Breaking up - it's a good idea

It is possible to hold your manuscript in a single computer file. But computers are not very keen on large files. Computers cope by shifting the file in and out of memory and writing it to and from the disk. But it’s all extra work.

If you have a laptop and you are living off batteries, then it might make a great deal of sense to work with small files. Little files will need to use the hard disk less often, which conserves power. If you have an older portable computer, with not a lot of memory, you might find 50K is a good limit.

There is no magic number but 150k is a good limit to impose on a text file. This, conveniently for the writer, contains enough words for even a very long chapter. Smaller files take less time to load, save and edit, and you can jump about more easily.

So, it is a good idea to break your work into chunks to suit your computer's technology. Call these chapters or sections as you wish, but plan to compose your manuscript in chunks instead of one massive computer file.

So...

Putting it together again

Like every other writer, your chapters will be mixed up with drafts and research, plus some letters. Getting organised and tidying the computer occupies a position alongside polishing the ‘u’-bend. But now is the right time to set up a new directory on your computer. Give the directory a meaningful name and possibly a date if you are about to do another rewrite (but avoid using dashes or slashes -/ in the file title). Now copy the chapters to this new directory.

Every time you make a new directory and copy (not just move) your chapters, you create an archive. To achieve this, you have to copy rather than move the files to the new directory. This won't save you if your hard disk crashes, but it might just save your sanity.

It is not always easy for an editor to work out the running order for a fantasy novel or a book on rocket science. Work out the order your chapters are supposed to be in. Then please number them. The editors will then be able to read them in the correct order.

If you add a number at the start of your file name they can be listed in order. (A few older computers will not let you start a filename with a letter so put Ch01, Ch02 etc). Computers will put chapter 10 between chapter 1 and chapter 2. This failure in elementary arithmetic is strictly logical. Get round this idiosyncrasy and give the names a leading zero, 01,02, 03 etc.

We never have time to do things right but can always find time to do things again. Save yourself time and sort out your book now!

When the times comes to send the manuscript, you can create a new file and copy the chapters in sequence and end up with one big file again. But why not put the manuscript together in a zip file, which makes it easier to send?

Some more Web Do's and Don'ts

Attaching  More attachments Zipping files Counting the words

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