Lucy Snyder ([info]las) wrote,
@ 2008-01-18 11:45:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Manuscript tracking?
Okay, everyone: how do you track your manuscripts?

Do you use database software? Something else?

Tell me all about it!

I ask because I'm pretty low-tech: I use note cards in a little plastic card box. Each story/poem/article gets its own card, and each submission is recorded on a line. When I've filled one side of the card with rejections, I know it's time to reconsider things ;-)


(I also ask because I'm doing another hints-for-writers article ... please only comment if you'd like to be quoted. If I use your quote, I'll link to your website. So if you'd like me to link to something other than the site listed in your profile info, let me know).

Advertisement

(Post a new comment)


[info]fenrah
2008-01-18 04:58 pm UTC (link)
Writersmarket.com - their folders and manuscript tracking tools.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]las
2008-01-18 04:59 pm UTC (link)
Care to elaborate on why you use their service?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

[info]fenrah
2008-01-18 06:08 pm UTC (link)
It keeps everything in one place on a database where it won’t get lost and where I can get to it from any internet location. Most (though not all) of the markets I submit to are in WM. I have a folder for each manuscript, where I put all the likely markets for it. Then I have a submission thread for each manuscript, recording where it was actually sent, what date, what response.

There are a few things about WM’s form pages I don’t like, and there are a few bugs that appeared recently when they updated their system. Still, I like it better than anything else I’ve tried. A subscription costs $30/ year and would be worth that for the search features alone.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]fenrah
2008-01-18 06:13 pm UTC (link)
Oh, and when I say you “put a market in a folder,” I mean you put their whole WM entry in a folder. That means it’s easy to come back three months later (after you’ve forgotten why you thought that magazine would be a good fit for your story and whether or not they take email submissions), click the link, find their submission guidelines, visit their site, whatever. That’s what I mean by everything in one place.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]elenuial
2008-01-18 05:05 pm UTC (link)
I actually use a (freeware!) program scripted by another writer called "Sonar 2." It's not as powerful as high-end database software, and has a couple of quirks to it, but I don't need the full power of database tracking -- and it has a few things built in that are nice for writerly types who don't know how or don't want to program it into their friendly database record.

It also makes it easy for you to data mine your submissions, so you can see, for example, that you've been sending stories like clockwork to "Magazine X" for years, but that damn editor just won't accept your stuff, despite you getting frequent acceptances from other magazines on par with it. You may want to consider that your work just doesn't mesh with that editor and move on.

Caveat: just like any catalog, when you're starting out with it, it takes a while to get all your entries for it up and running -- especially because it asks you to make entries for markets as well. But the extra time is worth it, and provides you with a convenient place to annotate and recall markets you're interested in.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]carnwrite
2008-01-19 01:08 am UTC (link)
I use Sonar 2 as well, in addition to keeping submission logs in Word docs per year (just in case). It's very useful for seeing exactly how long Market-of-tardiness has had your ms ;)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]bev_vincent
2008-01-18 05:08 pm UTC (link)
I use Sonar 2 as well, and a recent update fixed a few of its more annoying glitches. I haven't yet settled on a single mechanism that suits all my purposes though. In additional to Sonar, I have a small spiral notebook with a page per story where I note not only where the story has been but a list of where it could possibly go next if rejected. And, for at-a-glance status of what's out where, I have a mid-sized white board that shows title and market. When something comes back I wipe off the market name and can tell immediately when something is lying fallow.

The three combined summarize past, present and future!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

[info]bev_vincent
2008-01-18 05:10 pm UTC (link)
I also use the submission tracking feature at duotrope.com, but not form y own purposes. Each report contributes to the response time and rejection rate statistics for their markets.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

[info]ogre_san
2008-01-18 05:13 pm UTC (link)
I used to use the card box method, but I switched to a simple text/wp file. Each work is assigned an opus number, I separate the records with vertical bars, and just record the #, title, origination date, then below that in colums the market, date it was sent, and the result. Once a story sells I record the contract summary details, then cut the record and paste it into a separate file that I use to track reprints and sold stories.

(Reply to this)

[info]drpearce
2008-01-18 05:17 pm UTC (link)
I was going to recommend Sonar 2 - freeware, and the programmer is an author, too.

(Reply to this)

[info]kvaadk
2008-01-18 05:24 pm UTC (link)
I used to be a teacher. I have several old grade books with lots of columns and rows. Each ms has its own page. The titles of the stories tracked are written on the cover of the book, with stars next to the ones that sell. As soon as I fill the last grade book up, I'll look into software.

(Reply to this)

[info]stevenagy
2008-01-18 05:29 pm UTC (link)
I keep a separate folder for each story on my computer. Stories sit inside and I make a copy for each submission that goes out to indicate the different versions, tagging them with the name of the market. If I make changes, I always do it to the latest version/market after duplicating it. I also create a query folder and place the letters I write for submission into it, tagged with the market name as well.

Novels get the same treatment, but there are more folders for the different versions, the synopsis, the queries.

(Reply to this)

[info]ecmyers
2008-01-18 05:31 pm UTC (link)
I'm pretty low tech too. I started with a Word document, which was fine when I only had a handful of stories and markets to send it to, but it's gotten out of hand...and it's so unwieldy it's too big a task to start over and enter all that data in a proper spreadsheet.

For the last year I've been supplementing my own tracking methods with the Duotrope Submissions tracker, which is excellent because it also ties into their market listings and reports on response times. It's online and free, but Duotrope does accept donations towards their operating costs.

I once tried using Sonar but it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

Ideally, when I have time, I'll probably set up a Microsoft Access database with all my historical information in it, so I can create a custom input form for data entry that ties into the tables.

(Reply to this)

[info]pantryslut
2008-01-18 05:35 pm UTC (link)

I used to use notecards in a little plastic box, but a few years ago I switched to a very simple one-page spreadsheet, which I put in a folder with the manuscript itself. Same data, slightly different format, no more annoying little plastic box kicking around and getting in the way.

(Reply to this)

[info]mmerriam
2008-01-18 05:41 pm UTC (link)
I use a simple excel spread sheet to track submissions.

(Reply to this)

[info]ruralwriter
2008-01-18 06:03 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, ditto to [info]pantryslut and [info]mmerriam. Except I don't want to pay for Excel for one single purpose, so I instead use the spreadsheet tool that comes with OpenOffice.

I put all my submissions on the spreadsheet. I track Title, where I submitted, date of submission, date of response, response (form r, personal r, or acceptance), and then I track the followup stuff, too - like payment receipt.

I like the nice linear quick view of the spreadsheet and being able to sort within my spreadsheet. I like being able to use something off-line.

In the future I may decide to track more on my spreadsheet - which is something I don't see other tools offering. I guess the next thing to track would be when the contract eligibility would allow me to resell the story. I'm not that far along yet.

All that said, I've dipped a toe into Duotrope. What's cool about Duotrope is that I can see what their expected response time is and check to see whether or not other people have heard recently from them. Another advantage of Duotrope is its web accessibility; I don't have to have the computer with my spreadsheet - I can update the submission record anywhere (even on vacation).

But my perspective is also from a beginning author. Those individuals with a thousand or more submissions may have a completely different perspective.

(Reply to this)

[info]dark_towhead
2008-01-18 06:12 pm UTC (link)
Once upon a time, I assembled lists on loose sheets of copy paper with the story name and market, written in the order of submission. After a while that became a complete nightmare to manage (particularly after moving a couple of times when loose sheets of paper could and did get lost.

Attempt 2 featured a three ring binder of copy paper, each page was for a separate entry (man did the transcribing phase suck).

Currently, I use an excel spreadsheet to track submissions. Worksheet one is for fiction/poetry, worksheet two for nonfiction, worksheet three a list of deadlines, &cetera. The columns are: Story title+file version, market, submission date, date of response, Type of Response (Y for accepted or N for try elsewhere), Publication Date, Payment Date, etc. It's easy enough to add a new line in for submissions that get rejected from one market and then sent to another. As well, it's easy for me to set up a reminder in the Office Mail program to send queries for submissions sitting in slush piles long after the market's posted response time expires.

However, I'll probably be looking into Sonar 2, after hearing about it here... Heh.

(Reply to this)

[info]themachinestops
2008-01-18 08:04 pm UTC (link)
My photographic memory. (Which is not actually so photographic, since I've accidentally sim-subbed and gotten back rejections to places I don't even remember submitting to. But considering I send out maybe five submissions a YEAR at this time I don't need no stinking software.)

(Reply to this)

[info]franklymydear
2008-01-18 08:50 pm UTC (link)
I'll use a combination of Excel spreadsheets and www.writersplanner.com.

(Reply to this)

[info]pgmcc
2008-01-18 09:43 pm UTC (link)
I attended a "Writers' Holiday" in Wales some years ago and there was an excellent presentation on motivation. One of the points was bout the "r" word. "R" stands for, "Returned for rework", not "Rejection".

It was reported by the presenter that Agatha Christie had her work returned for rework by 34 publishers before her first book was accepted. Therefore, it was concluded, if you haven't had your work sent back at least 100 times you haven't been trying.

Another point, the first one presented in the session, was that every writer must, first thing every morning, stand in front of a mirror as soon as he/she gets up, look one's self right in the eye and say, in a strong, clear voice, "I AM A BRILLIANT WRITER".

In relation to tracking your manuscripts, I would suggest your library card approach is as good as it gets. You do not need to wait for your computer to boot up. You are not snookered when there is a power cut. You have the whole story (if you forgive the pun) in one simple piece of card. In addition, you can be flexible in what you note on the card.

The only problem with the card system is that you would find it a bit difficult to produce listings of the work you have out in the market. But then again, how often do you really need to do that?

(Reply to this)

[info]rdansky
2008-01-18 10:26 pm UTC (link)
Radio transceivers built into their collars. I wanted to go with the subtextual microchip implant, but it was too expensive for anything under 20K words.

(Reply to this)

[info]yvonnenavarro
2008-01-19 12:39 am UTC (link)
Every short story that I finish has its own manila folder. On the inside left side I write the date and name of the magazine/anthology and the date on which I should receive some kind of a reply based on their guidelines (or my estimate). If the manuscript is rejected, I write that and the date, then start all over. To keep track I have a little "sticky note" program on my computer that pops up a note with the story name when the response should be here. Before that I used a big, full year write-on/wipe-off calendar, but I never wrote on it-- I used Post-It Notes with the name of the story that I moved from date to date.

(Reply to this)

[info]dogzilla30
2008-01-19 01:30 am UTC (link)
I use both Sonar 2 and Duotrope.

I started off with Sonar 2 to track where I’d submitted pieces. The software isn’t intuitive to use but once the database begins to fill up with entries it becomes easier. I’ve used it to track which markets I submit to the most often, which pieces are still out, and how much I’ve been paid when something sold. The software resides on the computer or laptop it’s been installed on and there isn’t a web version available. I wish I had taken advantage of the backup feature as I lost about a year’s worth of submission data when my hard drive crashed a few months ago.

Late last year I began to use the submission tracker on Duotrope’s Digest. It’s easy to see how long my work has been out compared to others who have sent submissions. Duotrope’s Digest doesn’t list every single available market (non-fiction and some contests) and that’s where Sonar 2 is a nice complement.

(Reply to this)

[info]ktempest
2008-01-19 06:28 am UTC (link)
long, long ago I wrote my own in MS Access. It wasn't the spiffiest, but it was mine. then I completely forgot how to use Access and there went it's usefulness ;)

At the moment I also use Sonar 2. I think it's great and very useful. I found it intuitive, myself.

One of the things I did that other people might not is I first listed all of the markets I'd be willing to send my fiction to. Then I prioritized them into four groups, Priority 1-4. When I entered these markets into Sonar, I put a little number in front of them according to their priority. This way, when I go to submit a story, I can see at a glance that I've submitted it to some or all of the 1 Priority markets, so then I can move on to Priority 2 and so on. It also helps unlock the freeze I get whenever a rejection hits and I have to decide where the story goes next. It goes tot he first available high priority market that doesn't already have something of mine. Easy!

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…