Month: February 2010

Corel Print Photo Shop Installation

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An update on my Corel Print/Photo Shop computer software. In mid December, advertising came in an email about the software being on sale. I’ve wanted new software for a long time. The freebie I got in the 90’s with my first computer was lacking many of the latest additions this software has. I ordered right away, and the software came soon. To my consternation, the disk wouldn’t download automatically. I didn’t get the computer book for dummies I asked Santa to bring me so I was on my own.

After some dialogue with a help support person at Corel, she finally thought to ask me if I had a DVD player. The disk is dvd. I found the disk stated that on it, but who looks at the fine print on a software disk. No, my computer doesn’t have a dvd player, and I’m betting that a lot of other computers for home use are not set up with one, either. I debated sending the software back rather than have a player installed in my computer. Then I decided to buy an external dvd player online. I might only use it once, but my reasoning was the software was on sale and within my price range at the moment. By the time I added the price of the DVD player that brought the total up, but still only about half what the software usually costs. I really, really wanted that software, but now I own a DVD player I may never have a need for again.

I did ask the Corel support helper if I could return the software in exchange for the download version. Would it install? However, I pointed out that I have dial up and it takes hours and hours to download anything from online. The Helper didn’t reply which leads me to believe she expected me to have a problem.

The dvd player is plug and play. I plugged its Y posts into two holes in the portable USB station. The player wouldn’t work. After several days of struggling with why, I finally got the brain storm to plug the player in the back USB ports. Not a handy place on the back side of my computer under the desk. Now the DVD player is way to the back of the computer. However, I got down on my hands and knees with a flashlight and plugged the software in. Right away it installed. Why? I emailed my brother that knows about computers. Turns out the portable unit doesn’t have the power the USB ports on the back do. Seems I never stop learning about my computer.

To Corel’s credit, the company support help does try to talk you through a problem. Once I got the DVD player, my mind was on how to make it work. A week or so later, I got an email from Corel asking me if I was doing all right with the software. They had not heard back from me. I explained the situation, and that I was all set now.

As a tip for other consumers, I said I went back and looked at all the write up on the software and not once was the fact that the disk would be DVD mentioned. If I had known that I would have trouble installing the software I wouldn’t have bought it. I am not the only one with a computer that didn’t come with a dvd player. I suggested to save other consumers the headaches I had, Corel should put that information in the advertising.

 

 

　

　

　

　

Two Roads Diverged: Understanding Traditional And Self-Publishing Differences

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This post, from Todd Rutherford, originally appeared on his Ask the Publishing Guru blog on 1/29/10 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission.

The publishing world has experienced change over the past several decades as all industries have, but the next 10 years will be a cocoon altering it into a different species altogether. Many major print publishing houses have either merged, or acquired smaller houses, and the net result is that there are fewer traditional channels for getting your book published. However, this only means that the nature of the challenge of getting a book published has changed. It does not mean that the challenge has become insurmountable.

The traditional publishing path of the past has been described similarly by many sources. Write a book, send query letter and/or book proposal to agents, get picked up by an agent, get sold by agent to a small-to-medium-size publisher, pray that your book takes off and garners attention from a big publisher who pays you a six-figure advance in return for the rights to your book.

Nathan Bransford, a literary agent with Curtis Brown discusses going from small presses to big publishers. I agree with many of his points on the difficulties of being recognized by a big publisher. His advice is very similar to my premise, if your book is really good, well edited, designed, printed, distributed, and promoted, it will succeed.

Today, the traditional publishing path is in upheaval and turmoil. The economic downturn has caused many small publishers to shut their doors or, at best, significantly decrease their new release budgets. The emergence of the Kindle, Nook, and other Ebook readers has stirred things up. Publishers of all sizes are more carefully scrutinizing new authors, primarily seeking to invest in less-risky authors with established platforms. Gone are the days of a publisher investing marketing dollars to help an author develop their platform.

The new traditional publishing path is emerging as more of a partnership between author and publisher with the responsibility for marketing and publicity resting on the shoulders of authors. If you bring a viable manuscript to the table with a sound marketing plan and/or platform, the publisher will invest in editing, design, printing, and distribution, the rest is up to you.

The exciting game-changer for the unknown author is the advent of affordable self-publishing options. Self-Publishing should not be confused with the deplorable practice of Vanity Publishing where an author is charged seriously inflated prices for editing, design, printing, and/or marketing services while giving up 80% or more of profit and/or rights to their material. True self-publishing is where the author handles editing, design, printing, distribution, and marketing for their book or hires professionals to assist with the process while experiencing control, speed to market, ownership of rights, and max profitability.

The self-publishing path has existed since the dawn of time. Dan Poynter lists 155 best-selling books that started out being self-published. In the past, the editing, design, and printing of a book could easily run $15,000 or more because of minimum print runs of 5000 being required. With the advent of print-on-demand merged with distribution channels the cost of the entry toll on the path of self-publishing has diminished significantly. And publishing a Kindle version of your book doesn’t require an investment of money whatsoever.

I’m not preaching against the traditional publishing model. I cut my teeth in traditional publishing. My family was in the traditional publishing business for nearly 25 years. I started at the bottom in the warehouse of a traditional publisher picking and packing orders. I eventually worked my way up to running a subsidiary of this same publisher. Throughout my career, I kept seeing countless numbers of authors turned down because we simply didn’t have the budget to add them to our production schedule. When I was asked to take over the helm at Yorkshire Publishing, I studied the self-publishing industry in great detail. I became passionate about being a part of an author-empowering movement to publish and promote quality books that otherwise may have been unrecognized without modern advances in the self-publishing industry.

The old-school mindset that says to avoid the stigma of self-publishing is quickly becoming a whisper in the wind. More unknown authors are starting out self-published for the first time in history. I believe self-publishing is the democratization of the publishing industry. Any unknown author now has a chance.

In my seminars and workshops, I tell authors to treat their book like a business. If you want a real chance, you must treat your book like a big publisher would. When naysayers point to the statistics that say self-published books average less than 200 units sold, I can rebut with a missing link in the formula and Poytner’s list. Remember, if your book is really good, well edited, designed, printed, distributed, and promoted, it will succeed, regardless of the road taken in the yellow wood of publishing.

Yorkshire Publishing offers ghostwriting, writing coaching, editing, design, printing, distribution and marketing services.

When Procrastination Wins: What Do You Do To Return To Productivity?

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This post, from Shaun Kilgore, originally appeared on his website on 1/25/10 and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission.

What happens when procrastination wins and you find yourself staring at all the unfinished tasks or projects that you have to perform?  What do you do?  It can be frustrating.  You may even be suffering from anxiety due to putting things off.

Nowhere is this truer than when you are working at home and you alone are responsible for your work schedule.  You are the one who has to manage your time in constructive ways.  There is no one to tell you what to do.  It can be liberating at first.  Then you may realize that the loss of structure created by having a boss or supervisor and the set time frame of your work hours actually sends you spinning out of control.

I’ve always struggled with procrastination.  It is a struggle to keep things focused and on target.  My freelance writing business is no exception.  I’ve been a writer for the past four years.  I’m self-employed.  While the venue has changed some, I’m still the one who is ultimately responsible for how successful or unsuccessful my business is.

Procrastination does put me in some tight binds from time to time.  Depending on your view of the causes of procrastination, you may think I need to think more positively about my abilities, get busy working and stop dwelling on the past, or get an appointment with a psychological professional.  (It could be a little bit of all three.)

Why Am I Writing About Procrastination?

It’s been a recurring issue with me lately.  That’s the short answer.  Why am I procrastinating and putting off my work or at least not spending all the time I could on it?  Well, I have other ambitions or creative endeavors that are distracting me from the bare bones work I have to do.  For instance, I’m starting a publishing company.  This has taken a great deal of mental energy and time and diverted it to something not related to freelance writing.  I’m thinking about the upcoming release of the first book.  I’m speculating about future books and future authors we could have in our business.

Another reason I’m procrastinating is that I’m more interested in building this blog up and exploring my brand as a writer and creator rather than being the pen behind somebody else.  Ghostwriting does have financial incentives, but I’m at the point where my name on a blog post has more power to arrest my attention.

Perhaps, some of you are dealing with similar circumstances.  Heck, maybe some of you are dealing with the same issues in a more constructive way.  I applaud you for that.  If you have some tips, I would appreciate them.  I do have a few things to say that might help you (and maybe me as well.)

Productive Again

1. Be positive. I’ve got to stop dwelling on negative thoughts.  (So do you.)  Starting doing what you can to build your confidence about the tasks that you’ve been stuck on.  If you accomplish a series of daily goals, you will not only increase you confidence about the whole project but also increase your sense of satisfaction.

2. Break things up. This is accomplished by setting your mind on accomplishing a set number of daily goals and making them something you can accomplish easily.  Once a task is complete, you will feel better about the whole situation.  The funny question comes to mind: How do you eat an elephant?  Answer: One bite at a time. With this strategy comes the ability to start planning ahead more.  It may also give you a way to be more organized as well.  It’s important that you really take the time to separated those big tasks into smaller, manageable components.

3. Start immediately! Don’t let yourself procrastinate about dealing with your procrastination.  You must determine within yourself to start dealing with the problem now.  Right now, while you are reading this. (Even, while I’m writing this.)  You have to do something about it because no one else can.  When you start to tell yourself that you’ll start on this tomorrow, stop yourself.  That’s procrastination talking.  Every day is precious and once you’ve spent it, you cannot get it back.  Remember: If you want to break a bad habit, then break it already!

4. Make priorities.  You’ve got to do this one too.  When you have a whole host of things to do, there may be a tendency to start with the easy things.  In fact, the whole dynamic of your procrastination may run on this first assumption.  When you choose to start with easy things, you may end up putting it off since it’s so easy.  That’s a mistake. You must organize all of your daily tasks in order of legitimate importance or based on their overall practical value.  As a freelance writer, the priority should be the paying gigs that get money in your coffers.  Everything else should come after that.  Yes, develop those other businesses and potential projects, but don’t neglect what helps you stay afloat.

The Power Of Choice

I want to summarize all of this by way of an analysis of how you deal with the choices you make.  Everyone has the power of choice.  But not everyone knows how to use choice to their advantage.

The first thing you should do when given an assignment or taking on a project is to pay attention to how you first respond and your attitude.  You should be conscious of your choices – the ones that you make right away.  Your awareness of these choices will help you fight the urge to avoid the work. Pay attention to how you feel when you choose to tackle those tasks and get things done.  Make sure you keep a list of clear responsibilities.  This will help you set realistic and relevant goals.  Also, make sure you can be realistic about how long each of these tasks is going to take.  Being conscious and maintaining a focus on the power of your choices should give a way to be confident and help spur you on to more actions.

In Closing

I’m ready to defeat procrastination in my writing life so I can find the balance I need to expand my businesses and become successful at what I enjoy doing.  I’m lucky to be a writer, working from home.  Not everyone gets that option.  I cannot let procrastination rule the day.  Neither should you.  There is too much to do and you only have so much time in this life to do it.

If you have anything you want to add, please contact me or post your comments [at the original post].  I’d love to hear from you.  Until next time, keep fighting the good fight.  And keep writing.

Shaun Kilgore is a freelance writer and co-founder of Founders House Publishing, a new small press.  If you’d like to read more of what Shaun has written please check out his blog at www.shaunkilgore.com.