John August

Archives for 2009

Last looks

Formatting, Words on the page

I handed in a script today, and thought it might be helpful to talk through my best practices when finishing up a draft. I don’t always do all of these — but I get nervous if I’ve skipped one.

1. Print it out.
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There are mistakes you’re only going to catch on paper. So print it. I like to do two-up (side-by-side) printing to save paper, but your eyes might prefer full size.

Circle mistakes with a colored pen so you’ll see them. In addition to typos, look for any bit of redundant description or needless fluff. You can almost always squeeze a page out of a 120-page script.

2. Make changes all at once.
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It’s tempting to fix mistakes as you catch them, but you’re likely to miss things if you’re constantly switching between error detection and error correction. Sit at the computer and go through page by page, fixing each problem you’ve found. As you go, you may spot ways to improve page breaks and other formatting niceties.

3. Fix the title page.
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This is the step I often forget, resulting in mis-dated drafts and re-exported .pdfs. If I’m doing multiple versions of a draft — for example, one with starred changes, one without, I’ll make sure the title page indicates this.

4. Save this draft and email it to yourself.
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Yes, you should have multiple backup strategies. But the self-addressed email will always work, and can be accessed from wherever you find yourself.

5. Export a .pdf — then check it.
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These days, you almost always “hand in” a draft as a .pdf by email. But make sure it actually looks right, complete with title page. If you’re friendly with the assistant on the other end, ask her to check if there’s anything you’re at all worried might print strangely, such as a title page font ((Yes, you can use a font other than Courier for the title page. But I rarely do anymore.)) or starred changes in the right margins.

Blogs and baked goods

Geek Alert, Meta

It’s not that hard to make bread. You simply need the right combination of flour, yeast and water, plus an oven to cook it in. With a little work, you can end up with a delicious loaf most of the time. Plus, you can customize the recipe to exactly your taste.

So why doesn’t everyone make their own bread?

Because it’s a kind of pain in the ass. A lot of things can go wrong, leaving you with a blob of sticky dough. It takes time. It requires bowls and pans that have to be washed, plus an oven that heats up your kitchen. And truth be told, most people aren’t exactly [Nancy Silverton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Silverton).

All in all, it’s much easier to buy a loaf at the store.

Blogs are like bread.
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To make a blog, you need something to write about, plus software and hardware to put it on the web. ((Countless blogs are started without the “something to write about” part figured out, which is usually why they go dead after three weeks.))

When I first launched johnaugust.com in 2003, I assembled everything on my own computer, then uploaded it to a shared host. In baker parlance, I mixed the dough in my own bowls, then carried it down the street to the community oven to bake it. I was outsourcing the expensive hardware.

By [2004](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/archives-and-individual-entry-pages-rebuilt/), I outsourced most of the software as well, running [Movable Type](http://www.movabletype.org/) on the shared server. Later that year, I [switched to WordPress](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2004/new-look-new-engine), which has continued to run the site ever since.

I like WordPress a lot. It’s remarkably easy to install and theme. It’s powerful and flexible. It has an extremely active development community, so if there’s a feature you’d like, someone’s probably already built it. ((This weekend, I installed a plugin
that automatically sends a backup of the site to my Gmail account. Total time: five minutes.))

But make no mistake: you’re still baking your own bread. Things can go wrong. Really, really wrong. And when they do, it’s a lot of work to fix it. A bad loaf of bread is disappointing. A bad error in your database can be catastrophic.

Over the weekend, there was a lot of uproar about a [worm attack on WordPress](http://wordpress.org/development/2009/09/keep-wordpress-secure/) installations that wrecked some [notable](http://scobleizer.com/2009/09/05/i-dont-feel-safe-with-wordpress-hackers-broke-in-and-took-things/) [blogs](http://ihnatko.posterous.com/and-and-and-damn). Amid the sometimes-smug observations by the unaffected, I found one point that needs to be elevated to basic principle:

*Most people shouldn’t be running their own blogging software.*

Services like [Tumblr](http://tumblr.com), [Posterous](http://posterous.com) and [Blogger](http://blogger.com) are excellent and free. [WordPress.com](http://wordpress.com), the hosted version of WordPress, gives you 90% of the benefits with none of the hassle.

In 2003, I had to run my own software. There was no choice. But if I were starting a blog from scratch today, I would do it on one of these services. ((Also over the weekend, I nuked a few stray WordPress installations that had gone fallow. One of the pitfalls of WP’s easy installation process is that it’s tempting to throw up a site to test a concept. A year later, that mostly-empty blog is an attractive nuisance. I suspect that 80%+ of WP installations fall into this category. I’d propose the install scripts like Fantastico default to closed comments and randomized admin usernames.))

Some people like making bread.
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For all the hassles, there are some benefits to doing things yourself. Just like the artisanal baker can tinker with a recipe, the self-hosted blogger can tweak things just to his liking. He also has more control over his content — some services make it difficult to migrate.

In a month or two, I’ll be launching a revamped version of this site, which will continue to use WordPress. That means I’ll have to keep up with security updates, backups and a lot of general troubleshooting. There will be more worm attacks and self-inflicted wounds. I’ve decided it’s worth it. For most folks, it’s probably not.

If you’re considering starting a blog, ask yourself whether you really want to bake your own bread. Odds are, you probably just want a sandwich. Buy a loaf and get to it.

How to do college

Education, Random Advice

If you’ve decided that [college is worth it](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/undergrad-worth), the New York Times has a [series of short op-ed pieces](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/opinion/06collegeadvice.html?_r=1) with advice for incoming students. Some highlights:

[Stanley Fish](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/opinion/06fish.html):

> First, find out who the good teachers are. Ask your adviser; poll older students; search the Internet; and consult the teacher-evaluation guides available at most colleges.

[Gerarld Graff](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/opinion/06graff.html):

> Pay close attention to what others are saying and writing and then summarize their arguments and assumptions in a recognizable way. Work especially on summarizing the views that go most against your own.

[Carol Berkin](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/opinion/06berkin.html):

> Do ask questions if you don’t understand the professor’s point. Do not, however, ask any of the following: “Will this be on the test?” “Does grammar count?” “Do we have to read the whole chapter?” “Can I turn in my paper late?”

I would add:

* Each semester, pick one class you worry might be too hard for you, and one that’s easy but engaging.

* Never choose a class just because your friend(s) will be taking it. Each course is a chance to expand your social circle.

* Schedule yourself a block of library time for reading/studying, just like it’s a class.

* If you can’t find courses that interest you, take a semester off and re-evaluate.

* [Alternate with water](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/alternate-with-water).

What would your college advice be?

What an undergrad degree is worth

Education

From today’s [USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/college/2009-08-30-college-costs-recession_N.htm):

> Darla Horn, 26, acknowledges she didn’t give much thought to the cost of college when she enrolled at State University of New York in Purchase. […] Because she didn’t qualify for financial aid, she took out student loans, graduating in 2005 with a double major in journalism and anthropology and more than $80,000 in debt.

That’s way too much debt for an anthro-journalist. But is it too much for an engineer? Is it too much for an actuary?

When I was buying a house, the rule of thumb was that you could afford a home three to four times your annual income. It feels like there should be an equivalent rule of thumb for how much you can spend on your education versus average salary of your studied profession. Or, hell, a web calculator.

In a few minutes of Googling, the closest I could find was this:

> **Don’t take out more student loans than what you expect to make in the first year.** This rule of thumb puts a reasonable upper limit on how much in student loans you should take out, which is a good thing, but doesn’t paint the whole picture.

There are some jobs (like screenwriting) in which starting salary is almost impossible to predict, and others (like law) in which salary goes up quickly based on experience. But rules of thumb are helpful *because* they simplify things, and this one seems a good start.

By this measure, an actuary could take out about $50,000 in loans, while an electrical engineer could feel okay taking on $55,000 in debt. Darla, meanwhile, should have capped her loans at $33,000. (All salary estimates from [PayScale](http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Actuary/Salary).)

What often gets lost in these discussions is that relatively few students end up paying full freight. For four-year, private American universities, the [average tuition discount rate](http://www.nacubo.org/Research/News/Newly_Released_NACUBO_Tuition_Discounting_Survey_Report_Shows_Rates_Remain_Stable.html) for fall 2007 was 39.1%. The price on the sticker isn’t necessarily the price you pay.

But if you’re looking to study a low-paying field, do Future You a favor by being honest about the cost.