previously downloaded training videos and not need to consume any bandwidth. Therefore, I can continue training even as my wife is doing large movie uploads and downloads! I have about a dozen courses downloaded to my iPad and watch them every free minute I get. And all work completed on my iPad and laptop is synchronized, so I can switch between platforms with ease. (I tend to work more from the laptop if I am following the exercises closely.)
 |
| Lynda.com Playlists and status |
I also love the Lynda.com Playlists. These provide me the option to developed a structured training program and keep everything organized. I have about 50 courses tagged in various training playlists to lead me through my training. I do not need to search for what do I do next.
Lynda.com is an extremely high quality offering. I have looked at some of their competitors who charged $19 for a single, much shorter training course and the quality of the videos and screen capture is significantly inferior to Lynda.com. But what really blew me away is the great support Lynda.com has. Both during the trial and since, I have had several questions and initial issues with downloading extremely large exercise files successfully (it was a problem with dynamic IP assignment on my laptop) and whenever I asked a question, it was addressed in less than 24 hours with a great deal of attention to detail and the issue. Their support is amazing!
I continue to use Lynda.com for learning in the areas presented in my many playlists above. I am happy to be using this learning site for a long, long time. I am even hoping to become a trainer myself some day!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Saturday 9 November 2013
Love Learning with Lynda.com - Part 1
I continue to become more self-sufficient as a writer and publisher. I also am embracing more cloud-based subscription services as part of my street team. I am now using Adobe Creative Cloud, Evernote, Dropbox, Chicago Manual of Style Online, and Lynda.com for quickly building my skills.
Being an author can be a lonely job. If you sign on with a traditional publisher, they provide skills to help with editing, technical formatting, publishing and promotion. I self-published my first book, Still Stupid at Sixty without knowing much at all. Wrote it in Word, had a friend help edit using Track Changes and used Calibre to convert and upload in Kindle format to Amazon. My wife and one of her friends helped solve a few technical formatting issues.
But Wine Sense, my current work-in-progress has already taken ten times the effort, will be printed in both physical and electronic format and published in Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, iTunes, Smashwords and Blurb minimally. Still Stupid at Sixty was only published through Amazon. Wine Sense also has about 40 photographs, charts, diagrams and other images plus 'fun facts' inserted throughout. Still Stupid at Sixty had none. Wine Sense references work from 20 other books and publications requiring significant footnoting, end-noting and bibliography efforts to source other work properly.
I have had a massive learning curve converting to Scrivener as an writing management system, and learning HTML and CSS to provide more control over final output when ePublishing. I decided enough was enough and needed help with the complexities of laying out format design and typesetting. I asked someone whose work I had seen before and in total would have charged me about $3,000 to do everything - once! I was worried about how many changes I might have and how the cost could rise significantly before the project was complete.
During this time, I was exploring taking more control end-to-end over the writing, editing, and publishing process. No matter how much I researched and analyzed alternatives, I kept coming back to Adobe Creative Cloud as the platform that gave me everything I needed beyond using Scrivener for writing and editing. It also meant I did not need to spend as much time within Scrivener on structuring and defining the Compile function for final publication. I could use Scrivener for what it was intended and used InDesign to easily lay out final formatting.
But I knew the Adobe product suite has a major learning curve. These are very high-end apps that provide you ultimate control to do exactly what you need. The also require a great deal of training, practice and experience for any of the apps. I was going to learn InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop all at the same time. Plus I was still learning HTML, CSS and Javascript, and expanding my Wordpress skills! And to validate content for my new writing projects on writing processes and technology, I also was now working across both Windows and Mac platforms and learning Mac OS in addition to the new Windows 8 and 8.1.
I signed up for Adobe Creative Cloud and started playing around. I watched videos from the Adobe Learning channel and YouTube. I bought some books on using the apps. Over three weeks, I made virtually no progress at all. I looked to local technical schools to find some courses, but they cost around $700, where targeted to mass market appeal, and did not provide suitable times or locations for me as I work a full-time job. I tried finding a couple of tutors, but with little result. I needed to learn a lot and I needed to learn very quickly.
Then several people over the course of a week, suggested Lynda.com. I checked it out and was intrigued. You could sign up for as long as you like, terminate when you like, and take as much training as you can possibly fit in. They also offered a 7-day free trial to test it out. I signed up for the trial, but after two days, knew I would be subscribing permanently as the results were far greater than I could have possibly imagined. I could establish my own training program in a structured manner according to my needs, my level of expertise and in accordance to the time I could spend. It proved to be the most efficient us of of my time. Within 6 weeks, I have become proficient with InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Plus I have taken several other courses to improve my overall writing and publishing processes. I was also able to learn some fundamentals for Windows 8 and converting to and using a Mac!
Lynda.com means you learn quickly and according to your needs, not the needs of a classroom of people, the schools needs or an instructor's needs. I love Lynda.com and I can tell Lynda.com loves me! Lynda.com has become a critical part of my writing team and support group!
In Part 2 to be published later this week, I will explain the various options available, and how and why Lynda.com helps you love learning!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Being an author can be a lonely job. If you sign on with a traditional publisher, they provide skills to help with editing, technical formatting, publishing and promotion. I self-published my first book, Still Stupid at Sixty without knowing much at all. Wrote it in Word, had a friend help edit using Track Changes and used Calibre to convert and upload in Kindle format to Amazon. My wife and one of her friends helped solve a few technical formatting issues.
But Wine Sense, my current work-in-progress has already taken ten times the effort, will be printed in both physical and electronic format and published in Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, iTunes, Smashwords and Blurb minimally. Still Stupid at Sixty was only published through Amazon. Wine Sense also has about 40 photographs, charts, diagrams and other images plus 'fun facts' inserted throughout. Still Stupid at Sixty had none. Wine Sense references work from 20 other books and publications requiring significant footnoting, end-noting and bibliography efforts to source other work properly.
I have had a massive learning curve converting to Scrivener as an writing management system, and learning HTML and CSS to provide more control over final output when ePublishing. I decided enough was enough and needed help with the complexities of laying out format design and typesetting. I asked someone whose work I had seen before and in total would have charged me about $3,000 to do everything - once! I was worried about how many changes I might have and how the cost could rise significantly before the project was complete.
During this time, I was exploring taking more control end-to-end over the writing, editing, and publishing process. No matter how much I researched and analyzed alternatives, I kept coming back to Adobe Creative Cloud as the platform that gave me everything I needed beyond using Scrivener for writing and editing. It also meant I did not need to spend as much time within Scrivener on structuring and defining the Compile function for final publication. I could use Scrivener for what it was intended and used InDesign to easily lay out final formatting.
But I knew the Adobe product suite has a major learning curve. These are very high-end apps that provide you ultimate control to do exactly what you need. The also require a great deal of training, practice and experience for any of the apps. I was going to learn InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop all at the same time. Plus I was still learning HTML, CSS and Javascript, and expanding my Wordpress skills! And to validate content for my new writing projects on writing processes and technology, I also was now working across both Windows and Mac platforms and learning Mac OS in addition to the new Windows 8 and 8.1.
I signed up for Adobe Creative Cloud and started playing around. I watched videos from the Adobe Learning channel and YouTube. I bought some books on using the apps. Over three weeks, I made virtually no progress at all. I looked to local technical schools to find some courses, but they cost around $700, where targeted to mass market appeal, and did not provide suitable times or locations for me as I work a full-time job. I tried finding a couple of tutors, but with little result. I needed to learn a lot and I needed to learn very quickly.
Then several people over the course of a week, suggested Lynda.com. I checked it out and was intrigued. You could sign up for as long as you like, terminate when you like, and take as much training as you can possibly fit in. They also offered a 7-day free trial to test it out. I signed up for the trial, but after two days, knew I would be subscribing permanently as the results were far greater than I could have possibly imagined. I could establish my own training program in a structured manner according to my needs, my level of expertise and in accordance to the time I could spend. It proved to be the most efficient us of of my time. Within 6 weeks, I have become proficient with InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Plus I have taken several other courses to improve my overall writing and publishing processes. I was also able to learn some fundamentals for Windows 8 and converting to and using a Mac!
Lynda.com means you learn quickly and according to your needs, not the needs of a classroom of people, the schools needs or an instructor's needs. I love Lynda.com and I can tell Lynda.com loves me! Lynda.com has become a critical part of my writing team and support group!
In Part 2 to be published later this week, I will explain the various options available, and how and why Lynda.com helps you love learning!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Saturday 2 November 2013
Why I have two office work areas
Every writer has a place to call their own, where they get away to focus on writing without distraction. Many of us have two or three work places. And with continued improvements in technology, it is possible to create some pretty special places.
I have a primary work area. It is a bedroom converted to an office shared by my wife and myself. It is typical of many writers and other professionals. I have a desk and office chair, with several book cases nearby. My desk holds a Windows laptop, 23" monitor and speaker system. The phone, scanner and printer and NAS are located nearby, but I am connected to them via wifi. The rest of my desk can be used to write notes, set up my Mac when I need to do something with it, or be a spot to accumulate receipts, brochures and other things until I put them away. My primary book and blog writing occurs here.
I also have a secondary, portable work area. It is a comfortable IKEA chair and footstool, with a lap desk, and side table. I work on my iPad with keyboard and my Mac, and also use it for reading physical books. These items are easy to move inside and outside as the weather permits. I attached a small box to my lap desk to hold things such as a pen, yellow marker, Post-it stickies, earphones, small notepad, iPad stylus and glass cleaner.
This is a very relaxed position. I am more prone, leaning backwards, but perfectly situated for comfortably using the iPad, Mac and reading. By moving between the two locations, I can work for extended periods of time without cramping. Changing positions helps to relieve pressure on one set of muscles and joints. By switching between the two locations, I recover and rest one set of muscles while continuing to use the other.
Yesterday I put in 14 - 15 hours at my main desk, sitting straight up and continuously typing. The only time away from my desk was to go shopping, carrying heavy things and then putting them away. Today, I have spent 8 hours at my desk editing. I took a break to make breakfast, and then another one do some heavy lifting errands and prepare dinner. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen slicing and dicing food in a similar position to sitting at my desk, putting additional stress on my back.
I now want to work again and write a couple blogs, but was not physically willing to sit at my desk. This is where my secondary work area comes in. From my portable chair and lap desk, I usually read, mind map, do social media, research, and read physical books. I use my primary work area for writing, using Adobe applications, taking training (with exercise files which reside and are used by apps on my laptop), social media and coding. Initially my primary work area was for writing and data input, while my secondary work area was for reading and research. But I am currently physically challenged to use my primary work area, yet want to blog. So I have decided to write my first blog from my iPad and you are reading it now!
With the iPad keyboard, I can type significantly more quickly than when using its touch keyboard. Also via wifi and using cloud-based applications, I am less dependent on my laptop (and main desk) for access to critical apps and data.. I am doing far more writing, editing, note-taking and other things on my iPad and portable lap desk. I also do substantially more social media from my lap desk. After a few hours at my portable work area, I can go back to my desk and work with the Adobe apps again.
Over the last few months, I have been optimizing my writing workflows, and have significantly increased my productivity. I have also moved more and more to cloud-based systems which can be suitably utilized across many different platforms.
I started this on my iPad, but have now had to move back to my laptop to finish it off. I encountered an error with positioning the cursor at the bottom of my blog. Every time I try that on my iPad, I am positioned at the beginning of my blog post. Using Blogger on my iPad will not let me get to the bottom of a longer post. This is unfortunate as I was hoping to have a real success here. I use Evernote, Dropbox, Acrobat, Safari and Firefox across platforms relatively seamlessly, but there are still some differences and problems. However, they are reducing as all browsers, operating systems and most apps evolve. This is the first time I have used Blogger on the iPad for writing a post, so not sure if it is an issue with Blogger, IOS or Safari. (I am still on IOS 6 and the iPad 2.)
I am certain that I will be able to do more and more across any platform. But for now, I have favorite things to do based on if I am at my desk using my laptop or at my portable lap desk using my iPad. My desk is really now defined as what is inside my laptop and iPad, not by what is on my physical desk.
My next few blogs will continue to expand on how I work, what technology I use and how my productivity continues to soar. Just being able to have a secondary work place I can retreat to allows my to keep working while relaxing one set of muscles and joints! And the 30 minutes I spent there has recharged me for working at my primary work area again.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
I have a primary work area. It is a bedroom converted to an office shared by my wife and myself. It is typical of many writers and other professionals. I have a desk and office chair, with several book cases nearby. My desk holds a Windows laptop, 23" monitor and speaker system. The phone, scanner and printer and NAS are located nearby, but I am connected to them via wifi. The rest of my desk can be used to write notes, set up my Mac when I need to do something with it, or be a spot to accumulate receipts, brochures and other things until I put them away. My primary book and blog writing occurs here.
 |
| Primary work area |
I also have a secondary, portable work area. It is a comfortable IKEA chair and footstool, with a lap desk, and side table. I work on my iPad with keyboard and my Mac, and also use it for reading physical books. These items are easy to move inside and outside as the weather permits. I attached a small box to my lap desk to hold things such as a pen, yellow marker, Post-it stickies, earphones, small notepad, iPad stylus and glass cleaner.
 |
| Portable chair and lap desk on balcony |
This is a very relaxed position. I am more prone, leaning backwards, but perfectly situated for comfortably using the iPad, Mac and reading. By moving between the two locations, I can work for extended periods of time without cramping. Changing positions helps to relieve pressure on one set of muscles and joints. By switching between the two locations, I recover and rest one set of muscles while continuing to use the other.
Yesterday I put in 14 - 15 hours at my main desk, sitting straight up and continuously typing. The only time away from my desk was to go shopping, carrying heavy things and then putting them away. Today, I have spent 8 hours at my desk editing. I took a break to make breakfast, and then another one do some heavy lifting errands and prepare dinner. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen slicing and dicing food in a similar position to sitting at my desk, putting additional stress on my back.
I now want to work again and write a couple blogs, but was not physically willing to sit at my desk. This is where my secondary work area comes in. From my portable chair and lap desk, I usually read, mind map, do social media, research, and read physical books. I use my primary work area for writing, using Adobe applications, taking training (with exercise files which reside and are used by apps on my laptop), social media and coding. Initially my primary work area was for writing and data input, while my secondary work area was for reading and research. But I am currently physically challenged to use my primary work area, yet want to blog. So I have decided to write my first blog from my iPad and you are reading it now!
With the iPad keyboard, I can type significantly more quickly than when using its touch keyboard. Also via wifi and using cloud-based applications, I am less dependent on my laptop (and main desk) for access to critical apps and data.. I am doing far more writing, editing, note-taking and other things on my iPad and portable lap desk. I also do substantially more social media from my lap desk. After a few hours at my portable work area, I can go back to my desk and work with the Adobe apps again.
Over the last few months, I have been optimizing my writing workflows, and have significantly increased my productivity. I have also moved more and more to cloud-based systems which can be suitably utilized across many different platforms.
I started this on my iPad, but have now had to move back to my laptop to finish it off. I encountered an error with positioning the cursor at the bottom of my blog. Every time I try that on my iPad, I am positioned at the beginning of my blog post. Using Blogger on my iPad will not let me get to the bottom of a longer post. This is unfortunate as I was hoping to have a real success here. I use Evernote, Dropbox, Acrobat, Safari and Firefox across platforms relatively seamlessly, but there are still some differences and problems. However, they are reducing as all browsers, operating systems and most apps evolve. This is the first time I have used Blogger on the iPad for writing a post, so not sure if it is an issue with Blogger, IOS or Safari. (I am still on IOS 6 and the iPad 2.)
I am certain that I will be able to do more and more across any platform. But for now, I have favorite things to do based on if I am at my desk using my laptop or at my portable lap desk using my iPad. My desk is really now defined as what is inside my laptop and iPad, not by what is on my physical desk.
My next few blogs will continue to expand on how I work, what technology I use and how my productivity continues to soar. Just being able to have a secondary work place I can retreat to allows my to keep working while relaxing one set of muscles and joints! And the 30 minutes I spent there has recharged me for working at my primary work area again.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Sunday 27 October 2013
Business Case for Chicago Manual of Style Online
I use the Chicago Manual of Style as my primary and de facto style guide when writing. I paid about $45 plus shipping for this book on Amazon. It costs $100 to pick up a copy here in Australia. The online version is $35 as an annual subscription.
As I continue to improve my authoring work flows, I am using more and more cloud-based systems and apps which are now licensed on a subscription basis. I made a major foray into subscribing to the Adobe Creative Cloud and have been very happy with the results. I get access to 20 major applications, including the big four in the Adobe line-up of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver. These apps are being constantly updated and would have cost several thousand dollars to buy. Additonally, I would have to occasionally substantially pay for upgrades. I am paying $49 per month which was far easier than finding several thousand dollars and worrying about future upgrade costs.
But the Chicago Manual of Style only cost me $57 (including shipping) and seldom changes (even though it is constantly adding content, especially for sourcing and providing citation of online and alternative material) . My initial reaction was why would I pay $35 per year and $350 over ten years when I can get the same content for $57 over that period of time. I was not looking at the business case properly though. I was only looking at the buy versus lease costs and making the wrong decision.
I love serendipitously sitting down with my Chicago Manual of Style book to browse and learn and do that occasionally and with enjoyment. During the last month, I have been heavily copyediting my current writing project, a book on wine. This has been a serious effort. I have outlined at least a dozen mechanical copyediting phases, plus have frequent question on how to handling particular editing issues. Relying on my physical copy of the Chicago Manual of Style, I could usually find my answer within several minutes. But I needed to have a good idea where to look in the first place. And after doing this several hundred times, I recognized the many hours I was burning by researching from the physical book.
Since Chicago Manual of Style Online provides a 30-day free trial and I was into heavy copyediting, I signed up for the free trial. Within minutes, I knew I would subscribe annually and pay my $35 year after year. As an example, I used the online version to check the proper use of 'de facto' in the first sentence of this blog. Was it 'defacto,' 'de-facto,' or 'de facto?' Within seconds I had my answer. Similarly for 'copyediting' versus 'copy editing' or 'copy-editing.'
The online version provides a hyperlinked Table of Contents to immediately go to the section you want instead of flipping through pages in the physical book. It also has a search capability in which I can enter different phrases to find what I need if my first phrase does not yield results.
Overall, I expect I am saving several hours a month using the online version. If I price my time at $50 per hour, then I am saving at least $100 per month. Not a bad return for spending $3 per month. That is the proper way to build the business case. Subscribing to the online version is an obvious decision when reviewed properly. My authoring workflow has improved in that I now spend only seconds researching an editing issue and can correct it up-front while I write. Previously, I was parking these issues into a special Scrivener Binder or Evernote as dealing with them distracted from and slowed the writing process. Now my copyediting phases are much shorter in duration and my draft copies of higher quality which is important if you are sending drafts to potential agents or publishers.
Use the right approach to building your business case and, if you are a writer, use the Chicago Manual of Style Online - you will not regret it.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
As I continue to improve my authoring work flows, I am using more and more cloud-based systems and apps which are now licensed on a subscription basis. I made a major foray into subscribing to the Adobe Creative Cloud and have been very happy with the results. I get access to 20 major applications, including the big four in the Adobe line-up of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver. These apps are being constantly updated and would have cost several thousand dollars to buy. Additonally, I would have to occasionally substantially pay for upgrades. I am paying $49 per month which was far easier than finding several thousand dollars and worrying about future upgrade costs.
But the Chicago Manual of Style only cost me $57 (including shipping) and seldom changes (even though it is constantly adding content, especially for sourcing and providing citation of online and alternative material) . My initial reaction was why would I pay $35 per year and $350 over ten years when I can get the same content for $57 over that period of time. I was not looking at the business case properly though. I was only looking at the buy versus lease costs and making the wrong decision.
I love serendipitously sitting down with my Chicago Manual of Style book to browse and learn and do that occasionally and with enjoyment. During the last month, I have been heavily copyediting my current writing project, a book on wine. This has been a serious effort. I have outlined at least a dozen mechanical copyediting phases, plus have frequent question on how to handling particular editing issues. Relying on my physical copy of the Chicago Manual of Style, I could usually find my answer within several minutes. But I needed to have a good idea where to look in the first place. And after doing this several hundred times, I recognized the many hours I was burning by researching from the physical book.
Since Chicago Manual of Style Online provides a 30-day free trial and I was into heavy copyediting, I signed up for the free trial. Within minutes, I knew I would subscribe annually and pay my $35 year after year. As an example, I used the online version to check the proper use of 'de facto' in the first sentence of this blog. Was it 'defacto,' 'de-facto,' or 'de facto?' Within seconds I had my answer. Similarly for 'copyediting' versus 'copy editing' or 'copy-editing.'
The online version provides a hyperlinked Table of Contents to immediately go to the section you want instead of flipping through pages in the physical book. It also has a search capability in which I can enter different phrases to find what I need if my first phrase does not yield results.
Overall, I expect I am saving several hours a month using the online version. If I price my time at $50 per hour, then I am saving at least $100 per month. Not a bad return for spending $3 per month. That is the proper way to build the business case. Subscribing to the online version is an obvious decision when reviewed properly. My authoring workflow has improved in that I now spend only seconds researching an editing issue and can correct it up-front while I write. Previously, I was parking these issues into a special Scrivener Binder or Evernote as dealing with them distracted from and slowed the writing process. Now my copyediting phases are much shorter in duration and my draft copies of higher quality which is important if you are sending drafts to potential agents or publishers.
Use the right approach to building your business case and, if you are a writer, use the Chicago Manual of Style Online - you will not regret it.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Still Stupid at Sixty (published under my writing pseudonym Blake Stevens)
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Saturday 12 October 2013
My journey to the Adobe Creative Cloud for design and publishing
I have become fascinated by the technology to support writing and publishing. My first book Still Stupid at Sixty (published under the pseudonym Blake Stevens) was written in Microsoft Word and converted into Amazon Kindle format using Calibre. That is how easy it is to self-publish these days. Anyone who can type claims they are an author these days, including me!
But my current book Wine Sense is a different matter. It will be published electronically and as a physically printed book. It is almost twice the size at 125,000 words or the equivalent of roughly 350 pages based on format. It will contain almost forty photographs, multicolored tables, and a couple of QR Codes to link to videos. I researched over twenty other wine books and multiple research papers, therefore requiring numerous citations for the original source. The total effort involved is estimated to be ten times what was required for my first book.
I started to use a cloud-based approach in order to work more appropriately across multiple platforms. The apps used included Dropbox and Evernote on my laptop, iPad, and iPhone, along with some ongoing collaboration with my wife's desktop computer. It also included converting from using a word processor to using a real writing management system called Scrivener which tripled my productivity for addressing a more complex project such as Wine Sense. And I learned some basic HTML and CSS to have more direct control over the final formatting of the book in electronic format so it would work properly across multiple devices and eReaders..
It is still my intent to still involve a support team, especially a graphic designer. While I am somewhat innovative and creative when it comes to systems and technical problem solving, I lack creative visual design skills. However, the more and more I worked to develop and optimize an integrated writing and publishing workflow, the more I fell in love with computers and technology again. I wanted the ability to work collaboratively with my graphic designer and editor in an interactive and back-and-forth manner without having to pay designer for multiple changes in final layout. Nor did I want to pay heavily for small tweaks to a basic layout design when I could do that myself.
Therefore I started to study and become more intrigued with some of the freeware tools to manipulate photos and other images. My initial reaction is that the Adobe products were too high-end and too expensive. I felt I had neither the budget nor the capabilities or experience to utilize these products. But then I found out about Adobe Creative Cloud which includes Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and about twenty other products for publishing and it was all for $49 per month if I signed up for one year. I took two months reviewing strategies, continuing to optimize my writing workflows, and thinking about the commitment of time required. Ultimately, I felt the $600 or so I would spend per year was well worth it in terms of what I would save by reducing the charges from graphic designers and much more in the time it was taking fiddling around with integrating and trying to get precisely what I wanted from the freeware apps available.
So I have committed to the Adobe Creative Cloud. Be aware that these products are extremely high end and have a very steep learning curve. The products have matured over 25 years and they have thousands of features and thousands of different ways for doing things. Some of the keyboard shortcuts require the use of three different keys and a mouse click! These apps require some serious investment in time to become proficient. I have read books, viewed online videos by Adobe, and tried to play around with the apps myself. What is really getting me up to speed though is the tutorials I am taking with Lynda.com. This is a great training site to provide training in many different areas including outstanding training courses and videos for the Adobe Creative Cloud product suite.
While the tools take some getting used to, they provide amazing capabilities to do exactly what you want. It takes years to become a professional in just one of them and I am trying to come up to speed on four of them quickly. But I am certain the savings in time and money for my current book and many books in the future is worth it. While this approach works for me, I understand it may not work for everyone. But if you need to have high-end design and want control over what you are doing, then the Adobe Creative Cloud is worth considering. And if you want to learn the Adobe apps as quickly as possible, I would recommend signing up for Lynda.com.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
But my current book Wine Sense is a different matter. It will be published electronically and as a physically printed book. It is almost twice the size at 125,000 words or the equivalent of roughly 350 pages based on format. It will contain almost forty photographs, multicolored tables, and a couple of QR Codes to link to videos. I researched over twenty other wine books and multiple research papers, therefore requiring numerous citations for the original source. The total effort involved is estimated to be ten times what was required for my first book.
I started to use a cloud-based approach in order to work more appropriately across multiple platforms. The apps used included Dropbox and Evernote on my laptop, iPad, and iPhone, along with some ongoing collaboration with my wife's desktop computer. It also included converting from using a word processor to using a real writing management system called Scrivener which tripled my productivity for addressing a more complex project such as Wine Sense. And I learned some basic HTML and CSS to have more direct control over the final formatting of the book in electronic format so it would work properly across multiple devices and eReaders..
It is still my intent to still involve a support team, especially a graphic designer. While I am somewhat innovative and creative when it comes to systems and technical problem solving, I lack creative visual design skills. However, the more and more I worked to develop and optimize an integrated writing and publishing workflow, the more I fell in love with computers and technology again. I wanted the ability to work collaboratively with my graphic designer and editor in an interactive and back-and-forth manner without having to pay designer for multiple changes in final layout. Nor did I want to pay heavily for small tweaks to a basic layout design when I could do that myself.
Therefore I started to study and become more intrigued with some of the freeware tools to manipulate photos and other images. My initial reaction is that the Adobe products were too high-end and too expensive. I felt I had neither the budget nor the capabilities or experience to utilize these products. But then I found out about Adobe Creative Cloud which includes Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver and about twenty other products for publishing and it was all for $49 per month if I signed up for one year. I took two months reviewing strategies, continuing to optimize my writing workflows, and thinking about the commitment of time required. Ultimately, I felt the $600 or so I would spend per year was well worth it in terms of what I would save by reducing the charges from graphic designers and much more in the time it was taking fiddling around with integrating and trying to get precisely what I wanted from the freeware apps available.
So I have committed to the Adobe Creative Cloud. Be aware that these products are extremely high end and have a very steep learning curve. The products have matured over 25 years and they have thousands of features and thousands of different ways for doing things. Some of the keyboard shortcuts require the use of three different keys and a mouse click! These apps require some serious investment in time to become proficient. I have read books, viewed online videos by Adobe, and tried to play around with the apps myself. What is really getting me up to speed though is the tutorials I am taking with Lynda.com. This is a great training site to provide training in many different areas including outstanding training courses and videos for the Adobe Creative Cloud product suite.
While the tools take some getting used to, they provide amazing capabilities to do exactly what you want. It takes years to become a professional in just one of them and I am trying to come up to speed on four of them quickly. But I am certain the savings in time and money for my current book and many books in the future is worth it. While this approach works for me, I understand it may not work for everyone. But if you need to have high-end design and want control over what you are doing, then the Adobe Creative Cloud is worth considering. And if you want to learn the Adobe apps as quickly as possible, I would recommend signing up for Lynda.com.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Monday 7 October 2013
Scrivener and Evernote - a perfect pair
Several weeks ago, I wrote a post on how Scrivener has more than tripled my writing productivity. I continue to optimize my writing workflow daily as I become more comfortable with Scrivener. While most of my writing productivity gains are from Scrivener, they also come from the integration of several other tools, such as iThoughtsHD for mind mapping a new book outline (and key points / notes) on my iPad. I then export the mind map in OPML format to Dropbox to sync with my laptop for importation as OPML into Scrivener. It works beautifully!
I also use Scrivener Compile to ePub, then use an ePub editor Sigil to make final HTML formatting changes for a very few things the way I like it beyond what I been able to figure out in Scrivener.
But outside of Scrivener itself, it is Evernote used in conjunction with Scrivener that provides the biggest productivity improvement. For my current non-fiction book, Wine Sense, I researched over twenty different books on wine, including both physically printed books, and books in Kindle mobi format. I also used some PDF files in my research. Previously, I was tagging my physical books with Post-it stickers and highlighting my Kindle books and then reviewing my notes on the Amazon Cloud. My notes (and my thoughts) were all over the place. Plus I would have to put in significant effort to source and provide accurate citation for quotes and direct references to others work. This on its own was going to be a tremendous effort. I frankly was getting to the point of wondering if it would be possible to finish the book . And I still had about eight of my most complex books to research!
So I starting using Evernote and created a Note called 'Wine book to-dos' to capture everything I was doing outside of just writing in Scrivener. It also let me 'tag' and source immediately upon reading any note I thought I may reference later. Once synced with my laptop, I enter Evernote on the laptop and cut and paste all my notes into a work Binder in Scrivener.
These notes can have anything to do with my research or just be random thoughts (such as "Should I use the word 'mouthfeel' or two words 'mouth feel' in the book?") which may be added to my general editing to-do Binder. Therefore, whenever copying in my notes, I always first copy the notes into a Scrivener Binder entitled 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos.'
Once I copied the notes from Evernote into my Scrivener 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos' Binder, I then delete the notes from Evernote on laptop (which then syncs and deletes them from my 'Wine book to-do' note on the iPad also. Then I start the process again as needed.
One of the great things about Scrivener is the ability to establish non-manuscript Binders and I have a Folder of 'To-Dos' including To-Do Binders for a wide variety of things required to turn my writing into a finished work. Instead of accumulating (or worse, forgetting) these tasks, they are now integrated into my workflow in an organized manner. Therefore, I am managing my work and doing it in the most efficient manner possible. And one of these Binders is the one I created for Evernote as described above.
Then from my 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos' Binder, I copy out specific notes as required into the Chapters (represented as separate Binders in Scrivener), to be dealt with when I was either initially structuring, writing, or substantiating (by validating or reinforcing the content of my writing with specific points). In this case, the note encircled in red is copied into Chapter 7: Wine and Smell (as are most of the notes in this collection of Evernote notes are). I parse out the notes based on their intended use. Since I was reading about wine and smell, in this case most of the notes are being copied into my Notes associated with Chapter 7: Wine and Smell.
Therefore, from the very first time I research a topic, I am able to trace the concept into where it should reside in the book with proper sourcing and citation (to be able to easily build the Bibliography and Footnotes). Using this process, I was comfortable that I had researched and had the content I required to address the topic of my book and that I would be properly sourcing my material. This was done in one integrated workflow, instead of previously having multiple, non-linked workflows that I was always trying to keep consistent.
I had to cut and paste between Evernote and Scrivener, but this was very easy to do. My next step in optimizing this work flow will be to write a script using specific Evernote Note name ('Wine book to-dos' in this case) and Scrivener Binder name ('Evernote In-Box To-Dos' in this case) to export the Evernote note as a .rtf file and then open my Scrivener Project and import the .rtf file into the Binder defined. But this process is so easy to do manually, that I do not have a great deal of incentive to write the script!
I know a number of authors who love using Evernote and Scrivener together. You may have thought about using Evernote with Scrivener, but uncertain about how it would work. If that is the case, then hopefully this post has helped show you one method of using the two apps together for improving your writing work flow. The only think I love more than Scrivener is using Scrivener with Evernote!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
I also use Scrivener Compile to ePub, then use an ePub editor Sigil to make final HTML formatting changes for a very few things the way I like it beyond what I been able to figure out in Scrivener.
But outside of Scrivener itself, it is Evernote used in conjunction with Scrivener that provides the biggest productivity improvement. For my current non-fiction book, Wine Sense, I researched over twenty different books on wine, including both physically printed books, and books in Kindle mobi format. I also used some PDF files in my research. Previously, I was tagging my physical books with Post-it stickers and highlighting my Kindle books and then reviewing my notes on the Amazon Cloud. My notes (and my thoughts) were all over the place. Plus I would have to put in significant effort to source and provide accurate citation for quotes and direct references to others work. This on its own was going to be a tremendous effort. I frankly was getting to the point of wondering if it would be possible to finish the book . And I still had about eight of my most complex books to research!
 |
| Taking notes in Evernote on iPad |
So I starting using Evernote and created a Note called 'Wine book to-dos' to capture everything I was doing outside of just writing in Scrivener. It also let me 'tag' and source immediately upon reading any note I thought I may reference later. Once synced with my laptop, I enter Evernote on the laptop and cut and paste all my notes into a work Binder in Scrivener.
 |
| Notes on iPad Evernote now sync'ed to laptop Evernote |
These notes can have anything to do with my research or just be random thoughts (such as "Should I use the word 'mouthfeel' or two words 'mouth feel' in the book?") which may be added to my general editing to-do Binder. Therefore, whenever copying in my notes, I always first copy the notes into a Scrivener Binder entitled 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos.'
 |
| Notes from Evernote copied into 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos' Binder in Scrivener |
One of the great things about Scrivener is the ability to establish non-manuscript Binders and I have a Folder of 'To-Dos' including To-Do Binders for a wide variety of things required to turn my writing into a finished work. Instead of accumulating (or worse, forgetting) these tasks, they are now integrated into my workflow in an organized manner. Therefore, I am managing my work and doing it in the most efficient manner possible. And one of these Binders is the one I created for Evernote as described above.
Then from my 'Evernote In-Box To-Dos' Binder, I copy out specific notes as required into the Chapters (represented as separate Binders in Scrivener), to be dealt with when I was either initially structuring, writing, or substantiating (by validating or reinforcing the content of my writing with specific points). In this case, the note encircled in red is copied into Chapter 7: Wine and Smell (as are most of the notes in this collection of Evernote notes are). I parse out the notes based on their intended use. Since I was reading about wine and smell, in this case most of the notes are being copied into my Notes associated with Chapter 7: Wine and Smell.
 |
| Original Notes on Wine and Smell now in Notes for Chapter 7 to be dealt with when rewriting later |
Therefore, from the very first time I research a topic, I am able to trace the concept into where it should reside in the book with proper sourcing and citation (to be able to easily build the Bibliography and Footnotes). Using this process, I was comfortable that I had researched and had the content I required to address the topic of my book and that I would be properly sourcing my material. This was done in one integrated workflow, instead of previously having multiple, non-linked workflows that I was always trying to keep consistent.
I had to cut and paste between Evernote and Scrivener, but this was very easy to do. My next step in optimizing this work flow will be to write a script using specific Evernote Note name ('Wine book to-dos' in this case) and Scrivener Binder name ('Evernote In-Box To-Dos' in this case) to export the Evernote note as a .rtf file and then open my Scrivener Project and import the .rtf file into the Binder defined. But this process is so easy to do manually, that I do not have a great deal of incentive to write the script!
I know a number of authors who love using Evernote and Scrivener together. You may have thought about using Evernote with Scrivener, but uncertain about how it would work. If that is the case, then hopefully this post has helped show you one method of using the two apps together for improving your writing work flow. The only think I love more than Scrivener is using Scrivener with Evernote!
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Writing code helps writing words
Early in my career, the only writing I did was code. I was an IBM
mainframe and early IBM PC coder, mostly in Assembler and COBOL. I also
wrote IBM PC BIOS routines and screen drivers for Louts 123. And I was
good at it. At the time, I could not write a lick of English. I
learned to write the hard way, as an adult and as a necessity for my job
and my career.
I was truly fortunate to have some mentors who appreciated the technical skills I could bring to consulting and helping clients and they took the time to teach me to write and present. I learned a great deal from following the Barbara Minto style of pyramid writing which is fundamental to consultants who worked at McKinsey and Booz among others.
I lost touch with my technical roots though, as I started managing technology more. I taught others how to deliver technology, extract value from technology, and I sold technology solutions. But it has been some 25 years since I did hard-core coding. I am getting back into that now and (1) loving it, and (2) learning that it helps with my 'word writing.' Coding is just another language with grammar rules, structure, etc. But it is far more precise - no slang, no alliteration, and no mistakes allowed! But as with writing a story or a non-fiction book, you do require an outline and a structure, and you do need to develop the plot and scenes and characters. They just take the form of procedures and subroutines and definitions of style. And you need to have a good eye for copy-editing. It has renewed my push for perfection when writing words, and provided some discipline to my writing process.
I got back into coding about three months ago. Originally it was so I could tweak some simple HTML statements to modify ePUB files to enhance simple formatting issues in the final text and to provide hyperlinks that were not provided within the Windows platform of Scrivener (even though they are available on the Mac version). Then I started to play around with Wordpress and blog posts by switching from the Visual Mode for writing blog posts the the Text Mode (where you are presented the blog in HTML format. Again, it was to start to get a bit more control over the final editing and formatting.
But the big breakthrough for me came when I realized that by taking more control at the HTML level at the end of the formatting and publishing cycle, that I could continue to do revisions without having to pay for 'professionals' to finalize things for me and then pay them again when I made changes later. I will still use professional graphic designers for the final output, but I will be much closer to completion when I turn things over. It has also allowed me to create templates and experiment with templates to continue to improve the quality of output and the manner in which I work and then use that at the beginning of the writing cycle without having to worry about what it will technically look like at the end.
However, I was not expecting that it would improve my word writing discipline and process as much as it has. I started with the technology to improve the writing process and it certainly has accomplished that. But it has also improved my writing and my approach to writing. There is not that much difference, no more than there is between writing erotic fiction, historical fiction or non-fiction: Coding is just another genre of writing!
It may not work for everyone, and in fact, may be a large distraction from actual writing for many. I benefited from having been an accomplished coder earlier in life. But I know a few other authors who are getting into their coding and I expect they will be better writers because of it.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
I was truly fortunate to have some mentors who appreciated the technical skills I could bring to consulting and helping clients and they took the time to teach me to write and present. I learned a great deal from following the Barbara Minto style of pyramid writing which is fundamental to consultants who worked at McKinsey and Booz among others.
I lost touch with my technical roots though, as I started managing technology more. I taught others how to deliver technology, extract value from technology, and I sold technology solutions. But it has been some 25 years since I did hard-core coding. I am getting back into that now and (1) loving it, and (2) learning that it helps with my 'word writing.' Coding is just another language with grammar rules, structure, etc. But it is far more precise - no slang, no alliteration, and no mistakes allowed! But as with writing a story or a non-fiction book, you do require an outline and a structure, and you do need to develop the plot and scenes and characters. They just take the form of procedures and subroutines and definitions of style. And you need to have a good eye for copy-editing. It has renewed my push for perfection when writing words, and provided some discipline to my writing process.
I got back into coding about three months ago. Originally it was so I could tweak some simple HTML statements to modify ePUB files to enhance simple formatting issues in the final text and to provide hyperlinks that were not provided within the Windows platform of Scrivener (even though they are available on the Mac version). Then I started to play around with Wordpress and blog posts by switching from the Visual Mode for writing blog posts the the Text Mode (where you are presented the blog in HTML format. Again, it was to start to get a bit more control over the final editing and formatting.
But the big breakthrough for me came when I realized that by taking more control at the HTML level at the end of the formatting and publishing cycle, that I could continue to do revisions without having to pay for 'professionals' to finalize things for me and then pay them again when I made changes later. I will still use professional graphic designers for the final output, but I will be much closer to completion when I turn things over. It has also allowed me to create templates and experiment with templates to continue to improve the quality of output and the manner in which I work and then use that at the beginning of the writing cycle without having to worry about what it will technically look like at the end.
However, I was not expecting that it would improve my word writing discipline and process as much as it has. I started with the technology to improve the writing process and it certainly has accomplished that. But it has also improved my writing and my approach to writing. There is not that much difference, no more than there is between writing erotic fiction, historical fiction or non-fiction: Coding is just another genre of writing!
It may not work for everyone, and in fact, may be a large distraction from actual writing for many. I benefited from having been an accomplished coder earlier in life. But I know a few other authors who are getting into their coding and I expect they will be better writers because of it.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Friday 20 September 2013
Tripling my writing productivity with Scrivener
First of all, I would not have believe it had you told me prior to
using Scrivener that it would be possible to triple my productivity as a
writer. But I am certain that my productivity has increased that much
or more. In addition to Scrivener, I have been using several other
tools such as Evernote and Dropbox which have helped also. But
Scrivener on its own is the heart of my writing management workflow now
and is the primary reason my productivity has increased so much.
I describe my previous writing process in a blog I wrote recently. To summarize, I was using Microsoft Word for writing and had a few different to-do lists of activities to finalize the efforts and get ready for publishing. But my current WIP is much more complex and it is was clear that using Word and a few to-do lists was going to be extremely onerous in terms of bringing this effort to readiness for publication, yet alone to do so with high quality. Read my previous blog to understand the research I did and why I choose Scrivener.
But where did the productivity from Scrivener emanate from? How is it possible to see a three- or four-fold improvement? The productivity gains came from the following areas:
Without Scrivener, I would probably have to spend another eight to ten months to finish off my current effort for my book, Wine Sense. As it is now though, I have hopes to finish it by the end of this year. And if you want to follow the progress on the book and also win a bottle of wine, please follow me on SAZ in the Cellar, either on Facebook or at my wine blog and website!
© 2013 Steve Shipley.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
I describe my previous writing process in a blog I wrote recently. To summarize, I was using Microsoft Word for writing and had a few different to-do lists of activities to finalize the efforts and get ready for publishing. But my current WIP is much more complex and it is was clear that using Word and a few to-do lists was going to be extremely onerous in terms of bringing this effort to readiness for publication, yet alone to do so with high quality. Read my previous blog to understand the research I did and why I choose Scrivener.
But where did the productivity from Scrivener emanate from? How is it possible to see a three- or four-fold improvement? The productivity gains came from the following areas:
- Scrivener is not just an editor and word processing system, but also a project management system and publishing system
- Scrivener has 'binders' which the manuscript comprises (divided into Parts, Chapters, and Sections as you see fit), but the binders can also be used for non-manuscript tasks (under a section called 'Notes' which means they are not to be included in final publication), for use such as research, to-do folders, links to editing and grammar tools, etc. This greatly integrated into one file all aspects of the writing process, including content, tasks, links, etc.
- I have multiple Notes binders to keep status of and links to research folders, URLs, etc. so within one window, I can work and swap between all the elements of the writing process
- Each binder has a separate window for notes, comments, thoughts, etc. and there is an overall one at the writing project level (you can toggle between the project and the individual binder [usually a Chapter] sections)
- I can annotate comments, endnotes, footnotes, etc. as I am writing to later build a Bibliography and respective citations which is integrated into my writing and not an onerous task to do later
- The same is true for my use of photos and 'Fun Fact' insets. These would be major undertakings later in the process, but now they are integrated into the writing process and a by-product of my writing
- Scrivener provides multiple split windows to keep two different parts of the manuscript on the screen for cross-referencing and being able to cross-check linked sections. This has saved me a tremendous amount of scrolling back and forth in Word when comparing related sections and ensuring I have placed the content in the appropriate section
- Each binder maintains meta-data used for status, binder type, etc. which helps you understand where you are and to manage the writing process
- I use Evernote and my iPad to take notes, regardless if I am highlighting research in a Kindle book or using post-it notes with a printed book to capture the citation when it is first identified. These notes then are synched (I do a manual cut and paste) from Evernote into a general binder into Scrivener and then into the individual chapters and section of the book to help me complete my writing or re-writing
- I use Dropbox and Evernote to provide PDF files and other research to study on my iPad and then create notes into Evernote to be loaded back into Scrivener
- Scrivener has sophisticated 'Compile' options to many different formats including ePub, Kindle, RTF, PDF, etc. which can then be tested immediately (using Kindle Previewer) for formatting issues and your final publication can be debugged early on in terms of technical formatting issues
Without Scrivener, I would probably have to spend another eight to ten months to finish off my current effort for my book, Wine Sense. As it is now though, I have hopes to finish it by the end of this year. And if you want to follow the progress on the book and also win a bottle of wine, please follow me on SAZ in the Cellar, either on Facebook or at my wine blog and website!
© 2013 Steve Shipley.
Steve Shipley
SAZ in the Cellar Facebook page
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog SAZ in the Cellar
Steve Shipley Pinterest Boards
Saturday 10 August 2013
Living in the cloud
As children, most of dreamed of living in the clouds and being able to look down at others to see what they were doing. Well, that has taken on quite a different meaning today with cloud computing. I am assuming that anyone who is reading this has a basic definition of what cloud computing is. In simplest terms, it is computing power to be consumed without really knowing or caring where it comes from. I am writing this blog on the Google cloud or 'blogosphere.' I do not have a copy of this blog on my laptop anywhere nor do I care where the contents resides.
That does not sound safe, does it? What happens if the cloud goes away? Or if the cloud owners deny me access? How do I know that someone who works for the cloud company is not viewing or even stealing my ideas or data? After all, didn't that just happen with that Snowden fellow in a big way?
But more and more I am using the cloud and using the cloud much more effectively. For my day job, I work for one of the largest and most successful cloud companies there is - EMC. Our livelihood is dependent on your data being safe and secure. We also know there are tremendous benefits in cloud computing for large corporations and for individuals.
I am an individual who likes to be in control. I want to manage my own fate and have control over how things function. On a personal level, I have been a late arriving user of cloud computing, but that is changing rapidly. I was getting tired of carrying around a laptop everywhere I go to have my data on hand with me. Even then, not all of my data is with me as I have a lot stored on our NAS. While much of the NAS is backed-up copies or archived information, but I occasionally require access to it and I never know when or how often that occurs. But it has several times in the last few years, and I have had to do without.
But cloud computing removes my data from any given device such as my laptop and makes it accessible wherever I can tap into a computing device, be it my smart phone or my tablet, or another laptop or desktop computer somewhere. Therefore, the first big benefit of cloud computing is that I can get access to my data, anywhere and at any time as long as I have mobile access. (I am never without mobile access!) I can then share my data across a multitude of platforms and with other individuals.
I have over 1,000 electronic books and can share them across my phone, my tablet and my eBook reader as required, and the point I left off and any highlighting or marginalia is synchronized when I leave one device and go to another. I also started using Evernote to clip websites, email, pictures and other useful things for which I wanted a record. I used to use Notepad to write to-dos, ideas, and record other information, but have now found Evernote to be so much better. I can brainstorm and mind map one of my writing projects on my tablet and then send it to myself (to be loaded into my authoring management system) or another person. I also use it to collaborate and share information on writing projects with other people.
More and more of my applications are used 'in the cloud.' By choosing the right applications and establishing the proper workflow, I have increased my writing productivity by 300% - 400%. That is a significant improvement! By using cloud computing, I have achieved the following benefits:
More and more I am living in the clouds! And really enjoying it and benefiting from it. You should consider the same if you have not already. And if that Snowden guy really wants to see what my wife and I have on our joint shopping list, accessible by all of our devices, then he can have at it!
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
My Blake Stevens blog: From Blake's Bookshelf
Still Stupid at Sixty in Amazon Kindle Store
That does not sound safe, does it? What happens if the cloud goes away? Or if the cloud owners deny me access? How do I know that someone who works for the cloud company is not viewing or even stealing my ideas or data? After all, didn't that just happen with that Snowden fellow in a big way?
But more and more I am using the cloud and using the cloud much more effectively. For my day job, I work for one of the largest and most successful cloud companies there is - EMC. Our livelihood is dependent on your data being safe and secure. We also know there are tremendous benefits in cloud computing for large corporations and for individuals.
I am an individual who likes to be in control. I want to manage my own fate and have control over how things function. On a personal level, I have been a late arriving user of cloud computing, but that is changing rapidly. I was getting tired of carrying around a laptop everywhere I go to have my data on hand with me. Even then, not all of my data is with me as I have a lot stored on our NAS. While much of the NAS is backed-up copies or archived information, but I occasionally require access to it and I never know when or how often that occurs. But it has several times in the last few years, and I have had to do without.
But cloud computing removes my data from any given device such as my laptop and makes it accessible wherever I can tap into a computing device, be it my smart phone or my tablet, or another laptop or desktop computer somewhere. Therefore, the first big benefit of cloud computing is that I can get access to my data, anywhere and at any time as long as I have mobile access. (I am never without mobile access!) I can then share my data across a multitude of platforms and with other individuals.
I have over 1,000 electronic books and can share them across my phone, my tablet and my eBook reader as required, and the point I left off and any highlighting or marginalia is synchronized when I leave one device and go to another. I also started using Evernote to clip websites, email, pictures and other useful things for which I wanted a record. I used to use Notepad to write to-dos, ideas, and record other information, but have now found Evernote to be so much better. I can brainstorm and mind map one of my writing projects on my tablet and then send it to myself (to be loaded into my authoring management system) or another person. I also use it to collaborate and share information on writing projects with other people.
More and more of my applications are used 'in the cloud.' By choosing the right applications and establishing the proper workflow, I have increased my writing productivity by 300% - 400%. That is a significant improvement! By using cloud computing, I have achieved the following benefits:
- 300% - 400% increase in productivity in many areas
- Much better end-to-end workflows without losing train of thought
- Virtually no capital outlay or expenditure
- Significantly reduced need to carry data and computing power around with me, and be able to use the simplest of devices to get most things accomplished
- Ability to collaborate and share workloads with others in controlled manner
- Ability to retrieve things even if I forgot to bring them along
- Significant reduction on physical notepads, post-it notes, and hand-scratched to-do lists
More and more I am living in the clouds! And really enjoying it and benefiting from it. You should consider the same if you have not already. And if that Snowden guy really wants to see what my wife and I have on our joint shopping list, accessible by all of our devices, then he can have at it!
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
My Blake Stevens blog: From Blake's Bookshelf
Still Stupid at Sixty in Amazon Kindle Store
Saturday 2 February 2013
Service providers should understand client requirements, right?
I take great care in providing services to clients and do my best to serve them according to their needs. I have a hierarchy I always try to follow when serving clients:
A friend of mine is drinking a 2003 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz today and it reminded me of a time when a service provider did not put in even the minimal effort to determine their clients needs and they became a laughing stock. More importantly, they precluded themselves from doing business with a number of important executives who would be using similar services repeatedly in the future. I expect they are no longer in business today, but would not know as I have never reached out to engage them again!
I was working for SAP, one of the worlds most renown IT companies, and the time was 2007. SIBOS, the worlds largest Banking Payment conference was being held in Sydney that year. SAP was a major sponsor for the event, and we spent a great deal of money, promoting our products, creating thought leadership, and spending time with analysts, the press and our customers, along with a budget for client entertainment.
We had organized an evening boat trip on the Sydney Harbor which is always a great time, and we were fortunate that evening to be blessed with great weather, especially since it was early September. We invited 100 guests, had a band and speakers, a great buffet dinner, and also organized a wine tasting where the price per head for the tasting had been settled on, and the rest left to the wine tasting company to arrange. Unfortunately, I was not involved in that particular aspect of it as I had much other client facing and public relations activity I needed to be involved in. More unfortunately, our event coordinator also was not aware or involved and left everything on trust to the service provider to take care of the details.
The wine tasting company made a big deal about keeping secret what wines we would be tasting that evening which built anticipation, but was unfortunate in that they made two very large gaffes. They made a big deal about us comparing two superb and iconic Australian wines. We had an international audience that evening, so that seemed to be a good start to the tasting and would be a treat for the participants, especially my colleagues from overseas.
The first gaffe was to select the just released vintage of the Penfolds Grange which was only five years old when released. I cannot possibly phantom why anyone in the wine business would consider doing something so stupid. 20 year-old Grange would not have cost any more than the current release and would have been much more drinkable. An extremely young Grange is just not pleasant to drink! A great deal of money was wasted on this and the results were very disappointing. Many of our clients and partners were dismayed and in shock.
But then the gaffe of the evening occurred when they presented the second wine to sample. It was the Oracle shiraz! People starting laughing. Oracle is SAP's largest and most demonized competitor! To serve and promote the 'goodness' of Oracle at an SAP event is beyond stupid. It was careless and representative of a firm which does not think about their customer's needs or requirements.
While the evening overall was a great success, the wine tasting was a debacle with the criticism being leveled at the wine tasting company and their attendees throughout the remainder of the evening (and unfortunately they had to put up with at as they could escape the boat until we docked!). Service providers really do need to think about their client's requirements and put them first. I expect this wine tasting company did not do much thinking at all and felt they had a formula that would work with anyone by just using iconic brands.
Fortunately I was able to recover nicely later in the week. I had arranged a bus, a wine tasting expert (who I knew personally and worked with to prepare for the trip) and we had 20 of the same group of us go to the Hunter Valley the Saturday just after SIBOS finished. We got to sample older vintages of the Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz, visited six of the Hunter's best wineries through the day and had lunch at an estate overseeing kangaroos hopping around. Most people who made that trip said it was the highlight of the week and their trip to Australia.
I spent only a quarter of the amount of funds for the day in The Hunter Valley that we spent for the wine tasting on the boat and it was a far greater success. We had the CEO of Swift, the CEO of Postbank Systems, and many other executives where we forged a real bond and lasting relationships that day. We associated SAP as a successful company with very successful wineries. We had the wine makers talk to us directly and be available to answer questions. We put a little time into thinking about what our clients and partners wanted and delivered that with little effort, yet great results.
I am a service provider and as such, I also value other service providers and am willing to engage them to help me. However, I do expect them to understand my requirements and needs and then adequately respond to them. If they don't, they will never be given the opportunity to be considered to serve me again. I try to keep that in mind when I am asked to serve others.
Early in my career (and while still living in the US), I had to get out a proposal for the United States Postal System (USPS). We had to deliver it the following day. I had enough sense to use the the USPS Express Mail system with guaranteed overnight delivery to deliver the proposal. My competitor used Federal Express. Can you guess who won the business? I hope my proposal was better value, but I will never know and it never made the difference anyway. I was smart enough to not use my client's competitor to deliver the proposal! (BTW, in that situation now, I would have both sent the proposal USPS Express Mail and have spent a couple hundred dollars to hop on a plane and hand deliver it. Half a day in travel and $200 in expenses is a good insurance policy when going after $300,000 of work, especially when we are looking at that amount in 1980!)
Always think of the client first and understand their requirements. You will have a lot more and a lot happier customers!
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
- Client first
- My company second
- Me third
A friend of mine is drinking a 2003 Kilikanoon Oracle Shiraz today and it reminded me of a time when a service provider did not put in even the minimal effort to determine their clients needs and they became a laughing stock. More importantly, they precluded themselves from doing business with a number of important executives who would be using similar services repeatedly in the future. I expect they are no longer in business today, but would not know as I have never reached out to engage them again!
I was working for SAP, one of the worlds most renown IT companies, and the time was 2007. SIBOS, the worlds largest Banking Payment conference was being held in Sydney that year. SAP was a major sponsor for the event, and we spent a great deal of money, promoting our products, creating thought leadership, and spending time with analysts, the press and our customers, along with a budget for client entertainment.
We had organized an evening boat trip on the Sydney Harbor which is always a great time, and we were fortunate that evening to be blessed with great weather, especially since it was early September. We invited 100 guests, had a band and speakers, a great buffet dinner, and also organized a wine tasting where the price per head for the tasting had been settled on, and the rest left to the wine tasting company to arrange. Unfortunately, I was not involved in that particular aspect of it as I had much other client facing and public relations activity I needed to be involved in. More unfortunately, our event coordinator also was not aware or involved and left everything on trust to the service provider to take care of the details.
The wine tasting company made a big deal about keeping secret what wines we would be tasting that evening which built anticipation, but was unfortunate in that they made two very large gaffes. They made a big deal about us comparing two superb and iconic Australian wines. We had an international audience that evening, so that seemed to be a good start to the tasting and would be a treat for the participants, especially my colleagues from overseas.
The first gaffe was to select the just released vintage of the Penfolds Grange which was only five years old when released. I cannot possibly phantom why anyone in the wine business would consider doing something so stupid. 20 year-old Grange would not have cost any more than the current release and would have been much more drinkable. An extremely young Grange is just not pleasant to drink! A great deal of money was wasted on this and the results were very disappointing. Many of our clients and partners were dismayed and in shock.
But then the gaffe of the evening occurred when they presented the second wine to sample. It was the Oracle shiraz! People starting laughing. Oracle is SAP's largest and most demonized competitor! To serve and promote the 'goodness' of Oracle at an SAP event is beyond stupid. It was careless and representative of a firm which does not think about their customer's needs or requirements.
While the evening overall was a great success, the wine tasting was a debacle with the criticism being leveled at the wine tasting company and their attendees throughout the remainder of the evening (and unfortunately they had to put up with at as they could escape the boat until we docked!). Service providers really do need to think about their client's requirements and put them first. I expect this wine tasting company did not do much thinking at all and felt they had a formula that would work with anyone by just using iconic brands.
Fortunately I was able to recover nicely later in the week. I had arranged a bus, a wine tasting expert (who I knew personally and worked with to prepare for the trip) and we had 20 of the same group of us go to the Hunter Valley the Saturday just after SIBOS finished. We got to sample older vintages of the Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz, visited six of the Hunter's best wineries through the day and had lunch at an estate overseeing kangaroos hopping around. Most people who made that trip said it was the highlight of the week and their trip to Australia.
I spent only a quarter of the amount of funds for the day in The Hunter Valley that we spent for the wine tasting on the boat and it was a far greater success. We had the CEO of Swift, the CEO of Postbank Systems, and many other executives where we forged a real bond and lasting relationships that day. We associated SAP as a successful company with very successful wineries. We had the wine makers talk to us directly and be available to answer questions. We put a little time into thinking about what our clients and partners wanted and delivered that with little effort, yet great results.
I am a service provider and as such, I also value other service providers and am willing to engage them to help me. However, I do expect them to understand my requirements and needs and then adequately respond to them. If they don't, they will never be given the opportunity to be considered to serve me again. I try to keep that in mind when I am asked to serve others.
Early in my career (and while still living in the US), I had to get out a proposal for the United States Postal System (USPS). We had to deliver it the following day. I had enough sense to use the the USPS Express Mail system with guaranteed overnight delivery to deliver the proposal. My competitor used Federal Express. Can you guess who won the business? I hope my proposal was better value, but I will never know and it never made the difference anyway. I was smart enough to not use my client's competitor to deliver the proposal! (BTW, in that situation now, I would have both sent the proposal USPS Express Mail and have spent a couple hundred dollars to hop on a plane and hand deliver it. Half a day in travel and $200 in expenses is a good insurance policy when going after $300,000 of work, especially when we are looking at that amount in 1980!)
Always think of the client first and understand their requirements. You will have a lot more and a lot happier customers!
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
Wednesday 9 January 2013
Standing straight on social media
Many people like to point out the ills and negatives of social media, but then again, many people like to pretty much complain about anything and everything! Frankly, I dislike that type of attitude and that type of individual. Social media certainly has its negative, even dark side, but don't blame the technology, blame the people involved. After all, Internet 2.0 has to do with people-to-people interactions and not everyone likes to play nice.
Some of the basic rants against social media are:
I have a great admiration for social media and am very actively involved with the expectation I will become even more actively involved in the future. What has social media, when used properly done for me?
However, on the anniversary last September of 9/11, I wrote a passionate post in SAZ in the Cellar as a remembrance and given what Dan and another friend had gone through, I dedicated the post to them. And today, Dan commented on my post! I am not sure how he saw it - he may have seen a LinkedIn status of my current blog posting and then reviewed some previous posts, including the one on 9/11. Or he may have done an Internet search on his name and 9/11 and found the post. Regardless, he found it, commented and then shared a most amazing story with me that I have shared onto others regarding how his phone from one of the fallen World Trade Center towers was found two blocks away by a New York fireman, and how they have connected and how the phone has now found its way to the 9/11 Museum. It is an amazing story, one that made me (and my wife) cry and moved me greatly with regard to the power of human relationships, especially in the context of tragedy.
Dan and I were moved by our exchanges today and none of it could have happened without social media. So don't give me your bullshit on how social media is evil, or any more of your negative attitude. Embrace social media and use it properly and exploit its ability to share, support and inspire others! We all control our choices and our actions - don't be blaming technology, don't be blaming the great companies and entrepreneurs who have done so much to make our life better and easier. And don't be blaming others who participate in a negative way - just ignore them.
(BTW, it was the post on 9/11 and usurping the purpose of my SAZ in the Cellar blog, which was the impetus for creating the Steve Shout Out blog.)
There are a number of things that can be done to improve the use and influence of social media:
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
 |
| It's a waste of time! |
Some of the basic rants against social media are:
- It's a waste of time
- It promotes cyber-bullying, to the point of causing people to commit suicide
- It provides a strength of voice which people can hide behind
- It exposes our personal lives and we don't want to be judged on our drunkenness, sexual preferences or perversities, political opinions, moral choices, etc., etc., etc.
- HR departments look at social media to evaluate us and reject our job applications (this happens about 12% of the time BTW!), or universities refuse to grant scholarships because they didn't like the way we behave as exhibited online
- Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google are all evil corporations because they control the world and our behavior (what bullshit!)
I have a great admiration for social media and am very actively involved with the expectation I will become even more actively involved in the future. What has social media, when used properly done for me?
- I found out my dad had a massive stroke and was able to proactively reach out to people through finding out on Facebook before my mom was able to focus and contact me
- I have connected with a slew of high school and community friends where I grew up and stay closely connected
- I am part of a "cousin's family group" where we share information, humor, and support for each other
- I am part of a 25-year ago work group when we were all together doing great things in Indonesia
- I have access to and have formed multiple common interest communities to share knowledge and support each other
- I have been able to seek and find knowledge I could not have found out as easily or at all through other means - it has become a real productivity tool for me instead of a time waster (of course, that happened once I gave up Bejeweled Blitz!)
- I have met friends with similar passions and in many cases have met them physically and become friends beyond the online world
- I have been inspired and supported by a great number of true friends I have only met online, and I know and have achieved feedback from others on how I have changed their life, or influenced their decision-making or choice of products
However, on the anniversary last September of 9/11, I wrote a passionate post in SAZ in the Cellar as a remembrance and given what Dan and another friend had gone through, I dedicated the post to them. And today, Dan commented on my post! I am not sure how he saw it - he may have seen a LinkedIn status of my current blog posting and then reviewed some previous posts, including the one on 9/11. Or he may have done an Internet search on his name and 9/11 and found the post. Regardless, he found it, commented and then shared a most amazing story with me that I have shared onto others regarding how his phone from one of the fallen World Trade Center towers was found two blocks away by a New York fireman, and how they have connected and how the phone has now found its way to the 9/11 Museum. It is an amazing story, one that made me (and my wife) cry and moved me greatly with regard to the power of human relationships, especially in the context of tragedy.
 |
| Dan, the fireman and the phone that brought them together |
Dan and I were moved by our exchanges today and none of it could have happened without social media. So don't give me your bullshit on how social media is evil, or any more of your negative attitude. Embrace social media and use it properly and exploit its ability to share, support and inspire others! We all control our choices and our actions - don't be blaming technology, don't be blaming the great companies and entrepreneurs who have done so much to make our life better and easier. And don't be blaming others who participate in a negative way - just ignore them.
(BTW, it was the post on 9/11 and usurping the purpose of my SAZ in the Cellar blog, which was the impetus for creating the Steve Shout Out blog.)
There are a number of things that can be done to improve the use and influence of social media:
- De-friend contacts who are negative, racist or in other ways rude or exhibit derogatory behavior (I know a friend who did this today)
- Support each other and reach out to people with common passions, interests or similar profiles to you in terms of hobbies, groups they belong to and so forth
- Don't accept blind invites until qualified first
- Establish privacy and sharing settings to control who you share, post to, and communicate with
- Don't play solitary games unless they have some positive benefit such as improving your manual dexterity, your logical thinking process, etc.
- Don't be drawn into feeling you need to respond to stupid posts by ill-informed idiots!
- Don't be stupid and do stupid things publicly!
- Be aware and sensitive to the types of hoaxes that can be perpetuated via social media and do what you can to verify all interactions are legitimate and honorable - I know this is difficult and Ihave been sucked in myself a few times, but more astute now on how to pick up on them
- Embrace, don't fight social media and its positive benefits
Steve Shipley
Twitter: @shipleyaust
My wine blog: SAZ in the Cellar
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