Article Roundup

I’ve found so many good items of interest to Wired Writers that I’m sharing them with you rather than writing a new post myself.

Specifically for Writers

Web site for Newbie Writers (appears to be based in UK, but About link is not working for me today.

20 Hi-Tech Tools and Resources for Writers

Web Sites and Blogging

Author Tech Tips: The Top 5 Author Website Mistakes

New Rule for Book Review Bloggers

Online Security

5 Essential Tips to Keep Your PC Safe

Publishing Industry

Options in the Price War Over Books

If you have articles or Web site URLs to share, please post a comment. Next week, I hope to be done with my evaluation of the free brainstorming software, Personal Brain 5. If you have used this software, please contact me at akinemily(a)gmail.com.

Online Security: Passwords

Usernames and passwords are a fact of life for anyone active online. From your e-mail account to your bank account, you have to deal with keeping your login information private. And how difficult is it to remember and manage all those usernames and passwords?

Dedicated Address Book

I keep my usernames and passwords in a wire-bound address book listed alphabetically by the name of the Web site. If I change a password, I immediately record the change in the address book and make a note of the date I changed it. I use some of my logins often enough that I can remember them, but I keep the address book on my desk just in case. It almost goes without saying that you don’t store your password list on computer, but I’m going to say it anyway. Don’t make a Word file or any other file with usernames and passwords that will be saved on your computer.

Password Manager Software

It’ll cost you between $25 and $30, but you can get software that will help you manage your usernames and passwords without compromising security. The top ten are reviewed online here. I have never considered using this method because I’m a cheapskate, and, whenever you buy software, at some point you have to buy an update. However, there are people who firmly believe this is the best way to manage login info.

Secret Formula

Here’s a great idea. Develop your own formula for your passwords. If you use the same formula for every password, the password will be unique each site and easier for you to remember. Still, I’d keep them written down somewhere anyway. See this article by Daniel Scocco on DailyBlogTips.com. I’d want my formula to be simpler than his, but it is a great idea. I think I will choose five-letter word to use as the base of my formula. I will change it up by adding letters, numbers or special characters before and after it. Of course, my formula is secret, so I won’t share it with you.

Online Research: Scoping Out Your Competition

Do you have a book idea? Would you like to know what’s already published on your subject? You pretty much have to know this before you can write a book proposal. My book idea has been hanging around in the far reaches of my mind for a couple of years now. I’ve finally started researching what’s out there so that I can know if it’s worthwhile to pursue my idea. Here’s what I’ve done so far (and my results).

Search Amazon.com

First, I searched my prospective title, Write What You Know: Finding Stories in Everyday Life. Didn’t get much. Next, I shortened the title to Write What You Know. I got a long list of items with similar titles, but only one book with a similar title. See results here. Finally, I put my title in quotes “Write What You Know.” Using the quotation marks limits my results to phrases with those exact words. I got a list of several titles, but only one book could be considered current (and stock is low). See search results here.

Search Publisher’s Site

The one title I found is a Writer’s Digest book, so I went to their site. I searched my title and the ISBN number of the book on Amazon with no results at all. I have to assume that the book is out of print.

Google It

Next, I went to Google and search my original title, Write What You Know: Finding Stories in Everyday Life, with this result. I took a few minutes to browse the first few links, bookmarking the ones with content similar to what I have planned for my book. I searched again using “Write What You Know.” Results were a bit different this time. Again, I browsed the results and bookmarked new sites of interest.

What Next?

Now that I have determined that there are few books with the title I’ve planned, I will take some time to study my search results. It appears that the books that have been published on this topic apply to writing personal experience articles or adapting your experiences to fiction. My book will be a how-to for beginning article writers. It might even be a workbook before I’m done.

I’ll need to do more research by talking with publishing industry professionals and with people who teach writing. No doubt, there’s a lot of work left to do, but I’m off to a great start with what I’ve found online.

I invite comments on this blog. If you use other research methods, please share them by commenting. If you would like to write a guest post, please e-mail me at akinemily@gmail.com.

Do You Have Backup?

Policemen have them. So do quarterbacks, astronauts, and lead actors. OK, so a writer’s need for backup is not as serious as for policemen and astronauts. But, writers do need to protect their life’s work from a computer crash, lightning strike, or just plain “operator failure.”

Accept the fact that you should backup early and often no matter whether your project is large or small. There are a number of backup options. I’ll share methods I have used and then pass along some suggestions that have come to me from others.

On-site Backup

• Copy your data files to CD or memory stick periodically. Store the CD/stick outside your home in a safe place such as bank safety deposit box.
• A more expensive option is an external hard drive. More information here. I would want to also store the external hard-drive off-site.
• Blog content can be exported as xml file and stored on your computer or other device.

Online Backup

• For work in progress, I use a webmail account (Hotmail, Gmail, AOL) to store my drafts. At the end of each work session, I e-mail a copy of the current file to myself at the webmail address. I created a “writing backups” folder in the webmail account where I archive these messages until I no longer need them.

• There are a number of free or paid online backup services. Some offer a small amount of storage free and allow you to upgrade to paid version when you need it. Others offer a free trial period before you have to pay. I use Mozy.com. The home version is described here.
• If you use Norton 360 security software, you get some free storage associated with it. If you have another security software package, check to see what that company offers.

I prefer online backup because it’s more convenient. You can set it to update whenever you want, and it’s automatically stored off-site. If the house burns down, your data is safe. Once you’ve backed up to CD, memory stick, or hard drive, you have the immediate problem of where to store it. It’s just not convenient to regularly transport your backup to an off-site location.

I welcome comments on this post from people who use these methods or other methods that are not mentioned.

Check out these buyers guides for more info on online backups:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5245&review=Online+Backup+Service+Buyers+Guide+2009

http://askbobrankin.com/which_online_backup_service_is_best.html

Free Web Sites: One Last Word

I had intended to move on to other topics for this post, but I put a request for information about WordPress on one of my online groups. I got a response that I want to share with you. Although the article was posted last year, the information is still good.

Ways to get a free website
Monday, 29 September 2008

© 2009 – Deleyna’s Dynamic Designs

DIY Web Sites: Should You or Shouldn’t You?

Get a Web site! That’s one piece of advice freelance writers and editors get from marketing classes and consultants at every turn. Since I started this blog a couple of years ago, I have included a number of posts about how to produce a Web site yourself using low-cost or free site builders. Whether you’re in business or just have a serious hobby, you need to keep your costs low, don’t you?

A recent post on Inspired 2 Design made a lot of sense to me, so I’m sharing it here. Basically, the unnamed blogger says that, by using free or low-cost DIY methods, you run the risk of appearing unprofessional, not really serious about your business or ministry. And, the time it takes to do your own site would be better spent going about your real business. Keep in mind that this post is put out by a Web design company, and it is a response to a post on Kudzu Business Center touting WordPress as a do-it-yourself (DIY) site builder. Read that post here.

I’ve used free sites for some things while paying for software and hosting for my own site, so I think Inspired 2 Design has a point. I find myself spending a lot of time on design and not enough time on content (which is my primary reason for having sites/blogs). The free site builders are better than they used to be, believe me. Still, you can’t do some of the fancy footwork that can be done with a professionally designed, full-featured site.

Whether you’re looking to set up a new site or revise an old one, it’s wise to check out all your options. Perhaps it’s time to get a unique design and professional help with your site. Ask your friends if they know of local people who do sites. Some of the free and low-cost Web site companies offer a design service. Maybe you can get a unique design while continuing to use your current site builder to do updates yourself. The possibilities are endless, really.

Previous posts about free Web sites on this blog:

http://wired2write.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/free-web-sites-revisited/

http://wired2write.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/creating-a-free-site-with-wordpress/

http://wired2write.wordpress.com/online-resources-for-christian-writers/free-site-with-wordpress/

Other do-it-yourself methods: http://www.website-doityourself.com/

FeedDemon Redux

FeedDemon is still the best way to follow multiple blogs, in my opinion. I’ve written about it in previous blogs here and here. Just after I posted my last rave about FeedDemon, I got an e-mail from Newsgator saying there would be changes, effective August 31, 2009. Here’s my take on the changes.

• There’s an ad in the lower left corner of the FeedDemon desktop. Annoying, but pretty unobtrusive.
• FeedDemon now syncs with Google Reader instead of Newsgator, which is an improvement, I think. I usually recommend Google Reader for beginners to feed-reading, because there are online tutorials on how to use it and it’s easy to use. Once a beginner has learned to use Google Reader, it’s easy enough to move to FeedDemon for more efficient blog tracking.
• I think it runs a bit slower than the old version, but I really can’t complain.

Go to the FeedDemon site for a complete overview including features description and screenshots. I welcome comments from anyone who uses another feed reader. If you would like to write a guest post on an alternate feed reader, e-mail me at akinemily[a]gmail.com.

Guest Post: Affordable, Professional Web Sites

Welcome to guest blogger, Tracy Ruckman. She is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer. She owns Write Integrity Editorial Services and WIES Workshops (online writing courses.) She also hosts the popular Pix-N-Pens blog for writers, readers, editors, and photographers.

An essential tool for any business, especially writers and editors, is a Web site. Most of us are of the “starving artist” variety, so we can’t afford a huge budget for building and hosting our site – but we also can’t afford to look cheap, either. (One of my pet peeves is a cheap-looking Web site.)

Several years ago, I discovered HostGator and they provide the best of both worlds – professional and affordable.

HostGator provides many options for beginners and professionals, and can be considered a “one-stop shop” because you can purchase your domain name and monthly hosting of your Web site. They even provide free site builders (SiteStudio and SiteBuilder) so you can easily build the Web site yourself from thousands of templates. Building your own site saves money in the end, because you’ll be able to make updates yourself as needed and you maintain total control of its look and content.

HostGator’s web hosting packages are priced from $8.95/month for a very basic plan, to $9.95/month for their mid-range plan, and $14.95/month for the professional plan that includes your own toll-free number. The rates are a little lower if you pay by the year(s) rather than by the month ($4.95/mo, $7.95/mo, $12.95/mo for a 3-year payment.)

The company offers a “reseller” plan if you are interested in building web sites for others, or even if you just want to set yourself up as a hosting company. Reseller hosting plans start at just $24.95. (You’ll recoup this almost immediately as you build your client base.)

HostGator also sells domain names, and they start at $15, which is a little steep compared to some of the other companies, but they don’t jack up the price after the first year, so it averages out. (It also saves a few steps transferring the DNS.)  But if you prefer to buy your domain name elsewhere and use HostGator for everything else, that’s acceptable and easily done.

Technical support at HostGator is exceptional. Agents are available 24/7 by phone, chat, and e-mail. They are thorough, efficient, and friendly – and there’s never much of a wait except during peak times (and even then, it’s not a long wait.)

Some of the Web sites I’ve designed using their templates include: www.tracyruckman.com, www.debraullrick.com, www.mildredcolvin.com, www.thechristianpen.com, and www.writeintegrity.com. All of these were built using the SiteStudio program with limited html knowledge, and limited experience – if I can do it, you probably can, too!

Creating a Free Site with WordPress

I searched the Web for step-by-step instructions on how to set up a free site with WordPress.com, but I found nothing. I first became aware that this was possible when I ran across Brandy Brow’s site at www.brandybrow.com.

Notice the address bar when you arrive on her site (http://brandybrow.wordpress.com/).

She has purchased her own domain name and re-directed it to the free WordPress site, thereby saving hosting fees. Most people coming to her site using brandybrow.com would not even notice the different URL.

I needed to do a free site for my music club, so I created this one using Brandy’s approach: www.philharmonicmusicguild.info. Check the URL in the address bar when you arrive there: http://pmgmartin.wordpress.com/. Note that you can’t always get the URL you want when you’re dealing with free services.

I’ve created a new page for the directions on how to do this. Go to Free Site with WordPress following this link. Good luck!

Gold Mine of Helps for Authors

Are you a writer or an author? Doesn’t matter. I’ve found a site/blog that’s just full of great tips for writers/authors. Take a look: Author Tech Tips.

Go to the navigation bar across the top and choose the topic you most want to browse. There are 12 articles on Web sites. You can subscribe for future articles using RSS feed, Twitter, YouTube, or e-mail.

I’m taking a week’s hiatus from this blog, but I’ll be back soon with update on the new FeedDemon and a post on how to build a free Web site with WordPress.com. See the one I created for Philharmonic Music Guild.