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This is a chapter out of my book, Write NOW! . Some of the information is as it was when I wrote the book, such as what I have in the Books in Progress section. Even so, this should give you a good idea how to get organized for your writing.

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When I first started writing, my files were all over the place and I had trouble finding what I wanted when I wanted. I think I wasted a lot of time searching for the file I needed at the time.

Because I work on several projects at the same time, I needed to design a system for organizing and keeping track of the various files that I needed for each project.

What I came up with is simple and straight forward. I decided to set up a Folder under the main Document Folder and called it Book Files.

Then Under the Book Files folder, I defined the following folders;

• Completed Books
• Books in Progress

This is what I currently have in the Books in Progress folder:

• Incident at the Brit
• Housatonic Mystery
• Write NOW! Revision
• Publish NOW! Revision

These are the current four writing projects that I am actively working on.

To define each project further, under each current writing project, I define the following folders;

Manuscript – this will include all versions both Word and PDF or whatever versions you need. This way, all your versions are in one place.

Images – this includes all images of any type that will be included in the book

Front Material – this includes the Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication, and any other info you want at the beginning of the  book.

Back Material – this may include the Author Bio, Other Books by the Author, Author Notes about the book, Advertisements for other books or whatever you want to include, special offers for purchasers of the book, etc

Cover Design – If you design a cover yourself or have one designed, you can store the file here.

Synopses – for novels, novelettes, and short stories, you should complete Plot, Chapter and Character Synopses.

Misc Research – any other documents you may have used as reference material.

To Summarize:

Documents Folder

• Book Files
  • Completed Books
  • Books in Progress
    •  Name of Book
      • Manuscript
      • Images
      • Front Material
      • Back Material
      • Cover Design
      • Synopses
      • Misc. Research

I hope this helps with your organization for writing. I know it helped me once I got everything organized in the proper folders.