The Write Calling

The best software for writers (Mac/PC)

2008-03-13T04:10:00.000-07:00

This post has been a long time (and a lot of fun experimentation) in the making. If you're a writer and you live in the modern age, you probably want software that will make the writing process easier and more organized. Today's post includes some of my favorite little helpers, many of which have free demo versions you can try.

Take a look at the websites, screenshots and features, and then demo the ones you think would work for you. Writing software is a very personal thing, and software that suits one person well may just feel "off" to someone else. It's probably better to invest a little time now to see what suits the way YOU work best.

What I use:
I'm a HUGE fan of the Mac-only Scrivener. I prefer it to every other writing program I've ever tried, Mac or PC--and that says a lot. I was a happy beta tester during NaNoWriMo in 2005 and now rely on it for whole projects, not just my manuscripts. I adore Scrivener's structure and its many flexible features. An outline on the left side of the screen organizes your draft (and all your research, useful URLs, .pdf files...). In the right-hand pane you can do a split screen view (brilliant!) to look at your current scene plus a research document or two scenes at once. (Can’t remember what color the heroine’s dress was when she put it on four chapters ago? Go back and look, and the scene you’re working on is still visible!) Annotate/make comments, see your drafts in full screen mode, seamless exports to .rtf... I love, love, love Scrivener and recommend it to all my Mac-based coaching clients. It’s a beautifully thought-out program packed with useful features.

But different strokes for different folks; everyone has their own method of writing and their own preferences (not to mention computing platform), so I'm going to mention a few other apps worthy of a look. (And needless to say, there are many more good ones out there that aren't making it into this post.)

My PC-based clients are variously fond of:

- Liquid Story Binder, which (like Scrivener) can handle images in addition to text. In other words, if you find a great photo or image on the web, you can store that with your manuscript. (Great for research!) It seems to have a lot of other features handy for writers, too.

- PageFour, a newer program that seems to have a pleasant and uncluttered interface and a nifty Document Importer.

- WriteWay Pro. I liked WWP one a lot, and wrote some of my 2005 NaNoWriMo novel on it. (Yes, I was bilingual then.) WWP was created by the husband of a novelist, so it has a lot of smart features (character profiles, goals & productivity tracking, etc.) that novelists will like. Alas, the interface is pretty ugly (circa Win98), and there's no autosave, so you'd better save at regular intervals. (Which is always a good move, anyway.) The installation might seem a little tricky, since it requires an additional, free piece of software from Microsoft that you may or may not already have on your computer, so be sure to read the installation instructions.

- RoughDraft is free, has a good reputation and is well-liked by a lot of writers. It doesn't have the most modern interface, but it's been around for a few years--and being free, it's certainly practical.

Several others worth a mention: Writer's Blocks, WriteItNow, and
PowerWriter.

Have fun exploring and seeing what kind of interface feels good and intuitive to you. Here are some questions that might help as you look through these programs:

(1) Does it organize manuscripts in a way that will be easy for you to find scenes/sections, add to them, and move them around as needed?

(2) Will it let you name scenes/sections (or otherwise identify them) so you can find them quickly?

(3) Does the program make it easy to save your work and back it up?

(4) Does it feel fast (so you won't waste time when working with a big manuscript)?

(5) Are there any special/unique features of this program that would be particularly handy for you and the way you like to work?

(6) Do you enjoy the layout and feel of the program (since you'll be looking at it a LOT)?

I look forward to hearing what you prefer, so feel free to discuss your choice in the comments! Have fun and enjoy exploring.

Katey
Women-Ink.com

Special deal on writing software for the Mac

2008-03-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

Available today only: MacZot has a writing software program, StoryMill, available for a deep discount.

I haven't played with StoryMill yet--another Mac-based program, Scrivener, is my super-mega-ultra favorite writing program--but StoryMill's price break through MacZot makes it worth a timely mention.

Coming up: a post on my favorite software for writers (both Mac and PC).

Are you avoiding writing?

2008-01-24T19:49:00.000-08:00

Music I'm listening to: Micaela by La Sonora Carruseles (yep, it's BOOGIE TIME)

If you find yourself saying "I want to get my book finished...but gee, I just don't feel like writing right now," check out this post by Theresa Ragan at the Wet Noodle Posse blog. Theresa writes about a great little trick that can get you back on track TODAY.

Keep writing!

Katey
Women-Ink.com

New Year's Reminiscence

2008-01-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Music I'm listening to: Ricky Martin's Olé Olé Olé (a.k.a. "The Cup of Life"). An odd but perfect coincidence.

My reminiscence for New Year's Day 2008:

One year ago today, I was in the hospital with a deadly kidney stone and sepsis, and about to shake the Grim Reaper's hand. Today I'm happy, healthy, and fully hydrated--thanks to great medicine and support, and some serious determination on my part.

Take-away message: Have a goal? Don't let anything stop you.

I'm sending each of you wishes for a fantastic 2008, full of joy and success.

Keep writing! :)

Katey
Women-Ink.com

NANO!

2007-10-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hooray, it's almost time time time... for National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo, or just NaNo). I've signed up again, as have several clients, critique partners, and friends. Come join us! Write 50,000 words on a novel during a month of craziness and end up exhausted and triumphant.

And hey, don't worry about editing or making your prose perfect. Ha! (Showin' my age: is anyone else now remembering Lwaxana Troi teaching Alexander about the "laughing hour"? Ahem.)

Anyhow, revisions are for LATER! During November,

JUST WRITE.

What it takes to have a best-seller

2007-09-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Check out agent Nephele Tempest's comments on how best-sellers are made (luck and timing being strong components).

A Client's SALE

2007-09-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: White Lines by Grandmaster Flash

::doing the Happy Inky Writer's Dance::

One of my clients (and they're such wonderful people, every last one of 'em!) just accepted a five-figure deal for a memoir, sold on proposal. And she got the news while taking a vacation in lovely Ireland. How's that for a fun sales story?

More details to come sometime down the road, after the contract is signed. :)

Sometimes life bites, and sometimes...there are kittens

2007-09-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Music: Inspiral Carpets - Two Worlds Collide

Life squashed us a bit flat over the last couple of weeks. Some of you will remember that a year ago on Labor Day weekend, we lost one of our beloved kitties to cancer. Well, this year another followed suit--we don't know that it was cancer (two different vets weren't sure of what caused the illness), but I have my suspicions. At any rate, my baby boy (he was fifteen, but still my baby) is now waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge.

A few days later, we found out that another of our kitties may soon join him, due to a downward spiral of his bad kidneys and complications in the rest of his body.

To celebrate the lives of our furry loved ones, we went to the local animal shelter to adopt a kitten, or two. (Normally we would have adopted an adult--there were so many wonderful ones there, and they need homes just as much as kittens--but we considered our "kidney cat" and felt kittens would lessen his stress and objections to interlopers on his established territory.)

We didn't just come home with one or two kittens, but three.

What could I do? When I raised my logical objections to adding three littermates to our home (the extra food, litter, and VET BILLS, which were already outrageous this month), my husband made the best argument ever: "Okay, which of these kittens will you leave here at the shelter?"

Ouch.

So yep, all three snuggled together in their new carrier on the way home. And I wouldn't trade 'em for the world. They're even providing our kidney cat with some entertainment.

So YAY for kittens!

Software for Getting Things Done

2007-08-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

This post may get technical, folks--just warning you. :)

In a fit of organization (masking, of course, a bout of procrastination), I spent time last week looking for a new method of organizing my to-do list, which is always insanely long and thoroughly intimidating. Since January I've been working the "Getting Things Done" system (see book by David Allen) and liking it. To me, GTD is a useful philosophy for clearing your head, getting your commitments listed and organized, and then getting them completed.

Unfortunately, my GTD implementation (a classic one, with each task on a separate sheet of paper, and hanging folders to organize my list by month and by day) just wasn't working for me. My computer is my lifeblood, and my files and to-dos were all in a desk drawer behind me. Maybe that shouldn't have mattered, since they were all of two feet away--but it disrupted my computing. It didn't fit how I worked, or thought.

So, like many people who are familiar with GTD, I spent some hours looking through the growing list of productivity software dedicated to (or compatible with) GTD. As a Mac person (I'm bilingual, but prefer my Mac), I had quite a few good choices, though most seemed to lack something here or there I thought critical. Since much of the available software is still undergoing development, things may change. My top favorites were Midnight Beep Softworks' Inbox, iGTD, and ToodleDo. I also considered Todoist, Tasks, TaskToy, Frictionless, ThinkingRock, GTD Inbox for Gmail, Nozbe, Remember the Milk, and many others, though they didn't make the final cut so I won't discuss them here.

Midnight Beep's Inbox is a slick piece of software--easily the prettiest to look at, and definitely innovative. It's smart enough to let you collect potential tasks from your documents AND e-mail, automatically. I also loved the two-minute timer, which helps you finish email messages and other tasks quickly (so you can focus your precious time where it's most needed). I see a lot of promise for Inbox. Unfortunately, the current version works best with Apple's Mail program, and I'm a dedicated Gmail user. I also want an app that will let me import and export my to-do list without much trouble if I end up wanting to move to (or from) another app. I'm not even finished writing down all my to-dos, and my list already has 166 tasks. I'd hate to retype all of those into Inbox! I reluctantly removed Inbox from contention without giving it a thorough test...but I'd be happy to take another look down the road when it permits easy import/exports. The developers apparently have a lot of great ideas for version 2.0.

ToodleDo is web-based, so it's available for ANY computer, Mac, PC, or Linux, with an Internet browser. Some reviewers were concerned about potential security/server issues (i.e., having all your data stored on a server you don't own/can't back up)--but a web-based to-do list is much more convenient for me, since I use several different computers each day and could log in on each and see the same list. ToodleDo also has fantastic import/export capabilities, so you're free to backup or move your data as often as you like. I nearly went with ToodleDo. I appreciated how easy it was to create new tasks (and even add notes), liked its Goals area, and loved the Hotlist of high-priority and urgent tasks at the top of the page--which gets emailed to the user every morning. Awesome! But ToodleDo doesn't let you choose to show just the "next action"--the next item in each project/folder that needs to get done. In the end, it was a gut feeling--I couldn't figure out how to interact with ToodleDo in the way I wanted. But, I'll keep an eye on it and may go back if it develops further.

My current winner: iGTD. It's a flexible program, and the developer seems to be adding new features all the time to keep it working well for different user preferences. I'm still learning its many useful features and keyboard shortcuts. It handles recurring tasks well, and you can assign priorities, anticipated effort, start dates and due dates to each task--or not, as you like. You can even "flag" tasks, a feature I'm using for things that I want to complete each day. iGTD lets you hide tasks that aren't due yet (which unclutters my head and reduces my stress level). I appreciated being able to create projects and sub-projects to organize my tasks, plus you can create notes for your tasks AND projects/subprojects. So far, iGTD seems to be working well for me, and I'm starting to trust it to handle everything. There are a few little quirks to get used to, but nothing annoying, and I love its speedy interaction. It doesn't have as many import/export options as ToodleDo, but enough to satisfy me, and it can quickly create backups of its data. It's already a very handy app, and with the ongoing development, it should only get better.

I have my fingers crossed that my newly computerized to-do list will keep me both productive and relaxed. Happy GTD, everyone!

Harry

2007-08-18T21:41:00.000-07:00

Just finished HP7. For those of you who haven't started HP7 yet, I reread 1-6 before digging into 7, and I'm doubly glad I did. It heightened all the joy, excitement, and tension.

To J.K. Rowling: Thank you. What a magnificent ride.

Crazy Month; Agent Contracts

2007-08-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

First RWA National, then catching a bad cold there, then my husband catching a bad cold (I'd like to think it wasn't from me, but...), and now another trip, though fortunately this one's a vacation. July was a bur, and 2007 is whizzing by. Yow!

So, just a quick little post before I head out. For those of you on the agent hunt (and Clients O' Mine, you know who you are!), Kristen Nelson has a great series going about finding an agent and examining the agency contract. Check these out:

Agent Shopping (why even having a publisher's offer doesn't mean she'll rep you)

Evolution of An Agency Contract (should you have a lawyer look it over? And check the comments for more goodies!)

And several posts about contract clauses:
Anatomy of an Agency Agreement--Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Have fun this week, everyone--I sure hope to!

LOL, just when things are going well...

2007-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I had a FANTASTIC time at the RWA National Conference. It was a delight, as always, to room with my critique partner and close friend who lives at the opposite end of the country, and to catch up with members of my online writing group and my many sister RWA Golden Heart(R) finalists. I also had a wonderful time every day talking to agents and editors, and then hanging out on the Awards night with two rockin' ladies I hope to see again long before next year's conference. (Hi Julie and Kate!) I wish I could go to this conference every week--well, except for the exhaustion augmented by lack of sleep, plus the inevitable cold I picked up and that slammed me into bed the first day I got back.

And no sooner had I recovered than my husband got a cold, and now both of us have excellent lung congestion. It's been a Puffs Plus household for gaining on two weeks now.

Anyway, here's a shout-out to all of you--and may your health be better than ours!

Off to National

2007-07-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

I leave for the Romance Writers of America conference tomorrow at the ungodly hour of 4:45 a.m. (Imagine my lip curling here, since my brain will definitely be low-functioning at that time. Thank goodness for a husband willing to drive me to the airport before the sun has the decency to show up. Honey, you're awesome.)

The conference should be great fun. I haven't seen my roommate and longtime critique partner since last year's conference. (I hope we manage to get to sleep before 4 a.m. this time. Well, I at least hope that if we don't, that the chats are completely worthwhile, just like last year's.)

I have a smaller suitcase packed full and nestled in my bigger suitcase like Russian dolls, just so I'll have room for all the free books. I'm going as a Golden Heart finalist (which yes, thank you, Linda, does mean I get to be treated like a rock star! :-D ). I am still awaiting the UPS man, who might--I hope--be delivering the dress I want to wear to the Golden Heart/RITA awards. If he doesn't, I'll take a lighter suitcase and wear a black pantsuit and matching pashmina and shall look (I hope) oh-so-casually chic. Manicure done, and I'm just hoping not to nibble on it in the course of the next few days (fat chance).

I'm waving hello to everyone I'll see and meet there, and also waving hello to all those who won't be going this year (hi Kendra & Geniene!) but who will make it someday--and with luck, to the San Francisco conference in 2008.

Happy travels to all!

Nailing the Book Cover (aka, Cover Magic)

2007-07-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

Jennie Crusie, NYT Bestseller and writing goddess, has clout with her publisher. She can push for great covers and get people to listen--which is not always the case for a mid-lister, much less new authors. But three of her recent blog posts are terrific step-by-step info guides on what makes a great cover appropriate for your book AND the market. Two of the books were "romantic adventures" co-written with Bob Mayer, and so needed to display a different "take away" message than her romances. Learn from the evolution of her covers for these three books:

Agnes and the Hitman
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes
Don't Look Down

And I mustn't forget...

2007-06-29T01:30:00.000-07:00

Big, belated congratulations to my client Jan, who now has a well-respected agent to market her "Band of Brothers" meets "On Golden Pond" father-daughter memoir. You GO, girl! (And just keep writing!)

Aw, you missed me :)

2007-06-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

(sniff) Thanks for the sweet inquiry, Anonymous Readers. I'm okay, just quiet lately, finishing up a book, catching up with some of the Life I'd put off while doing that, and preparing for the Romance Writers of America national conference in a couple of weeks.

And fortunately, we don't live near the Tahoe fire, though we have friends of friends who have lost their homes. I can empathize. When I was eight, a kitchen fire (due to a short in the stove) burned much of our house and smoke-damaged the rest and everything in it. Recovery's a long road, even with insurance. I'm sending thoughts and good wishes to all those affected--and to the firefighters and emergency crews who risk their lives to keep the rest of us safe.

Anyway, folks, I'll get back to the swing of things with this blog. Thanks for letting me know it's made a difference to you. :)

Friday Agent Tips

2007-04-27T08:10:00.001-07:00

Music I'm listening to: "Freedom" by Erasure

Several good agent blog posts recently, so check 'em out:

Rachel Vater gives some questions to ask an agent prior to signing, plus how to know if you have an agent who's right for you.

Jessica Faust has three recent posts about whether you should choose a Big Name Agent, fielding multiple agent offers, and things to check in an agency contract before you sign (read the useful comments, too). (Also, she had a wee slip of the fingers on that one—the AAR is the Association of Authors' Representatives.)

Finally, Kristin Nelson has a little insight on what an agent can do for you before the sale.

Happy Friday, y'all.

The Good News Express!

2007-04-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Music on iTunes: The Beloved's Sweet Harmony

What a great spring, dear readers! (And after nearly dying from a misdiagnosed kidney stone in January, I appreciate great times even more.)

My latest fantasy romance, THE KISS OF FATE, has been named a finalist in Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart contest for unpublished manuscripts. For those of you who don't know RWA, suffice it to say this is a big deal. Woohoo! The winners are announced in July at the RWA National Conference. (And now I have a great excuse to go gown shopping!) I've had my head down working on revisions, since I've rearranged plot lines and two of my original subplots would happily take over the book if I'd let them. (As in, they were weighing in at a good 100 pages, yow.) The changes are taking a lot longer than I'd hoped (ugh ugh ugh), but I'm delighted with the ones I've made so far. In a few weeks, I'll be shipping the whole thing off to my wonderful agent.

The fabu Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell of The Renegade Writer have asked me to be the expert book coach for the third winner of their Renegade Writer Makeover Contest, Ginny Williams. And it one of those little life oddities, Ginny and I share the hideous experience of having a home ravaged by a fire. Ginny, I look forward to talking to you and helping you write the book of your heart. (And three cheers for resilient women!)

By the way, folks, if you're thinking about freelance writing and haven't bought The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing Success, jump-start your career by reading it. It rocks.

The ski season's finally over, alas. (All right, technically some of the Tahoe resorts are still open, rocks and all--but I live up here, so I'm picky.) Still, despite the season having a serious dearth of snow (plus my additional frustration during the recovery period from that whole nearly-dying thing), I had a great Last Day on the Slopes. Can't wait for next year. I hope we get freshies in October!

The gist: Life's good over here. May yours be just as wonderful!

Why do editors choose to become agents?

2007-03-09T17:37:00.001-08:00

People in the publishing industry tend to play musical chairs. Agent Kim Lionetti of BookEnds, LLC explains why she left Berkley Publishing and become an agent at BookEnds, LLC three years ago. Her post has good insights about agents' motivations and some of the lesser-known pitfalls of being an editor. If you read my previous post, "A publishing industry history lesson," this one adds food for thought about compensation in the industry...

A publishing industry history lesson

2007-03-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

In the age of video games, iPods and the Nintendo Wii, how can we make sure books stay products of value? This is a question the entire industry is wrestling with, and I haven't yet seen the answer.

Agent Jane Dystel (of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management) has a new blog post with insights about the publishing industry, then and now. Since marketing/publicity seems to be "king" these days, check out her plea to those in charge of publishing houses on behalf of authors and their books.

A workshop on the male psyche

2007-03-04T18:56:00.001-08:00

I know women and men both read my blog. Men, you may now stop reading today's post. (Just trying to save you some time, guys.)

Dr. Debra Holland is a psychotherapist, a talented writer, and a friend of mine. She's giving an online workshop for women writers titled "Understanding The Male Psyche" starting this Tuesday, March 6. She and I first met at a similar workshop she gave at the 2002 RWA conference, and I highly recommend this course.

For more information, click here and scroll down to March 2007.

Happy learning—and writing!

Do you feel this way sometimes?

2007-02-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

I just saw this post, Love/Hate relationships, from a friend of mine. I tend to be practical (meaning both empathetic and hard-assed, as needed) about the difficulties of the publishing biz—and I'm fortunate to have a marvelous agent after much trial and error—but hooooyeah, we can all empathize with the frustrations. (And haven't most of us been there a time or two, or twenty-nine?)

BTW, music I'm listening to: kitty purrs and snores, all at once, from the dueling feline twins.

Critique Partners and Revisions

2007-02-08T16:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the land of clouds. I just hope the clouds bring snow to the mountains (yay, skiing!) and leave those of us in the valley alone. (I hate driving in snow. Especially considering some of the drivers around here. =-0 )

I'm revising my latest WIP. It's taking forever. And driving me nuts. And if I didn't have my fabulous critique partner, I'd be paddling by hand up a very disgusting brown creek.

So here's a wee roundup of articles about dealing with critique partners and critique groups. (You have one of those, don't you? If not, do consider finding one. We're all a little blind when it comes to our own work.)

Shelly Thacker Meinhardt's The Gentle Critique: How to Survive (and Thrive) in a Critique Group

Carolyn LaFever's A Brave New World: An Online Critiquing Primer

Terescia Harvey's The Critique Partner from Hell, or One Hell of a Critique Partner

and finally, even if you're in a crit group or partnership, and especially if you go it alone, take a look at agent Vivian Beck's Be Your Own Critic.

An Agent's Dos and Don'ts

2007-02-04T08:28:00.001-08:00

The Magical Musings blog has a new interview with agent Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, LTD. The subject is how to pitch your manuscript to Ginger, and it includes some handy tips on how NOT to commit social gaffes at a writers' conference.

I would hope all the readers here would have the common sense not to do these things, but writers have been known to lose their higher brain functions in the heat of the moment. And no one wants to be the crazy nutter everyone laughs about for years afterwards.

Agent Opinions

2007-02-01T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a tidbit dedicated to my wonderful clients Jan and Leigh, who are deep in the agent query stage. Lori Perkins mentioned in a recent post that her agency gets 30,000 queries in a year. Yep, that means an average of 2500 unsolicited queries a month, or 125 each workday... That's enough mail/email to make even John Wayne shudder.

(J&L: 30,000! All that competition... So doesn't this make the good news and requests you're getting all the sweeter? :-D )

Lori's post also has an interesting take on snailmail vs. email submissions to editors in The Modern Age.

Speaking of agent queries, Jenny Rappaport shares a useful list of what she wants to see in a query (and what she really doesn't!). I love her examples of bad and good hooks. Read, enjoy, and learn.