How to Organize for the Writing Life

             You’ve probably written your whole life – whether scrawling countless words aimed at diaries, journals, letters or the internet – you’re a writer. You know it in your bones. It’s how you process life. And to do anything less with your insatiable curiosity, personal experiences or the creative whirlwind inside of you would leave a tangible void. Unfortunately creating and organizing can be polar opposites.

How does a creative spirit organize for the writing life? Aside from your favorite hot tea mug, cozy reading corner, and computer, you’ll need a writing journal. Some writers do this on their laptops while others use a typical journal. The purpose of a writing journal is to work through writing snares, record countless ideas in one place, and make lists to keep yourself on track. A writing journal is also THE place to include all those vivid details of life we notice but tend to forget when we actually put the world on hold so we can WRITE. After all, vivid details are the wings to our writing, no?

The next item to get you going is taming a wild beast to work for you. (a.k.a. the internet) There’s an avalanche of information out there – writing websites, listserves, author sites, blogs…well, you get the idea. Start by creating folders in your favorites option on your toolbar. Begin with the following categories:

Publishers

Writing Websites
Marketing info.

Author websites

Author blogs

            Although you may not be ready to submit to publishers, market yourself, create your own website or blog, when the time is right, you’ll have tons of research just waiting for you. Every time you come across information, save it in an organized folder so you’ll have access to the information you’ve uncovered.

            Next set up files on your computer. Fiction, nonfiction, books, magazine work, completed, ideas, needs work, accepted…these may sound obvious. You’ll also need a “submission tracker” which includes the name of the writing, publisher along with the name and title of the editor. Also include a column for the date of submission and date of response as well as a few remarks about the response received.

            For books, you’ll eventually need a spreadsheet which will include your writing and the places you’ve submitted it to in order to track the submission history for each particular work.

            In your filing cabinet, make sections for the type of writing you do: children’s, fiction, nonfiction, and adult. File folders can help keep research from becoming lost as well as store correspondence with publishers and old drafts or critiques you may want to refer to in the future. Remember to also include a yearly folder for receipts to deduct from your taxes.

            Don’t fall victim to a feeble computer that crashes. Invest in a large capacity USB storage drive and back up your work – regularly. Sony makes a 4 GB Microvault.

            By putting a system in place now, you’ll be organized for the writing life.