Three-Ring Binder System Tracks Co-Author’s Plans And Progress

The first time I met with my co-author I gave her a folder of information about me. She gave me a similar folder. Two weeks later, both of us had “graduated” to three-ring binders. I bought a cover insert binder. Slipping the colored cover into the pocket made the book seem real.
At first, I punched holes in the manuscript pages. But after my office floor began to look like a paper snowstorm, I switched to page protectors. Tab dividers help me find the sections quickly. I haven’t examined my co-author’s binder, so I don’t know what is in it, but think the sections are similar to mine.
What sections are in my binder?
1. Manuscript. This section comes first because it is what my co-author and I discuss first. My co-author keeps previous versions of the chapters, but I don’t because it is too much paper. Sometimes, however, I keep earlier versions of a difficult chapter.
2. Research. Printouts of Internet articles, journal articles, and potential sources of information comprise this section. After it became too full, I transferred some articles to a large brown envelope.
3. Related products. Several related products are in the works and one is CD. We haven’t gotten to the CD yet because we’re so involved with the manuscript. However, we have contacted a narrator and he is very interested in the project. The CD cover will match the book cover and we’ll write special copy for the insert.
4. Marketing. As the book progresses, we have had dozens of marketing ideas, but are delaying action on them. Again, we don’t want to be diverted from our goal of finishing the manuscript. Still, we have created the skeleton of a marketing plan and will finish it later.
5. Press kit. You might file the press kit in the marketing section, but I chose to make it a separate section. To save money and postage, our kit is electronic, and all it needs is some “tweaking” from our graphic designer. We want a professional, eye-catching, concise kit.
6. Receipts and legal documents. Though this section is short, it contains extremely important information. Now that we have reached the halfway point in our book, my binder is becoming too full. I may transfer these documents to an accordion file for safekeeping.
7. Miscellaneous. I admit it; this is a catch-all section. It contains brainstorming notes, email printouts, information about my co-author, examples of supporting products, talking points, and any extra information. As the book becomes longer this section becomes larger.
For me, the best thing about the three-ring binder tracking system is adaptability. I can easily add sections, remove sections, and change their order. Our book is starting to look and feel like a published book and that’s exciting.
If you’re co-authoring a book you may want to track your progress with a binder. It’s simple, user-friendly, and works. Create sections to meet your needs and save the binder for legal protection. The moral of this co-author’s story: Never underestimate the power of a binder!