Computer-barely-literate person here needs techie help. I write - that's what I do - and this experience and learning self-sufficiency skills and a long term desire for a simpler lifestyle and - well, a lot of things. All of this has me writing a book tentatively titled "A Simple Life in a Real World" for all the people who want a simpler life but are too dang busy to even stop and think about what steps to take to do that. And all the people who want, perhaps, a less dependent lifestyle, but think, "How the h**l am I gonna learn to raise chickens when I don't get home from work and car pool duty till 9:00?!" AND, hopefully, as an aside, to start stimulating the Dont-Get-It's into thinking in terms of preparedness.

The problem is, I want to write and share info, not do the whole business thing, so I thought if I could put it up on the web somehow and people could just download it chapter by chapter at no cost, that way, they could print it out if they REALLY wanted the info or to pass it on, and if they read one chapter and they decided it was not for them, they wouldn't have this mammoth white elephant sitting on their hard drive or their printer.

My question is - I really am computer barely-literate. Can that be done? Can someone point me to someone who can help me? And more importantly, does this whole thing sound absolutely ridiculous?

PS Thanks for teaching me these html tricks - that is, if I did them right. Sorry if this is not the best place for this question but I am here every day and have come to rely on you all for your insight and knowledge.

-- Melissa (financed@forbin.com), October 07, 1998

Answers

Hi Melissa,

It can absolutely be done by either creating a website and using the pages to contain the book and also by having a link to a Adobe Acrobat file. Are you Mac based or PC based? Email me = )

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-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), October 07, 1998.

Ask Yourdon. Give him a direct email.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), October 07, 1998.

I have seen one person's web site where he put in a stringent copyright notice so that he could control the document that he wanted people to look at, such that it was only for their own use. (He then wanted feedback.) If you really want to protect your rights with your future best seller, you should consult a lawyer.

-- Joe (shar@pei.com), October 09, 1998.