Six Useful Websites for Independent Authors
If you are an independent author who uses the Internet, you will find this list of well-known and not-so-well-known websites useful. If you have any suggestions for additional sites, please share links to them in the comments.
One thing you can be sure of on the Internet is that, sometime, somehow, you will encounter a website that doesn’t seem to work the way it should.
Normally, you can contact tech support to get help – but it’s often difficult to know whether the problem lies with the website or with your computer setup.
If someone asks you if you have “cookies” turned on, or if you’re running the latest version of Chrome, you may not know the answer. The Support Details site gives you an immediate overview of important details about your computer system, and even allows you to easily email everything right from the web page.
Tweet This!PowerPoint Tech Tips Part 1
By Jacob Walker
We’ve all seen it happen; the presentation looked great at home, it worked fine when you practiced it, but when it’s you in front of forty people your laptop goes on the fritz and PowerPoint on vacation.
Let’s look at a few tech tips to help minimize the hair-pulling frustration of PowerPoint.
Tip 1 – Minimal
Wherever you’re going to speak, check to see if they already have a projector and laptop ready to display your PowerPoint. Ask if there will be a “tech” guy around to get your presentation set up and handle any tech problems. If it’s not needed don’t haul your own laptop around; simply bring your PowerPoint to the engagement and any “tech” guy worth his salt can get you set up. This lets you focus on speaking, not training to become a computer technician.
Tip 2 – Media
In order to appease PowerPoint and coax it into always playing your audio and video files correctly, place all media content in the same folder you saved the PowerPoint.
If the PowerPoint file is in a folder called “Presentation” and the video file you want to use is on the desktop, copy the video file to the folder “Presentation” and then add the video into PowerPoint.
Audio and video are not embedded into the PowerPoint file, they’re linked. If any files move, the link between PowerPoint and that video is broken and the video won’t play.
Tip 3 – Transferring PowerPoint
Going to move your presentation from computer to computer? In PowerPoint 2007 click the Office Button – Publish – Package for CD.
In pre 2007 click File – Package for CD.
I always click Options and check the box that says, “Embed TrueType Fonts.” This helps ensure (but doesn’t always guarantee) that the fonts you used in your presentation will display regardless of what computer the presentation is played on.
After you name your presentation, click “Copy to CD” to burn to a CD, or “Copy to Folder” to copy it to a USB flash drive or portable hard drive.
Jacob Walker is a multimedia designer at WinePress. He manages all stages of production, from shooting to editing. Although still a “young pup” by most standards, Jacob says he enjoys taking an author’s message to a new level through sight and sound.
Must-Have Skills for 21st Century Authors
A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle. -Kahlil Gibran
By Marcus Isom
E-mail and the Internet is no longer just an alternate tool used mainly by businesses. It is a standard form of communication throughout many households. Business formerly done by phone, pen, and paper is quickly being replaced by the keyboard and mouse.
Some individuals resist using electronic communications. Here are some common misconceptions I’ve noticed:
It’s toooooo difficult to learn how to use a computer and the Internet.
This is no longer the case. Computers and e-mail have come a long way since the days of black screens with green text, and they’re now about as complicated as learning how to drive – perhaps even easier. Check with community colleges, youth and senior centers in your community; many offer basic computer courses.
Two words : Security Risk
Just be careful. Like driving on a crowded highway or through a school zone, there are “rules of the road” to be learned and followed with e-mail and web-surfing. For example, don’t give out your credit card information or social security number through e-mail. It is safe, however, to give out your credit card number to online stores with secure servers.
Computers are too expensive!
A decent basic computer system that can provide for most people’s electronic needs can often cost from $200-500.
Electronic communication is where everything is headed nowadays, and it’s starting to become difficult to receive paper invoices and consultation. In fact, postal mail is becoming a novelty. Newer forms of social networking, such as Twitter and Facebook, are now the norm.
The sooner one can learn how to make good use of e-mail and other tools we have now, the less of a struggle it will be in the near future, when social networking technology becomes the standard.
Marcus Isom is the warehouse office assistant of Larry Filato, and is part of the WinePress Fulfillment Team. His job primarily consists of taking and processing book orders, maintaining warehousing records, and ensuring that bookstores, distributors, authors, and customers receive their books in a timely manner. Marcus also helps to move inventory, processes book returns, and keeps things tidy.
When is Going Out to Dinner a Business Expense?
By Jan Owens
If you are a writer then taking someone to lunch or dinner can be a business expense. Breakfast, lunch or dinner with fellow writers, editors, publishers, agents, lawyers, accountants or those you are interviewing for research for writing assignments can all be considered a deductible business expense, as long as the meal is not extravagant.
Here are 3 key questions to ask about the business meal:
- Is the main purpose of the meal the active conducting of business?
- Did you discuss your writing business with the person during the meal?
- Did you have a general expectation of some specific writing business benefit or a general expectation of getting income as a result of meeting with this person or group of people?
If you can answer yes to these questions then you have a business expense.
As with all business expenses, it is important to keep good records in case you are ever questioned by the Internal Revenue Service.
According to IRS Publication 463, all that is required for documentation for business meals is as follows:
“A restaurant receipt is enough to prove an expense for a business meal if it has all of the following information.
- The name and location of the restaurant.
- The number of people served.
- The date and amount of the expense.”
You do not have to show that any business income or other business benefit actually resulted from the meal.
You might also want to make a note of the names of the people at the meal, along with a brief comment about the nature of business. This will help to jog your memory if you are asked to explain or justify your deductions years later.
The deduction includes the price of the meal plus any tips or taxes added to the final total. Note that on your tax return business meal deductions are generally limited to 50% of the total bill.
You can refer to IRS Publication 463: Travel, Entertainment, Gift and Car Expenses for further discussion and details.
Jan Owens works in the WinePress Accounting Department.
Tweet This!How to Use PDFs for Marking Up Your Book Manuscript
By Thomas McGee
PDFs are very common. Many use them in their day-to-day work, and WinePress is no different. Used with forms, manuscripts, typesets, designs, and more, PDFs become a very useful asset to anyone’s selection of file formats.
One great use that has been becoming increasingly popular, is the ability to “mark up” or add comments to a PDF. Far from the scribbles and scratches that can commonly be found on a hard copy, a PDF enables you to have multiple reviewers neatly and orderly apply comments and revisions, with a fraction of the time and cost. Along with this, most PDF viewers also allow you to view all your comments and revisions in one simple list, rather than having to dig through pages and pages to find that comment that was toward the other end of the document.
Though PDF commenting is becoming increasingly popular, much of the well known software requires you to buy a “Pro” or “Expanded” edition just to get the feature. However, there is some free software becoming available now 
which enables you to do commenting and mark-ups. Here are some choices for free PDF viewing applications which allow you to do commenting and mark-ups:
Windows
PDF-XCHANGE VIEWER
Those wishing to view pdf files on their Windows PCs have a choice when it comes to viewing PDF files – the pdf-xchange viewer is smaller, faster and more feature-rich than leading commercial-use PDF viewers.
Mac
SKIM
Skim is a PDF reader and note-taker for OS X. It is designed to help you read and annotate PDF documents, but is also great for viewing any PDF file.
Thomas McGee is a graphic designer at WinePress. His job includes: cover design, Web design, advertising design, and assisting with WinePress’ partner company, Notation Marketing Group. In his spare time, Thomas enjoys volunteering at his local Christian bookstore, The Salt Shaker.
NOTE: WinePress Group is not responsible for the content of external links. Note that all technical support and use of the software recommended must be requested from their respective owners.
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