Writing my first photography book…

Blogging with Scrivener

My first photography book is almost here…

Ever since I started theLightMatters I’ve wanted to write a book. Trouble is I’ve never been able too start. Every time I start a blank document in Word and start to type I find I end up distracting myself with styles, paragraph formats and making it look pretty. In fact, I do everything but write the damned book. Needless to say I never got very far before shelving it for a few months, hoping to pick it up again later.

Several years later, still no book.

Well, that’s not quite true. I’ve written it. I took a new approach, sat down and actually managed to write it. (It’s now out for proofing before it’s final edit, formatting and will be on sale very soon)

What did I do differently?

The tool wasn’t working for me so I changed the tool.

Microsoft Word wasn’t working for me. It’s a great application and I’ve been using it since 1987 when it was a DOS program on a 5 1/4” floppy disk (remember those? The last one I saw was in the Science Museum in London) and still use it within my business, but I found I was fighting it every time I sat down to write my book.

Then, a few weeks ago, I heard about a product called Scrivener. In two months, it has completely changed the way I think and set about writing. I use it to write my blog articles (this one included). I use it to set and manage my business and marketing strategy. I also used it to write my book.

What’s great about Scrivener?

Scrivener allows me to writewithout the distraction of playing around with the formatting. In many ways it’s like a text editor on steroids. It lets me plan. It organises my ideas. It encourages me write.

Buy Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular Licence)
(Click through for more info)

In short it doesn’t get in the way so I can get the job done. It’s a ‘writing’ program that lets you get on with the writing. At around £30/$45 it’s great value for money, and money well spent imho.

How can I get a copy of Scrivener?

Buy Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular Licence)

Click to download a trial version (Windows only)

Buy Scrivener for Windows (Regular Licence)

Buy Scrivener 2 for Mac OS X (Regular Licence)

Conclusion…

Scrivener has completely changed the way I go about writing so much that I’m now looking at writing several more books and possibly a novel in the future too. More about that on my new blog, http://ScaryBlankPage.com

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