[Writer Post] Holiday Randomness – the 2011 Version
The Holidays are once more upon us. In the US, Thanksgiving is done. We move on to Christmas (or Hanukkah) and all the bustle that entails. Many writers are scrambling today to complete their NANOMO project on this last day of November. For those who participated – congratulations.
It seems this time of year, I end up writing on FINDING TIME/MAKING TIME to write during the Holiday season. So do many others. So let’s not do that. We all know this time of year is all about balance. Trying to do family stuff, writing stuff, work stuff, and holiday stuff without needing a straightjacket by New Years.
So… Links for all!!! These are the things that have caught my attention this week and maybe will be interesting to you guys.
Ebooks, readers, and tablets. During the holiday season we’re bombarded with advertisements to buy digital…stuff. The big thing this year – ebook readers and tablets. Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad. My mom asked me Thanksgiving why someone would by a Kindle Fire when they could get an iPad? Short answer is price. The Kindle Fire is a lot cheaper. The Nook Tablet is also cheaper than an iPad. Why would one choose one over the other OTHER than price? If I hadn’t been in a food coma, I think I could’ve answered that question better (considering I don’t have any of them…) since my Brother In Law was listening…
Why would I personally choose an iPad over another tablet? Convenience. Ever since I met my husband, we’ve been an iTunes/iPod/iPhone family. Even though music defaults to MP3, it’s all sorted in iTunes. All our apps are iPhone/iPad. I would rather spend more on the iPad than try to find all the apps and music players and convert/rebuy. Also, the iPad has a bigger screen than many tablets.
However, if you are an Android person and all your stuff is THERE, and all your reading is on Kindle or Nook, then by all means, choose one of them. Though make sure it will be a piece of hardware that will continue to be supported, not assumed you’ll just buy the next upgraded model.
As for ebooks… there’s STILL a lot of discussion on ebooks, formats, and pricing. There are some who are avid Kindle/Amazon people. And that’s great. Use the platform you love best. I won’t try to talk you out of it. But just know what you’re getting into. A good resource is a The Writer’s Guide to E-Publishing. They actually had a post this week on how much that 99 cent ebook costs in other countries.
Gift Giving – Don’t ask me. All I really want for Christmas is a stable income – and that’s actually a possible thing this year if this week goes well. But if you have writers or people who love pens and such in your life, Tiger Pens shared this link yesterday from Good Pens. It actually gave me an idea for my husband.
Writing Just do it. Even if it means figuring out how to merge three Word documents into one Word document so you have all the electronic notes from your Beta Readers in one big mess of a document. It’s not all that hard. I figured it out yesterday. Now I have to implement it, because I can get this one more story done this year. That won’t be the world’s best “Get stuff DONE, Darnit” year that I was hoping to have, but it would be in the realm.
Now, it’s your turn. What random thing are you doing this holiday season? What topics would you like to see addressed in 2012? Heck, I still have at least 4 more posts in 2011… and I hope I don’t have to do another author tribute before then. Those are never fun. Now it’s time to get ready to meet the rest of my day. Have fun with yours.