Gary D. Robson's Blog: Reading & Writing with Gary Robson, page 5

You might be a redneck court reporter

This article started out as something I posted on the CompuServe Court Reporters Forum (CRForum) a couple of decades ago, and was turned into an article for MS-Strokes (The magazine of the Mississippi Court Reporters Association) in 1997. Later, portions of this article also appeared in the Journal of Court Reporting. I came across the […]

Steno by the Numbers

This article first appeared in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Court Reporting. Despite being over ten years old, it might be something fun for any court reporters out there who are also math geeks. I know of at least one… Do you have an analytical mind? Has it ever caused you to […]

Do you need an editor?

Yes. That was a short article, wasn’t it? At the MPIBA conference last weekend, just about everybody had stories to share of authors who don’t think they need an editor, or copyeditor, or proofreader. Most of them, in fact, don’t know the difference between those three (more on that in a moment). Well, if Stephen […]

A peek inside the cashflow of writing books

I was poking around on Quora and came across an interesting juxtaposition of questions: Neither of these is an unusual question. Quora is filled with people asking how to make money as an author, and other people asking how to download books without paying for them. Seeing those two questions together, though, made me realize that the […]

FAQ: Can you sell me a Cuban?

Since the changes in the Cuban cigar sanctions were announced, the most common question I’m asked at the tobacco counter in my bookstore is, “Can you sell me a Cuban?” Can I? Probably. Like everyone else in the business, I know a guy who knows a guy. I’m sure I could get my hands on […]

Farewell, Sir Terry. You shall be missed!

People live. People die. And we deal regularly with the deaths of public figures. Authors, performers, composers, artists, they are as mortal as the rest of us. But sometime one of those deaths hits us harder than the others. Terry Pratchett has been one of my favorite authors since I discovered his work in the […]

Technology for Microcephalic Morons

This was originally written for an old column of mine called “Technobabble.” I wrote it in 2002, and just happened to come find it and think, “Gee, I’ll bet people who read my blog love really old tech columns.” It’s surprisingly still relevant 13 years later — and it still intrigues me that publishing companies can […]

15 Tips for Building Book Trailers in iMovie

Over the last four years, we’ve seen more and more publishers creating book trailers. For those not familiar with the concept, it’s basically the same thing as a movie trailer. Think of it as a TV commercial for a book. Book trailers can be funny or serious. They can feature the author reading the book, […]

A note to the ladies about gentlemen in kilts

There’s a lot of talk right now about men invading women’s personal space, thanks to recent high-visibility touching by John Travolta and Vice President Joe Biden. It is definitely an issue, despite Travolta saying that the whole Oscar routine was planned and rehearsed. Surprisingly enough, I understand how women feel about this. Yes, I’m a guy, […]

The Billings Caledonian Pipes and Drums – Bagpipes in Montana!

The following is an article that I wrote for Magic City Magazine. It appears starting on page 39 of the March 2015 issue. Please visit their website, or if you live in the Billings, Montana area, pick up a copy of the magazine. It’s well worth the read! And if you’re interested in Scottish culture and kilts, […]