2286 words. I wrote two chapters of my next book, Indie Author Confidential Vol. 4, which is set to launch next month.
Thanks to everyone who joined the first writing power hour of 2021. We had a great time and folks got a lot written. Watch the replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqXovG9feBY
I dictated my words live (on mute), so if anyone is interested in what the actual nuts and bolts of a dictation session looks like, watch the replay. My session was very, very accurate, with only some minor errors here and there. Also, the dictation was through my iPhone microphone, not the mic you see on screen (more on that below). Actually, the dictation session today was more accurate than some of my exercise bike sessions. No joke.
I’m preparing my thoughts around a new dictation video since many of you have been asking for it. I may also write a book on this sometime soon as I have some unique thoughts on it that others haven’t covered.
STUMBLED ACROSS A CRAZY DICTATION HACK TODAY
I experimented with a new writing method during the power hour, and it’s a very good substitute for Mac users who want Dragon but who don’t want (or can’t) install Windows on their computer, or who don’t want to buy a Window computer. In fact, this is an identical substitute with the exact same results. Very few downsides.
Step 1: Subscribe to Dragon Anywhere. Costs $150/year. If you want to learn to dictate, the speed and volume of words you’re going to write justifies that cost in my opinion, especially if you use it at least a couple times a week. Dragon Anywhere is surprisingly accurate and doesn’t need a high-end microphone like Dragon for Windows does in order to be accurate. It’s also available for iOS AND Android.
Step 2: Use screen mirroring to port your phone’s display to your desktop or laptop. All major smartphones support this feature. There are many ways to do this on the Mac side, but the easiest is the Reflector App ($17.99, also supports Android and Windows), or AnyTrans (Free, Mac only). This will mirror the Dragon Anywhere mobile app on your desktop so you can see your dictation efforts on your desktop/laptop monitor instead of staring down at your phone. Just plug in your phone so you don’t sacrifice battery life too much. There are some downsides to this, to be sure (such as lag if you have a slow computer), but they’re minor.
Step 3: When you’re done dictating, copy what you wrote into Scrivener/Ulysses/Word/etc. Dragon Anywhere saves your work constantly so you don’t have to worry about losing it. Dragon Anywhere can even sync with Dropbox, too and it has a one-click copy-all feature so it’s very, very easy to get things out of it.
Step 4: You also have the benefit of dictating on the go. Like I said, this uses your smartphone microphone so you don’t need any extra hardware unless you want it, such as a Bluetooth headset for example.
For a $175 setup, and then $150 per year after that, you can dictate with the best of them and get basically the same results. No putting up with Dragon for Mac, no buying Windows computers, no buying new software every couple of years, none of that. Just speak your story, watch the app capture it accurately, and you’ll have higher word counts and better health to show for it.
Honestly, I don’t know why Nuance just doesn’t make Dragon Anywhere available on desktop and use the same technology with your computer mic. I don’t understand why they can get this right on the iPhone and iPad but not MacOS. (And another thing: “Dragon Anywhere” isn’t technically living up to its name if you can’t use it on your computer…just saying…) But I digress…
Anyway, if you want a pro dictation setup but are locked into Apple’s ecosystem, that’s how you can get around it.
MORE PROGRESS ON THE NOVEL
I looped more chapters today, so I’m fighting that good fight. Just a few more to go before the novel is officially fully-formed tomorrow. That will put me at three full days of looping, which is a little longer than it usually takes. Usually it’s 1-2 days.
I also incorporated feedback from my Chicago fact checkers into the book, so those sections are good to go now.
I’m also waiting for my remaining fact checkers to get back to me. Once I finish looping, I’m at a standstill until that happens.
I also lined up an editor today to help me with the continuity section. They’ll be ready to get to work right away and get me edits back by Feb 14. From then, it will go to my copyeditor.
I decided today that I’m not going to publish until Book 2 is done, which means I better get to work! LOL
Have a good Saturday night.
