Tag: writing tools

Advice, Uncategorized

What Might 2013 Mean for Self-Publishing?

With 2012 now just a couple of days behind us, it’s hard not to wonder what the new year will bring for the self-publishing world. Will is be our “lucky ’13?” What earth-shattering changes might we see in our field?

Outskirts Press looks forward to the exciting changes that technology is likely to bring to the publishing world! Here are some of our observations about what this year could look like.

ePublishingEbooks will continue to chew into print book sales. With ebook readers landing in ever more hands, look for that segment of the book market to grow. That’s not to say hard copies have gone the way of the dodo bird, but as virtual books land on more even footing with printed books, our approach to distributing them must change from pretty, eye-catching cover art to maybe a stronger focus on social media.

Self-publishing will gain tremendous ground. Book-buying trends over the last few years appear to indicate that readers are much more open to self-published books than in the past; the independent publishing segment is no longer automatically associated with inferior quality, as books like “Fifty Shades of Grey” gain popularity.

Competition for readers will be tough. Self-publishing has made it easier than ever for talented writers to realize the dream of authorship. The flip side of that is stiff competition from a glut of new writers. This means it may be more diffSocial Media Set-Upicult for self-published authors to cut through the clutter — but not impossible.

Authors will enjoy more freedoms and have more tools at their disposal. Competition may abound, but so do useful tools and services authors need to create, publish and market their books. The new year will see a flood of new smartphone and tablet apps, self-publishing services, social media tools and techniques, and technologies that all serve to make the writer’s job easier and his work more productive.

Outskirts Press, the fastest growing self-publishing company, is constantly adding new services geared toward helping the modern author negotiate these trends and gain visibility in a crowded marketplace. Be sure to visit our Writing Services, Publishing Packages and Marketing Solutions pages regularly for the latest author services.

Have you resolved to finish your great American novel in 2013? Talk to Outskirts Press about getting it published in the new year!

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Advice, Author Inspiration, Uncategorized

Top Apps for Writers: Blogging and Social Media

Although writing is usually done solo — or at best, in very small groups — it is at its core a social medium. That is to say, we write to express human ideas, to reach out, to change thoughts, feelings and opinions, and to explore our humanity. So, who says you should do all that in a vacuum?

We’ve talked about mobile applications that help you generate thoughts, commit them to “paper” and even stay on schedule. Now, we’ll talk about apps that help you, the writer, stay connected and exchange ideas social while you do it.

WordPress

The beauty of the WordPress mobile app is not just in its functionality; it’s in the immediacy and sense of urgency the app lends to an otherwise static medium. Imagine: Rather than simply writing a retrospective essay on an inspiring trip, you can also place your readers and friend in the very midst of what excites you as it happens. You can’t always do that from a desk. The ability to have meaningful, immediate exchanges with commentors on your blog means you strengthen your online presence — and your following!

Blogger

Simple and straightforward, the Blogger app is another great tool for creating short blog posts on the fly, or viewing and managing existing posts.

Tumblr

We love the ease of use and the variety of things you can share when you microblog with Tumblr. With six input options — text, photos, video, links, quotes and audio — you can quickly post everything from book cover ideas, audiobook snippets, favorite verses and more.

TweetCaster

You thought we’d say Facebook or Pinterest mobile apps? Well, yes, get those too! Anything that lets your share the here and now with lots of people is a good thing when you’re building a following. TweetCaster does that by putting the full functionality of Twitter in hand. However, what we adore most about TweetCaster is the ability to retweet posts with your own comments, a feature you won’t actually find on the full website!

Pinterest

Got a book in the works? Start promoting now with Pinterest! It’s the perfect way to bring a project to life visually for potential readers. Create pinboard for past books, and then get readers excited about your upcoming project by sharing location shots, possible cover art, photos of actors you feel embody your main characters and more.

Keep an eye on this blog for more apps for writers. Next time, we’ll discuss applications you can use to store and track your writing. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you about your favorite creative apps and the unique ways you’ve put them to work!

Start Self-Publishing Now!

Advice, Author Inspiration, Uncategorized

Top Apps for Writers: Storing, Sharing and Tracking

As a book author, you just never know when inspiration for a new chapter will strike, or when you’ll suddenly find just the right words for that pesky chapter you’ve been toiling over for months.

We’ve already discussed mobile applications that you catch the moment when fresh ideas hit you. But what if you want to edit existing text without creating a new document?

Dropbox

If, like many people, you own a desktop, laptop, an iPhone, iPad, Android device or a combination of these, the ability to access your in-progress documents on any of these devices can be a lifesaver. Dropbox users have come to rely on the swift sycability of documents with this app. Nothing important ever gets lost or “trapped” on any one device. There’s enough storage space on Dropbox to let you tackle big projects on the go and make sure they make to your hard drive when you get home.

Google Drive

Ditto for Google Drive, formerly known as Google Docs. As omnipresent as Google is, so is Google Drive. Upload Word docs, photos, PDFs and spreadsheets to the app and simply log in from any device to retrieve and edit at will, or “invite” a co-creator to collaborate with you virtually. The autosave feature means you’ll never have to start from scratch in the event of a signal or power interruption. With 5 GB of free storage space at your disposal, you can rest assured there’s always a backup.

Pages

Really, we could have included this in our first blog with other word processing applications, but Pages’ use of iCloud technology is sync heaven, as far as we’re concerned. Not only does this app permit an impressive range of formatting options, but thanks to iCloud, storing, emailing and printing documents is exceptionally easy and reliable.

Story Tracker

If you’re the author of multiple books or across several writing styles, Story Tracker is a must. Use it to track projects statuses, deadlines, submission guidelines, submission histories, writing income by submission or time frame, project details, such as title, word count and notes, and much more. When you have a lot of irons in the fire — and lots of editors to please — Story Tracker keeps all the dates, figures and facts at a glance.

Now it’s time to hear from you: Tell us all about your favorite mobile apps and the unique ways you’ve put them to work in your own writing!

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Advice, Author Inspiration, Uncategorized

Top Apps for Writers: Productivity

These days, there’s a crazy amount of competition in the world of literature. Fortunately, there are also more tools than ever to help writers create, organize and publicize their work!

There are hundreds of thousands of mobile apps available for Apple, Android and BlackBerry devices, and too many specifically geared toward writing to even list. However, we’re spotlighting several of our favorites this month in a series of blogs covering word processing/writing apps, writer’s tools, blogs and social media apps, and even applications for tracking your work.

Today we’ll focus on tools you can use to get the creative juices flowing and keep your writing on track.

The Brainstormer

We all get writer’s block at one time or another. The Brainstormer is designed to inspire you to break out of that mental vapor lock and start creating again. A shake of your smartphone or iPad activates the spinning wheels, which churn out endless combinations of random ideas you can spin off into a brand new story of your own. The Brainstormer is a terrific starting point for writers who’ve committed to writing regularly but are unsure where to start.

Writing Prompts

Similar in ways to The Brainstormer, Writing Prompts provides you with ideas you can use to begin writing a scene or story — settings, characters, objects in the scene or story, genre and phrases to jump start the project. Save your favorite combinations and even customize your prompts with ideas of your own.

Pomodoro Time Management

Writers are notorious for procrastinating; any tool that encourages discipline is a boon! Whether you’re participating in NaNoWriMo or just trying to get more focused on your writing in general, Pomodoro is useful for staying on task. This timer divides your task time into half-hour segments made up of 25-minute chunks of time (called pomodoros) for work and 5-minute breaks. It’s a fantastic way to get a lot done in a short time, while still allowing for stretch breaks and vital burnout prevention.

Dragon Dictation

When ideas just spill out faster than your fingers can fly — or one finger in the case of mobile apps — a talk-to-text application is essential. There are thousands of apps that record voice and/or take dictation, but Dragon Dictation is one of our favorites for its accuracy. Just press record and start talking. Yes, you’ll get a few interesting interpretations of your dictation, but this is one of the most accurate dictation apps available and it’s regularly updated.

Advanced English Dictionary & Thesaurus

We love the functionality of this micro-dictionary and thesaurus! Not only is it speedy and user-friendly, but it also instantly provides you with a list of words similar to the one you’ve searched. Another huge plus is that once the app is downloaded to your device, you don’t need an Internet connection to use it. While there are many — and we mean many — electronic dictionaries available to mobile device users in every imaginable price range, few offer as much bang for the buck for under a dollar.

Keep an eye on this blog for more apps for writers. Next time, we’ll highlight the essential blogging and social media applications and how to use them. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you about your favorite productivity apps and the unique ways you’ve put them to work!

Start Self-Publishing Now!

Advice, Author Inspiration, Uncategorized

Top Apps for Writers

These days, there’s a crazy amount of competition in the world of literature. Fortunately, there are also more tools than ever to help writers create, organize and publicize their work!

There are hundreds of thousands of mobile apps available for Apple, Android and BlackBerry devices, and too many specifically geared toward writing to even list. However, we’ll spotlight several of our favorites in a series of blogs covering word processing/writing apps, writer’s tools, blogs and social media apps, and even applications for tracking your work.

Today we’ll focus on the basics: word processing and writing apps. If you’re very comfortable using a smartphone or tablet during the writing process, some of these may seem basic. However, if you’ve never used anything but a good ol’ paper and pencil, give these apps a try. You may find the portability and functionality useful in making you more productive and creative.

iJournaler

This may well be the easiest transition from the traditional leather-bound journal to the digital writing medium. Made for iPad, iJournaler is meant to replicate a paper journal. The bonus here is the ability to websync and sort entries easily without ripping out pages, scanning and copying.

My Writing Spot

Simple yet powerful, this iPad app is perfect for getting down your prose quickly without distraction. The app allows you to quickly organize your work, autosave and websync your documents, and includes wordcounts and password protection features.

Writer’s Studio

Writer’s Studio lets you add audio and visual elements to your writing projects. Geared toward writers who want to create an interactive experience, the app is a great way for writers to play with design and layout, cover art and other publishing elements.

FreeNote

When you need a do-it-all app for gathering and capturing creativity on the fly, it’s hard to beat FreeNote for functionality. The note-taking tool gives users the ability to take handwritten or typed notes, audio notes, Internet screen captures and more. The convenience is awfully nice, but FreeNote is also a heck of a word processor. Once you create a document, you can edit, manipulate fonts, annotate, save and share documents, and even set reminders for future tasks within the document. FreeNote is hard to learn at first, but with practice, you can do almost anything you need to do to draft your next book all in one app.

Keep an eye on this blog for more apps for writers. Next time, we’ll discuss applications you can use to jump start and manage your writing. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you about your favorite creative apps and the unique ways you’ve put them to work!

Start Self-Publishing Now!