I’m determined to be ultra-organized this year. I re-did my office over winter break so that I have clearly defined areas for each type of work. I also did a thorough search for some sort of database for tracking queries, book proposals, and contracted work for magazines and books. I was ready to create a database in FileMaker, but really didn’t want to add that to my To Do list.

The tracking program I discovered is Assignmint. Happily, this Web-based application is doing what I need, far better than what I would have created.  

I’ve already submitted several pitches. Since I wasn’t sure about the format of the pitches sent directly from Assignmint – especially to new editors – I sent the pitches my regular way, cut and pasted them into Assignmint, and had the program send them to me. When three of them (GO ME!) resulted in contracted work, I converted them to Assignments and changed the editor to the actual editor. It worked great. I also pasted in the comments on the work that were included in the acceptance email from the editor.

The customer support from Assignmint has been prompt and thorough. I believe I’ve found a reliable way to track my work so that I can focus on doing the actual work.

Just thought I’d share my experience with all of you who are similarly searching for a way to keep track of things.

• Gina