Writing Submission Tools
One of the most important business skills a writer needs is the ability to track the submission process. There’s a maxim out there, variously attributed, which says: “serious writers should keep their work in circulation until it either sells or the ink wears off”.
It can be tricky to keep that circulation going, especially if you’re trying to get a variety of things published. The publishers and media have different requirements about what to send, how to send it, when to send it, the length of the overall process, and so on. This can be confusing.
It is important to record the details of each submission. Surely, there must be a bulletproof system out there, time-tested by professional writers, right? I have set out to find that system, so that I can use it in my writing career. These are the results of that hunt.
What to track?
Here’s a quick list of the information you might want to record about your submissions. The list was adapted from a recent conversation on Literature and Latte (thanks Amber).
For each submission
- the name of your manuscript
- the type of submission: magazine article, short story, poem, etc.
- A copy of, or an electronic reference to, the manuscript itself (as submitted)
- the number of times the particular piece of writing has been submitted to any publication
- the date you sent the manuscript to the publication
- a copy of, or link to, the cover letter that accompanied the submission
- the title of the publication
- the date you received a response from the publication.
- the kind of response you received, which can be anything from form rejection to published.
- (copy / linked follow-up correspondence, if any.)
- Many publishers don’t allow simultaneous submissions, so, for each submission, record whether the manuscript is “active” or not.
For each publisher
- the title of the publication
- contact details @ the publication
- a copy of, or link to the publication’s submission guidelines
For the writer
- A reminder to meet any upcoming submission deadline
- A reminder to follow-up on the submission after the expected turn-around time has passed
- The ability to easily sort the submission tracking information.
This basic list can get complex very quickly if you’re tracking this information for one or more submissions to one or more publishers. It would help to have some sort of system, to organize all this information, either on paper or electronically.
Manuscript Submission Tracking Software
If you prefer to use paper documentation for your submission tracking, index cards or file folders will do nicely. You may prefer to use computer software, like a database or a spreadsheet, to make the information more dynamic. There are about 20 different software applications designed for writers who want to track their submissions. None of them do everything listed above, but many of them might be useful. Here are a few of the better ones out there.
Writer’s Market
Writer’s Market provides a secure online service for Submission Tracking. You can purchase this service by the month, to try it out. The Writer’s Market software is easy to use, and it is integrated with the Writer’s Market directory of publications, which is quite useful. On the other hand, you cannot store information about a publisher who is not listed in the directory. Writer’s Market intends to add this feature, someday. Meanwhile, you might run into some trouble if, like me, you publish in obscure or non-paying publications. One-year access to this service is free when you buy a copy of the Writer’s Market Book. With an annual subscription fee, you would think this service would offer at least as many features as its competitors, but it does two things well — it helps you track submissions to the publications listed in Writer’s Market . It also helps you keep a list of those publications for yourself.
Sonar
Sonar is a manuscript submission tracking program that does pretty much everything that the Writer’s Market service does, for free. Sonar isn’t integrated with a publisher’s database, so you’ll have to enter that information in yourself, but that won’t kill you. The author of this program says it was created in order to:
“show which market has each story, whether a story has been sold or rejected and which stories are gathering dust instead of earning their keep. If you decide to use it, you will be able to view a list of all your stories and then filter them in various ways (e.g. only show stories which are available to send out). You can add markets, stories and submissions and best of all it’s completely free!”
Sonar is software for windows.
Luminary Writer’s Database
The Writer’s Database is a web-based service for submission and publication tracking. It is free to use, and includes a function whereby users can share information about publishers, with listings and comments. This isn’t a very popular website, judging from the number of user-submitted publisher entries. A few “coming soon” announcements littered throughout the website indicate that good things might be in the works for The Writer’s Database, so you may want to keep an eye on this one.
The writer’s database gets honorable technical mention for the use of VCARDs and RSS feeds. Its free, too.
Slushomatic
The Slushomatic writing submission tool is compatible with windows and mac computers. Its author describes it well. “Slushomatic is a tool for writers to create and track their submissions to magazines. In addition to being a database for tracking stories/articles, publications and submissions, it will also format your document in the standard style required by editors (i.e; headers, line-spacing, font size, etc..), and auto-create cover letters based on the fields in your database.” Personally, I like to use a word processor for word processing, but it is nice to have a copy of the article stored inside the database. Its also nice to be able to create pdf files, but again, a modern word processor can do that.
Slushomatic is open-source software, so it has the potential to grow into an even more powerful writing submission tool.
InkLink
InkLink is one of the more popular software programs for Submission Tracking. It’s easy to see why. This thing is loaded with features. The interface is easy and simple, and so is the user’s manual. In addition to listing manuscripts and publishers, InkLink will help you catalog the resources you used in order to create a manuscript. These could be anything from text references to expenses.
The “reminder” feature is good, letting you know that its time for a submission’s second inquiry, etc., but it doesn’t send you an email, which would be ideal for me. (an ical might be nice, too).
Inklink will also help you create a writer’s resume, with the data you have entered. That could come in handy.
Inklink costs $90, which seems steep, at first, but it is a one-time fee, unlike Writers Market.
The Inklink website sure is difficult to look at, and their software isn’t going to win any graphic design awards, but inlink delivers where it counts. This is useful software, for windows users only.
Tags: manuscripts, tracking submissions, Writing
