Organization Tips

Bloggers and writers can suffer from many forms of insecurity. They can even be insecure about their lack of organizational skills. Have you ever misplaced an important document/email or forgotten about a guest post? Have no fear...Chrys Fey is here! I have 10 tips that you can implement right now!

1. Blogger: Create a separate folder on your computer in the “My Pictures” folder and label it “Guest Photos.” This is where you’ll store the pictures your blogging guests send you, such as their bio photo and cover art.

2. Blogger: Create another folder on your computer but this time under “My Documents” and label it “Guest Posts.” This is where you’ll store the interviews and guest posts that you need to schedule on your blog.

TIP: You can add another folder for author media kits that contain all the information about the author and their book.

3. Blogger: While you’re at it, create a folder in your email to file every single email from your blog guests to keep track of them. Then delete them after their post goes live.

4. Author: Same thing...designate different folders in your email to keep your correspondences with editors, beta readers, and agents together. I have folders for query submissions, rejections, and one titled “Tour.” Whenever I orchestrate a blog tour for myself, all the emails I send out and receive from participants go into this folder.

5. Author: As soon as you have all the information for an upcoming release such as the blurb, excerpt, and buy links, fashion a .DOC file or “media kit” with this information. Include your bio and author links. This is what you’ll send to bloggers during your blog tour, or anyone else who needs this information.

6. Blogger/Author: List all of your blog and/or story ideas in a .DOC file or notebook, so you won’t forget any of them.

7. Author/Writer: Put together a binder with several tabs. Label the tabs with things like: queries, agents, publishers, etc. to help you organize your research and stay on top of your submissions. I’ve done this for years!

8. Blogger If you do a lot of blogging, use a calendar to jot down your blogging schedule, especially when you’ll have a guest. This will also help you know which post to publish when if you write ahead like I do.

9. Author: You can also use a calendar for your blog tour. I love doing this! First, it’s easy to schedule your tour stops when you can look at a calendar and fill in each stop as they get approved. Also, when the dates come, the calendar acts as a reminder so you can visit each blog in time for your guest post.

10. Author: If you have a lot of responsibilities, get a binder and a bunch of tabs. You can label the tabs with things like: newsletter, giveaways, street team, website, promo ideas, etc. This will allow you to plan things out ahead of time and you won’t have to worry about misplacing something.

If you’re a writer/blogger, being organized is crucial to your work. Use these tips (I do them all!) or adapt them to your needs, and you won’t be insecure about organization anymore. I promise!

QUESTIONS: Are you an organized person or a hot mess? ;) How do you stay organized?