Odd question: Project to Create my own Evernote Users Guide

[Wordsgood 526]

Okay, it would only let me create two Tags for some reason.

Anyway, I have a project underway that is still in the the planning and research phase, and may take months before I ever get it complete. And there's always the chance that life will get in the way and it won't ever be done.

But, going on the assumption that I WILL finish this project (eventually), I want to share with everyone on the forum what I have in mind, why I'm doing it, and to find out if anyone would be interested in a free electronic copy when it's done. So here we go:

● As some of you may already know, I have Multple Sclerosis (MS) and in the past several years it has been causing ever increasing cognitive problems and memory issues. It's not that I "lose" knowledge or skills long ingrained into my long-term memory, it's more like the knowledge, words or skills I might need at a particular time, go into temporary hiding. (That, incidentally, is what brought me to Evernote in the first place. I definitely neex an "external brain" to store things that like to play Hide and Seek on me!)

● I am also not a tech-oriented person. That's why when I ask for help in the forum, I request folks to dumb it down for me, so to speak. Or to sat that another way, to put the replies in layman terms.

● So what I've been doing for a few months now is t aking tips, tricks, workarounds and how-to's found in the Evernote Knowledge Base, this Forum, on YouTube and at various sites I've found be Gooogling question I have, and saving all the ones I find helpful as Notes in my database inside a Folder dedicated to them.

● My Plan (Project) is to almalgamate all this data, rewrite and format it all into a printable Personal Evernote Users Guide that will be organized by Chapters, Headings, Sub-headings where/if needed, and have both a Table of Contents and an Index. I'm hoping to make all or the preceeding Clickable Links in the electronic final copy to make changes and updates easy to deal with.

● This will * not* be written as a shareable Notebook. I plan to use a actual writing software. Currently I'm leaning toward the opensource LibreWriter software.

● I plan to keep everything as user-friendly and easy to understand as possible. For me, that means parts are likely to be much wordier than many folks would prefer. But wordy, step-by-step instructions are how I am best able to understand, follow and retain new information.

● The final product, as I currently evision it, would be printable in a format best suited to use in a three-ring binder, with colour tabs for easy navigation.

So, fellow Evernoters, I will close with the following:

1) Is this something - should I actually succeed in finishing - something you would be interested in my sending you a FREE electronic copy of? To use and alter if desired to suit your own needs for YOUR PERSONAL USE ONLY?

1B) On that note, does anyone have any information on how I would go about *cheaply* copywriting such a document? I'm not interested in making money off it as I'm doing this for my personal home use, but before I give away copies, I'd like to ensure someone can't capitalize on my work and make money off it.

2) Any thought or ideas about this project of mine are both welcome and appreciated! (And yes, I am aware sever people have already published Evernote Guides and Manuals, but none seem to fit my particular needs.)

[GrumpyMonkey 4,314]

Sounds great! How about a Kindle book? That could be "published" through Amazon, easily available to anyone, and in an accessible format.

[gazumped 9,563]

Sounds good - something I keep on meaning to look at with my own Evernoted hints and tips but never seem to have the time to action.  It's likely to be an endless task though because by the time you've thoroughly documented most of the issues users have come up with,  Evernote will have updated something and generated a whole new book's worth of queries and gripes.  That's one of the problems with the published stuff - by the time it's out there,  it's also out of date!

[Wordsgood 526]

Thanks guys.

Not sure about the e-book thing, but I'll think on it. And yes, I know it will be a kind of never-ending project, hence the reason I plan to keep the hard copy in a binder.

And like I said, there's a reasonable chance I won't actually finish it. Hoping, but not counting on it.

[Wordsgood 526]

By the way, I really would appreciate any advice someone with copyright experience might have. Any published authors in the house who might be willing to point me in the right direction?

[gazumped 9,563]

Have a look at this - http://creativecommons.org/choose/ 

 

Make sure you use a licence agreement on your stuff,  whether it's the old fashioned 'copyright' or the CC licence,  and that your pages are dated somehow so you can prove prior ownership if there's an argument at any time.  Bear in mind though that a copyright is only as strong as your budget - you'd have to pursue or defend a dispute if there is one,  though there can also be peer- and market-pressure routes to protect your interests.  However it costs nothing to show you want to protect your work...

 

Good luck - if you need any help proofreading stuff I'm happy to help where I can!  Put me down for a copy,  anyway.

 

Gaz

[Wordsgood 526]

Thank you, Gazumped, for the link and your very kind offer! I might just take you up on that at some point. Though I hope you realize, I can only pay in cyber hugs, not actual money...

Have a look at this - http://creativecommons.org/choose/

Make sure you use a licence agreement on your stuff, whether it's the old fashioned 'copyright' or the CC licence, and that your pages are dated somehow so you can prove prior ownership if there's an argument at any time. Bear in mind though that a copyright is only as strong as your budget - you'd have to pursue or defend a dispute if there is one, though there can also be peer- and market-pressure routes to protect your interests. However it costs nothing to show you want to protect your work...

Good luck - if you need any help proofreading stuff I'm happy to help where I can! Put me down for a copy, anyway.

Gaz

[gazumped 9,563]

Sounds like you'll fit in well with the rest of my customers..  

[Wordsgood 526]

Sounds like you'll fit in well with the rest of my customers..

Lol, is that a good thing or....

[gazumped 9,563]

Just don't miss any cyberhug payments or I'll have to send the cyberlads around...

[KennyJ 0]

To your question re: copyright procedures; Under US law, any original work of authorship is immediately & automatically copyrighted to the author, without any other requirement. In other words: If you write it, and it's an original work, you automatically own the copyright to it, period.

 

It's a good idea to place a © copyright notice on it as well, to make it obvious to folks that it is a copyrighted work, and you can optionally pay to register your copyright with the federal copyright office, but that is not a requirement.

 

A couple good links on the topic at the government website are: this article on Copyright Basics:  http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf as well as this FAQ: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

 

I agree with @gazumped that its also a good idea to use one of the freely available public license agreements, such as those available at creative commons, to spell out for people what they're allowed to do with your work without further authorization needed from you. 

 

I hope this is useful for you. Good luck on your project, and I'd definitely appreciate a copy, if/when you feel inclined to send it on

[Wordsgood 526]

Gazumped, I promise not to skip out on the cyber hugs payment. In fact, here's an advance...(((Gazumped)))!

Kenny, thank you so much for the link and the info. Much appreciated! If I do get this project completed, I'll definitely send you a copy!

[Paula S 0]

I am new to Evernote and just posted that very question...Is there a Evernote instruction guide/manual that I can print off.   I posted that question to support with no reply but according to other post I have viewed I will not hold my breath for a response.  Frankly I am surprised Evernote does not offer a printable manual.  Yes, I know there are always updates/changes but to just get the general gist of the product would be wonderful for newbe like me.  Good luck with your endeavor and until then guess will keep referring back to online Evernote hints and instructions.  .

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

I am new to Evernote and just posted that very question...Is there a Evernote instruction guide/manual that I can print off.   I posted that question to support with no reply but according to other post I have viewed I will not hold my breath for a response.  Frankly I am surprised Evernote does not offer a printable manual.  Yes, I know there are always updates/changes but to just get the general gist of the product would be wonderful for newbe like me.  Good luck with your endeavor and until then guess will keep referring back to online Evernote hints and instructions.  .

I would find it very ironic if Evernote offered a printable manual for their product geared towards reducing our reliance on paper

 

Nevertheless, some of your fellow users (including your's truly) have offered some suggestions in your original post:

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/63698-printable-evernote-manual/#entry290596

[Paula S 0]

Thanks to all that replied to my "manual" post.  Guess I still love good old paper manual to refer to than keep toggling back to find something online.  Just call me a dinosaur.