I’ve found four free options for tracking your submissions to agents, editors and publishers.

The first is Sonar, by the same guy who does the yWriter novel organization software. It’s pretty straightforward and easy to use. And it’s only available for Windows.

Next is an online solution, Luminary’s Writer’s Database—very handy if you use multiple computers (or also access the web via mobile phone) because your data will always be available as long as you have an Internet connection. This means you can use it regardless of your OS. It also has the benefit of community, allowing users to share market listings with other users.

Slushomatic is an open-source submissions tracking system for, as far as I can tell, Windows and Linux. It can also format your manuscript according to standard submission guidelines.

For Mac users, there’s Manuscript Tracker. It looks like it covers your basic submission tracking needs. I’ll check it out over the next few weeks and let you know more.

I finished reading Old Man’s War (John Scalzi) late last night. Enjoyed the hell out of it. (I couldn’t find it anywhere as an ebook, though. That’s not right. Every sf book should automatically come out as an ebook edition, no questions asked.)

This morning I read a novella-length bandfic¹ AU² that took place in an open, integrated cell block system reminiscent of the one on HBO’s Oz. Featured bands were Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, Nine Inch Nails, Mastadon and Zico Chain. I devoured the story. It had angst and gay smex and dark pasts (and dark futures) and did I say angst? Lots of angst. Angst is my guilty pleasure. If you’re into that sort of thing (bandfic, gay sex, angst, prison AUs), check out duffnstuff’s “Misfit Love“.

In addition to reading, I installed a mod on the Bandsmut message boards that allows users to get syndicated feeds of any or all of the forums and topics there. (ETA: Now if only the feeds would update in Google Reader…. *sigh*)

In and amongst all that, I retitled the novel I’m working on—it’s Rot now. I’m also playing around with its structure (in my head), how I can pull off doing in other-than-chronological order. I’m thinking back on William Goldman’s Control, though…differently.

Finally, an idea for a new novel popped up in my imagination today. I don’t know where it’s going yet, but I’m interested to find out. It’s not bandfic, though, so I won’t be doing it for Biffno in March, but that’s a’ight—I’ve already got a bandfic horror story to write for that (with fictional bands ’cause real ones don’t work for this….). It’s tentatively titled Below.

¹”Bandfic” is short for band fiction. Learn about bandfic on FanHistory.com.
²AU is short for “alternate universe.” Learn more about AUs on FanHistory.com.

I haven’t read Justine Larbalestier’s books (YA fantasy from the looks of it), but I did stumble across some excellent posts in her blog this week: How to Write a Novel, How to Rewrite and, for those of you who are emotionally stable enough handle your dreams of limousines and mansions being all but destroyed, First Novel Advances.

If that last bit got you interested in reading more on making money as a writer (a-ha! You are a masochist!), check out two of John Scalzi’s posts: “John Scalzi’s Utterly Useless Writing Advice” and “The Real World Book Deal Descriptions.”

Finally, if you’re at all interested in writing books, subscribe to the free Publishers Lunch daily e-mail Scalzi mentioned in one of those posts.

And now I have some research to do on pneumonia before I can get working on the next bit of Deadlock Rot….