The increase appears to be partially fueled by the recent significant price reduction in the Kindle Readers, whose sales tripled since the price break.

For writers, this development simply adds to the message that ANY ONE can get published and gain access to a large market.  The key is marketing, making potential readers aware that one’s book is worth a look.

Again, I point blog readers to subscribe to Social Media Examiner, which has emerged has the best resource for ideas about harnessing the social media to build one’s fan base.

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Liquid Story Binder is a remarkable “writing environment.”  Much more than a word processor, it has lots of elements designed especially for creative writers and novelists.  On 20 July, Bits du Jour offers the software at 66 percent discount, or $15.62 rather than the full price of $45.95.  If you are a novelist and do not know the software, at the very least take a look at it.  Personally, I do not use this software very much, since I am not a “creative” writer — but still, I’m absolutely fascinated by it and happily keep it at hand on my desktop computer.

On 22 July, History Explorer is the software on offer:  half price at $9.95, rather than $19.95.  This software keeps track of evolving versions on one’s work, a task that can be a life-saver.  I like it — and use it.

These are ONE DAY only deals.  But potential buyers can download them now for a trial run.

Its  list of word processing programs is very incomplete and even, in my view, a bit odd.  Left out are some significant packages, while the review includes some out-of-left-field candidates.  Still the exhaustive feature comparison list is worth reviewing just to see all the possible features such packages can offer.  And the product reviews certainly clarify in depth what word processors have to offer.

Check out:  TopTenReviews Word Processors:  http://office-software-review.toptenreviews.com/word-processing-software/index.html

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We have launched a large-scale giveaway promotion today, that is free giving away our Latest 3.0.0 version of PDF to Word Converter on AnyBizSoft’s Facebook page. Anyone who click Like button to become our fan can get a free license, which worths $29.95. So we invite you to evaluate our software and share the news to your readers.

Product Page: http://www.anypdftools.com/pdf-to-word.html

Promotion Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/AnyBizSoft

SOME YEARS BACK, I needed a simple, straight-forward outliner program.  I finally found one that matched my needs – and I paid $100 for it.  TODAY — Sunday, 21 February — Bits du Jour offers a brand new, one-month-old outliner program at half price, for a whopping $9.95.  It’s called UV Outliner.

This program is very basic, but it does have some nice features.  And for old-fashioned writers like me, who grew up learning outlining skills in high school, it’s very handy and familiar.

The software developer says this about the software:

I tried almost every outliner for Windows. Unfortunately, they all look like they were developed 10 years ago with same Windows 98 style.  Personally, I think one of the best outliners ever is OmniOutliner.  Unfortunately, there is no version for Windows.

Being a developer, I decided to create my own outliner with focus on usability.

Outliners — and there are quite a number on the market — can be much more powerful than this one.  In fact, there’s a website forum devoted exclusively to discussing outlining programs:  Outliner Software.  OV Outliner is a :single-pane” outliner, similar to the Mac’s OmniOutliner, which many think is the best outlining program on any computer platform.  Most are “double-pane,” or even “triple-pane” programs.  For an explanation about the differences among these types of outliners, check out my post Better Than A Shoebox, one of the very first posts to this blog.  In fact, if you enter “outliner” in the search box above, you’ll uncover a number of posts relevant to the subject.

If you catch this post in time, check out the Bits du Jour website for today’s discount.  You can download and try out the program first, but you have to purchase the program before the end of the day to avail of the discount.

For more about various outliners, including OmniOutliner for the Mac [pictured above], check the links below.

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If you don’t have an iPhone, don’t despair. There’s a desktop version [still in beta, but quite workable] for Windows, Mac and Linux. I’ve used it myself and like it, especially the resizeable window and font size features.   Both iPhone and desktop versions are available for FREE.

The application is so powerful that Apple, sadly, last week demanded that a portion of the application’s functionality be dropped.  Read about that development in the links below.

The video demo amazes me with this application’s power.

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Other blogs, of course, provide fodder for Becoming A Writer – Seriously.  Here I share some links, with my own take on just what they provide.  I’m sure some of you will find this information of particuar use.

TOP 100 BLOGS FOR WRITERS IN 2010

Compiling a “top 100″ list takes a lot of time.  Writing insightful annotations for each entry on the list requires even more commitment, but that’s an effort that is especially helpful to readers as they try to identify which sites in the list are of special interest.  One of the best such lists for writers is Top 100 Blogs to Improve Your Writing in 2010, recently posted by Universities and Colleges.  Becoming A Writer – Seriously is honored to be on the list — and I would like especially to thank Colleges and Universities for its perception in identifying the blog’s feature most dear to my heart:

“Easy to navigate yet full of information for a better writing experience.”

Some of you may be surprised to learn that the blog’s Table of Contents was completely conceptualized even before the blog was launched over three years ago.  I took about two months to think through the goals and organization of this blog before it went public.  That preparation has made a lot of difference in keeping me motivated and on track.

This blog’s goal has always been not to be just a place for random postings.  Instead, I’ve aimed at compiling the material here into a virtual online reference book for writers interested in the mechanics and business side of writing.  The Table of Contents has mostly been invisible, hidden away in a drop-down list, until the site gathered enough information to flesh out the various chapters.  Just last week we unveiled our new design, which attempts to put the range of resources here more easily at hand.

FIVE CHAPTERS and KINDLE

I’m an avid fan of MediaBistro’s new blog eBook Newser.  Craig Morgan Teicher has just written a short post that contains several important references for writers.

First, he draws attention to the short story website Five Chapters, where writers can serialize their short fiction.  Or unveil a chapter of a forth-coming book as a teaser, as Sam Lypsite has done.  Fiction writers take note:  this site may play a role in your promotional efforts.

Teicher then goes on to describe how to get the Five Chapters material into a form readable on a Kindle.  Well, that is valuable to know.  More important, the online resource Teicher identifies — ReKindleIt — has value for any writer seeking to promote his website material for reading on the Kindle.  For example, writers may place sample book chapters on their own website, with information about how to ReKindleIt for reading on one’s Kindle.

Teicher in a December column provides more informtion about ReKindleIt, along with tips for best results.  Note, however, that one must first own a Kindle to download material into the device.  Still, writers can tap the resource to encourage website visitors to download their material via this online facility.

CALLING YOUR ATTENTION TO…

Bloggers probably know about Zamantha, a tool for finding links to other blog posts relevant to one’s own post.  I routinely select such links to append at the bottom of my posts.  Many of them point to really important information.  Today, for example, I point to a brand new startup website for both Writers AND Readers.  This may eventually become a useful tool for bringing one’s own work to more reader eyeballs.  Check it out.

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ZOHO INVOICE 2.0

If you are a freelance writer who needs occasionally to send out and manage invoices, you may be interested in the newly upgraded Zoho Invoice 2.0.  Cloud Avenue offers a useful overview, with screenshots and demo video.  [For your convenience, the demo video will be available in our sidebar VIDEO FOR WRITERS for a few days -- and at our VIDEO FOR WRITERS website thereafter.]

NETBOOK AS E-BOOK READER

Lifehacker remains one of my favorite blogs.  Not that I read everything there — but several times a week, it publishes an article that I find invaluable.  For example, this week’s article about steps to turn a netbook into an e-book reader provides very specific suggestions, along with many reader comments that themselves pass on some useful information.  Netbookers should try this out.

MIND MAPPING

I’ve just discovered a mindmapping software blog site, which currently has a post about the iPad as an ideal platform for mind mapping.  I pass this link on to writers that turn to the mind-mapping technique to spur creativity.  At the very least, some of you may wish to bookmark this blog.

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For more information about Becoming A Writer Seriously and our family of websites for writers, click on the ABOUT tab above.

Thanks — and tell us what you think of the new design.  Does it work for you?

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