After the first article I began to see the shape of what I wanted to do as an eBook. I do waffle around things so setting up the OBS for YouTube Shorts was something that took a bit of fiddling, but it has had its benefits. It allows me to describe things briefly, in 60 seconds, so I have to be focused.

At present I’m doing all the background videos of the chapters I’ve written and am creating the content and putting links in the eBook for those, also writing the separate scripts and zipping them up so they can be downloaded.

YouTube Shorts setup with Stream Deck

When doing the shorts you have to start OBS video recording, that is Ctrl+Alt + 1 and at the same time start a countdown timer. So you hit one and forget to do the 2nd item. Or concentrate on doing the 2nd and you forget to look at camera and talk about the topic (its hard when you are old and senile, you con onlu do things lineally).

I was looking for a countdown timer and Stream Deck had a built in one and a plugin. So I downloaded them both and set them up.

Then I found I could trigger OBS from the Stream Deck (button configured to the hotkey) so I can push the start OBS and countdown timer at the same time, dead easy.

So once I’ve started them both I can concentrate on the short and watch the countdown. If I’m not going to make it in time, I stop the counter and video think abut doing 2 shorts instead, so restructure the first short to discuss less knowing that there will be a part 2.

So I was able to do the 2nd chapter on using AutoHotKey scripts and demonstrate all the bits of code.

I was quite pleased with the result, and could upload all the clips, after renaming them, using PowerToys for bulk rename so that I had a consistent naming convention setup for the shorts so I knew which was which when uploading.

Code files for download

As I did the videos I created Notepad files and put them in a sub-folder in the eBook directory. When I’d completed the chapter videos I zipped up al the code into a single zip file. I then uploaded that zip to media library for the website, but it was blocked from Downloading , so I needed to use the Download monitor plugin and make a specific download for that file and it works in a link in word just fine.

Unfortunately I had downloads setup on Vast site, not the PowerKey4Revit site so I’ve had to install the correct plugins (2 lots of download ones, one for Vendd theme & one for Email before Download plugin, but at least it is all on the same site now. I’ve re-linked word doc links to datacapture site so I just need to follow process going forward.

eBook content going forward

Once I’ve done the videos for what I’ve written so far, I can then reverse the process and do the videos first and then do the writing afterwards.

So as a teaching tool, student purchasers will have the text & images in the ebooks, the code to run & hack, and the videos as a demonstration. I’m pleased with the comprehensive coverage of the topic.

The nice thing with the YouTube shorts is that they are handy to use on a mobile device, so if you are going to work you can easily click and view a portrait 1 minute video to do some learning whist traveling.

Friday 29 July 2022

I just came across this article that basically covered all I have learned, great to see in hindsight. It makes a lot of sense now. I just wanted a link to this article for future reference.

Part 1 – Ebooks: A Writer’s Guide

Part 2 – How to Write an Ebook

Part 3 – How to Make an Ebook

Part 4 – How to Publish an Ebook

• Step 1: Edit the manuscript 
• Step 2: Design a book cover for your eBook
• Step 3: Learn the pros and cons of Amazon KDP for authors
• Step 4: Choose your eBook publishing platforms
• Step 5: Write the metadata for readers
• Step 6: Format your eBook for publication
• Step 7: Upload your eBook files
• Step 8: Set a price with royalties in mind
• Step 9: Publish your eBook

Part 5 – Ebook Distribution

Part 6 – How to Market an Ebook

Watch your book take-off

Fire up your engines with the one checklist you’ll need for a successful book launch.

Guides > Understanding Publishing

Posted on Mar 05, 2021

How to Publish an Ebook (in 9 Easy-to-Follow Steps)

End Comment

I’m really happy with the stream deck YouTube shorts setup, it works quite well, being able to see the countdown timer to the side of the screen is handy. This really makes the Stream Deck useful.

The YouTube Shorts I find a bit short but it makes me CHUNK information into smaller segments and reduces my waffle time. Maybe a useful tool in the future. I’m not putting in any description because I’ve the links hidden, so they are not public, I only want people to access them from the eBook.