Fanfic organization tips?

[asperityq.livejournal.com]

Who's got some good tips on keeping track of all that fic? I'm putting most of it in Calibre what with using that for converting it and making my ebook reader do my bidding, but it's too much trouble for shorter fic.

And then there's the problem of wanting to keep track of fic I didn't like all that much. :/ I don't have any great need to save it, but the rating feature in Calibre's reasonably convenient once I've already gone to the trouble of adding it.

Anyway, I'm sure y'all have some ideas! Do you use Delicious, maybe? And if so, what's the most hassle-free way to do it? Thanks for the help!

Comments

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

I love Calibre, but yeah...it IS a lot of work, and I mostly use it to archive my "keeper" stuff. (I'm WAY behind though)

My original system was just to save txt files in folders on my computer and burn them to disc occasionally - which is pretty easy and fairly foolproof. But completely lacking in bells and whistles.

My current system only works if you have an iPod Touch, iPhone, or I'm assuming iPad. ALTHOUGH - Anyone using Firefox could probably make some use of it if they really wanted.

It's based on a app called "Read it Later", which is an on-line archive, and which has a very excellent add-on for Firefox.

At it's heart, it's an on-line bookmark site in the nature of Delicious, BUT it archives the pages you add to it so they can be READ OFF LINE. This is major for me, and has made it a SNAP to add fic to my iPod and read it anywhere, anytime (accept for adult protected LJ's - those I need an internet connection to read).

In Firefox, I just have to click the little icon to add a page to my read it later list. In other browsers (including Safari on the iPod) there's a thing you put in your favorites list to click on and it saves it. Firefox also has a nice dropdown feature for your Read it Later list, so you really could use this right out of Firefox without any need for an iThing.

Read it Later does have a tagging system which is nice, though a little work. And you CAN just leave stuff right on there.

What I do with the things I'd especially like to save and archive (in Calibre) is this:

Read it Later's paid version has a function that allows you to email links to people so you can share articles and stories, etc. I set up a dedicated Hotmail account, and anything I want to save, I email there. Then I know everything there is a keeper and when I get time, I pull those stories down and archive them in Calibre.

Sorry to spam you with edits, but I thought I could be decent enough to add a link......*headdesk*

http://readitlaterlist.com/


*g*

Seconding!

[st-aurafina.livejournal.com]

Read It Later has been a revelation for me - for fic, for episode reviews so I don't get spoiled. I couldn't recommend it enough.

I wish there was a work around for the adult protection problem.

Re: Seconding!

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

It is AMAZING for the fanfic reader!! I love it so much - no formatting, no messing around, no hassle - just remember to sync it before you leave your internet connection. And I don't feel like I wasted my time if I got a dud story - just check it off and bye-bye!

I used to have an eBookMan years ago and I'd have to copy and paste every story into a text file and save it to a folder and then load them all to the reader. And I'd get SO MAD when I had a string of horrible stories.

I think I'm going to write to the guy about the adult protect and see if there IS a work around, and if not ask if there's anything he can do to make one. Possibly not, but you never know.

[asperityq.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm definitely going to give Read it Later a try.

[anesthezea.livejournal.com]

Read it Later's paid version has a function that allows you to email links to people so you can share articles and stories, etc. I set up a dedicated Hotmail account, and anything I want to save, I email there. Then I know everything there is a keeper and when I get time, I pull those stories down and archive them in Calibre.

How do you pull the stories down to archive them in Calibre? Are you saving them as HTML files or something similar?

Thanks for the tips on RIL. I'm checking it out now...

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

When I have a little time (in theory), I go to the Hotmail account and open up all the links for the stories I want to save, then I copy and paste all the text, pics, icons, comments, whatever, into Word and save it as an RTF file. That way I get graphics if there are any, and nearly always a pairing icon the story was posted with, or whatever other special formatting that might be used on other archives. Most of the time it works really nicely.

I just upload the RTF's into Calibre and don't need to convert them at all because I'm really just using it as a fanfic management tool.

[anesthezea.livejournal.com]

Since you like saving the graphics and comments, why not try Scrapbook Plus? It's a Firefox Addon. It saves webpages. I usually save things in folders (ex. Fandom/Pairing/Author/Story Title by Author). You can import/export, backup, etc.

The only downside I've found with Scrapbook Plus are that it doesn't have any sort of tag functionality. I've written the developer before, but never received any reply. :(

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8186/

I've just started to export a few of my scrapbook folders into temp. folders so I can see how Calibre treats them on import. So far, I'm finding the more organized I was in Scrapbook, the better the odds are that Calibre will give me a title/author combo in some way. Hunting those things up really takes a lot of time. Ugh.

Ok, I'll stop rambling now... :)

[sassyinkpen.livejournal.com]

When I started this system I was still a diehard Maxthon user. I have since switched to Firefox and use the Scrapbook addon - not as fully as I probably should. I need to brush up on that.

The lack of tags would be an issue for me - one of the biggest plusses to Calibre is that I can tag things and then when I'm in the mood for say...drunk fics, I find all of them easily. *g*

Scrapbook is an EXCELLENT idea though, for people with different needs, AND it might make a good addition to my fic management arsenal

[anesthezea.livejournal.com]

Scrapbook has been the only thing I've used for years, so there's lots and lots of fic in there (an not all of it sorted, eek!), but until I found this community, it was the only option I was familiar with. If only it was taggable! :(