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Tool Shed in the Cat's Backyard--Publishing tools from Cat's-paw Press
dabblingcat From the Tool Shed

The Tool Shed in the Cat's Backyard




Welcome to the Tool Shed in the Cat's Backyard! You'll find a rather large assortment of the various "tools" publishers need in the course of getting their enterprise started or in finding new avenues. Here you'll find items that were deemed necessary, valuable or simply useful by the Cat or by Friends of the Cat (aka listmates on the alas now defunct Publishers Marketing Association mailing list, the BookMarket list of John Kremer's, or of friends and associates in the Cat's home area of Minnesota). So rummage around; take whatever "tool" you need; you don't have to return it but it would be nice if you remember where you got it, and if you like, tell the Cat of others that should be here. Check back from time to time, too; some of the "rooms" in the Tool Shed are being expanded. Enjoy!




Table of Contents






What is the Tool Shed in The Cat's Backyard?

pubforum

The Cat's Backyard is an informal area connected to the Cat's-paw Press site (a.k.a. The Office). The Tool Shed in the Cat's Backyard originated as a collecting point for publishing information for the members of the Publishers Marketing Association mailing list, and like Topsy, has "just growed." (The Office is temporarily closed.)

For free-flowing discussions, The Pub-forum is a lively and stimulating list, not necessarily for beginners. To subscribe, go to http://www.pub-forum.net for instructions.

A list that addresses concerns of beginners is the Publish-L list. To subscribe to PUBLISH-L, send an email message to LISTSERV@SHRSYS.HSLC.ORG In the body of the message write: Subscribe PUBLISH-L [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE]

Beginners may want to sign on the SPAN online Discussion Group; go to Yahoo.com group Self-publishing.

When you set up an account on Yahoo, be sure to check your profile and to indicate whether or which "services" kinds you're interested in receiving. This is a place to stop some of the spam in its tracks.

Another good list with a nice mix of beginning publishers, veterans and publishing service vendors is the SmallPub-Civil group at Yahoo! Groups. As with the Self-publishing. go to Yahoo Yahoo.com group SmallPub-Civil.

Being on a subscription mailing list (or list server) is a bit like subscribing to a magazine: there is a sort of revolving schedule of topics that work through a magazine's editorial year. Where a magazine's topic cycle might run three years, a list server's cycle may be more like three months before topics recur. I had compiled this list of useful URLs and information for the convenience of newcomers to the PMA-list (Publishers Marketing Association), and posted it on the list from time to time before creating this site. The object was to gather into one handy location an assortment ("tools") of information independent publishers need and use, and everybody's welcome to visit and to use what you need.

I am grateful (and we are all thus indebted) to the many generous listmates from the old PMA-list, the Pub-Forum, and John Kremer's Bookmarket list who have posted some of these choice tidbits over the years I've been a subscriber, and I want to acknowledge that many have contributed to the tools found herein. I will try to keep it updated, and I will happily add items that others point out as being valuable to a newcomer (veterans' comments and suggestions are welcome, too); just write to The Cat. In the Tool Shed, new tools are acquired, others are sharpened. And as any die-hard handyman knows, you can always use some nifty new tool!



THE TYSK LIST

Some information about participating in a mailing list is basic knowledge, but not always immediately familiar. Here in the Tool Shed, we'll refer to such information as the TYSK (Things You Should Know) List.

(1) For subscribers new to this (or any) list: please read the following and DON'T SEND ANY VIRUS WARNINGS!!!!!!!!! Circulating the Internet is a variety of email messages about viruses. Please understand: for a virus to spread, it must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute a virus.

A suggestion from a list mate: Before passing along virus "warnings" (most of which are full of incorrect information), check out the Mcafee site which provides a nice listing of all the current virus hoaxes. This will prevent unnecessary inconvenience. The Computer Incident Advisory Committee's (CIAC) web site has current information on real and bogus viruses. Another useful site for tracking viruses and their cures is at Network Associates' Anti-Virus Response Team (AVERT)

Another valuable site, especially for PC users, for checking out virus rumors (and where to find remedies for those viruses that do crop up) is at Network Associates Inc.'s center for virus updates. Well worth bookmarking.
(2) For heaven's sake, note this one: If you are making any change in your subscription status (and this is true of any list server), be sure your .sig is turned off when you send your instructions.
(3) When you subscribe to a mailing list, you will receive a list of commands heeded by the host computer, instructions for making changes in your subscription, general rules of the list, etc., operative for that list, including the address to use for altering your subscription. SAVE THAT FILE!
(4) Several current mailing programs such as Eudora, Netscape 4.x and Microsoft Outlook Express have text-enriching features (MIME encoding) which may be set at default. If you leave them set at default, you will send messages that include all the HTML coding and you will find numerous imprecations heaped on your head or even your posting may be denied. Be sure to turn off any HTML publishing features on your e-mail software before posting to the list because many subscribers to the list have trouble reading HTML with their software [and it wastes bandwidth].
(5) Be sure to set your e-mail software so that you are not inadvertently sending an attached file. Executable and Graphic files: DO NOT POST GIFs, JPEGs, EXEs, or other file attachments to the list. They tend to result in huge files that fill mailboxes, crashed systems, and generally screw up the functioning of the list. Use private e-mail or post to a specialized newsgroup (e.g., alt.binaries.*) if you need to distribute a graphic or executable file. Unrequested or unsolicited attached files (specifically those little identification tags that actually are quite harmless, but THEY ARE THERE!) become fuel for flames directed to you. PC or Windows users can learn how to avoid this nuisance. Check Stop Exchange from Attaching...

When you send mail to the Internet from a Microsoft Exchange Windows client, an file attachment called WINMAIL.DAT may be added to the message. This attachment contains Microsoft Exchange rich-text information for the message being sent. The WINMAIL.DAT file may not be useful to non-Microsoft Exchange recipients. The information in the WINMAIL.DAT file may appear on the receiving end as binary information at the end of the mail message. The attachments are NOT readable and they create a mess in the digests that many choose as their manner of receipt.




TALK TO THE CAT

sitting cat

Comments or suggestions?
Write to The Cat; we'd love to hear from you. Thanks for dropping by, and come again--we'll be adding new "shelves" and "rooms " in the Tool Shed from time to time, and there's always new material to put in the Tool Shed!

You can also take a publishing class: Pat Bell is a faculty member of the Writers College, where she teaches an on-line class on publishing. Check out When is The Next Publishing Class? for her current schedule.

Don't have time to take a class? You can also arrange for consultations with her. Help is close at hand!



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© 1998 Patricia J. Bell

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