Here is a secret that has not yet caught on: Scrivener writing software by Literature & Latte is not just for writing books. It is the most awesome writing software for organizing your blog that you will find. It has turned my business upside down, setting me on an upward trajectory. Not only does it make writing more fun— it makes it easier, too.
First, I have to give credit where it is due. I had been using Scrivener to write books for five months when I purchased Joseph Michael’s Learn Scrivener Fast course. My intent was to take my knowledge of Scrivener to the next level for book writing –which it did, of course. However, one of the modules within Learn Scrivener Fast is about utilizing Scrivener for blogging and website organization in addition to post composition. It had not occurred to me to use Scrivener for my post writing! Once I saw how easy it would be— and realized how much it would accelerate my productivity, I was ALL IN.
The course came with a blogging template that I imported directly into Scrivener. Once in, I chose which of the two types of blog file layouts I wanted to use, customized a few items, then duplicated my individual file templates for easy use in future calendar years. This gave me two sets of files: one set included “template” as part of the file label. The rest I re-named for the current calendar year. This will allow my template to grow with me each calendar year through utilizing the duplication feature on each of the file templates I created.
Within the software I can create goals, tasks, notecards, and outlines. It is nearly unlimited— completely customizable to what works for my business. I can customize my icons, rearrange with drag-and-drop, can stamp items depending on their status, and can color-code my notecards. I can look at an overview on the corkboard feature and see exactly what needs to be done and capture my post ideas. Scrivener allows you to set project and daily writing targets with immediate feedback on where you are at on those targets. I can also easily create snapshots of a document before I revise it in case I want to revert back to a previous version.
Another great Scrivener feature is that it automatically saves as you write and maintains a completely separate back-up. By writing within Scrivener, you will always have your posts safe and ready for repurposing content. You can readily select posts to compile into e-book format as well. A website crash with an old back-up will not slow you down.
As far as courses go, Learn Scrivener Fast has been an outstanding resource. It is not the kind of course you purchase and never finish. I found it was helpful to preview a few modules, then use them to refer back to while actually working within Scrivener. It works as a great reference system because it is designed in small snap-shots of 2-7 minute videos. Very few videos are longer than that. As I master a new skill I then begin learning a new one. If I get stuck on anything, the modules are laid out as thoroughly as a table of contents. As I said previously, Scrivener is very powerful software. In the same way you don’t’ master any software in a day, you don’t master Scrivener in a day. Don’t let that hold you back— because you don’t need to master in it in one day in order to begin optimizing the time you spend on your website or on your book. This software will increase your productivity. It makes it so simple.
Scrivener comes in both Windows-based and Mac versions.
