Tools & Technology Archives - Master Book Builders

image showing a road with cars driving and the caption 'AI, self-driving cars, and the delusion of perfection'

Marginalia: AI, self-driving cars, and the delusion of perfection

Marginalia: on Matthew Crawford’s book, Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road. It might not be apparent from the title, but the two themes that keep jumping out at me are the dangers in our headlong rush toward applying AI to everything and the problem of perfectionism.

By Tom Collins March 14, 2024 AI Tools & Tips, Creativity, Flawsomism, Marginalia, Tools & Technology

image showing the devil coming out of a laptop and shocked user with an angel whispering into his ear for blog post, Google Made Me Do It (DKIM & more), by Tom Collins

[TfTi] Google Made Me Do It (DKIM & More)

If you got a scary email from Google or your email marketing platform about adding DKIM, DMARC, and more, just do it! If you didn’t get one and want your email newsletter to keep getting delivered, do it anyway! Here’s how.

By Tom Collins January 18, 2024 Business & Entrepreneurship, Tips from Tom's inbox, Tools & Technology

7 Essentials of Author Websites

A gude to the essential functional elements of a website built to serve the goals of both fiction and nonfiction authors.

By Tom Collins October 26, 2023 Business & Entrepreneurship, Indie Publishing, Marketing your book, Tools & Technology, Writing

What’s Your Cut? Understanding the Amazon KDP Print Cost Changes

Don’t be caught off guard by Amazon KDP’s printing cost changes coming June 20, 2023. Learn what’s happening and what you should do about it, now and going forward.

By Tom Collins June 9, 2023 Books, Business & Entrepreneurship, Indie Publishing, Marketing your book, Tools & Technology

banner image for blog post showing surprised writer pointing at her computer with text, 'Surprise yourself with the life you're writing'

[TfTi] Writing Yourself Into Their Lives; and other useful bits

In this week’s Tips from Tom’s inbox, I’ve gathered a wider set than I usually include, and consequently our dives will be a bit shallower. […]

By Tom Collins May 25, 2023 Learning, Tips from Tom's inbox, Tools & Technology, Writing

Are We Having Fun Yet? (with AI)

Let’s have some fun together, experimenting with an AI animated video tool and Bard, Google’s new entry to compete with ChatGPT.

By Tom Collins March 30, 2023 AI Tools & Tips, Business & Entrepreneurship, Tips from Tom's inbox, Tools & Technology

A graphic including a circular image of "Antipreneur" Dan Bennett, accompanied by the text "A Smart Conversation with Video Master and Antipreneur Dan Bennett."

Antipreneur Dan Bennett Talks Video Strategy and Production for Small Business Owners

A Smart Conversation with Yvonne DiVita of Master Book Builders and Dan Bennett, the Antipreneur, and someone I think is a Video Master Dan Bennett […]

By Yvonne DiVita January 28, 2023 Business & Entrepreneurship, Marketing your book, Podcasting, Tools & Technology

A Black woman sits at a desk looking at a monitor containing images of other people, as in a Zoom or other video conferencing meeting. Text over the mage reads "How to thrive in the virtual work world, and why grit is not enough."

How to Thrive in the Virtual Work World and Why Grit is Not Enough

I had the good fortune to have Angela Duckworth teach several segments of the Positive Psychology certificate program I took a couple of years ago. She used the research that led to her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, as examples throughout. So I continue to follow her work and three of her recent newsletter items inspired this post.

Because these lessons align so well with the new Laser Learning program I’m testing as I write, I’m going to introduce you to it briefly, after we dig into how her latest thoughts can help you thrive in the virtual spaces we find ourselves navigating for work, school, and even social life.

By Tom Collins October 13, 2020 Business & Entrepreneurship, Tools & Technology

An image of a person running down a trail lined with tall trees. Text over the image reads "Be SMART about your goals." This image is attached to a post on SMART goals and SMART intentions.

How To Be SMART About Your Goals

Today, we’ll talk a bit about SMART goals. And, I don’t just mean how to be smart about setting goals. Instead, I want you to learn how to understand SMART intentions and get them to work for you.

By Yvonne DiVita April 15, 2019 Business & Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Tools & Technology