Words on a page

If you write a lot (and I hope you do), chances are you've run into the problem that Anne Wayman describes in a recent post on her blog: keeping track of all of your files. For a writer who has a lot on the go, this can be tough. There are a number of ways to keep your files organized. Here's how I do it.

On my computer, I have two folders devoted to my work: one's called Writing (for my articles), and the other's called Work (for my technical and corporate writing). I know, not exactly inspired naming but it works.

The Writing folder contains two main sub folders: In Progress and Completed. The articles that I'm working on, obviously, reside in the In Progress sub folder. That includes any graphics or screenshots that go with an article. When I'm done and the article has been sent off, I zip it up into an archive and copy it to the Completed sub folder. Every couple of months, I burn the contents of the Writing folder on to a CD and clean out the old articles.

The Writing folder also contains a few other sub folders: Queries, Notes, and Guidelines. Those names pretty much explain themselves.

The structure of the Work folder is similar. In this case, each sub folder is named for a client. Each client sub folder contains any or all of the following folders:

• Contract


• Notes


• Drafts


• Images


• Background


• Final

In case you're wondering, the Background folder contains all of the background information on the project -- documents from the client, information from the Web, research notes, and the like. And, as with my Writing folder, I regularly back everything up on to a CD.

My system isn't as complex as it seems. And it works for me.

So, how do you organize your files?

Labels: organization, writing