Becoming A Writer Seriously - Latest Comments

Re: More Insight into Twitter: To Do or Not To Do?

tomcolvin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:10:15 -0000

Gosh, that's a great testimonial! Hope other readers here take it to heart.

Re: Newsweek: A Sobering Take on Blogging

tomcolvin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 16:07:09 -0000

Dwayne, we certainly agree about that. BTW, what an extraordinary website
at computer.org. And I even followed you on to Smashwords. First time I've
heard of it. WHAT A CONCEPT! I'll be posting about that next week.
Perhaps you could write a short piece about your Smashwords experience,
which I'd love to publish on my blog as a first-hand account from a user.

Re: More Insight into Twitter: To Do or Not To Do?

AravisGirl — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:41:21 -0000

I Twitter. I started because of Nanowrimo. There were a bunch of other people doing Nanowrimo who had one, and so did Nanowrimo. I joined, searched #nanowrimo, and followed a bunch of other wrimos, who followed me back. Next thing I knew, I had a support group for the whole event. I got addicted to reading it. It was funny, had great article links, and generally fun to read.

Re: More Insight into Twitter: To Do or Not To Do?

tomcolvin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:44:16 -0000

Jessiner, I think you will discover Twitter to be useful if you give it
time. A lot depends on the people you choose to "follow," of course.
There's hardly a day that I don't pick up some useful information via
Twitter, stuff I'd never find otherwise. And it's great for feedback.

Re: More Insight into Twitter: To Do or Not To Do?

Jessiner — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:02:54 -0000

Thanks for posting this. I just signed up for a Twitter account this week and have been attempting to decipher what is going on. I also didn't see how this would help me. This article helps.

Re: Newsweek: A Sobering Take on Blogging

Dwayne Phillips — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:13:58 -0000

Make a living? Some people seem to do that, but I am more like you. I blog to try to garner attention. I also blog because it is writing and I feel better when I am writing.

Re: Exact Editions: The Future of Magazines?

tomcolvin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:09:23 -0000

I agree, when color arrives on ebook readers, we will have reached the real
tipping point.

Re: Exact Editions: The Future of Magazines?

LeoatBigMendotClub — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:01:55 -0000

I can't wait for them to come with color screens for use on devices like the kindle or the plastic logic reader...then this magazine issue could be settled once and for all...
I can see myself being a regular subscriber for sure then...wonder if editions are available on the kindle?...
Great blog by the way!

Re: Time Management for the Paper-Bound

tomcolvin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:35:17 -0000

Mark, thanks for pointing me onward to your forum. I'm still just getting
acquainted with your site and all of your activities. I'm fascinated!

Re: Time Management for the Paper-Bound

Mark Forster — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:47:06 -0000

Thanks for the review of my system, Tom. There is a long thread about writer's experiences with the Autofocus system on the Forum at my website:
http://www.markforster.net/...

Re: Article Submission Software — 47 percent discount today

SuccessArticleInfo — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 00:38:37 -0000

Article submission to article directories can be done with much greater ease and efficiency with an article submission software.

Another alternative is to actually outsource the work to freelance workers. However, you probably still need to check their work based on their "report" on the submissions to

At the end of the day, you may want to try both methods to see which one works better for you.

SuccessArticle.Info Article Directory
Your Resource for Success, Personal Development & Living a Fulfilled Life.

Re: Kindle 2 and E-Books: Looking Ahead

tomcolvin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:47:16 -0000

Scott, I'm intrigued that you went with Sony Reader, since all the hype is
going to Kindle. Could you share the reasons for your choice?

I fully agree with your downsizing objective. But doesn't that mean Kindle
might be better, since new books seem to be so much more easily accessible
from Amazon?

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

tomcolvin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:44:16 -0000

I agree that Linux may be the best choice for netbook -- as long as you
don't need lots of additional software on the computer. If you use online
applications and OpenOffice, you're in good shape.

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

On the Money — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:43:26 -0000

Thing is though, Asus and other manufacturers offer bigger storage capacity if opting for Linux because you get more for the same money by not having to buy ... sorry ... "license" a Microsoft OS. Linux beats Microsoft any day anyway ... Thanks for an informative post!

Re: Kindle 2 and E-Books: Looking Ahead

Scott Cheatham — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:41:54 -0000

This is good for ebooks in general. Since I've purchased my Sony Reader, I've not purchased but a handful of print books (ones that were not readily available for download). I've also been selling off my print books to downsize and then repurchase the ones I truly want to keep in ebook format (i.e. Getting Things Done by David Allen).

I elected to go with the Sony Reader for a number of reasons and haven't regretted my purchase.

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

tomcolvin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:47:18 -0000

Hi, Jim. Thanks for letting me know that you have an Asus eee. Hope you'll
let me try it out when I get back to Manila at end of this month.

Does your Asus run Windows XP? That could be the problem behind slow boot
up.

Regarding the memory stick, I'm fascinated by those, been playing around
with them for awhile and gathering lots of information about software useful
to writers that will run off USB. BUT I lost a 4-gig memory stick not long
ago -- I think it fell out of my pocket when I pulled out my wallet.
Fortunately, there was nothing critical on the stick, just a bunch of
programs, no data. What steps do you take to protect your stick and data?

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

Jim Clarkson — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:07:22 -0000

I have been using the Asus Eee 901 for a few months and I endorse most of the comments with a few reservations. If you are a touch typist of any speed the keyboard will probably be too small for you. Mine is also very slow to boot or load a program but that may be because of all the junk I have added. I also use a 8 GB SanDisk memory stick (on a 9" cord) as my main file storage. Am trying a Fellowes mini-track ball but the jury is out on that one.

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

avr — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:15:12 -0000

Yes I will do that. Thank you.

----------
This AOL Mail was sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email

Re: A New Year, A New “Look”

tomcolvin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:47:13 -0000

Ah, yes, Christine -- remember you for sure. Hope we can spread the word
about this blog in the Philippines, especially since it is mostly written
right there in Manila. By the way, I return to Manila by end of this month.

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

Tom Colvin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:19:58 -0000

ComputerWorld blogger, a long-time MAC laptop advocate, now touts the new 10" Asus EEE PC 1000 HE netbook. Check the article at http://blogs.computerworld....

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

tomcolvin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:51:11 -0000

Liz, those are great suggestions! Expecially the browser tip and the
reference to Q10, which works beautifully. Thanks for sharing.

Re: The Portable Writer: Netbooks Gaining Advocates

LizM — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 11:36:53 -0000

I have a black Acer Aspire One (8-inch screen with 120 gig hard drive). It's my mobile computer. Fits in a purse or tote bag--so light I don't even know it's there. I've to adjusted to the smaller keyboard with no problem. I make the most of the small screen size by using F11 with Web browsers to dispense with the top toolbar, and more and more, I use the minimalist Q10 word processor (free). Sometimes I find I accidentally hit the touchpad while writing, so I use the key combination to deactivate it while I'm writing. All in all, it's a great little machine.

Re: Best of the Web: Timelines, Self-Publishing

tomcolvin — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:24:11 -0000

Christine, SERENDIPITY! Good luck with your revisions and possible
self-publication. Promise, please, to alert us from time to time about your
progress.

Re: Best of the Web: Timelines, Self-Publishing

christine — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:45:48 -0000

i've been thinking of revising a short novel i wrote a few years ago. this morning i woke up wondering about self-publishing. i thought of your site and here it is! i think it's time to resurrect that old manuscript. thanks, tom, for your helpful post!

Re: A Rare Personal Note

christine — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:39:59 -0000

i feel you've gained real friends when you wrote this heartfelt post. to quote felice, i also hope that the inauguration of the new president will "help re-balance the world." here's to a more compassionate generation.