I'm celebrating the launch of my second book, "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing Your Way."

A perfect gift for the writer in your life, the book's three parts: 1. sort out the mysteries of the publishing process in the 21st century, 2. tackle the technology hurdles a writer must juggle, and 3. offer a wealth of marketing strategies to keep a book alive.

Above all, it gives writers hope that they can indeed get their work published.

By now, we've all learned that a computer can be fine one minute, and conk out the next. Good reason to have backups. But I always say a backup next to the computer isn't really a backup, it's a copy. A solid backup would be updated all the time, yet accessible from anywhere in case your computer environment is unavailable or destroyed. So online backups are a safe bet, and are either free or inexpensive, depending on how large your files are. Companies such as Genie-Soft, Mosy, and Connect.com offer online backups.

But those companies may change hands, or close down, so it still pays to reach out to a safe, fast, easy online backup like Box.net, for your current work - not your life's entire archive, but the day-to-day email, calendar, data files and projects.

Try Box.net for one gigabyte (GB) of storage for free. That should be plenty for your work in progress. It will get you in the habit and you'll enjoy further peace of mind. If you like it, upgrade to a paid account for only $7.95/month for 5 GB. That should satisfy the most data-rich life.

This link, through my web site, will take you directly to the product page:

If you have Microsoft Office Home & Student v. 2007 with Encarta, or a stand-alone product called Microsoft Student with Encarta, don't let your kids slack off on homework. There's plenty of help in your software.

Get a load of this: Language tools, equation solver, verb conjugations, language translation, templates for science projects and book reports, online math help, 3D graphing, and graphic calculator to solve problems from pre-algebra to calculus.

These tools are geared to three separate grade levels : Grades 6-8, 9-10 and grades 11 and up.

Boy, when I was a kid.... well times have changed!

1. For map lovers: One of the great things about the internet is the serendipitous collection of information it holds, the wayward methods of finding it, and the ability for anyone to make their passions accessible. The passion I'm referring to is not x-rated -- it's maps! http://www.davidrumsey.com/

2. The Rosetta Project is an ambitious archival project, aiming to build a "publicly accessible online archive of ALL documented human languages." http://www.rosettaproject.org/

3. The Rockefeller Archives is a seriously huge online resource; literally hundreds of thousands of documents are available here for viewing in at least six different archival collections. http://archive.rockefeller.edu/

4. Learn Spanish: Try a quick lesson at Coffee-Break Spanish. It's nicely done via a quick podcast, which is a brief audio and/or video recording: http://coffeebreakspanish.typepad.com

5. After all this fun, do a full data backup, including your email, address book, favorites and all documents. Sore it in a safe place, away from your computer.

CloudPrint The name is great, but the concept is a giant leap ahead of most tech users.

HP created Cloudprint, so people could sort of reach out across the web and print ... something .... somewhere. But the details are: You use your cell phone to send a document to an HP server, so your cell phone needs to include internet access.

Cloudprint sends you a confirmation code.

You then browse to the Cloudprint web site and enter that code plus your cell phone number.

Your document shows up on the screen, ready for you to click "print."

That's when things get interesting. It doesn't print at Bob's house, or in the meeting room you're sitting in - it prints somewhere, but you have to search a print service provider near you.

Hmmm...That's when I stopped reading about it. Clever idea but not ready for our time and attention... yet.

Remember, if you love a writer, put "Release Your Writing: Book Publishing, Your Way" on your Christmas list. Learn more at www.releaseyourwriting.com, where you can click to order from the publisher, or from Amazon, Powell's and other online retailers. Signed copies are available directly from me.

Helen Gallagher Phone: 847-998-6240, www.cclarity.com

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