Technology, Tools & AI

Is Microsoft Using Your Words to Train AI? Here’s What Writers Need to Know (and Do)

Let’s talk about a topic that’s been making the rounds lately: the idea that Microsoft is using your Word documents to train its AI models. Recently, concerns have been raised about Microsoft potentially collecting data from Word and Excel to enhance their AI algorithms. However, Microsoft has clarified that they do not use customer data […]

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Don’t Let This Happen to You: My Tale of Credit Card Checker Chaos

A couple of weeks ago, my online store turned into a digital battleground. One minute, I was running a cozy little shop for my indie author business; the next, I was fending off a tsunami of fraudulent transactions orchestrated by credit card checkers. Let me walk you through the nightmare, so you can avoid the

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What the WWM 2024 Indie Author Survey Got Right (and What It Missed)

The 2024 Indie Author Survey by Written Word Media offers some interesting insights—albeit not without its blind spots. While the survey highlights obvious trends like the link between publishing more books and higher earnings, there are nuances that the survey didn’t fully capture, especially for those who’ve found success outside digital norms. Key FindingsThe survey

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The Pros and Cons of Dictating Fiction

Is It Worth the Effort? I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t written a dedicated post about dictation before now. I’ve mentioned it in passing, and it’s come up in discussions, but never in its own spotlight. Maybe that’s because my relationship with dictation has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Let’s just say, I’ve

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Here’s an offer worth snatching up.

I very much resent SAAS (Software as a Service) products, these days, even though I’m chained to using two of them.

Microsoft 365 and Adobe Acrobat, since you ask. I just can’t get away from them. Similar products (Open Office, Google Office, and many PDF makers) just don’t offer the same features that I consider essential and use on a regular basis.

But I keep a watchful eye on potential contenders, all the same.

Here’s an offer worth snatching up. Read More »

Why UX Will be the Critical Factor for Indies in the Years Ahead

I try to avoid making predictions about where the indie publishing world will go in the future.  I’ve seen futurists get things very wrong indeed, because some disruptive factor they could not possibly have predicted comes along to blow everyone’s expectations out of the water. AI-anything has done that to us in the last year

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The Case For and Against Keeping Notebooks, Part II

This is a two-part post.  Part 1.  Part II. _________________ Last week, I talked about the benefits of keeping notebooks.  This week, I’m looking at whether you should even bother keeping notebooks, this day and age. First up, the arguments against notebooks.  Why you shouldn’t keep notebooks. Clutter Bins Steve Pavlina, a long-time lifestyle blogger,

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The Case For and Against Keeping Notebooks, Part I

This is a two-part post.  Part 1.  Part II. _________________ Lately, I’ve come across a few separate opinions on the worth of notebooks for writers that I found interesting.  They made me reflect upon the usefulness of notebooks for writers in this hyper-connected, fast-progressing and digitized era. What are notebooks for writers? It might seem

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