Tag Archives: writing

A Hectic Month

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And I thought February was bad.

March was likely the most hectic month I’ve had since I began freelancing back in 1990. It combined flying, travel, customer service, and the completion of a book in such a way that I was constantly busy and constantly thinking about what would come next. The month’s almost over now and I can look back at the craziness that was March 2011.

Two Businesses, Two Sets of Balls to Juggle

Those of you who know me or have been reading this blog for a while know that I wear two hats:

  • Freelance writer. I’ve been a freelance writer since leaving my corporate job back in 1990. I write mostly books, but I also write some articles. My area of “expertise” is software how-to for Mac OS, Microsoft Office, Twitter, WordPress, FileMaker Pro, etc. I’m a Mac person but I also “do Windows” when necessary.
  • Helicopter pilot. I’ve owned and operated Flying M Air, a helicopter charter company since 2001, although the business “got serious” in 2005 with the acquisition of a larger helicopter and an FAA Part 135 certificate. I fly tours, day trips, charters, multi-day excursions, aerial photography, and survey flights in the Southwest U.S. during the winter months and escape the heat to the Northwest U.S. for agricultural work in the summer.

Juggling these two jobs has never been difficult. Writing gives me a huge amount of flexibility as far as time is concerned. I can usually put a writing project aside for a few hours or a day or even a few days to handle the demands of my flying business. After all, there never was much flying business — until recently.

And that brings us to March 2011.

Starting Off with a Bang

Hoover Dam and BridgeThe month started off with a bang. One, two, three: three days, three charters. I took a couple on a Moonlight Dinner Tour on Tuesday, took three people to the Las Vegas area and back on Wednesday, and took another couple to Sedona for a few hours on Thursday. That’s 8.9 hours of flight time in three days.

(Okay, so I know that I used to fly a lot more when I was a tour pilot at the Grand Canyon. But this is different. These flights are for my company, not some humongous tour operator serving busloads — no exaggeration there — of people daily.)

Wildlife Surveys

Escape RouteI changed gears the following week and spent a good portion of the next two weeks conducting wildlife surveys for a client in various locations throughout Arizona and New Mexico. Not only did this require me to do about 40 hours of seriously intense flying in a relatively short period of time, but I also spent four nights away from home.

In the middle of all that, I had to arrange for some minor maintenance for the helicopter — I was quickly approaching my 50-hour required oil change. I’m still amazed that I managed to pull that together as quickly as I did. Many thanks to my now-retired local mechanic, Ed, for taking care of it for me.

The Excursion

Also on my calendar for the month — booked months ago — was a custom 8-day version of Flying M Air’s Southwest Circle Helicopter Adventure. I don’t do these trips very often — they’re costly and not everyone understands the value of what the package price includes — but it’s become almost routine, with me using the same hotels and tour operators and flying the same routes each time.

Icy-covered HelicopterThe emphasis this time around was on “adventure” in that the weather really messed with us. Not only did we get snowed in at the Grand Canyon, but high winds made flying conditions less than ideal. It was extremely stressful for me; these folks had paid a lot of money for a trip and it was my job to make sure they were happy. Worse yet, to make up for scenery missed when I had to reposition the helicopter without my passengers on board, I had to fiddle around with the routes a bit to make sure we overflew certain terrain. And then there were doors-off photo flights as part of the trip; that wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t so darn cold.

In the end, I wound up flying more than 10 hours, driving more than six hours, and spending seven nights in various hotels all over northern Arizona. All while stressed out. Exhausting.

First LightI did, however, get a chance to fly down to Marble Canyon at dawn for breakfast with a friend. Shot some nice video along the way. I’m working on another video with the 10+ hours of “nosecam” footage I shot that week.

And the Total Is…

In case you’re wondering, I flew a total of 76 hours in March. To give you an idea of just how much that is for me and my business, for the past six years, I’ve flown only about 200 hours per year.

So in one month, I flew more than 1/3 of the hours I fly in an entire year.

But Wait, There’s More!

That’s just the flying side of things. I was also chest deep in a new book for a publisher I haven’t worked with before.

I don’t want to go into details about the book. I’ll just say that the experience was not ideal for me — and likely not for the publisher, either. The trouble is, the book seemed to drag on and on. Normally, I can knock off a new book in a month or so with constant pressure and support from my editor. This book…well, we’ll just say that no one seemed to be too interested in me finishing it up.

Until March.

That’s when someone pulled the project off the back burner and turned up the heat. I had to finish writing a chapter or two, then start reviewing edits and proofs. And revising screenshots — let’s not go there, okay?

Trouble is, I needed to do this kind of work in my office and I was away from my office for about half the month. So the days I was in my office, I was working my butt off on this book.

Yesterday, I reviewed the last of the first-round proofs. The book looks remarkably good and I’m more proud of it than I should be. But they tell me there’s a second round of proofs to come. How can I politely tell them that I’m sick of looking at it? Answer: I can’t.

The Months Ahead

So far, my April calendar looks refreshingly open. I have another short wildlife survey, two moonlight dinner tours, and a multi-day photo flight with a regular client. I have two book projects to start — one brand new, one a revision. And that’s it.

In May, I have another wildlife survey flight that’ll likely go two or three days and then a week at Lynda.com to record a course revision. And then, at month end, I move up to the Pacific Northwest for the summer.

I’m Tired…And Glad It’s Behind Me

The month of March left me exhausted and I’m glad its over. I wish I’d been busy like this 5 or 10 years ago. Now that I’m getting older, I’m really feeling the impact of hard work and long hours flying or in front of a computer. It’s great for my businesses, but difficult for me.

Anyway, this should give you an idea of why my blog posts have been in short supply. I’ll try to start writing more regularly again soon.

Social Networking Stupidity, Part I

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Is your social networking activity making you look like a jerk?

I just had to blog this. It’s such a great example of someone really screwing up with social networking.

A local area magazine (I’d rather not mention its name since I don’t want readers to trace the idiot who is the subject of this post) did its annual article on the 50 best places to eat in the state. Just today, it posted on its Facebook page:

Since our April issue was published, we’ve received numerous emails from readers who have informed us that two of the restaurants we included in our “Best Restaurants” feature have closed: [redacted 1] and [redacted 2]. Both restaurants were open at press time, and we regret that our very long lead time might lead to some disappointed readers.

One of the page’s followers commented:

Sounds like you need a new contributing writer~I’m available!:)

After a few other comments from readers, the editor replied:

Doesn’t have anything to do with the writer, [redacted]. She’s one of the best in the business. It’s because of our long lead times.

I can understand that. The magazine is, after all, a print publication. It’s not as if you can create the content and distribute it a week later.

But the commenter didn’t stop there. She fired off two more comments in quick succession:

I would beg to differ! A good writer would have given the editor the heads up. It’s not just about coverage, it’s about follow up too. I know she can write, but is she paying attention?????

and

btw–EVERYONE who lives in [redacted 2 town] knows how long [redacted 2] has been closed, not buying the excuses.

Whoa. I couldn’t let that one go. I have a lot of respect for the publication and the difficulty of remaining up-to-date in print. So I replied:

Give it a rest, [redacted]. [redacted magazine] does have VERY long lead times. Stuff happens. Also, its not likely you’ll get hired on as a writer with an attitude like that. Cut them some slack!

Within an hour 8 people had “liked” my comment, so I know I wasn’t far off-base. Another commenter suggested she try Xanax.

The point of all this is, this woman posted a slightly critical comment that was basically asking for a job. When the editor defended his publication against the criticism, she fired away with more critical remarks. (And don’t even get me started on the idea of a “writer” using five question marks at the end of a sentence.) Is this the way she does her job hunting? Her comments make her look like a real jerk. Who would hire her?

This was today’s example; I’ll likely follow this up with more examples as I stumble across them on the ‘Net.

Protecting My Work

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Site changes to images, file links, and RSS feeds.

Well, I’ve had enough. Enough of people using my images on their sites or trying to pass them off as their own. Enough of people hot linking to content on my site, forcing me to host images and files for them. Enough of feed scrapers stealing entire blog posts and using them to fill their sites with content.

So I’ve made some changes to this blog:

  • Through the use of a WordPress plugin called No Right Click Images Plugin, you can no longer right click on an image to display a context menu and download it to your computer — or do anything else with it. As an added bonus, you can’t drag it off the Web page and onto your desktop to save it either.
  • Through the use of some new code in my .htaccess file, if you embed an image hosted on my server in a Web page or use it in a blog post, e-mail message, or other location, you’ll see a message like the one shown here, telling the viewer that the content must be viewed on this site.
  • Through the use of a WordPress Plugin called Download Protect, you can no longer use a direct link to PDF or other selected files on this site. To download the file, you must go to the page on which its link appears and use that link to download it. This prevents file leeching — folks linking directly to a file hosted on my site, sucking my bandwidth without visitors ever seeing the post related to the file.
  • And finally, after a long run with full RSS feeds, I’ve switched back to summary feeds. This means that instead of being able to read entire blog posts from this site in your feed reader, you can now only read the title and summary. You’ll have to click a link to read the post and see its images. Although I’ve been using one-line summaries for all blog posts for a very long time, I’ll do my best to expand those summaries so readers know what they’re missing by not visiting the site.

I do want to remind everyone that the contents of this blog are copyrighted. I have every right to protect my work.

Internet content theft is possibly the biggest problem that original content creators like me face every time we add content to our sites. While these measures won’t prevent all content theft, they will make it a bit harder for thieves to steal my work.

Hopefully, these measures will also encourage more site visitors to interact with me and other visitors, share feedback, and encourage me to produce more interesting content.

Your feedback is welcome; use the Comments link or form for this post.

February Needs More Days

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We are experiencing scheduling difficulties. Please stand by.

Ever have one of those months where there just aren’t enough days? We all say that about February — mostly because it usually only has 28 of them — but even if it had its full share, it wouldn’t be enough. Mine is booked solid.

Want a glimpse of what my work/personal life is like right about now? Here’s the bullet point edition:

  • I have two chapters left to write on a book I’ve been struggling to finish since November. Part of the problem was that my editor didn’t seem to take much interest in the project, which led me to feel much the same way. Now, of course, they want it done already (as they should) and I also feel the same way.
  • One of my other publishers suggested a topic for a brand new book for them. I need to come up with an outline and make contact with the public relations person for the software company to see what kind of support I might be able to get from them.
  • That same publisher is gearing me up for a revision of my Mac OS X book for Lion. That book, which I also do layout for, has a brand new look, requiring a new template and mindset.
  • Another publisher is making noises about another revision for another project. I’m think it might be pretty far out on the horizon, but I need to chat with them about needs and scheduling.
  • AircraftOwner Online has announced that my monthly article deadline is now the 12th of the month rather than month-end.
  • I’m under contract to write two more articles (that I keep putting aside) for a Web publication. I won’t get paid for the first one I wrote (last year) until I hand in these two.
  • One of my aerial survey clients wants a 1-2 day wildlife survey flight in northern Arizona next week. (This just popped up today.)
  • One of my aerial photo clients has booked a 4-day photo flight in Arizona and Utah for mid-month. The flight requires me to obtain permits for flying low level in three different national parks. (And yes, one of them is the Grand Canyon. Wish me luck.)
  • I have to drop off my helicopter for its 100-hour inspection in Mesa, AZ; a few days later, I have to pick it back up. I also have to hope there’s nothing wrong with it that would prevent me from picking it up on time.
  • I have an FAA Part 135 check flight scheduled near month-end.
  • I have a day trip to Sedona scheduled near month-end.
  • I have a week-long vacation in the Bahamas with my husband. (A business trip for him; a chance to breathe for me.)
  • I have to drop off and then pick up Alex the Bird from his boarding facility before and after the vacation.

Get the idea?

You might have noticed that blogging does not appear anywhere on this list. That’s not a mistake. Blogging falls very low on the priority list. So low, it doesn’t even appear on lists. So this might be the only original blog post you see for quite a while.

Just thought it fair to warn you. This is going to be a very long short month.

And who says freelancers don’t work hard for a living?

Dragon Dictation? Maybe.

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I try an iPad-based dictation tool.

Note: This blog post was dictated into my iPad. Although I’d originally hoped to display the text in two columns to show unedited and edited text (as referred to in the post), I later decided to use DEL and INS tags to show actual text edits required — places where Dragon Dictation actually got it wrong. I did not correct my failure to dictate punctuation or my poor use of words, since those are my errors and not the software’s. A few additional comments are included in square brackets in the text.

I am trying something different today. I’m writing a blog post by dictating into my iPad.

I’m using a program called Capps dDragon caps dDictation. I downloaded it for free on my iPad not long after I bought the iPad. I’ve tried it a few times, and was very pleased with the results. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to using dictation software and than simply saying what you want to say.

These first two paragraph are good example. On the left you see my dictated version. On the right you see my edited version. Notice the changes I needed to make. It’s really not bad, but not exactly perfect.

The main problem with using dictation software. See is that you have to dictate everything you want to type. That means you have to dictate your punctuation, capitalization, quotes, and any other information that you want to put in your text other than the exact words.

You also need to speak clearly directly into a microphone. On the iPad that’s not exactly convenient since the microphone is at the top of the iPad. Right now my iPad is standing up on my table with the microphone close to my mouth so that so that Dragon dictation can understand what I’m saying. Of course if you have an external microphone it will work with that as well.

You also need to be careful about what you say. Any mistakes you make will be transcribed. This makes dictation a useful tool for getting out of a first draft, but not for getting final text. You’ll still have to go through the document and make changes to it as necessary to correct errors and rephrase sentences.

As I dictate this today, I see that I’m quickly getting the hang of it. Although it’s not natural for me to do this, I don’t think it will be difficult to learn. What amazes me the most, is the way the software can recognize exactly what I’m saying. I haven’t edited any of this text other than what you sought saw at the top of this post. [Not true; read note at top of post.] Get Yet as you can see dragon dictation has managed to understand almost everything that I’ve said. This absolutely amazes me. What I don’t understand, however, is how many people reported that dragon dictation could not understand them. The overall reviews in the iTunes store for the app are very low. I can only assume that these people are not speaking slowly and clearly so that the software can understand them.

What I do find a little bothersome about this software is that it needs an Internet connection to work. As I speak it evidently records what I say and then when I’m done it sends it to the Dragon dictation website words where it’s translated and returned to me. This isn’tthe best solution if you don’t have an Internet connection all the time. But given the price of the software, which was free, I really can’t complain.

Another thing I find a little bit bothersome is the fact that it evidently has a buffer. I can’t just go on talking for a long period of time and expect the software to be able to translate. Instead it automatically cuts me off gets the translation in and puts it in the software sometimes while I’m still talking. [Boy, that previous sentence could sure benefit from some commas.] This means that I need to stop at the end of every long paragraph let it translate and then start again.

It’s interesting to me also how the software does not recognize upon a pause as a place to put a comma or period it’s also interesting to me that it probably just inserted those two forms of punctuation instead of the words that I just set. Let’s see. That’s funny it’s got the words as I said them and didn’t put in punctuation. I guess it does take a little bit of time to get used to this. [This whole paragraph is a good example of experimenting. Believe it or not, Dragon dictation made only one error; the other errors were mine.]

As a writer, it’s a dream to be able to say what you want to say and have it automatically typed for you. But the reality is and not so sweet. In reality, I can type a lot faster than I can do this dictation. I can also make a lot fewer mistakes. And I can edit as I go along.

Still, I think the thing that bothers me the most, is that I have to stop at the end of every long paragraph to let Dragon dictation catch up. I don’t type like this. I don’t think like this. I tend to type thing [I corrected myself here but DD didn’t know that.] right write a lot more a lot more fluidly. I also don’t think about the comments commas that I need to put in my documents.

Overall what do I think of this? I think it has its uses, but I can’t see using it as a normal writing tool. I’ll keep experimenting with it, but I’m not sure whether it will ever be something I use daily.

If you have an iPad or my phone iPhone I recommend giving this a try. You might like it. And if you like it a lot. You might want to buy the regular software that they self sell for your computer. They have a Windows version and a Mac version.