Showing posts with label online writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online writing. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Writers Battle and The Indie Author Debate

Bands battle.  Rappers battle.   Athletes battle.  …why not writers?
 
Next time you catch a battle on tv or on YouTube, take a look at the audience.  Solid moves draw cheers, and particularly painful jabs prod onlookers to cringe. 
 
I certainly appreciate a good bout, but I didn’t think I’d be oohing, ouching, wincing, and belly-laughing quite so much over a written writers’ blog battle.  Better yet…they’re taking it into the video ring.

Round One

Earlier this week, Michael Kozlowski published a blog post on GoodEReader.com claiming that Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature. (http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/self-published-authors-are-destroying-literature/)
 
That alone started a scuffle in the post comments, but the battle was just beginning.

Round Two

 
Ooooh!  Bob!  Weave!  Jab!  Duck! Ouch!

The Main Event

As if the written blocks and punches weren’t entertaining enough, Mercy and Michael are also taking the blog battle to the webcam arena. 
Bwahahahahahaha!!!!
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m curious to hear how they each define “literature” and if anyone mentions the canon or the history of literary canonization. 
Grab your popcorn and place your bets, folks.  The Indie Author Debate airs on Spreecast this Thursday (06/20/13) at 8 pm CDT. - http://www.spreecast.com/events/indie-author-debate

Friday, September 30, 2011

Change the Heading and Navigation Button Font Colors in the Simplefolio Theme



Since code is not my greatest strength, this one took me a while to figure out.  With some help from search engines, forums, and some awesome blogging friends, we found all the spots to change in the Simplefolio WordPress theme to change the colors of the Heading and Navigation Button fonts.  

With the instructions below, you should be able to change the heading and nav button font colors in minutes.

The default in the Simplefolio theme is a very cool steele blue-ish color that I actually really like, but for my new site, I needed the headings and nav buttons to be a red color to match the logo and banner images. 

(I used Paint Shop Pro to select the red color from the images and get the hex code, #ef2123.  You can also use several free tools online to select a color and get the corresponding hex code.  I kind of like the Hex Color Code Generator on www.2createawebsite.com.  They have a color wheel tool at the bottom that also provides complimentary colors.)


Change the Heading and Nav Button Font Colors in the Simplefolio Theme

In WordPress, go to the Dashboard and select Appearance>Editor.  The Stylesheet (style.css) usually displays by default.  If not, select it from the column on the right.

Find the following 4 pieces of code in style.css and change the hex code for the text colors.  In the example below, I’ve changed the code to ef2123 for a red color that matches my logo and banner images.

1.        ……..near the top………………………………………………..
a:link,a:visited,a:active {
        color:#ef2123;
        text-decoration:none;
    }

2.       …….about 35 lines lower………………………………………..
#header #pagenav {
            float:right;
        }                  
            /* Superfish – Menu Styles */
            .sf-menu, .sf-menu * {z-index: 9999999 !important;}
            .sf-menu, .sf-menu * {margin:0;padding:0;list-style:none;}
            .sf-menu { margin-top:20px;}
            .sf-menu ul {position:absolute;top:-999em;width:10em; /* left offset of submenus need to match (see below) */}
            .sf-menu ul li {width:100%;}
            .sf-menu li:hover {visibility:inherit; /* fixes IE7 'sticky bug' */}
            .sf-menu li {float:left;position:relative;}
            .sf-menu a {display:block;position:relative;}
            .sf-menu li:hover ul,.sf-menu li.sfHover ul {left:0;top:2.2em; /* match top ul list item height */z-index:99;}
            ul.sf-menu li:hover li ul,ul.sf-menu li.sfHover li ul {top:-999em;}
            ul.sf-menu li li:hover ul,ul.sf-menu li li.sfHover ul {left:12.8em; /* match ul width */top:0;}
            ul.sf-menu li li:hover li ul,ul.sf-menu li li.sfHover li ul {top:-999em;}
            ul.sf-menu li li li:hover ul,ul.sf-menu li li li.sfHover ul {left:10em; /* match ul width */top:0;}
            .sf-menu {float:left;margin-bottom:1em;}
            .sf-menu a {padding: 10px;text-decoration:none;}
            .sf-menu a, .sf-menu a:visited,.sf-menu a, .sf-menu a:link  { color: #ef2123; }
            .sf-menu li {font-size:18px;}
            .sf-menu li a:hover {border-bottom:1px solid #d2d2cf;outline:0;}
            .sf-menu li ul {background:#d2d2cf;border:1px solid #bbbbb8;opacity: .85;filter: alpha(opacity=85);    -ms-filter: "alpha(opacity=85)";-khtml-opacity: .85;-moz-opacity: .85;}
            .sf-menu li ul li {font-size:14px;}
            .sf-menu li ul li a:link,.sf-menu li ul li a:visited { color:#454545;}
            .sf-menu li ul li a:hover {border:0;background:#fff;}
            .sf-menu li ul li ul { background-color:#e2e2e2; border:1px solid #d1d1cc;opacity: .85;filter: alpha(opacity=85);    -ms-filter: "alpha(opacity=85)";-khtml-opacity: .85;-moz-opacity: .85;}
            .sf-menu li ul li ul li a:link,.sf-menu li ul li ul li a:visited { color:#000;}
            .sf-sub-indicator { padding:0; margin:0;}

3.       …….and a little less than half way down………………………
#main .container .content .title {
                    font-size:30px;
                    color:#ef2123;
                    margin-bottom:15px;
                }

4.        ……..a couple of lines lower……………………………………………………………….
#main .container .content h1,#main .container .content h2,#main .container .content h3,#main .container .content h4 {
                    color:#ef2123;
                    margin-bottom:15px;
                }

Make sure you click Update File to retain the changes.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Trying Kindle Books With Free Reader Software

A lot of folks have been asking me about Kindles lately, so I thought I'd offer y'all a "try it before you buy it approach" to anyone interested in Kindle ebooks.

I've personally tried pdf ebooks (http://www.e-junkie.com/ and other niche/independant ebook sellers), vooks (purchased and downloaded through iTunes), and kindle ebooks (Amazon.com).  (I've not had the need to try Barnes and Noble's ebook format as yet.) 

Personally, I read all of these ebooks on my desktop, laptop, and iPhone.  I don't own an actual ebook reader.  I just downloaded the software for my PC and iPhone.  You can do the same for the iPad, other tablets, and other smartphones, too.

Trying Kindle Books With Free Reader Software
(without purchasing a dedicated Kindle device)

Download:

...for your PC.  Just google "download kindle reader" and follow the links/instructions.  Once installed, open the Kindle reader software and log in using your Amazon.com account.


...for your iPhone, go to the App Store and search for Kindle.  The app from AMZN Mobile LLC (with the icon of a kid sitting under a tree reading) is free to download and install.  After installing, open the app and log in using your Amazon.com account.


Purchase Kindle Books:
  • Go to Amazon.com (or use the link in your reader to go to Amazon.com) and log in to your account.You can use the Department link for Kindle>Kindle Books to browse available Kindle books, or you can search for the book you want to purchase.  (Look for the "Kindle Edition" rather than the hardback, paperback, audio, etc.)
  • Before you click “Buy now with 1-Click,” select the device where you’d like to read the book.  (It doesn’t really matter if you select iPhone or PC.  You can download and read the book on both devices.  It’s just easier to select the most convenient device first.)
  • You can also “Try it free” if you want to download a sample of the book to read before you purchase the entire book.


Download and Read Your Book:
  • Once you’ve purchased your Kindle book, open the Kindle Reader software.
  • Download/sync your purchases.
  • Enjoy reading your new book.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Using Camtasia to Create Video Tutorials

So, using Camtasia is easy, but do you have any idea how confusing it can be trying to USE Camtasia to record USING Camtasia?  Ooof!  For a short video, this one took a little more time to create than I expected.  :-) 



I did jot down a script for this video project, so I have a transcript, of sorts.  Y'all let me know if you want a copy of the text until I figure out a good place to upload it online.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Download and Install the Museo Font

For all my writer, blogger, and techno-geek friends out there...  I've been using the Simple Folio WordPress theme on a niche site I'm still developing. 

In the process, I needed to match the fonts from the WP theme to some print/pdf files for the site.  Specifically, I needed the Museo font. 

Since it took me a few minutes to find a safe/reliable source to download and install the Museo font sets, I slapped together a quick video on Downloading and Installing the Museo Font. ...thought I'd share in case anyone else needed it, too.

Feel free to mute the audio.  (It's quite terrible, and I know.  I'm very southern.)