Instititute of Children's Literature

Rx for Writers

Writer's Support Room - Writing Schedule

Amy Simon is a graduate of two ICL courses and has published articles in Encounter, Brio and Parent Life as well as an article accepted for publication in Boys' Quest. She has written more newsletters and prayer letters than she can count. She is a stay at home mother of two and tries very hard to follow her own advice of staying organized.

"Organized Writing - How to Keep it All Straight"

by Amy Simon

Most freelance writers aren't just writers. We're also parents, teachers, computer techs, social workers, you name it. As you juggle writing with all the other things you do, organization becomes very important. Writing time is precious and you can't waste it digging through files, trying to figure out what to work on next, looking for writers' guidelines and sample copies of magazines. How do you keep everything straight and easy to find? How do you stay focused on what you're supposed to be doing during your writing time?

Organize your time

Develop a daily and weekly routine for your writing time. Because I'm a stay at home mother of two, my writing mainly happens during nap time and in the evenings. Here's my daily routine as an example: In the morning, I allow myself 5 minutes to check email. Once the kids are down to rest after lunch, I take another 10 minutes for email and 5 minutes to de-clutter my writing area. Both these activities can easily eat up a lot of precious time, so I frequently set a timer so I won't run over. I write both magazine articles and novels, so I divide up the rest of the time between those two things.

In the evening, I go through email for up to 15 minutes, read up on writing articles and blogs and work on whatever other writing tasks I need to do. On Monday evenings, I research new magazine markets. Tuesdays I focus on revising articles, Wednesday is for more in depth de-cluttering and refocusing on what I should be working on next. Thursdays are open for whatever needs to be done. Fridays are for book research and Sundays I update my blog.

Organize your computer files

I love computer folders. In the "My Documents" area, one of my folders is "Magazine articles." Within that folder there is a "Finished" folder and an "In progress" folder. I also keep any digital theme lists or guidelines here. Within the "Finished" folder, there are three more folders: "Published or accepted," "Looking for a home," and "Waiting to hear." That way, I know the status of every project and nothing falls through the cracks. There are lots of times when I write an article with a specific market in mind and they don't want it. In my disappointment, those articles get shoved into some black hole in my mind. I forget that I could try to sell them somewhere else. Also, when I save an article that's intended for a specific market, I include the magazine name as part of the file name. Just another way to keep it all straight.

Organize your markets

I have an expandable file folder with alphabetical tabs where I keep my sample copies of magazines and writers' guidelines. I also have a folder in my writing binder where I keep copies of current theme lists and guidelines of markets I'm currently working on projects for. I also made an Excel file of all the markets that I'm interested in. I have their target ages, pay rate, subjects covered and some other info listed. I also rate each magazine on a scale of 1-5, based on how much they pay and how interested I am in writing for them. That helps me prioritize my writing projects so I'm not spending lots of time and effort on something that doesn't pay very much.

Organize your projects

I like using index cards for this. When I get a new theme list for a market I like writing for or come up with an idea for an article, I write it on an index card. I include the article subject, the magazine it's intended for, the 1-5 rating of the magazine, the due date if there is one (for a themed magazine) and any notes or thoughts on things to include in the article. Then, I can put them in order of when it's due and how high a priority the magazine is. Once an article or query is submitted, I track that either on an Excel file or a printed form, including when it was submitted, to whom and when a response is expected.

Once you get your systems of organization established, things should run smoothly for you. You will be able to focus on your writing without spinning your wheels trying to figure out what to do next.

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