The Write Calling

2009-10-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: "America" by Simon and Garfunkel. (I may be the 80s New Wave Queen, but I have an eclectic collection.)

Getting rejections and feeling a little low? Read this post by William Simon/Will Graham about your fellow rejectees. It'll soothe the ouchies.

You're welcome.

The new B&N Nook ereader; a taste of Write Now Quotes

2009-10-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: "The Love Parade" by The Dream Academy, followed by "Mr. Plain" by Nick Heyward (formerly of Haircut 100). Okay, you have to be a New Wave 80s junkie to know that one, but there you go.

Well, a day without email is no fun. One of my webhost's servers borked, and with it my website and my email. This glitch is happening just three weeks after the last lovely tech debacle, when my email (hosted by a separate company at that time) went down. Frustrated, I moved my email service back to my webhost...and now this. Have I been cursed by a god of technology? Hmm. Well, I won't sent this post out until all is well again. ::twiddling thumbs::

Ahh, there now, finally all better. Website is up and email is back. (Amazing how lost one feels these days without email...)

In other news, if you haven't yet signed up for my Write Now Quotes newsletter (what do you mean, you haven't!?), go here for a lil' taste of what you're missing.

WNQ will bring you motivation and inspiration for your writing. (Psst, a little secret: even non-writers will find the motivation useful.) And it goes out only once every week or two, so it won't clog your inbox. Win-win. Surf to http://women-ink.com/wnq.htm to subscribe.

On Tuesday, Barnes and Noble announced its new e-reader, the Nook. It's slated to ship on November 30, but is available for pre-orders now. As we get closer to the ship date and reviewers get their hands on the device, I look forward to the head-to-head comparisons with the Amazon Kindle--and to further innovations by both companies and the many others leaping into the e-reader market. Score for consumers and readers! (I looooove my Kindle, e-reader, as longtime readers will remember.) What do you think about the Nook and e-readers?

Hysterically funny link, yet a little too true

2009-10-18T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ah, the publishing business. It certainly has its...er, issues...in the modern age:

Subject: Our Marketing Plan

There ain't no muse?

2009-04-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: Neighbors (Razormaid Mix) by Camouflage

Are you waiting for Inspiration to drop by for some tea and conversation?

First, partake of this food for thought by one of the most prolific authors out there: There Ain't No Muse: A Conversation with Nora Roberts

- Katey
Women-Ink.com

Fun with Publishing (Not)

2009-04-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: The ticking of my new wall clock. A little boring, but hey.

Publisher Hell stories, anyone? A couple of my clients, both debut authors, have new contributions for the pot.

One received an advance copy of her printed memoir last week. An exciting time for a debut author, yes? Sure, until she realized that her publisher had left out all the photographs. In a memoir. A horrifying deletion, not to mention that the photos were referenced in the text. My client was understandably shocked.

Things did not bode well. The publisher admitted the error was their fault, but said it couldn't be helped now. The book would go out to the stores completely photoless.

OH REALLY, said my client's agent. THINK AGAIN.

And wonder of wonders, the publisher finally caved and agreed to reprint the book. Quite an expense at their end, but now they're doing what's right. I hope all's well that ends well, and that the release date won't be shifted much.

Speaking of release dates, imagine being just weeks away from your first book's debut. You've sweated and slaved over that book for several years and told all your friends and excited colleagues when it's coming out. There's a page for it at Amazon with your name and a pre-order button and everything--it's real! It's the work of your heart and it's nearly here... Then imagine learning that your book has been rescheduled. Oh, and not just for a few weeks or months after the original release date, but for a year and a half after it. Um, unfun, right? Ah, but this client's story gets even better.

Her editor, the fantastic person responsible for loving, buying and committing to her wonderful book, is retiring before the new release date. Oh, yes. That editor will no longer be there to shepherd the book through the publishing jungle. My client is being "orphaned"--not uncommon in publishing, and something that introduces stress and uncertainty for the author and some risk for the book. I have my fingers crossed that everything will go smoothly with this transition, and that her new editor will love her book and be willing to push it just as much as the previous one did. She deserves that, and so does this book.

Oh, and there are far worse stories out there. Check out the Editor from Hell story, for starters. If you're feeling masochistic. :-)

A win for ebooks: Kindle 2 available for pre-order!

2009-02-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Music I'm listening to: my own whoops of joy

My kindle 2 will be here on Feb. 25. Squeeee!

The brand-spankin' kindle 2 will be $359 (same price as the kindle 1, which they're no longer selling) and available for sale on Feb. 24.

The k2:
- is the same width as k1, is half an inch longer, but only a third of an inch think
- has seven times the original amount of storage space and 25% more battery life
- features 16 shades of gray instead of the original 4 (though external rumor has it that within a year or so, color e-ink screens will be possible)
- has better annotations (you no longer have to select an entire line to highlight one word)
- will offer location syncing between devices (in other words, it hold your place even if you're reading the same book on more than one device--wish I had two kindles to enjoy that feature!)
- and will even read a book to you (text-to-speech).

They've done away with SD card storage and a user-replaceable battery, though. I guess they couldn't squeeze those into the super-thin shape. The SD card storage isn't an issue for me, since every book bought through Amazon is on a "permanent bookshelf" for you. You can always download it to your kindle again for free.

Also, Amazon has been hinting that they'll allow users of other devices, such as mobile phones, to make e-book purchases through Amazon. No word yet on whether they'll allow it for other dedicated e-readers (competitors of the kindle)--I hope they do--and there's no expected date for this yet.

I'm also sad, though not surprised, that Amazon's kindles aren't supporting the ePub format (which, with luck, will become the standard e-book format--one format capable of being read on many devices). Unfortunately, Amazon has an interest in NOT supporting ePub, since Am owns the competing Mobipocket format.

Also no word about whether the new kindle will have *folders* in which to organize all your books. The lack of folders was one of my peeves with the k1, as the only way to see all you had on the kindle was to look through a long list of every book on it--no organizing by genre, etc. I do hope they'll have this fixed on the k2, since it was one of the biggest user complaints. We shall see!

Anyway, go drool. It's what I've been doing this morning.

- Katey, eagerly awaiting Feb. 25

Happy February (mostly). And the E-book revolution?

2009-02-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Music I'm listening to: my hubby watching TV downstairs and snow melting from the roof. Which means snow is sticking to the mountains high above us. YAAAAAY! *Katey smiles at her skis*

Today, however, I'm battling a cold (ugh) and spending my Saturday working out how to make my latest manuscript bigger in both length and plot. I love Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel (and the workbook he wrote for it) and always find good ideas in there.

My break time is often spent trying to catch up with blogs in Google Reader, especially since I'm eager for the announcement of the new Amazon Kindle on Monday. Here's a juicy new post about ebooks and the future of publishing. I don't agree with all of it, but much of it seems spot-on. Change is on the way! Elgan: Here comes the e-book revolution

One of my fabulous clients, Jan Elvin, has written a terrific guest post for me about our work toward the sale of her debut book. The Box from Braunau: In Search of My Father's War will be published in hardcover this May. (Check it out!) I'll have her post up this week, providing I don't get buried under a pile of antihistamines and tissues.

And speaking of my fabulous clients, Leigh Brill sold her memoir about cerebral palsy and how her wonderful service dog, Slugger, forever changed her life. Leigh's book was originally scheduled to appear in stores just weeks from now (B&N still lists it that way), but the publisher elected to postpone until the fall of 2010 due to the overabundance of dog books on the market. Naturally, this was heart-wrenching for both of us, as no author wants such a delay. Meanwhile, we're hoping for more good news about Leigh's book down the road, and she's working on a fantastic series of children's books. (More to come as developments warrant.)

Readers, I hope you're healthy and happy--and writing!

Katey
Women-Ink.com

About publishing's failures...and the future

2008-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

Music I'm listening to: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Loreena McKennitt

Some of you may have seen this already, but this article on the publishing industry by agent Richard Curtis is certainly food for thought:

E-Reads: Behind Publishing's Wednesday of the Long Knives

The future's nearly here, folks. I myself bought a Kindle last spring and loved it. I recently sold it, but only to prepare for the Kindle 2 (or another e-book device that will catch my fancy). Honestly, paper books now feel awkward to me. It's frustrating to have to hold them open (particularly since I'm often multitasking when I read--eating, brushing my teeth, etc.), and I hate breaking the spines of my books! Feels like a wee murder. I love the ease and practicality (no storage space needed!) of my e-books. They never yellow or get brittle, and I can lose myself in the story, instead of the format.

But DRM (digital rights management) is one thing holding me back from building a big e-library. I hope publishers and online retailers (ahem, Amazon) move to DRM-free books, or at least to ePub or another format that can be moved among the purchaser's devices of choice. I think Amazon will go that way eventually, based on its DRM-free .mp3 library and a strong hope that it smells the coffee, but we'll see.

Anyway, I do think big changes are ahead for the industry, for good or for ill. Let's hope for the good.

By the way, do you want to zoom forward with your writing? Could you use a support system for your publishing goals and a caring, personal guide to help you write and sell? Good, because now's the time. I'm running a half-off sale on book coaching for writers for the month of January! It's the first sale I've ever offered, and I may not ever do it again, but the new year is just around the corner and I'm inspired to help you succeed in 2009.

Go to Women-Ink.com/half.htm to read all about the sale, but remember--you must get in touch with me by December 31, 2008 and let me know you want the discount. Time's ticking. Go! :-)

Dear readers, one and all, may you have the happiest of holidays and a truly magnificent year ahead.

Katey

How to help the books we love

2008-11-19T10:47:00.001-08:00

Hello, writers one and all. Yes, I know, long time no see. (grin) I hope you've been having a creative and productive few months.

The economy is looming large and scary for many of us these days, so here's something to keep in mind as we approach the holiday gifting season:

Editorial Ass: C[r]ash Flow (Or What Went Wrong in October in Book Publishing)

Permission of sorts, yes? :-) My Amazon habit is delighted.

Katey
Women-Ink.com
Get free, motivational quotations for writers!

Mourning the loss of two spaces. (& blog pause)

2008-09-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

That's it, I'm switching over. I've been fond of using two spaces between sentences since I was a four-eyed kid in elementary school. (And if you've paid attention to my previous musical tastes, you can identify that decade.) I prefer the look of two spaces in manuscripts, and since I often read my clients' work before they submit it, I find two spaces marginally easier on my eyes when critiquing.

But for my own writing, it's become too annoying to switch back and forth from two (manuscripts, emails) to one (web work, e-newsletter). So I give up.

I will now be training myself to use one, lonely space after terminal punctuation. It's the end of an era for me. (sniff)

Although I'm switching so I can lessen my own writing frustration, whether you should do the same is up to you. I've judged many writing contests and never penalize entrants for spacing choices, as long as they're consistent about them. My agent uses two spaces, and a quick check of recent correspondence with editors shows that seven of those eleven New York editors also use two--so while there may be a trend toward using one space in publishing, it's hardly universal.

Bottom line: if a publisher specifies a preference about spaces between sentences, follow it when you submit there. Otherwise, no one much cares. Honest.

======

Now that Write Now Quotes is rolling (10 issues so far and going strong), I doubt I'll be posting here much. (Not, LOL, that this will be much of a change.) So if you'd like to hear consistent suggestions and advice from me, please join the free WNQ newsletter. I look forward to seeing you there!

Katey
Women-Ink.com

I'm blogging today at Casablanca Authors...come visit!

2008-08-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: CNN. (Yep, still a junkie.)

Today I'm hanging out with the authors from the Casablanca imprint of Sourcebooks. My post lists ways to keep your butt parked in the Writer's Chair and be productive, even when you just don't wanna write. Come read it and say hello! (Whoops, almost forgot to include the URL there. Ha!)

Katey

Women-Ink.com

RWA National

2008-07-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: Um, CNN. [me=news junkie]

Preparing for the Romance Writers of America national conference is always a ton of fun, combined with a smattering of stress. (Have my coaching brochures arrived? Biz cards? Where's my favorite name tag holder, and that great pair of ankle boots? Is my laptop still acting up? Gah, I still have to get my hair cut!) I look forward to seeing those of you who'll be attending. Say hi if you see me!

Meanwhile, here's a scary article (in an editor's own words) about what happens to your lovingly crafted submissions. Warning: not for the faint of heart.

Katey Coffing, Ph.D.
Women-Ink.com

Speaking of my father-in-law...

2008-07-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: "Sleeping Satellite" by Tasmin Archer

My hubby just sent me an interesting web page. Vampire folk, this one's for you. (Plus, that's my father-in-law starring in the video, LOL!)

Katey
Women-Ink.com

I've been nudged

2008-07-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

Music I'm listening to: "Blue Gene Vincent" by Havana 3AM

*Ahem* Thanks for nudging me, Mary R. :) Mary helped me notice I haven't been hanging around my own blog since March. Ouch. Right, then, I'd better get back into the groove!

First off, I've been contemplating a longish post about the Amazon Kindle. Yes, I now own one of these funky lil' e-book readers, and it's changed my thoughts about publishing's future in a BIG way. Not that the Kindle is all sweetness and light, mind you, and there are some drawbacks to it that give me major pause--but overall, I think the Kindle *or something like it* could thrust the slower-moving, slow-adapting parts of the publishing industry into quite a, um, situation. While I ponder my swirling thoughts, does anyone else out there have one of these goodies?

Second, one of the reasons for my extended absence is my latest project. Ta-da! (Imagine the curtains opening.) For all you busy writers who could use a little nudge yourselves, my Write Now Quotes is a short email newsletter featuring a single motivational quote each week and some brief commentary tailored for the writerly soul. I plan to get the next issue out tomorrow evening, so if you'd like to get it, best sign up now!

More to come in future posts here, including my current irritation with a previous love (Thesaurus.com, a website that has peeved me so greatly I won't even give it a link), and a gleeful party for yet another client who's sold her book. (Waving to Leigh--gal, drink some Chick-fil-A lemonade for me!) Meanwhile, I hope that despite my recent quiet, y'all are out there happily writing away. Right?

RIGHT?

*cracking whip*

:)

Katey
Women-Ink.com

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!