My thoughts and expressions on what's happening - like a 3-dimensional diary.
News and reviews from all corners of life, the universe and everywhere!!!
Welcome to a new episode from Productivity Matters. It's been a hugely exciting few weeks and I wanted to share it all with you. Excitement Level 10 - my first book has been published, via the Kindle Direct Publishing program. I decided to try this, as my idea for a book came about quite quickly, and I didn't spend months and months writing it. It just flowed. KDP is free to use, to set up paperback and Kindle editions of the book, and they take a relatively small cut of the sale. In fact, when I looked into it, there are a few ways to make money - so long as the book actually sells, of course. 1. The initial 70% royalty of the ebook 2. The initial 60% royalty of the paperback, after printing costs have been applied 3. A small percentage when anyone reads a page from a Kindle Unlimited download, or from Kindle Lending Library 4. I also get a smaller royalty when someone downloads 5. And, this one surprised me - if I sell the book via my Amazon Affiliate link then I benefit from an additional 4% As I said, of course, the book needs to sell to gain any of this... so, what are your waiting for:)
Updated Website
I've also been re-building my website, which is due to be launched in the next few weeks.
I've been building it on Wix - which is given a hard time by some, but so far I've been quite happy with how it's gone.
It's very flexible in allowing all sorts of layouts. It's almost there, so watch this space for news of the launch date.
Mailing List
Finally, I've been working on building up my mailing list. Now; this isn't the easiest thing to do. I've watched countless videos on YouTube about it, and everything leads to giving away freebies - or lead magnets. Brilliant, I thought - I can do that. And I created a productivity guide to give away. I think it's quite a good guide. It has the basics for managing your to-do list, and other ways to remain productive, as well as short reviews on the apps and services that I use. I sent emails directly to people I know and asked them if they'd like to know more about this, and those that replied positively, I added them directly to my email management system - more on that in a moment. Those that said no, I marked as such and left them out. I'm still working at it; and I've taken to heart the fact that it's not a quick thing to do... need to plod away for some time.
Chatbot
Also (I said I've been busy) I've also been playing with a chatbot creator - Chatfuel. It's only playing at the moment, but you can now send a message to my Facebook page, and sign up for the productivity guide I mentioned earlier. Here's the link to the chatbot: Give it a try - https://chatfuel.com/bot/prodmatters
ConvertKit
For my mailing list, I started with Mailchimp; but found the interface to be a little unintuitive; plus, I worked out the cost could become prohibitive in the future, due to the way they count subscribers. So I watched a couple of videos and set up an account with ConvertKit. It is much easier to use; and any questions that I've had have been answered relatively quickly, given the time difference.
ConvertKit allows you to see visual automation sequences, that have allowed me to not only capture subscribers and send them the free guide; but I also launched a mini course, via email, using the sequences - so, all emails are automated; you can see what's been delivered and, more importantly, those that haven't been opened. I set them up to send a week apart, so that I'm not considered spamming!I actually integrated this with the Chatbot, using Zapier; so whenever someone signs up via the chatbot, they get added to the list in ConvertKit, and the automation in there takes over.
Keeping Busy 1. Keep Buffer full of posts for social media (Twitter and Instagram) 2. Launch the book 3. Update the website and get ready for full launch 4. Write more emails to be sent, via ConvertKit, to my mailing list 5. Create a chatbot, to drive more leads to my mailing list 6. Create new Zaps on Zapier, to manage new leads when they come in from chatbot 7. Write a script for todays showNow; maybe I should only concentrate on one thing at a time. There's an awful lot of balls to keep in the air! That's it for this episode.I'm out of breath just thinking about everything I've been doing. Links to everything I mentioned are in the show notes. Thanks very much for listening, and until next time remember - Productivity Matters.
I've become a little bit of a Kindle fiend.... I love it.
I haven't always been keen - see my post from 2 years ago, where I deliberated the pros and cons of e-readers. Of, course, things have changed quite considerably since then.
I love the small, compact size, and I love that I can have different books to suit different moods, all in one place.
I also love the fact that it's so easy (too easy?) to buy a book; or two.
No waiting for the postman; it's just a question of being connected.
There are also many treasures to be found, which, had I been to a bookshop may not have noticed - and the pricing of some of them is truly remarkable.
Towards the end of last year I read "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared". Written by Jonas Jonasson; this is another example of a Scandinavian author making it big in the wider world (Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbo are two others that spring to mind).
The story centres around Allan Karlsson, a young-at-heart centarian, who decided he doesn't want the fuss and bother of a birthday party, to celebrate his 100 years, so he quite literally jumps out of his bedroom window and wanders off.
Triggering a manhunt, what then follows are the many twists and turns of adventure; with much of the book focussing on his past; as well as the current situation.
It's a funny story; heart-warming, and poignant all at the same time.
The detail about his past includes meeting real head of state and personalities from history; and whilst they are real, the stories are undoubtably fiction (I hope!)
This is a man who has no fear, and just likes the simple things in life. His attitude to living is simple - just get on with it...
Reading. That old chestnut. I have written quite a few posts about books; whether the first books I read; or the physical versus electronic (e-book) book.
I have an iPad; on to which I've download the Amazon Kindle App; so I can buy books, and read them, easily from my armchair (or train seat!)
In the US, they released an Amazon Kindle for BlackBerry; which on their website they claim is only available in the US. I have no idea why; as, last week, I downloaded it here.
Wow!! Now, I have my books with me all the time. Standing on the station platform, I can read my book. Not on the iPad, or even the actual book; but on my BlackBerry. The beauty is, I can sync the bookmark on one device, and pickup from the same point on another.
I admit it's not the easiest screen to read a book; it's a little on the small side; but for a quick read, it's ideal.
You must have gathered by now that I love to read. Mostly books. In fact, here's a post I wrote some time ago; just to set the scene.
However, since last June, when I acquired my iPad, I haven't picked a book up. I have been converted to the Amazon Kindle. To be more precise, the Kindle app.
That isn't to say I won't read a physical book; there's still something about the printed page that I love; it's just that the Kindle is so convenient.
I thought I'd list the books I currently carry around with me, and why. So as not to favour one over the other, I've listed them in alphabetical order, by author.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams; just love this book
First Thrills - Lee Child; this is a book of short stories, collated by Child, from upcoming thriller writers
Agile Estimating and Planning - Mike Cohn; not light reading, but great if you work in an Agile development world
Succeeding With Agile - Mike Cohn
User Stories Applied - Mike Cohn
Kill & Cure - Stephen Davidson; not read it yet, but looks good
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
The Confession - John Grisham; recently finished reading; and not bad at all
The Basement - Stephen Leather
Hard Landing - Stephen Leather
Once Bitten - Stephen Leather - all his books were less than 80p; too good too miss at that price!
The Leopard - Jo Nesbo; I've read all his others, and just started this latest one
Business Analysis Techniques - Debra Paul; another business book
So, there you go; a peak into my reading habits. Some are light-hearted, others, dark and twisted; mixed in with the reference books.
Do you have a Kindle (or other electronic book)? What's on yours?
If you've never read a Michael Connelly book, you're missing out.I came to him late on; it was a couple of years ago when I read my first one, "The Overlook" and ever since, I've been playing catch up.
In fact, I've listened to a number of them on audiobooks, which is a great way to absorb the story; especially on long car journeys.
Michael Connelly has a couple of protagonists, who have stories in their own right.In "The Reversal" he brings them together, properly, for the first time.
Mickey Haller is a defence lawyer, who usually operates from the back seat of his Lincoln town car. (The film "The Lincoln Lawyer" is out later this year).
Harry Bosch is a detective from the LAPD, with 35 years on 'the job'.Between them, they need to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that a convicted killer; released after 24 years, is indeed guilty.
This is the summary:
When Mickey Haller is invited by the Los Angeles County District Attorney to prosecute a case for him, he knows something strange is going on. Mickey's a defense lawyer, one of the best in the business, and to switch sides like this would be akin to asking a fox to guard the hen-house. But the high-profile case of Jason Jessup, a convicted child-killer who spent almost 25 years on death row before DNA evidence freed him, is an intriguing one - particularly since the DA's determination to re-charge and re-try him for the same crime seems doomed to failure. Eager for the publicity and drawn to the challenge, Mickey takes the case, with Detective Harry Bosch on board as his lead investigator. But as a new trial date is set, it starts to look like he's been set up, with the renewed prosecution merely a tactic to prevent Jessup from successfully suing the state and county for millions of dollars. To avoid humiliation, Mickey and Harry are going to have to dig deep into the past and find the truth about Melissa Landy and what really happened to her all those years ago.
It's a cracking read, well-paced, descriptive, with an explosive ending.
Finally, here's the trailer to the afore-mentioned "The Lincoln Lawyer"
First of all, let me start by saying; this isn't some re-write from Raymond Briggs about The Snowman. Aled Jones is nowhere in sight.
You may have seen this on the shelves, you may have already read it; but if not, this is a gripping read.
Another series, set in the Scandinavian land of Norway; and hot on the heels of the Millenium Trilogy (which is possibly why it's been translanted), this is a police / murder / mystery / crime thriller, from the pen of Jo Nesbo.
The Snowman is actually the forth in the series.
The first one was "The Redbreast" (which I've also read), followed by "Nemesis", "The Devil's Star" and "Redeemer".
All these follow the story of Harry Hole, a detective working to solve the crimes on the streets of Oslo. They're gritty dramas, which hold no punches.
The Snowman is about a serial killer; who kills when the first snow falls. At the scene of a killing; he builds a snowman; sometimes a simple one, sometimes it contains the body-parts of the murdered. It's a clever, twisted, plot that keeps you hooked to the end.
Since it's not the first of the Harry Hole novels, maybe it's not the best place to start, as the others build up the history and back-story for the characters. However, that doesn't detract from the story, and it'll soon pull you in.
Since I've read "The Redbreast", some of it makes more sense, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment, "Nemesis"; which is primed and ready to go on my iPad.
However, I am now in the midst of the latest Jack Reacher novel, from Lee Child. It's called Worth Dying For; and as with all the others; it's pure fun. I'm about half-way through, and so far it has lived up to the expectation set by all the others.
So; if you're looking for a good read; like thrillers or action/adventure, then look no further than Jo Nesbo or Lee Child.
It's been a few months since I purchased my iPad (16Gb Wi-Fi Only) and thought I'd revisit some of the apps I've downloaded. I've already written reviews on some of them, but there are others that are worthy of a mention too.
There's no obvious place to start, and with the lack of folders on the current OS (will have to wait for OS4 in November before we get them) I have split my apps into various screens.
A screen for business apps, one for news etc, another for games. And so on.
Firstly; the apps that I have docked at the bottom of the screen are: Toodledo - Task management has never been so easy; and it synchronises with the web too Informant HD - Diary and task management (integrated with Toodledo, see above)
FeeddlerPro - An RSS feeder that synchronises with Google Reader Kindle - THE ebook reader, from Amazon
Also Safari and iPod
Screen 1 - Apart from some of the standard, pre-loaded apps, I have
BBC iPlayer (which technically isn't an app; but a link to the site)
CineXPlayer - for watching XVid movies; now you're not tied to iTunes
DocsToGo - Familiar to BlackBerry users, this app gives you word, excel and more Dropbox
AccuWeather - Need to know the forecast - this is a great free app
PrintCentral - An app to print from the iPad via Wi-Fi; excellent application ZumoCast - Listen to music or watch films hosted on your desktop PC; via Wi-Fi
Screen 2
Facebook - This is the iPhone app; which doesn't look good at all - but it works!
Twitter - The app for iPad is very well thought out
Photo fx Ultra - Ideal for photo editing / enhancing
Wikihood - What's around the area you're in - Wikipedia for the local area IMDb - The No.1 app for movie fans
Sky+ - Full access to the Sky programme schedules, and you can set it to record too
NASA - Pictures, video, news and more about space LinkedIn - This is the iPhone app, and looks rubbish on the iPad; but it works
Instapaper - Download webpages to read offline
Screen 3
BBC News TripIt - Online journey planner Flipboard - A personalised, 'Live', magazine; which displays Facebook and Twitter in an interesting format
Sky Sports - General sports news; would be better if more video provided
Eurosport - Access to more sports news
Screen 4
Bloomberg - Business news. Plus, how are your shares performing?
Teamviewer - A great, free, app for remote-access to other PCs/Laptops. Ideal for helping others
Other pre-loaded iPad apps, that I don't use
Screen 5
Angry Birds - Very addictive (I have the iPhone version; but there is an iPad specific one too)
NFS Shift - Racing cars through cityscapes!!
Tesla Wars - Defend your area type game
MultiPong - Shows off the touch aspect of the iPad, with excellent graphics
Real Solitaire - Solitaire - nuff said!
Conquist - Like Risk, only playing against computers as well as your friends
Slice It - Addictive or what? Very clever, and frustrating.
So there you go; just some of the apps that reside on my iPad.
What iPad apps do you have that might be worth considering?
In this edition, I want to talk about books. I am a bit of a book worm, and recently have read a number of ripping yarns. So, I thought I'd share them with you. Firstly, I should explain that I have a very varied tastes in genres, from mystery and thriller, to comedy and adventure. Some of them contain all. So, let me introduce the first - a book by Tess Gerritsen. Vanish.
I'll start by giving you the first paragraph from the back cover:
The beautiful woman appears to be just another corpse in the morgue. But when medical examiner Maura Isles looks down at the body, she gets the fright of her life. The corpse opens its eyes.
Tess Gerritsen writes fast-moving thrillers. As a trained doctor, she convincingly captures the medical aspects, whilst keeping you hooked to the last page. I recommend it.
Next, something completely different. The Time Traveler's Wife (yes, I spelt it the American way). Written by Audrey Niffenegger, this is a love story with a difference.
It's the story of Clare and Henry, who met when Clare was six and Henry was 36, and were married when Clare was 22 and Henry thirty.
I don't want to give away too much. It's a lovely story, which, whilst sometimes tricky to grasp in terms of time, is truly original. It's also being made into a movie; with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams in the leading roles. Due for release sometime in 2008 - you'll need to have read the book to really appreciate the film.
Finally - The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. This actually came out last year, and the follow up has just been published. As I haven't read the new one yet, I thought I'd give you a flavour of what they're about. Just read this:
It's Easter in Reading - a bad time for eggs - and the shattered, tuxedo-clad corpse of local businessman Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III has been found lying beneath a wall in a shabby part of town.
This is a story of the Nursery Crime Division, and DI Jack Spratt. It's funny, surreal, in places absurd and quite frankly one of the funniest books I've read.
Which is why I've just bought The Fourth Bear. The Gingerbreadman - psychopath, genius, convicted murderer and biscuit - is loose on the streets of Reading. Another case for DI Jack Spratt. The final paragraph on the back cover says it all:
...how could the bears' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were poured at the same time?
So, if want want to try something new, if you haven't read them already, then you won't be disappointed. If you have read them - post a comment and let me know what you think.
It's THAT weekend. My baby is going to be one on Sunday, but we're starting the celebrations early; i.e. today. As Sunday is going to be so busy, we're going to give him his presents today - well he doesn't know any different - in fact one of them needed to be put together and I've already done that. It's a Fisher Price giraffe, that should encourage him to pull himself up.
This afternoon, I took my oldest to Borders to buy a couple of books. He's recently got into Captain Underpants, and having read one of them the other day, I promised we would get another. So that was a pleasant little trip (plus he wanted to look in Game - he loves that shop).
I've just finished watching King Kong (the Peter Jackson version) which is why I'm still up. It's very long, but the effects are terrific, and there are some scenes that are totally computer generated. Beautifully done, but the scenes on the ship could have been shortened. I saw the original not long ago, and that was also great, and about half the length.
Apparently it's going to snow tomorrow. It tried this evening, when I went to Tesco, but since then nothing. I think we're going to get away with it.
Right then. It's late, and it's going to be busy tomorrow. Off to bed.
ConvertKit allows you to see visual automation sequences, that have allowed me to not only capture subscribers and send them the free guide; but I also launched a mini course, via email, using the sequences - so, all emails are automated; you can see what's been delivered and, more importantly, those that haven't been opened. I set them up to send a week apart, so that I'm not considered spamming!
is about a serial killer; who kills when the first snow falls. At the scene of a killing; he builds a snowman; sometimes a simple one, sometimes it contains the body-parts of the murdered. It's a clever, twisted, plot that keeps you hooked to the end.
; and as with all the others; it's pure fun. I'm about half-way through, and so far it has lived up to the expectation set by all the others.
