What To Do When It Rains
Since I have been knocked completely off schedule due to a family medical emergency, now is a good time for you to become completely familiar with The Writer’s Technology Companion.
Dustin Wax’s new blog is beginning to establish itself within its first two months as perhaps the best blog covering issues relating to writer’s productivity. With several years experience as one of the top blogger’s on the internet as a major domo at Lifehack.Org, Dustin brings to his writer’s blog perhaps an unparalleled range of experience and knowledge. His blog shows it: meticulously conceived and designed, any blogger can learn just by examining the structure of his blog. King, however, is the content.
Dustin has just finished a clearly written, 5-part series on publishing your own ebooks. And following his own advice, the series is now available as a short, free ebook that many writers should download to their ebook library. He has a bunch of other 5-part series up his sleeve. You see, Dustin mapped out months of content even before going public — talk about a writer who’s organized!
Anyone who has subscribed to Becoming A Writer Seriously — at last check about 280 subscribers! — should definitely subscribe also to The Writer’s Technology Companion. These two blogs closely parallel each other: similar in concept and coverage, but with somewhat different styles and emphases.
Other Diversions
While I’m at it, directing you to other sources, check out the recently released Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. You will find it in the current issue of the magazine, which hit the newsstands just a week ago. Eventually the list will appear at the magazine’s website too, if you prefer to wait. Or you can order the magazine’s Writer’s Ultimate Resource Guide 2008, a CD which also contains the website list.
While on the subject of the list, I’m rather surprised that there is not a category there for blogs and sites which deal with “productivity.” Maybe next year, Maria? But then, I’m prejudiced, aren’t I?
Mac users should check out the computer section of your neighborhood magazine stall for the magazine [I forget which one] with a cover story comparing iWorks and Microsoft Office. One of the reviews compares the word processor component of these competitng suites, with some startling and informative conclusions. And there’s a companion article identifying many of the other word processing programs available for the Mac. I was surprised, however, that Scrivener was not included.
I hope these diversionary suggestions will keep you occupied for another week or so. I hope to back with some new software reviews by mid-month.
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Comments
Tom: Thanks for the kind words. I hope all is well or fast on the way to becoming well!
I feel like, even though we cover some of the same ground, we each bring our own “thing” to it — different voices, different priorities, different working styles, and different experience. I’ll freely admit I’m a fuzzy-headed idealist who has brought into the “let’s just get along” ethos of the Internet, but that said, I don’t see any competition between what you do and what I do — I think there’s plenty of room for two, even three or four sites covering the same ground.
The absence of information on productivity in writing generally is somewhat baffling; so much of the advice out there amounts to “sit down and write!”, which might get that novel finished, but doesn’t begin to address the realities of the professional writer’s life these days. Quick example: I have no idea how to do my estimated tax payments. Up to now, that’s been no big deal, since my profit from writing has been small enough that I haven’t hit the “penalty for owing too much taxes” wall — but next year, between book royalties and professional blogging and ad income and web content writing and everything else I do, I will hit that threshhold. And I’m sure I’ll figure it out — and I’ll write it up, so the next 10,000 writers (optimistic about my traffic growth, aren’t I?) don’t have to. That’s a void just aching to be filled, I think.
Dustin 
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I read your blog when it rains, either the liquid or metaphorical kind.
Hope your medical emergency resolved itself with a happy ending, and I appreciate your recommendation to the new blog. I’m going to check it out, especially since I’ve been curious about what it takes to get an e-book out there.