Top 5 Writer’s Aids for Logos Domination

[dropcap2]S[/dropcap2]ome people write for sport. Some write for food. I write for logos domination. (I’ll be a benevolent ruler, so no worries.) As such, there are many demands on my time: regimentation of blogosphere assault, infiltration of socialized media, education in the latest delivery methods and battle tactics, and most importantly honing my skill as a logos dominatrix (except as a man, and not quite so kinky).

How, you may ask, do I have the time to carry out all these diabolical activities and still have time to be a loving husband and doting father? (Oh it’s true. I love and dote the hell out of people.) Well, I have my secrets. But today I share them with you. Whether you are a writer or just hungry for a bit more domination in your life, open your learning holes because I got something better than sweet tea  to pour in.

The RedneckGranola’s five aids for logos domination:

[dropcap2]5.[/dropcap2] WordPress. This one may seem a bit elemental to some, but there’s no better way to start building an outhouse than by digging a hole. And trust me, WordPress can handle all your crap. What started as a blogging platform has evolved into a do-it-yourself exhibitionist’s dream. No longer are expensive web designers or extensive code knowledge needed to create a website that can function as a hub for creative works, followers, sales and overall branding. You’ll still need an url ($3 to $10 a year) and a host like Dreamhost ($100 a year) but WordPress (free, unless you upgrade with a paid theme) can do most of the rest.

[dropcap2]4.[/dropcap2] Mail Chimp. This little monkey is as good as its word. We live in a dog eat mail world, and if you want your cherished fans to never miss a blessed word from your WordPress website, hire the chimp to take care of it. Not only an email service, mail chimp can track vital statistics and manage lists so that you don’t waste your time or others. It plays nice with other online gorillas such as WordPress, Twitter and Facebook allowing you to set up your sign up form as a widget and update posts to your social media empire automatically. It also assists you in developing your HTML email templates so that your updates are slick as a chimp’s behind instead of rotten bananas.

[dropcap2]3.[/dropcap2] There Are No Rules. This is a blog that functions more like a magic goose — at least once a week it lays fat, golden eggs of information and resources. The blog’s author, Jane Friedman, filters the twittosphere daily and releases a weekly post, The Best Tweets for Writers. While it takes me over an hour to check the most interesting links, it saves me a dozen hours of maddening twitter fishing with nothing but Oscar Mayer hotdogs for bait. If there is another blogger out there worth following you’ll find him/her through Friedman.

[dropcap2]2.[/dropcap2] Instapaper. This is a web-service/app that will catch the fox in the henhouse before it can suck all your golden eggs. If you’ve ever flittered from the creative zone of logos domination into a web surfing time warp, then you know what I mean. But with Instapaper you can click a tab on your bookmark bar that says “read later,” and presto, the website url is saved to your Instapaper profile page where you can return later to read it in a simple, clean and highly readable form. No more saving urls to your desktop or leaving ten tabs open. I set Instapaper as my homepage on my computer and use it in app form on my iPad for mobile, off-line reading (to get to when I’m not crunching genius).

[dropcap2]1.[/dropcap2] Scrivener 2.0 by Literature and Latte. If you’re still using Word or an open office processor, then you’re feeding your genius soldiers with hardtack and beans, when you could be feeding them coconut korma or massaman curry. Scrivener is a word processor bent on logos domination as much as you are. While the learning curve may take a month or so for the more intimate features, the basics are pretty straight forward. Work in a normal format, work in outline mode, or work in cork board mode by moving around notecards (thumbtacks and all). The 2.0 version also syncs with Simplenote on the iPad allowing me to edit on the move without skipping a beat. But Scrivener’s meat comes at the back end with its compiling functions. Compile your manuscript six ways to Sunday including ePub, .pdf and HTML.[divider]

There you have it. Now go out and dominate with care.