Writing, marketing and technology
With a little help from my friends, I have figured out the basics of getting a Word document into a series of eBook formats. I have got my own eBook, 30 Days to Better Business Writing up on the Amazon Kindle store. The process is pretty straightforward but fiddly. This is what I did: Start [...]
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Several years ago, I wrote that I want Scrivener for Windows and it has had 16,403 page views since. It’s obviously something that other people want too. It also came up in my interview with Sci-Fi author Charlie Stross. And now, wonderfully, Literature and Latte are developing a Windows version and you can download the [...]
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My iPhone has become more than a phone; it’s become an indispensible part of my life. The main reason is the number of apps that I use. I have 178 in iTunes and about half that number actually on the phone. They help me navigate, check the weather, book restaurants, learn Dutch, play, communicate etc. [...]
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Online applications give me a competitive edge. I want to be a ‘big little company’ with the same (or better) IT capabilities as the biggest of my clients. I try to make the maximum use of online applications because they let me deploy new capabilities quickly without adding to my IT or admin burdens. This [...]
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I’m a sucker for small, ultraportable PCs. I am the proud owner of an Toshiba Libretto 70CT, OQO, HP95, Newton, Sony Vaio P11z, HP 2133, Kindle and an iPhone (my third). The iPad left me feeling a bit ‘so what’. Too big, too limited. But now I’ve spotted a new thing to want: the HP [...]
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I have recorded a few interviews recently using my iPhone and its built-in voice memo application. I sent them away for transcription (I’ve found a couple of ways of getting this done online for about $30-60/hour of recording) but the quality wasn’t that great for the typist. However, I think I’ve found the answer: the [...]
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Ambitious journalism student, Alex Cooper, introduces us to Teeline Shorthand with his debut guest post for Bad Language. In this article I will go through the basic structure of Teeline Shorthand, a brief history and some tips for learning it along the way. Teeline was invented by James Hill in 1970. It is aimed at [...]
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Procrastination is a big problem for writers. The Economist takes a view, based on research and economic theory: New-year irresolution. What seems to work is pre-commitment. Homer tells the story of Ulysses. He wanted to hear the sirens’ song but wanted to avoid being lured to his death by it, so he tied himself to [...]
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Novelist and geek-hero Charlie Stross writes about the drawbacks of using what-you-see-is-what-you-get word processors to write novels: Changing file formats Proprietary file formats WYSIWYG “conflates document content with presentation” Heavily marked-up text isn’t suitable for use online Word mixes inline and style-sheet formatting His solution is (sometimes) to use hardcore programmer’s editing tools: Given my [...]
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Matthew Stibbe is CEO of Articulate Marketing and Turbine, the easy, online way to deal with office paperwork. He edits Golf Hotel Whiskey and writes the Forbes Aviator column.
Check out my new, free eBook, 30 Days to Better Business Writing, 71 pages of expert tips and advice to make you a better writer. Available on Kindle, paper and free online.