Keeping a Series Organized

A little over a year ago, I blogged here about the joys of writing series as an indie author/publisher. At the time, Dandelions for Dinner, the fourth book in my Farm Fresh Romance series was about to release. The final title in the series, Berry on Top came out a few weeks ago. I have to say that expanding a three-book series to six has been a great success.

Organization of the project became a greater challenge with each additional book. I’d like to share the systems I used in case it might be a help to you as well.

Scrivener

I’m sure authors manage to stay organized without Scrivener, but I have no idea how! If you’re not familiar with Scrivener, check it out at Literature and Latte. They offer a free 30-day trial (counted by days you actually open the program, not a calendar month.)

When you create a new Scrivener file, you have two major sections: Draft and Research. In each of these you can nest folders and files as deep as you need, expanded or hidden with the click of a button.

In Draft, I keep a folder for the first draft of each novel in the series. This is where I actually write the novel. More plotterly types can create note cards and set up their outlines in advance. It turns out I am probably 90% pantser, so I just create a “document” in the book folder, name it Chapter 1, and start writing. I can easily keep the previous novels’ first drafts hidden while working on the current one.

In Research, I have several major folders: Characters, Setting, and Research. In the Characters older, I create a document for each of the characters alphabetically by last name (or first name if they’re a walk-on with no more detail). Then I can easily add a few notes as to who this character is, in case I want to use them again.

Major characters get considerably more, with additional documents nested under their names. These include an image copied from a stock photo site, their GMC (goal, motivation, conflict), their family details, anything about their history I need to know (hated math in school)… whatever kinds of things you might need to reference again later.

The Setting Folder is also somewhat self-explanatory. If you’re using a real place, you can copy/paste in maps, photos, etc, for quick reference. And the Research Folder contains many random things for the various books: how to make a house out of a grain bin, how dogs react to mouse poison… whatever bits you need for your books.

Scrivener is my key tool for organizing a series, but it isn’t the only one.

Character Spreadsheet

Long before I got to the last book of the Farm Fresh Romance series, I realized I needed another way to keep track of names, as well. I create an Excel workbook with two sheets in it, one labeled Male and the other Female. Down the first column, I place the alphabet. In the next column, I place the characters by first name. The third column is for the book they’re featured in, and the fourth, just a note about who they are.

The first two columns are the key, though. I am very careful to assign names that are dissimilar from each other. I use most of the alphabet (hence an ex-girlfriend named Yvette!) and try to vary the number of syllables and the shape and feel of each name. This is much easier to track in a spreadsheet than in a single column in Scrivener.

Maps

You always need a good grasp of your setting. With one book, you might be able to keep it firmly in mind. For a series, you will almost certainly need sketches and maps. I tend to draw quick layouts of the houses my main characters will walk through, a neighborhood map, and a larger scale map. These don’t have to be fancy, but having them will be a big help keeping you consistent.

Timeline

The timeline for a series is twofold: within the book, and within the series. I use different tools for each.

For the timeframe of a single book, I download and print out calendar grids for the months in which I expect the story to take place. I don’t place a lot of info in these, but do note where the chapters fall in the calendar to keep an eye on major holidays, pacing, etc.

I quickly realized I needed more help when looking at multiple books, though. There was a year between book one and book two, then two-and-a-half between books two and three. By then the couple from book one had a child. How old was she in book three? How about in book five?

I purchased Timeline 3D for Mac (I’ve heard Aeon is good for PC). This required me to pick an actual birthdate and year for each character. I have also mark graduations, weddings, and time spans, like for the length of each novel. Now I can always figure out how old each character is in the newest story and other longer term time details.

Within My Documents, I have a folder for each series. Within that live all the above mentioned pieces as well as anything else that is series-wide. Then there are also folders for each novel, containing folders for the audiobook, the cover in various sizes, the Word files (I compile from Scrivener to Word for my beta readers and editor), any blog posts for it, etc.

Yes, I do love to nest files! There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than searching the entire laptop for files you know you saved "somewhere." Setting up a system will save time and keep your hair attached to your head.

Have you written a series longer than three books? How did you keep organized? Let’s share tips. I may need some new ones, as I've just started writing the second novel in a spin-off six-book series, the Urban Farm Fresh Romance series. I love long series, and so do my readers!

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

The Woes & Joys of International Marketing

Marketing books is a tough enough proposition when you're attempting to reach readers in your own country, but when you'd like readers around the world, it's even more difficult.

My first solo novel, Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance, released a few days ago from Choose NOW Publishing, a brand new small publisher in the USA. I'm Canadian. Because I live within a 15-minute drive of the American border, I have some options that other Canadians (and other foreigners) don't have. For instance, I could have my box of author copies shipped to a post office box just south of the border and bring them across myself. From past experience with Rainbow's End, that little trip saved me about $60.00. Well worth it.


Talking to the border guard revealed that, while I can bring the books into Canada, I can't take any of them back across into the US and sell them at conferences or book signings. When that time comes, I'll have to order more books and never bring them into Canada in the first place. (I have a box of Rainbow's End sitting in the home of an American friend these days for that reason.)

Then there's the issue of mailing giveaways. While folks in the USA can mail books within the US for under two dollars using media mail, I don't have a similar option within Canada. Popping a single book into the mail costs me about ten dollars, more if it's overseas, making giveaways prohibitively expensive when coming from my stash.

Because my book is my publisher's first release, she's learning the ropes, too, as we take these steps. She doesn't have the option of testing the international stuff on a different release later. She knows how important it is to sales to have a presence on amazon.ca and Kobo via Smashwords (Canada's most popular e-reader). She's jumped through a bazillion hoops to make it all happen.

We have a Goodreads Giveaway on until August 15, but only for US addresses. Again, we're operating on a slim budget and can't afford the additional expenses of international shipping, even to Canada. However, I'd be thankful if you put my novel on your to-read shelf at Goodreads! And enter if you can.

Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance is available via several different digital formats, though. Situations like this helped drive me to prefer reading e-books over paperbacks. How about you? Does the availability of books in your country determine your reading habits?

One thing we're doing that is accessible by anyone worldwide is our Facebook Launch Party tomorrow, August 6, at 9:00 p.m. EST. Accessible, but perhaps not practical for your time zone. Still, if you can make it to the party, please do! Bring an item of local food (something that is local to you) and join the chat. From there we'll move into a webchat, but the entire party is scheduled for only one hour. You'll have to "like" my author page to participate.

Fellow international authors, what ways have you connected with readers in different countries for promotional purposes? Readers, what are some of the ways we could connect with you? What are authors doing that's working? What's not working? Let's talk about it!

I'll give a digital version of Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance to one commenter (winner's choice of pdf, epub, or mobi format). If you'd like to put your name in the hat, please add your email address with your comment before Monday, August 12, replacing @ with (at) and .com with (dot) com.

"Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws."

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance and farm lit. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.

A Farm Fresh Romance

Perhaps most people don't think of farms when they consider the word "fresh." For those of us who love country living, though, the aroma of 15 piggies in their enclosure is more to be desired than the odor of vehicle exhaust pipes from packed city streets.


But what has that to do with romance?

I've met an urbanite or two with star-studded visions of rural life. They focus on the quietness—which can be hard to find when raucous birds are nesting in the eaves or the calves bawl, having been separated from their mamas, or when the rooster decides it's daytime at four in the morning.

They focus on milk warm from the cow, eggs warm from the chickens, and strawberries warm from the vine. They don't see the long, sweaty, backbreaking hours of haying and repairing fences and weeding gardens.

And yet, romance.

I know we are on the farm, my husband and I, because we can't imagine life elsewhere. We live in tune with nature's rhythms: day and night, sun and rain, planting and harvest.

A new farming rhythm has been discovered as some urbanites begin to crave the simplicity of farm life in their reading material. The Atlantic proclaims Chick Lit is Dead, Long Live Farm Lit, and voila, a new genre is born.

Interestingly enough, just a few days after that fascinating article released in May, I signed a contract for 3 novels in a Farm Fresh Romance series. Talks had been in the works prior to the article, of course, so the timing is merely a coincidence. And yet is anything a coincidence in the life of a believer?

I think not.

I think God has been preparing me for this day for several years, since he began to put these stories into my imagination. Yes, the first 2 books are written, which is a good thing, as the first one, Raspberries and Vinegar: A Farm Fresh Romance , releases August 1, 2013, from Choose NOW Publishing.


Would you enjoy Farm Fresh Romance? My series follows the adventures, romantic and otherwise, of three college graduates who move onto a reclaimed farm. They plan to take the rural area by storm with their sustainable lifestyle and focus on local foods.

Josephine Shaw: complex, yet singleminded. A tiny woman with big ideas and, some would say, a mouth to match. But what does she really know about sustainable living as it relates to the real world? After all, she and her two friends are new to farming.

Zachary Nemesek is back only until his dad recovers enough to work his own land again. When Zach discovers three helpless females have taken up residence at the old farm next door, he expects trouble. But a mouse invasion proves Jo has everything under control. Is there anything she can't handle? And surely there's something sweet beneath all that vinegar.

I'm so excited to share this book—and the entire series!—with you. Many parts of all three tales were born from my experiences and those of my friends and family members. We live the farm life every day, whether it's a day for digging manure into a garden bed or a day for sipping Raspberry Vinegar in the hammock.

This is my life, and I'm delighted to invite you in.

Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local food movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters. Visit her website and blog to glimpse inside her world.