Using Evernote Web Clipper and Clearly as research tools  Clip to Evernote

Evernote Research. It’s the life blood of any writer. No matter what you’re doing – journalism, blogging, penning fiction, or doing any kind of technical or corporate writing – you need to gather facts and information.

Of course, the nature of research has morphed since I went pro all those many years ago. I remember spending a lot of time in the library or on the phone digging up information. Then, the Internet came to our computers and changed the game.

In the early days, researching on the web involved either copying and pasting information into a text editor or word processor file, or jotting notes on to paper. Thanks to web-based note taking applications like Evernote, that became a whole lot easier.

But copying and pasting information into Evernote isn’t the most efficient way to do things. Why not let your browser and Evernote work together? You can do that with two browser extensions for Evernote called Web Clipper and Clearly.

Let’s take a closer look at them and how they can be a useful addition to the tool kit of any writer, technical or otherwise.

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Invoicing with PayPal  Clip to Evernote

PayPal It’s not uncommon for freelancers to receive some (or even the bulk) of their payments via PayPal. Aaron and I do — both for our work with DMN Communications and for the work that we do on the side.

We do the bulk of our invoicing with BambooInvoice. But some of the firms and people who pay us with PayPal insist that the payment requests come from our company’s PayPal account.

Fair enough. To be honest, PayPal’s payment request feature isn’t the greatest. It does the job, but it’s not invoicing in the truest sense. And it’s easier for Aaron and I (and our accountant) to keep track of payments using an invoicing system like BambooInvoice.

Recently, though, PayPal beefed up its payment request function with a very nice invoicing feature. It’s easy to use and it’s flexible enough that you can use it for any kinds of jobs or services.

Let’s take a look at how to do that.

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The cloud and the freelance technical communicator  Clip to Evernote

Working in the cloud A while back, I published a post on my personal blog about cloud computing and writers. While I think that Web-based apps are a useful addition to any writer’s toolkit, I started thinking about how useful they are to freelance technical communicators.

My conclusion? They’re very useful, whether you use them as part of a job or to help run your business.

There are a number of reasons I think that. The main ones are:

  • Ease of access: you can use these tools as long as you have an Internet connection.
  • Simplicity: most Web-based applications are easy to use and follow the 80/20 rule.
  • Filling in gaps: specifically, software that you might not have at a client site. More on this in a moment.

Overall, I find that Web-based applications make me a bit more productive and a bit more flexible. That said, you need to choose the right applications. Here are a few that any freelancer or consultant can benefit from.

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Mind mapping: a useful tool for the technical communicator  Clip to Evernote

A while back, I attended a very interesting seminar given by a couple of consultants in Toronto. The seminar was an overview of various techniques to help kick start your creativity. It was an interesting experience, and I learned a number of interesting techniques.

One of techniques that I really dove into mind mapping. While mind mapping isn’t new to me, in the past I wasn’t really as comfortable as I should have been with it. During the seminar, something clicked and I finally saw how I could use mind mapping to effectively plan my writing. Not just the freelance writing that I do but any kind of writing, including technical writing.

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Converting Word files to a format WordPress can digest  Clip to Evernote

When Aaron and I started our guest blog post experiment, we we’re sure how it would go over – either with the people who read the words published in this space, or with the folks we approached to do guest posts. Much to our surprise and delight, both camps responded enthusiastically.

The only problem (if you want to call it that) is with the format in which our posters submit their posts. We accept files in the following formats: Word, OpenOffice.org Writer, HTML, Markdown, Textile, or plain text. Most of our guest posters send their submissions as Word files. Two people sent OpenOffice.org Writer (bless them!) files and one sent a plain text document embedded in an email. I was really hoping for more submissions in HTML, Markdown, or Textile …

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Text editors and the technical writer  Clip to Evernote

Text editors. I’m sure that more than a handful of people in our wacky profession don’t see text editors as valuable tools. But for many of us they’re that and more. A good text editor is indispensable.

You might be editing HTML or XML — as I did to get around a problem I had. You might be viewing a shell script or a batch file. You might be perusing some code. Or you might just be taking a peek at a README file or change log to figure out what’s new in an application you’re documenting. Pulling those kinds of files into a word processor is overkill.

And what if you want to embrace your inner geek, and get your hands dirty? Using a text editor is a great way to do that.

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