The week has started badly with my laptop dying. I have lost a few files (Google drive back up got a lot of it…) And I am just over it. Forgive me please for the lack of update that is likely to be this week. I will be trying to get it handled, but I am going to take a couple of days getting the desktop computer that was not prepared for the writing and publishing set up. Then I will try to get it back on the proper track. I will squeeze the grief for the part of my soul that was attached to the dead laptop later.
They tell you to price for your time and the cost of the materials. I am not good at such things. Putting a price for my art… It’s not that easy. I broke even, after making changes to the prices. Etsy is not a good reference. So I faced my anxiety. I sold enough to break even, with it cold enough to freeze out.
I am calling it a win. It was not the complete landslide sale I was hoping for. But I did not come back with my tail between my legs, broken, either.
I am open for commissions and I have various places that You could hire me. Book covers, editing, pencil drawings, poetry, or even Tarot Readings… I am open. Paypal, Ko-Fi, or Cashapp. I still have a Patreon as well.
Tools, something that are different depending upon the user. Each person may have different skills depending upon the tools that they have at hand.
For an example, I am capable of sewing by hand. I have been taught this skill in childhood. My mom, my grandmothers, my other female role models… They all sewed. In various levels of skill. My mom still makes the most beautiful quilts. However, though I have the ability to sew by hand… It is slow. I have arthritis in my hands. This makes it take longer. I am not as neat as I am with a machine.
This is something that was brought up lately. Someone told me that my digital art has improved. I am sure that it has… After all I have better tools. I have a decent laptop. I have good art programs (Gimp & Krita are my two current favorites). I even have a good mousepad that I recieved for Christmas. (An elephant with headphones on. It is an ergonomic one that helps with my arthritis).
If someone is struggling with their art, or their writing, or any part of their life and you want to assist… Ask them what tool they are missing. Sometimes it is something small such as someone to bounce ideas off of.
Ok, last week I discussed desktop publishing programs – word processing types. I left the pdf programs for today. I have three different programs to suggest… And each has a different user feel.
We will start with the most basic. Adobe. I personally found that the editing ability for this program is lacking. It has a few free features, but with the pdf programs you really do get what you pay for. You used to buy it straight, but Adobe has taken most of their products to subscription. Right now there is 2 plans. ($15 and $13) both require a yearly commitment.
The next one served me well for many years. It is also one that I still use for details that are not supported anywhere else. The program is Nitro’s pdf productivity suite. It’s $159 for a single license. I honestly recommend this program, even if you do get one of the others.
And then the last one. This is my current program. Quoppa’s Pdf Studio is a solid editor. It has a solid ability to make sure your documents are just as you want them to be. Two tiers of possible cost. $89 or $129. The site lays out the features well.
So I was thinking about doing a discussion on Friday about the programs that I use/have found for making the files for publication. Then I realized that this was actually a better topic for a Monday Money post. The reason? Because the programs are an investment. A fairly costly one.
I will start with a free program. One that I highly recommend for anyone, author or reader alike. It is Calibre. It’s a ebook library manager for windows. It has a decent conversation ability and lets you edit epub files as well. That really makes it a very useful program.
My next suggestion is another free program, however it is only really good for the author who is looking at using KDP only. Kindle Create is wonderful if you have no interest in publishing anywhere other than Amazon. It has a previewer and is user friendly.
Another open source /free option, and one I am currently exploring, is Scribus. This is a complicated program with many options.
The last free option is libreoffice. It is a full featured office program that is free. I, personally, try to pay as little as possible for my tools and still try to retain quality. This is the best office program and it is free.
Ok. Here is where I start to talk about cost. Scrivener. It is not an easy program to use. There are a huge amount of tutorial videos on YouTube. It’s cost is $40, but there is often deals that can cut the cost in half. It is a one time cost vs subscription pricing. This program saves files in epub or any other format you want.
Now, this one is a program I found when I was looking for scrivener’s link. Iiving writer seems to be similar to scrivener. It’s pricing is a subscription service. It’s $96 a year or $9 a month.
This post has already gotten bigger than I expected. Next week I think that I will cover 3 pdf programs. That way I have a topic and this post can be ended.
I know that I missed yesterday… It is due to changes that hit me a little hard. My boyfriend was laid off, so my sleep schedule and our finances are about to drastically change.
I felt like all of the pressure from this would cause the pick of music to be more depressing. I also needed time to process and accept the change.
I still plan on posting today my art as I always do. I just wanted to explain why I missed yesterday.
There is definitely channels that I am unaware of. And I have far more than this… But I was limiting the choices to more learning based channels. If you want to add…. Comment them so others have access.
I finally broke down and ordered me a laptop. While, yes, I do have a computer.. It’s old and slow. It does not really have the ability to do anything more than the basics of layout… And it is stationary. That is such a deficit for me. I am not good for sitting in the same place day in and day out. I am considering the laptop as my birthday present to myself. (My birthday is March 13. Presents are so much fun!) I ordered an Acer Aspire 3. I am hoping to be able to do art, writing, gaming and a wee bit of zombie killing (7 days to die).
Pattimouse 