It Feels Like Home
From time to time I mull over the path my life has taken so far. Many of my friends and family went to university. Despite a couple of attempts, I couldn’t focus on it, distracted by the lifestyle, and so set myself back several years (it can be argued that I picked up…
People Still Rewrite Your Articles. Really.
Amazing. People still expend energy on the pointless, low-paying slog that is “article rewriting”. This is, for those of you who don’t know, the “art” of taking an existing article and rewriting it. There’s no additional research; it isn’t being inspired by an article and taking the concepts in a new direction, reinterpreting as…
Brownie Review: Starbucks
I am a fan of chocolate brownies. You may already know this. Recently I was able to sample the baked chocolate squares on offer at the Starbucks coffee chain, specifically at the Monks Cross branch in York, England. A chocolate brownie is on the menu – but will it meet my expectations, or…
Work on “Northern Rock” Commences
I’m currently working on a book about influential North East rock musicians. Currently titled “Northern Rock”, the book will also hopefully establish why there is no definitive cliche, no shorthand to easily describe the many important groups and musicians who grew up in Teesside and North Yorkshire, County Durham, Wearside and Tyneside over…
The Finest Chocolate Brownies?
I’ve never really fulfilled a stereotype. I was never a nerdy Doctor Who fan, a geeky IT support guy… my wannabe rock star days involved very little in the way of drugs and women (and too much alcohol and cigarettes). Perhaps at school I was as awkward and bewildered as any teenage boy,…
Next eBook: Research Your Family Tree Online
I’m delighted to say that I’ve started work on a new eBook for MakeUseOf, currently titled Research Your Family Tree Online! Although covering the use of Ancestry.com’s vast archive of census, immigration and military records, the guide will also look at offline methods of data collation for family tree research as these are…
My Latest Ebook: From Print To Kindle And Beyond
I’ve just discovered that my latest eBook, From Print To Kindle And Beyond, has been published. Available through MakeUseOf and on Amazon for Kindle devices, the book draws on my experiences writing and publishing Ultimate Regeneration in 2010-2011. For me, the process was a massive learning curve. Really the only advantage I had…
What a Week!
Hospital trips, collaborating on keywords and rifling out content – not to mention applying for some additional gigs – have been the main themes this week as I completed my first 4-weekly month as a full-time freelancer! However forefront of my mind this morning is “should I merge this blog with my Tumblr…
D’oh!
So, I’m just about to embark on my fourth week as a freelance writer. I’ve learned a few things in this time, but most importantly, I’ve discovered that if you send an email, make sure you have regular access to the account you sent it from. D’oh! I enquired to a website recently…
Blogging with Word
I’m currently writing a blog post for www.devicemag.com – and the subject is using Word 2010 as a blog editor. While it doesn’t offer the rich media options you might find with Scribefire it is a great use for this popular application. Here’s how the post begins… I discovered that it is possible…
