How do you manage your files? Do you handle them differently for a work-in-progress than a revision?
I was reading a blog the other day- this one on GotYA- and a commenter mentioned the way they keep their files. It got me thinking.
A writer friend of mine houses each chapter in it's own file- all files in a specific folder for the project.
Me? I have one file for the novel, a file for the query, synopsis- you get the picture, and all of those are kept in a project folder on my desktop. I also back them up on jump-drives. I don't save multiple formats of my novel's file, I simply save over it as I revise.
There is no BookRevision1, BookRevision2 for me. I'd never keep it all straight. I do keep a file of scraps if I delete a large chunk of text. Just in case. And I have a copy of the original first draft for posterity. It, however, is saved in a different place.
What about you? How do you keep your files? Perhaps I'm the oddball, I don't know. (Wouldn't be anything new!)
On a rather humorous side note- Super-spawn has gotten to where he can recite the first three Harry Potter movies. (The parts I let him watch anyway.) He's not even three yet! I'm raising him right. ;)
Oh, I just have one file. If I have too many files, I don't know which one to work in. When I work on a book that's already written, I do "save as" and save it when the date. That's it. That way, I can go to the latest date and know that's the one I worked on last.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely raising the kid right! Go you!!!
ReplyDeleteI originally had so many files it would make even your mothers head hurt!!! (yeah that wasn't weird) nonetheless I recently changed it to the current story I was working on had it's folder (titled the title of the novel) and inside I have the Original and then Revisions #1, #2, etc. it seems to work a lot more efficiently than planned!!!
You guys both sound more organized than me. You know that saying- a cluttered desk is a sign of genius? I rather hope it's true.
ReplyDeleteI send myself emails in Yahoo and then toss them all in a folder called "writing". I don't recommend this system. For works that are ready to share I put them up on my blog and schedule a publish date a few days out. Sometimes I get back to it and sometimes not but no one's reading yet anyway. :) http://making-raisins.blogspot.com/
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