Hillary DePiano's Blog, page 32

NaNoWriMo Advanced Word Count Calculator (charts, percentages, stats and more!)

I know that some of you out there are as obsessive as me when it comes to trying to figure out how far along you are in National Novel Writing Month so I decided to share my personal calculator. It’s simple but powerful.

This calculator will work in Open Office, Microsoft Excel or Google Drive, depending on what you use. But it works best in Google Drive since that is what I set it up in (there are also some handy little charts in the Google version the other versions won’t get).

It is very...

6 productive writing things to do while waiting for NaNoWriMo to start

I don’t know about you but there are still a few hoursleft to go before National Novel Writing Month starts in my neck of the woods and for some time zones there are many hours left before the starting pistol. But instead of sitting here chomping at the bit like a lunatic, here are five useful things you can do in this time before you actually start writing your novel.

Pick out character names. Remember how I said not to bother naming your characters? Well that was because it’s a waste of tim...

Hillary’s Guide to NaNoWriMo: Table of Contents Mega Post!

I’ve written a TON of posts and articles about NaNoWriMo in my decade+ participating in the event and serving as an ML and I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of this info is really hard to find on this site. To that end, I’ve created this master post to serve as a Table of Content to all this info, though you’ll always just be able to browse the info newest to oldest here.I wrote some of these a LONG time ago so I apologize in advance if the prose is awkward or anything is out of date.

I’v...

You need a lot of things to finish a novel during NaNoWriMo but luck isn’t one of them

Luck has absolutely nothing to do with NaNoWriMo. Let me explain in this video pep talk adapted from this popular post from years past.… Read more

This post appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Does the Selling Assistant consignment sell from their own account or the clients?

Sell Their Stuff: Should I sell from my own account or the client’s? Who will be doing the actual selling?

Most Selling Assistant’s will want to sell from their own selling accounts whenever possible. This gives you full control over the money, both ingoing and outgoing, and makes it easier for you to manage the post-sale elements like shipping, returns and payment processing. It also means all selling benefits and cross-marketing opportunities go directly back to your accounts.

Photo by GotC...

It’s time to finally write that story! Let me talk you into trying NaNoWriMo this year.

I adapted one of my most popular NaNoWriMo pep talks into a video. Going to be doing that with several bits of old content in the near future since it just makes sense! Here is is below:… Read more

This post appeared first on Hillary DePiano.

Introducing Goosed! a new play in the style of classic Italian slapstick comedy

It’s hard to say exactly what draws me to adaptation. Most of the time,I like something in it but hate the rest of itand I end up adapting it to “fix” whatever’s annoying me about the original. But every now and then, I read a story that just makes me say aloud, “This is just so terrible, I HAVE to adapt it.”

The Goose is not the most ridiculous story from Giambattista Basile’sTale of Tales, that honor belongs to the glorious-ness that isThe Cockroach, the Mouse, and the Cricket which I’ll al...

Prepare yourselves for a barrage of new one acts as I chop up my Tale of Tales full length play

It’s been 13 freaking years since I decided to read the Tale of Tales. Almost three years since I actually started reading it and realized I wanted to adapt, like, all of it. Nearly a year since I had to read it all over again because I realized I was reading an incomplete translation.Which is why it is with no small amount of pride and maybe a little relief that I tell you that, after all these years ofresearch and prep and talking about it, I’m finally getting ready to reveal this monster p...

Is eBay still the best place for a Trading Assistant turned consignment seller?

Sell Their Stuff: What about eBay?

While the SA will get a wide variety of items, a majority will usually be antiques, collectibles and home goods, all of which do particularly well on eBay. While I’m a firm believer in never shackling yourself to a single marketplace, I also don’t believe in discounting a platform entirely for any reason, especially if it could be a good fit for your items despite other annoyances. While there’s a lot I don’t like about the eBay platform, there are several g...

Do you need a storefront or standalone webstore to be a Selling Assistant?

Sell Their Stuff:

You don’t need your own webstore to offer Selling Assistance services, but you may want one anyway. If you already have a thriving webstore, great! That’s just another selling option to offer your clients. But if you don’t and you’re wondering if now’s the time to get one, I’d advise waiting.

Photo by dovcharney

Run your SA service for a while out of a marketplace environment such as eBay or Etsy. Then, if you later decide to upgrade, you’ll have a better sense of what your...