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Quick Cheats for Writing With Dragon: Hidden Tricks to Help You Dictate Your Book, Work Anywhere and Set Your Words Free with Speech Recognition
No jargon. No confusion. Just solid, fail-safe tips for writers to take their dictation to the next level.
From the author of "The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon", this mini-guide will help you choose the right microphone, transcribe on-the-go with Dragon and put you on the path to sky-high word counts. You will also learn little-known tricks, such as:
- Dictating into programs Dragon doesn't support - such as Scrivener;
- Preventing a crash from taking your dictated text with it;
- Creating a "Quiet Profile" for when you need to dictate without disturbing others;
- Using the same profile on multiple computers - and keeping it updated;
- Running your desktop Dragon app on an iPad or Android tablet - anywhere, anytime.
Designed to get you up-and-running with this powerful software in no time, "Quick Cheats for Writing with Dragon" may make you want to never look at a keyboard again!
From the author of "The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon", this mini-guide will help you choose the right microphone, transcribe on-the-go with Dragon and put you on the path to sky-high word counts. You will also learn little-known tricks, such as:
- Dictating into programs Dragon doesn't support - such as Scrivener;
- Preventing a crash from taking your dictated text with it;
- Creating a "Quiet Profile" for when you need to dictate without disturbing others;
- Using the same profile on multiple computers - and keeping it updated;
- Running your desktop Dragon app on an iPad or Android tablet - anywhere, anytime.
Designed to get you up-and-running with this powerful software in no time, "Quick Cheats for Writing with Dragon" may make you want to never look at a keyboard again!
- GenresWritingNonfiction
29 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2016
149 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Scott Baker
3 books4 followersScott Baker has written dozens of books under various pen names and spent most of the last decade working as a freelance writer for numerous publications in the UK. He first began dabbling with Dragon voice recognition software in the late 1990s when it was, quite frankly, terrible. Things have improved dramatically since then and Scott now uses dictation on a daily basis, taking advantage of the tricks and techniques used by professionals within the speech recognition industry to write thousands of words per hour.
He lives in the North of England with his wife, two sons and a tank full of tropical fish.
He lives in the North of England with his wife, two sons and a tank full of tropical fish.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 22, 2020
Quick read
This was a quick read and felt more like a shortened version of the other guide than anything. Not much new to discover in this book.
This was a quick read and felt more like a shortened version of the other guide than anything. Not much new to discover in this book.
December 6, 2017
If you've always thought of dictating your book or novel using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, or you started a long time ago but then gave up because you couldn't get it to work well enough, read this. Scott Baker gives a great overview of things to consider when setting up. What kind of microphone is best? Should you record into an audio recorder and then transcribe? What if you're working on a Mac? What if you're working on a PC?
This is a quick read, and will help you determine what you need to get started. After that, you can continue with the documents and training sessions that come with the software, or purchases longer book, Training your Dragon.
I ran into some physical problems while trying to complete NaNoWriMo. Reading this short introduction gave me the information I needed to determine whether I should just keep going as best I could, or if I should take the chance of upgrading my set up with literally just one day to go. I chose the latter, and finished my 50,000 words right on time.
This is a quick read, and will help you determine what you need to get started. After that, you can continue with the documents and training sessions that come with the software, or purchases longer book, Training your Dragon.
I ran into some physical problems while trying to complete NaNoWriMo. Reading this short introduction gave me the information I needed to determine whether I should just keep going as best I could, or if I should take the chance of upgrading my set up with literally just one day to go. I chose the latter, and finished my 50,000 words right on time.
February 21, 2018
This book gives some great insights into getting the most out of Nuance's Dragon software while being a short read. There's also a link to a longer book with a more in depth guide to improving your work flow so that you can achieve a more efficient and therefore greater efficiency when producing documents whether you're writing a book or any other type of document.
In addition this book also gives a guide on microphones, including what to avoid and why plus how to make better use of your time by using the transcription side of dragon allowing you to record anywhere and then having the software convert your voice to text in a fraction of the time when you return to your desktop or main computer.
Definitely a useful guide to read to increase your productivity.
In addition this book also gives a guide on microphones, including what to avoid and why plus how to make better use of your time by using the transcription side of dragon allowing you to record anywhere and then having the software convert your voice to text in a fraction of the time when you return to your desktop or main computer.
Definitely a useful guide to read to increase your productivity.
November 7, 2017
A great little supplemental "cheat sheet" for his other, longer book on this subject. In this book, some of the quick and dirty tips are super helpful, and he goes in-depth with microphone and set-up recommendations. I picked this one up when he was on the Self-Publishing Formula podcast (the only episode of that show I literally listened to three times) but soon realized that purchasing the longer book was the best way to get the most out of the knowledge he has on this subject. This book is a good taste of what is involved in setting yourself up for the best dictation success.
June 16, 2017
Good information, a great range of links for a short free guide. This guide was more heavy on the technology needed rather than the commands and softer nuances of being more productive with dictation but nonetheless a great guide. Will now buy his comprehensive guide to get a fuller insight into dictation cheats.
December 2, 2017
A great SHORT guide to understanding Dragon Dictate. This is a free book and as such, I wasn't expecting it to be very long, which is what I wanted. It is an introduction to what Scott talks about in his full-length book. It was a perfect taste of what to expect and now I will be going and buying the longer book now!
January 25, 2018
Great for the free intro that it is
Baker makes no bones about it, he wrote another, more complete book on Dragon he'd like you to buy. But by itself, this is a great little guide that gives you some advice and tricks for using NaturallySpeaking. Worth the free download if you're even considering buying a version of Dragon.
Baker makes no bones about it, he wrote another, more complete book on Dragon he'd like you to buy. But by itself, this is a great little guide that gives you some advice and tricks for using NaturallySpeaking. Worth the free download if you're even considering buying a version of Dragon.
September 7, 2018
I picked up a few books about dictation as I prepare to try it for my fiction writing, and I was curious whether the cheats in this book might apply in general even though I haven't taken the plunge and purchased Dragon dictation software.
While yes, the book is geared toward the dragon user, it contained some good info for those who are getting into dictation. It was worth the read.
While yes, the book is geared toward the dragon user, it contained some good info for those who are getting into dictation. It was worth the read.
September 13, 2017
Super helpful, easy to read
Very helpful for anyone thinking about trying dictation. Covers techniques and strategies as well as recommended hardware. Just bought Dragon and now am excited to use it. Will get the longer book next, see what else i can learn.
Very helpful for anyone thinking about trying dictation. Covers techniques and strategies as well as recommended hardware. Just bought Dragon and now am excited to use it. Will get the longer book next, see what else i can learn.
November 17, 2019
Short but sweet...
It's a very quick read but contains a few nuggets. As the author suggests, if you are looking for a comprehensive "how-to" you'll want to read his other book, "The Writer's Guide To Training Your Dragon".
It's a very quick read but contains a few nuggets. As the author suggests, if you are looking for a comprehensive "how-to" you'll want to read his other book, "The Writer's Guide To Training Your Dragon".
November 25, 2019
Mr Zbaker had it own. Get the basics for a foundation - train your Dragon
As a writer I always took the fast route. As stated by Mr Baker, most Dragons sit on the hard drive without their daily walks (dog analogy!). I am taking the time to become much more productive. C
As a writer I always took the fast route. As stated by Mr Baker, most Dragons sit on the hard drive without their daily walks (dog analogy!). I am taking the time to become much more productive. C
September 29, 2020
Get started fast
I read the other book and this one is just merely the Cliff Notes version. If you don’t have time to read the other book then go ahead and grab this one for it’ll get you up and going in no time.
I read the other book and this one is just merely the Cliff Notes version. If you don’t have time to read the other book then go ahead and grab this one for it’ll get you up and going in no time.
June 9, 2017
The fast and quick basics
Just what is needed to get you started with voice dictation for writing. This is aimed at writers specifically, which is perfect.
Just what is needed to get you started with voice dictation for writing. This is aimed at writers specifically, which is perfect.
July 13, 2017
Good for people who do not already know how to use Dragon.
April 17, 2019
I downloaded it for free to my Nook library from Barnes and Noble.
March 4, 2017
This book was free, and is a modified extract of a larger work called The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon: Using Speech Recognition Software to Dictate Your Book and Supercharge Your Writing Workflow, not something I'm that curious reading after the disappointment of this book. As such, it kept repeating here and there about the other book so you'd go buy it. That's annoying, even if I understand the need to advertise for more sales. Also, I don't like links in my texts: at the front matter, at the back matter, ok. I'll put up with the self-advertising there. In the middle of the text? No, thanks.
The book was not bad but... I don't know, I guess I thought the "cheats" weren't really "cheats". Tricks... ? Maybe. I mean: "Get a good microphone".... that's not really a cheat, that's common sense. The book assumes you're somewhat familiar with Dragon already, but I feel like it was geared more towards people who had no idea about dragon instead, because the rest was, as I said, mostly common sense for anyone who's been using it for longer than three days. There was a tip or two that were a bit more on the interesting side (like why you should go for a USB mic instead of a regular jack), and the interesting part (the differences between home and premium packages, for instance, which I never found properly explained in Nuance's site) was glossed over to just say which pack to choose if you wanted transcription. Maybe the full book goes in more detail.
I also felt like it repeated itself quite a bit in the first 2-3 introductory paragraphs of every section just to create filling before getting to what was essentially the cheat/hack/trick.
All in all it wasn't a terrible book, but it was also neither useful to me nor what I expected it to be from the title. Maybe if you've recently installed dragon so that you're somewhat familiar with it but not very savvy, you'll find some use on it.
The book was not bad but... I don't know, I guess I thought the "cheats" weren't really "cheats". Tricks... ? Maybe. I mean: "Get a good microphone".... that's not really a cheat, that's common sense. The book assumes you're somewhat familiar with Dragon already, but I feel like it was geared more towards people who had no idea about dragon instead, because the rest was, as I said, mostly common sense for anyone who's been using it for longer than three days. There was a tip or two that were a bit more on the interesting side (like why you should go for a USB mic instead of a regular jack), and the interesting part (the differences between home and premium packages, for instance, which I never found properly explained in Nuance's site) was glossed over to just say which pack to choose if you wanted transcription. Maybe the full book goes in more detail.
I also felt like it repeated itself quite a bit in the first 2-3 introductory paragraphs of every section just to create filling before getting to what was essentially the cheat/hack/trick.
All in all it wasn't a terrible book, but it was also neither useful to me nor what I expected it to be from the title. Maybe if you've recently installed dragon so that you're somewhat familiar with it but not very savvy, you'll find some use on it.
April 7, 2016
Quick fix
The remote work around is by far the greatest tip. Many of these you will find in the more book detailed book written by the same author. However a few aren't. The tip regarding storage in the cloud and work around a to maintain your current workflow are priceless. Bonus it's a quick read. You can't beat free or .99.
The remote work around is by far the greatest tip. Many of these you will find in the more book detailed book written by the same author. However a few aren't. The tip regarding storage in the cloud and work around a to maintain your current workflow are priceless. Bonus it's a quick read. You can't beat free or .99.
May 1, 2016
This book is intended as a teaser for "The Writer's Guide to Training Your Dragon". I read the quick cheats one after the Training one. Not really any thing new in the cheats one if you read it that way. However, if you aren't ready to check out the Training your Dragon one, this is a great introduction.
October 4, 2016
An okay freebie
I learned much more from his book on training Dragon but this had a few additional tips. Overall I have found the tips in the books have made my foray into using dictation for my writing easier than I anticipated.
I learned much more from his book on training Dragon but this had a few additional tips. Overall I have found the tips in the books have made my foray into using dictation for my writing easier than I anticipated.
March 30, 2017
A short and straightforward book with some of the help you need to get started with Dragon. I'm going to get the other book since this is the free taster and everyone raves about the other one.
February 20, 2019
Actually useful tips
I've read other books on Dragon dictation for writers, and they didn't really give me practical advice. This free list of tips is invaluable. I will probably check out Baker's full length book on dictation.
I've read other books on Dragon dictation for writers, and they didn't really give me practical advice. This free list of tips is invaluable. I will probably check out Baker's full length book on dictation.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews