Dani Space

Category: Writing

  • The Rocketbook is the Re-Usable Notebook for Everyone

    The Rocketbook is the Re-Usable Notebook for Everyone

    I’ve been a planner for a long time. To do lists, daily planning, weekly planning — it’s all important to me. Even though I spend a lot of time on planning (and yes, sometimes a lot of money), it helps me stay somewhat organized.

    More importantly, it helps me manage my ADHD. Sometimes.

    But to be honest, my planning evolves.

    Sometimes, I like to just write quick notes. Sometimes I decorate. There is no one planning system that works for me. I need to change it up to keep interested.

    That’s probably why I end up buying so many different planners. I can’t even tell you how many Happy Planners I’ve bought over the years. I like that they are pretty. And I can use stickers. But I get bored.

    I’m hoping with the Rocketbook notebooks, I’ll be able to avoid having to buy more planners. Once I have them all, of course (I’m only partly joking)!

    What is a Rocketbook?

    Rocketbook is the brand for a collection of erasable notebooks. You write on the special paper with a Frixion pen (they come in lots of colors and styles!). And when you’re done, you can erase it with a little water and the microfiber cloth that comes with each notebook.

    But there’s more to it than that. Rocketbook has some really cool features.

    Upload to the cloud

    Each page of the Rocketbook has a little QR code in the bottom corner. Combined with a black outline, it allows you to scan your pages and then send them to whatever destination you choose. I like Google Drive but you can also scan to your email, Evernote, Dropbox, OneNote, OneDrive, Trello, Slack, Box, or your photos.

    Choose to send your files as a JPG, PDF, or even a GIF.

    If you’re uploading text, Rocketbook can even turn your handwriting into text with OCR Transcription! It’s not the best and I’m still experimenting with it but from what I understand, the more you use it the better it gets at transcribing your writing accurately.

    Buy a planner, buy a template, or make your own planner

    The Rocketbooks are great for journaling, taking notes, or even drawing. But they are also great for planners.

    If you prefer a bullet journal type of planner, all you need is a blank notebook. Most of the basic notebooks come either lined or dot grid style. Personally, I think this is great. When I was using a bullet journal style planner, I used to change my mind a lot about what formats I liked for my layouts. In the end, I went through a lot of paper.

    But you can also buy pre-made planners.

    Rocketbook has a Panda Planner, an Everyday Planner, the Fusion, and an Academic Planner. Each one has different layouts, so you can choose the planner that works best for you.

    If you need something else, you can find planner pages to download or you can buy them from Etsy.

    Or if you really want to have your own style, you can make your own planner pages. You can print (or have them printer) using a laser printer (not a laser ink printer). Alternatively, you can draw the layouts using a Frixion pen and once you have them write, make them permanent with.a fine tip Sharpie.

    If you choose to go the Sharpie route, make sure the ink is good and dry before you try erasing anything from it!

    Get creative with a FrankenRocketbook!

    If you’re like me, you won’t be satisfied until you have the exact notebook that you desire.

    One of the reasons I wanted to convert to the Rocketbook was because I wanted less paper to carry around. With my previous systems, I had a planner for this and that and then other thing. And then there was journaling and story/book planning.

    It was getting to be too much!

    Now, I have two notebooks. Yes, two notebooks for everything.

    The “notebook” size is a standard 8×11″. This is the same size paper as the BIG Happy Planner or a piece of loose leaf paper or printer paper, also known as letter size.

    My notebook size book is being used for two things: my journal and everything fiction writing related. I’m planning out books and characters, recording my writing sprints, setting writing goals, and more. The only thing I’m not doing in this book that is writing related is planning.

    One of the things I love about the Happy Planners is that I can take pages out and move them around. Why couldn’t Rocketbook have that feature?

    Now, my FrankenRocketbook does!

    I took all the pages out of my Rocketbook Core. I covered the edges with washi tape to give them more stability. And then I punched disc holes with my Happy Planner puncher.

    The result?

    A disc bound Rocketbook. The discs are from the smallest Happy Planner discs. The cover is from a big Happy Planner. Inside, I added a couple of dividers and some folders. The folders are great for holding my microfiber cloth and some stencils.

    My second book is an “executive” size — same as an A5. I have line paper and I have the Everyday Planner in it. I took out the coils from both books, put them in the order I wanted them, and then put the cover and coil back on. I added a portfolio cover to it to contain a pen and my microfiber cloth.

    Image belongs to author — and yes! I like to make my things personal and pretty!

    This book is for planning and random notes about stuff I want to do. Like, I have a page with ideas for articles and stuff like that.

    This is a smaller size, so it’s easy to carry with me.

    The planner section has all sorts of pages for yearly, monthly, and weekly planning and several to-do list pages.

    The Rocketbook is great for anyone changes their mind a lot!

    This is likely the feature that I love about Rocketbook the most. I don’t have to stick with one format for planning, notetaking, or anything else. If I feel like trying something new, I can.

    Once I have the basics (and I have a little more than the basics now, I’ll admit) I don’t have to spend $40 on a new planner or new pens. I just adapt what I’m doing in the books I have.

    I want to try using a different kind of tracker? No problem. Just erase the one I’ve been using and draw a new one.

    The Rocketbook is adaptable so it becomes what you need.

    And all the pages are stored in the cloud (as long as you remember to send them there — don’t depend on the Rocketbook app to save your scans!) so you can keep what you want.

    Oh, one more thing…

    Index cards! Yes, I love index cards. I used to go through so many. But once they are used and I don’t need them anymore, they are garbage.

    Cloud cards are great and they have so many uses.

    I added some inside the folders of my writer’s book/journal and in the portfolio of my executive for quick notes.

    I also use them for my serving job. Instead of writing down orders on paper, I use the cloud cards to write down orders. After, I just erase them. No more paper waste!

    I have an index card on the outside of my computer for random thoughts/to-dos.

    I keep one in my purse (when I have a small purse and don’t want to carry my planner).

    Massively useful!

    What do you think? Is this something you’d use?

    You’ll notice links throughout the article for your Amazon convenience. If you shop using my links, I’ll earn a commission.

  • 5 Ways to Collaborate with Other Writers

    5 Ways to Collaborate with Other Writers

    Being a writer can be a very lonely job. You work from home or from a coffee shop. You can’t stop in the lunchroom for a chat. There’s very little human interaction.

    Author or writer collaborations can help take away from the loneliness. It gives you a great excuse to work with a group of writers and still work. It’s like working on a team project in an office.

    There are several ways that you can organize it.

    #1 Co-author a book

    If you can find another author that writes in the same genre as you and has a similar writing style, you can write a book together. Perhaps you can each write from the perspective of unique characters in the book. Or you could each take turns writing chapters.

    When you finish writing the book, there are two of you to share the costs of publishing. Once you publish, there are two of you to promote the book.

    The cool thing about co-authoring a book is you can work on other projects while your co-author is working on his or her portion of the book.

    #2 Join a group of authors in writing a series

    I’m in several series collaborations like these. In November, 22 other authors and I will launch a series with 22 books. We will release a new book daily, from Monday to Friday. All the books take place in the same world and are in the same genre. The covers were all made by the same cover artist so they are branded as part of the same series.

    For a newer writer, this can be a great opportunity to get some leverage on your pen name. Readers of this genre are prolific readers and will probably pick up each book in the series. There’s a good chance that even a new writer can make a decent amount of money with a collaboration like this.

    Another reason to join a collaboration like this is that new writers can find a reader base. If your book is good, there’s an increased chance that they will pick up books from your backlog and they may even sign up for your mailing list.

    #3 Blog together

    You don’t have to write fiction to take part in a collaboration. Bloggers can work together, too.

    Connect with other bloggers that write in the same niche as you and decide on a common theme. Each of you can write blog posts that connect in a series. Decide who is writing on what topic and then make a schedule.

    Each blogger can include an index of articles that link to each post in the series.

    Bloggers could also work together to release a free ebook on a common theme. Decide on what each blogger will cover (a chapter or a section of the book). Let each author include a bio at the end of their chapter or section or at the end of the book.

    #4 Work with specialists

    Love writing but hate marketing? Hate social media? Can create a decent cover? Each individual has special skills.

    Why not work with a group of people that have very specific skills and share in the profits?

    If you’re a brilliant writer but struggle with everything else, all you need is a couple other people who will profit share in income. Decide who you need on your team and work out the percentages that each person will earn from the income.

    #5 Create a bundle of free work

    Readers love free, whether it is fiction or information or something else. It gives them the opportunity to find new writers they can enjoy reading.

    A month ago, I took part in a free book promotion. There were over 100 authors involved and each of us made at least one book available for free on Kindle for one day. Some authors had permafree books that they included.

    Each author promoted the event for the week leading up to the event. For me, the result was thousands of free downloads. Those downloads led to reviews, purchases of my other books, and new email subscribers.

    By working with other authors, you can get the word out for your promotions easier. You reach a wider audience and find new readers.

    We did our promo without the requirement of a newsletter sign up but you can also do your giveaway to get email subscribers. StoryOrigin, Bookfunnel, and other sites like these can make it easier to set that up.

    Where can you find authors interested in collaborations?

    All this sounds great doesn’t it? But before you can organize your collaborations, you need to find like-minded writers to work with.

    Facebook groups can be a good place to make connections with writers. There are writers’ groups for almost every genre of fiction. You can find blogging groups, Medium groups, and others where you can find writers to take part in your collaboration.

    Twitter and LinkedIn can be another good place to find people interested in collaborating with you.

    If you don’t like social media? Try forums. Or even Medium!

    Have you ever collaborated with other writers? How did you like it? Would you do it again?