Category Archives: News

What’s new with Maria and Maria’s Guides.

Print Edition of “iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook” Approved for Production

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Should be available for order from major online booksellers within a week.

Just a quick note to let folks know that we’ve just approved the print proof for iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook. This 242-page book looks great, especially in the new larger size we’ve set up for the Maria’s Guide series.

Our printer works directly with Ingram to get books listed in bookseller catalogs quickly. I expect the print edition of the book to begin appearing on Amazon.com and BN.com within a week or so. I’m hoping both organizations order the book in sufficient quantities to ensure speedy delivery to customers.

If you can’t wait for print, ebook editions are already available from both resellers. You can learn more about the book and follow links to purchase your copy on the book’s support web page.

Maria’s Guide Title for iBooks Author Now in Production

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Look for it within the next week or so.

iBooks Author IconNo sooner had we put the finishing touches on Sorting Excel Data than Apple delivered a brand new topic for the Maria’s Guides book series: iBooks Author.

iBooks Author is a Mac OS application that enables you to develop media-rich ebooks for iBooks on iPad. Although it has a limited audience, it makes up for those limitations with sheer publishing power. This free application makes it possible to create books that not only include fixed page layouts, but images, galleries, movies, review tests, and interactive graphics. Best of all, it features a relatively easy-to-use, intuitive interface.

We’re excited about iBooks Author, mostly because of all the great new ways we’ll be able to enhance Maria’s Guide books for iBooks readers. We’re also excited about producing a book about a brand new topic: iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Book should be available before the end of the month. We hope you’ll look for it here—and on the iBookstore, of course.

Sorting Excel Data: The Basics & Beyond

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A definitive guide to sorting data managed in Microsoft Excel.

Sorting Excel Data cover

This guide takes the mystery and confusion out of Excel’s sorting features. It starts by covering the basics of simple, one-column sorts. It then builds on that information to explain multi-column sorting, setting up and using custom sort orders, sorting based on cell colors or icons, performing case-sensitive sorts, and sorting by rows instead of columns. Step-by-step, fully illustrated instructions make it clear what you need to do. Sample files make it easy to repeat exercises so you can see the same results.

Although this book concentrates on Microsoft Excel 2010 for Windows and Microsoft Excel 2011 for Mac OS, it also provides useful tips and instructions for previous versions of Excel.

Buy Kindle Edition
Buy iBooks Edition
Buy NOOK Edition

I’m really pleased to announce that the second book in the Maria’s Guides series — Sorting Excel Data: The Basics & Beyond — is now out and available in three ebook formats, with a print edition on the way.

About the Book

It all started as a question asked by a friend in Facebook. An experienced computer professional, she didn’t know how to perform a four-column sort in Microsoft Excel. I thought back to my computer applications training days and remembered how my students struggled with Excel’s sorting features. I decided it would make a good topic for a Maria’s Guide book.

While researching and writing the book, I realized just how much Excel’s sorting feature has changed since I wrote my last Excel book several years ago. While it was obviously important for me to cover the most recent Windows and Mac OS versions of Excel, I also wanted to explain complex sorting to folks who haven’t yet upgraded. I think the book does a great job of completely covering how to sort data managed in Excel.

Inside, you’ll find the following chapters:

Table of Contents
Before We Begin: Introduction
Chapter 1: Sorting Basics
Chapter 2: Quick Sorts
Chapter 3: Multiple-Column Sorts
Chapter 4: Sorting by Color & Icon
Chapter 5: Using Custom Sort Orders
Chapter 6: Exploring Sort Options
Chapter 7: Sorting with Filters & Tables
Conclusion: That’s Everything

The printed version of the book runs 114 pages, including front matter, table of contents, and index.

The book uses several example worksheets, all of which are contained in a single workbook file. Readers are encouraged to download the sample file and follow along. This ensures understanding, since readers get the same results that appear in the book.

Buy the Book

The book is currently available as an ebook from three sources (so far):

The print edition is currently going through the proofing process. Once approved, it will be available on Amazon.com and BN.com, as well as by special order through your favorite bookstore.

Additional Material, Feedback, and Support

You can find additional material about Excel on this site. Just follow the Excel topic link.

You can also post questions and read questions and answers on the book’s support page. That’s also where you can find the sample workbook file used throughout the book.

Save 35% on My Lion Book!

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Discount applies to either printed book or ebook (or bundle) and includes free shipping!

Mac OS X Lion VQS Book CoverJust a quick note to let readers know that Peachpit Press is offering my Lion book at a 35% off discount with free shipping from now until December 31, 2011.

To take advantage of this offer, visit the book’s page on Peachpit’s site, add the book (or ebook or bundle) to your shopping cart and check out. Be sure to enter discount code LIONVQS during the checkout process.

Makes a great gift for folks new to Mac OS or Lion!

Dragon Dictate 2.5: Visual QuickStart Guide

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Now available!

Dragon Dictate

Dragon Dictate 2.5: Visual QuickStart Guide walks readers through how to train Dragon Dictate, allowing it to recognize the way readers speak. Readers will learn how to add specialized words and names and how to control Mac applications using their voice. The book then moves on to editing text documents, allowing readers to select, delete, capitalize and work with text. The book also covers having Dragon read text back to the user, allowing the user to proofread and edit dictated documents. Finally, the book covers more advanced topics, such as creating new voice commands for controlling Mac applications and controlling the mouse via voice commands.

Buy from Peachpit Press
Buy from Amazon.com
Buy from Barnes & Noble
Buy from Apple’s iTunes Bookstore

My latest Peachpit Press book, Dragon Dictate 2.5: Visual QuickStart Guide, is now widely available from all major online booksellers and in bookstores that sell computer books. You can buy it in traditional print format or as an ebook in Kindle, iBooks, NOOK, and PDF formats.

About the Book

I first became interested in Dragon Dictate when I began using the Dragon Dictation app on my iPad. I was extremely impressed by the software’s ability to understand what I was saying — without any voice recognition training. Later, I was on hand at Macworld Expo in San Francisco for a demo of the Mac OS software package, Dragon Dictate, on the show floor. I was blown away. It was exactly the kind of software I’d been dreaming about — software that could type what I said as I said it.

I bought a copy right then and there.

I started talking to Peachpit Press about a Dragon Dictate book this past spring. We contacted for it, but soon put it on the back burner so I could finish my Mac OS X book revision for Lion. When that was finished, I began working on the Dictate book. I finished it in October.

Dragon Dictate 2.5: Visual QuickStart Guide follows the usual illustrated step-by-step format that makes Visual QuickStart Guide books so popular with readers. But in addition to that, it also provides numerous tables of commands that work with Dragon Dictate. It’s these handy guides that I think are the most valuable resource in the book. I can imagine readers using a highlighter to highlight the commands they use most — that’s what I’ll be doing with my copy!

Buy the Book

Right now, the book is available from many booksellers. If it’s not readily available in your favorite bookstore, try one of these sources:

It retails for $19.99, but I’ve seen prices as low as $14.99 (Amazon.com). The ebook is widely available for just 9.99.

Additional Material, Feedback, and Support

You can find additional material about Dragon Dictate on this site. Just follow the Dragon Dictate topic link.

You can also post questions and read questions and answers on the book’s support page.

MacVoices TV Interview about Making Movies Book

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Interview by Chuck Joiner now online.

Screen GrabI’m extremely pleased to announce that my interview with Chuck Joiner on Mac Voices TV went live today. I hope you’ll check out MacVoicesTV #1182: Maria Langer Helps You Make Movies.

This was the first time I’d appeared on MacVoices TV; usually, I’m on the audio-only version, MacVoices. In the background, you’ll see the covered up stored furniture of my new office in Phoenix. You’ll also get a chance to see my horrible haircut six full weeks after I was scalped. (Hint: There’s still not enough to do anything with it except spike it.)

Chuck is a great host who always asks good questions. As usual, it was a real pleasure to be on his show. I hope you’ll take the time to explore the other MacVoices episodes on Chuck’s site. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of interest there.

You can find a complete list of my recent interview appearances on my personal website.

Making Movies: A Guide for Serious Amateurs

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A step-by-step approach to making quality video productions.

Making Movies book cover

Tired of turning video footage into ho-hum productions that make people yawn? Or, worse yet, just putting raw video out there and hoping for the best? If so, this guide is for you. It clearly explains how to research, plan, shoot, assemble, edit, and fine-tune video productions for just about any purpose. Richly illustrated with stills from an example movie, it’ll get you on the right track to making movies that’ll inform, entertain, and impress your audience.

Buy from Amazon’s Kindle Bookstore

I’m really pleased to announce that the first book in the Maria’s Guides series — Making Movies: A Guide for Serious Amateurs — is now available.

About the Book

I originally wrote the first draft of Making Movies as a personal guide to help me remember how I created my first “watchable” movie, Cherries: From Tree to Truck. Later, I rounded it out into a series of articles for InformIT. To create this book, I added and revised content and formatted it for print and ebook publication.

This book differs from most of my computer how-to books in that it concentrates on theory rather than specific how-to tasks. For example, it doesn’t explain how to edit moves in iMovie or Final Cut Pro. Instead, it tells you about the kinds of clips you should acquire and why. It also goes into a great deal of detail about the part of movie-making that’s most overlooked by inexperienced movie-makers: the planning process. The idea was to write a book that could benefit all first-time movie makers — not just the ones using a specific camera or editing software package.

Inside, you’ll find chapters for the following “steps”:

Introduction
Step 1: Explore the Topic
Step 2: Plan the Shoot
Step 3: Shoot the Video
Step 4: Create the Rough Cut
Step 5: Fine-Tune and Complete
Step 6: Publish and Share
Conclusion

The printed version of the book runs 66 pages, including cover, front matter, and index.

The book uses two examples throughout the text: the existing cherry harvest video I created and a hypothetical home movie of a kid’s soccer game. There are screen images and other figures to help illustrate important points.

I think the book is a great guide to help new movie makers learn the lingo and get a feel for making good movies. Its step-by-step approach can help keep readers focused on the tasks that need to be done to ensure success.

Buy the Book

The book is available in four formats from three sources (so far):

EPUB and Kindle Ebook

I wrote the book primarily for distribution as an ebook. As such, it’s available in EPUB and Kindle formats from two popular sources at a very reasonable $3.99:

Print and PDF Ebook

The book is also available in print and in a PDF-style ebook format from MagCloud.

MagCloud is a print-on-demand publisher that calculates printed cost by the page, so the longer a book is, the more it costs. The printed version, which is in full color, is available for $12.95 plus shipping. Be advised that it may take up to two weeks for the book to arrive.

MagCloud also offers a ebook version of the book. Unlike the EPUB and Kindle versions, the MagCloud version is based on a PDF, so it’s formatted exactly like the book. The cost of this ebook version is $3.95 and it downloads immediately upon purchase.

Note that when you buy the print version, you get a free copy of the ebook version.

Additional Material, Feedback, and Support

You can find additional material about making movies on this site. Just follow the Movie Making topic link.

You can also post questions and read questions and answers on the book’s support page.

Mac OS X Lion: Visual QuickStart Guide

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Latest Mac OS X Visual QuickStart Guide now available.

Visual QuickStart Guides, designed in an attractive tutorial and reference format, are the quickest, easiest, and most thorough way to learn applications, tasks, and technologies. The Visual QuickStart Guides are a smart choice and guide the learner in a friendly and respectful tone. Visually presented with copious screenshots, the focused discussions by topic and tasks make learning a breeze and quickly take you to exactly what you want to learn.

The latest update of this best-selling Visual QuickStart Guide will have you up and running in no time with Mac OS X Lion. Respected, best-selling author Maria Langer will take you through all of Mac OS X Lion’s groundbreaking capabilities and new features including Multi-Touch Gestures, Launchpad, Mission Control, the App Store, Mail, and much more. With plenty of screenshots to clearly illustrate techniques, this effective tutorial and reference is packed with practical information for people who want to jump in and start working and playing with OS X Lion.

Table of Contents

Introduction
PART I: Getting Started with Mac OS X
Chapter 1: Setting Up Mac OS X Lion
Chapter 2: Finder Basics
Chapter 3: File Management Basics
Chapter 4: Window Views
Chapter 5: Getting Help
PART II: Managing Files
Chapter 6: Advanced Finder Techniques
Chapter 7: Searching for Files
Chapter 8: Storage Devices & Media
Chapter 9: Backup & Recovery Features
Chapter 10: Multiple Users
PART III: Using Applications
Chapter 11: Application Basics
Chapter 12: Standard Application Menus
Chapter 13: The App Store
Chapter 14: TextEdit
Chapter 15: Address Book
Chapter 16: iCal
Chapter 17: Music & Video Applications
Chapter 18: Other Mac OS X Applications
Chapter 19: Dashboard
Chapter 20: Desktop Management
PART IV: Mac OS Utilities
Chapter 21: Fonts
Chapter 22: Printing
Chapter 23: Disk Utility
Chapter 24: Mac OS Utility Applications
PART V: Network & Internet Connectivity
Chapter 25: Networking
Chapter 26: Connecting to the Internet
Chapter 27: Internet Applications
PART VI: Customizing Your Mac
Chapter 28: Customizing the Finder
Chapter 29: Customizing Finder Windows
Chapter 30: System Preferences Basics
Chapter 31: Personal Preferences
Chapter 32: Hardware Preferences
Chapter 33: Internet & Wireless Preferences
Chapter 34: System Preferences
PART VII: Reference
Appendix A: Menus & Keyboard Shortcuts
Index

Related Posts

For more content related to Lion, be sure to check out the Mac OS topic link.

Twitter Essential Training, 2011 Edition

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2011 revision goes live.

Get more from your software.I’m very pleased to announce that my latest Lynda.com course, a revision of my 2009 and 2010 Twitter courses, is now online. Here’s the official description from the good folks at Lynda.com:

In Twitter Essential Training, author Maria Langer explains how to use Twitter, a social network for sharing short bites of information instantly with others. This course covers how to sign up for a Twitter account, send and read Twitter updates (called tweets), and build a network of followers. The training also describes how to get the most out of Twitter by customizing an individual profile, setting privacy options, following trending topics, and tapping into third-party resources that make it easier to follow and send updates.

Topics include:

  • Uploading a profile picture to an account
  • Setting account options to meet specific needs
  • Using lists
  • Sharing photos and Web content with friends
  • Adding Twitter feeds to web sites
  • Searching for people and tweets
  • Following and blocking users
  • Tweeting by SMS
  • Establishing a business presence
  • Understanding Twitter interface changes

Twitter Essential Training Now Online

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2010 edition goes live.

Get more from your software.I’m very pleased to announce that my latest Lynda.com course, a revision of my 2009 Twitter course, is now online. Here’s the official description from the good folks at Lynda.com:

In Twitter Essential Training, author Maria Langer explains how to use Twitter, an online microblogging service that offers a way to share short bites of information instantly with others. This course covers how to sign up for a Twitter account, send and read Twitter updates (called tweets), and build a network of followers. The training also describes how to get the most out of Twitter by customizing an individual profile, setting privacy options, following trending topics, and tapping into third-party resources that make it easier to follow and send updates.

Topics Include:

  • Uploading an image or avatar to an account
  • Setting options to meet specific needs
  • Using lists
  • Sharing photos with friends and family
  • Adding Twitter feeds to web sites
  • Including hyperlinks in tweets
  • Following and blocking users
  • Using SMS
  • Tweeting for a business

Duration: 3.25 Hours

View the intro movie on YouTube.

There are lots of free videos you can check out on the course main page. Enjoy!

On Becoming a “Power Blogger”

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I define a new [to me] phrase.

Last week, I was one of four guest panelists on the WordCast podcast. The topic was blog productivity — tips and tricks for blogging more efficiently — and a phrase I’d never heard before came up in the discussion: power blogger.

Let me take a few steps back before I move forward. Although I’ve written extensively about blogging from the blogger point of view and I’ve also co-authored and authored various WordPress training materials (books and videos), I’m not someone who keeps up-to-date with the world of blogging. I don’t know the buzzwords or phrases, I don’t follow the hot trends. I just obtain the tools, use them the way they work for me, and try to publish new blog posts regularly. Along the way, I provide a sprinkling of advice for bloggers in my own blog posts.

So the phrase power blogger was brand new to me.

And meaningless.

When the question, “What advice can you give to people who want to become power bloggers?” came up, I felt a tingling of stage fright. Surely I’d sound like an idiot if I admitted I had no idea what the phrase meant.

Fortunately, another panelist spoke up. I listened carefully to glean meaning from his response. And what I learned was that he — and the others — considered the quantity of blog posts a major component of power blogging. By their definition — at least one post a day — I was a power blogger!

I sure don’t feel like one.

When it was my turn to speak, I proposed my own definition of power blogger. I don’t remember the exact words, but it went something like this:

The number of blog posts a blogger publishes should have nothing to do with whether he’s a power blogger. Instead, it should be the influence the blogger has over his readership and beyond. What’s important is whether a blog post makes a difference in the reader’s life. Does it teach? Make the reader think? Influence his decisions? If a blogger can consistently do any of that, he’s a power blogger.

I recall comparing Twitter — which is, after all, “microblogging” — to blogging. Someone can tweet dozens of times a day, but if there isn’t any value in what he’s tweeting, what good is it? There are plenty of bloggers out there simply rehashing the same material, over and over, without adding anything new to the mix. They might post five or ten times a day. But if it isn’t worth reading, how can you consider them power bloggers?

And I guess that’s the advice I want to share in this post: If you’re serious about blogging, don’t go for quantity. Go for quality.

Make a difference with what you post.

MacVoices Interview Now Online

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Scott McNulty and I talk to Chuck Joiner about WordPress.

One of the things I like to do — but don’t get a chance to do very often these days — is talk to podcasters and other media people about the projects I’ve worked on.

MacVoices LogoEarlier this month, I got a chance to do just that with Chuck Joiner, the host of the MacVoices podcast. For the first time ever, Chuck did a double interview, killing two birds with one stone as he spoke to author Scott McNulty and I about WordPress. During the Interview, we talked about our separate WordPress-related projects and how they might be used together to help someone learn the ins and outs of using WordPress.

Here’s the blurb on the MacVoices Web site:

Thinking of starting a blog with WordPress? Maria Langer, the author of Self-Hosting a WordPress Site and WordPress.Com 2.7 Essential Training on Lynda.com and Scott McNulty, the author of Building a WordPress Blog People Want to Read, share some tips from their respective projects to help you make the right choices. Maria and Scott talk about deciding on using WordPress.com or selecting your own host, one-click vs. user installs, why permalink structure is one of the first things you should think about, and finding and customizing a theme for your blog and more. Backup options, favorite plug-ins and why their video and book compliment each other are discussed.

If you’d like to hear the podcast, you can download it directly from its page on the MacVoices Web site.

New on Lynda.com: WordPress.com 2.7 Essential Training

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New training videos for WordPress.com users.

I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest online training material for Lynda.com: WordPress.com 2.7 Essential Training.

From the official course description:

The blogging revolution has led to new levels of communication on the information superhighway. WordPress 2.7 Essential Training is the onramp for anyone who wants to get up to speed quickly and easily. Maria Langer, author and veteran blogger, shows how to set up a free WordPress account, create posts, and maintain a blog. She goes on to explore the possibilities WordPress offers for creating blogs that are unique in style and voice. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics Include:
• Understanding the functionality of WordPress
• Composing and previewing pages
• Including images and multimedia files in posts
• Moderating comments and pingbacks
• Adding and managing user accounts
• Customizing with widgets

I want to add here that this material is also great basic instruction for self-hosted WordPress 2.7 users interested in learning the basics of blogging with WordPress. This course could be considered a “prerequisite” for my Self-Hosting a WordPress Site course, also on Lynda.com.

Lynda.comRemember: if you have a Lynda.com membership, you can view all of these videos — and any other video in the library — for free. You don’t pay per title; you pay by the month or year. This is an excellent value for anyone interested in learning lots of new software and topics without spending a fortune on books, one-on-one training, or training videos. Give it a try!

New on Lynda.com: Self-Hosting a WordPress Site

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New training videos for self-hosted WordPress users.

I’m extremely pleased to announce the release of my latest online training material for Lynda.com: Self-Hosting a WordPress Site.

From the official course description:

In Self-Hosting a WordPress Site, author and avid blogger Maria Langer shows how a blog can be customized to make it stand out in the digital crowd. Maria walks WordPress users—from casual bloggers to seasoned pros—through the steps to making a blog truly unique. This course goes beyond the basics, like setting a standard theme, and demonstrates such advanced techniques as incorporating CSS, PHP, and HTML.

Topics Include:
• Installing WordPress on any ISP
• Touring a WordPress CMS site
• Understanding all the content creation options
• Creating a customized look with PHP and CSS changes
• Using plug-ins to add features
• Setting options for user accounts

Lynda.comRemember: if you have a Lynda.com membership, you can view all of these videos — and any other video in the library — for free. You don’t pay per title; you pay by the month or year. This is an excellent value for anyone interested in learning lots of new software and topics without spending a fortune on books, one-on-one training, or training videos. Give it a try!

MacVoices Interview about WordPress.com Video Training

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I’m interviewed!

MacVoices LogoWordPress.ccom DVDIn early August, I was interviewed by MacVoices producer Chuck Joiner about my new Lynda.com course covering WordPress.com, WordPress.com Essential Training. The interview went live today. You can read about the interview, access related links and listen to our conversation on the MacVoices Web site.

MacVoices, by the way, is available as a podcast. It’s a great way to get news about new Mac products delivered to iTunes and your iPod. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

MacJury

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A great new podcast.

MacJury LogoYesterday afternoon, I had the honor of being one of the “jurists” in the new MacJury podcast created and moderated by Chuck Joiner. Chuck’s responsible for a number of podcasts aimed at Mac users, including MacVoices and MacNotables.

From MacJury’s About page:

Designed to be entertaining, informative and thought-provoking, The MacJury will pass judgment on news, issues, products and more. Each show will feature a different panel of personalities from the Mac universe in a freewheeling discussion that will interest Mac users of all expertise and experience levels.

I was invited to be one of the jurists for the third podcast of the series. Chuck was joined by me, Nancy Gravley, Joe Kissell, and Don McAllister. Through the miracle of the Internet (specifically, Skype), the five of us, located in the U.S. and Europe, were joined together for a good discussion of the pros and cons of .Mac and the new Mac clones. You can download the 54-minute MP3 file containing our discussion from the MacJury #803 page.

Or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast. If you’re a Mac user interested in current topics that affect you and your Mac, I think you’ll get a lot out of it.

Look What I Got!

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The miracle of publishing.

My Leopard BookI cannot believe how quickly the printer put this book together. I’m holding, in my hot little hands, a copy of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. This book went to the printer on October 9 just two weeks ago. The FedEx guy just dropped off 25 copies.

This makes me feel pretty confident that the book will be in Apple Stores on Friday at 6 PM.

And, in case you’re wondering, the book looks great!

Wanted: iChat AV Buddies

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Get your face in my book.

Sometime next week, I’ll be working on Chapter 19 of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. That chapter covers (among other things) iChat. And, as I do each edition, I need to illustrate an iChat video chat session.

Lars on Page 347Although I could chat with people I already know — or Lars, who managed to get his face in two of my books — I’d much rather chat with strangers. (My mother never managed to teach me not to talk to strangers.) Would you like to be one of the folks I chat with while writing the chapter? It could get your face in my book.

Here’s what you need:

  • A Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later.
  • iChat.
  • A video camera that works with iChat. (iSight cameras work pretty well, as you can imagine.)
  • Availability. When I’m ready to do my screenshots, I’ll start contacting folks to chat with. If I can’t get the first one on my list, I’ll move on to the second one — and so on until I find someone available.

To get on my list of contacts, use the Comments link or form below to enter a comment for this message. Include your name, country, and AIM or .Mac account info. Then wait patiently until I get in touch — if I don’t reach someone listed before you.

Oh, and there’s two more things to think about before signing up:

  • By listing your iChat info in the Comments for this post, you are agreeing to allow your likeness to appear in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide by Maria Langer, which should be published in October, 2007.
  • In consideration for participation in this program, anyone who appears in the book will get a free, autographed copy.

Questions? Leave them in the comments. Don’t use the Contact form for this.

When it’s all over, if you want your info removed, please note that with your info. I can go in and remove the info from the comments.

Excel Book Done

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That’s book number 68.

ImageI put the finishing touches on Microsoft Office Excel 2007: Visual QuickStart Guide. It’s my 68th book (I just counted) and right now, I feel as if I wrote them all yesterday.

Okay, so not that tired.

I had some trouble with this book. First, there was the beta software situation. Not only did I have to work with the Office 2007 beta, but I had to run it on the Vista beta. Double Microsoft Windows betas for a person who usually works on a Mac! You can imagine my concern.

But everything went pretty smoothly with that and I’ve been using release versions since January, so I know everything in the book is based on the final software.

Motivation slowed me down a bit in the middle of the project. I think I really need an editor cracking a whip over my head to get me to work at my old pace. These days, I’d rather fly than write about Excel. (Can you imagine?) The thing that snapped me out of it was money. If I don’t make milestones, my publisher does not send checks. Although Flying M Air is now paying all of its own bills — thank heaven; you should see some of those bills! — it’s not paying my bills. If I don’t write, I don’t eat. And since I like to eat, I became motivated.

Of course, the killer was my February hard disk crash and the two weeks it took me to get everything back to normal here. What a productivity killer! But it taught me a new valuable lesson about backups — you think I would have learned the last two times — and my old dual G5 is still running, now with a new hard disk to go with last year’s new motherboard. Sheesh. (Now you know why I bought AppleCare for my MacBook Pro.)

I churned through the last few chapters relatively quickly, anxious to meet deadlines tied to promotional opportunities. (I’m not sure of those promos really exist or if my editor has learned to tell me about fantasy promos to get me to work faster. I wouldn’t blame her if she made it up.) I had first pass files done last week and spent the past few days finalizing files based on edits. Today, after fooling around a bit — I’m the queen of procrastination — I laid out the index, created an ad for the book’s companion Web site, and turned it all in. The e-mail message I sent to my editor said:

I think I’m done. Can you ask them to send that final check? (Still waiting for the last one, too.)

The book weighs in at 360 pages, which is about the same as the last edition. It’s got the new VQS cover design. It lists for $21.99, but you can buy it from Amazon.com for $14.95 right now, which is 32% off. (Not a bad deal.) It should be in stores by April 20 or thereabouts.

Meanwhile, life goes on.

Tomorrow, I have to take my helicopter in to the avionics shop in Mesa to see if they can figure out why my radio isn’t working right. I have a meeting with a marketing guy down there at 10 AM. Then a tour of Phoenix for a man and his daughter at 2. Somewhere in between, I’ll have lunch with Mike, who has been away for the past few days. Then a flight home.

Friday I get started on my next book. Those of you who know me should know what that is.

Creating Spreadsheets and Charts in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide is Off to the Printer

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(I just write ‘em — I don’t name ‘em.)

Excel Visual QuickProjectThe revision to my Excel 2007 Visual QuickStart Guide was shipped to the printer this week. My editor expects the book to be in stores by year-end.

The book is a raw beginners guide to Excel. This version covers Excel 2007, which will be widely available at January month-end. The previous edition, which is still available and has been selling very well since its publication over two years ago, covers Excel 2003 for Windows and Excel 2004 for Macintosh. I expect both editions of the book to sell side by side at least until Excel for Macintosh is revised — whenever that may be.

For more information about the book and downloadable files, visit the Excel QuickProject area of this site.

Interested in buying the book? Check it out at Amazon.com.