Freelance Writers: How to Organize Your Computer Files

Most freelance writers - regardless of the type of freelancing they do - work almost exclusively online. While you might send manuscript queries by postal mail or print out important documents for your records, the majority of your work is kept on your computer, which can present some organizational distress.

When I first started my freelance writing career, I saved most of my work to the same folder on my computer - My Documents. That is usually the default folder for Microsoft Office documents as well as some of the other applications you use on a regular basis. But if everything you write (or read!) gets automatically saved to My Documents, you're going to end up wasting a lot of time searching for the things you need.

Organize Your Computer Files: Create a List of Folders

I keep most of my main folders on my desktop so that I can find them quickly, but you can avoid cluttering your desktop (if that bothers you) by storing them in your My Documents section. Label each file clearly (don't worry if they are broad) so that you know exactly what they contain. Some examples might include:

--Completed Manuscripts
--Clients
--Web Articles
--Website (if you have one)
--Magazine Editors

You can create as many folders as you like, but remember that you can always create sub-folders to include extra documents under a broader file name.

Organize Your Computer Files:Use Sub-Folders

Under each of your main folder names, you might need to include sub-folders. For example, if you have a main folder labeled Clients, then you might want to have separate sub-folders for each individual clients. This is entirely up to you, but remember: The more detailed, the better. I list all of my clients' sub-folders with their last name first, followed by their first name to make it easier.

Organize Your Computer Files: Your WIP Folder