Hi, I’m finally sharing my dated spreadsheet! Yeah, I know it’s June.
So I’ve mentioned them in past blog updates, but now I’ve gotten around to screen capping them. I still don’t have the google version finished, but it will be something very like this. To be honest, I use both of them as well as the time tracker spreadsheet. (The time sheet isn’t on the For Writers page. I’m still making sure it works and I’m not sure many would want it in the first place. I’m using it because I needed to see why I wasn’t getting much revision done. Turns out that thinking about revision, which I was doing a lot, doesn’t actually accomplish much. Sigh.) I really like this version and think that it’s easier to use than the other. Well, at least, there’s less to enter on a daily basis.
All right, to the point of this post, the pictures and explanation. (There is an instructions page if you’re unfamiliar with excel.)
First up. the Stats Page.
The stats page is very much like the original version of the wordcount spreadsheet. The yellow highlighted portion is for your yearly word count goal. The only other portion that needs some input is linking the WIP list below the Monthly totals table. I’ve included instructions on how to link them.
Next, the Overview Page.
That big chart is linked to the current WIP table. It should update and add another column when you add another WIP to it. Again, I’ve put in instructions on how to link so current word count will change when you enter your total in the specific WIP. Next to the current WIP is a table for titles in revision. On the right side of that is a table for Finished WIP just so you can keep up with what you’ve accomplished this year.
Month by Month
This sheet is entirely auto-filled. You don’t need to do anything to it. Just look at it when you want to see your daily count by month.
Year
There are two pictures here. The first is the top of the Year page. Enter your title or abbreviated title in the appropriate space on row 3. Then link it to your WIP page. (How to do that is in the instructions.) Once it’s linked, it will automatically transfer the amounts to the appropriate slot. The second picture is the body of the page. The yellow line highlights the current date. Daily totals are calculated on the far right and at the bottom of the page, it totals the yearly word count.
The Sprint page
The sprint page. Use it to keep track of writing sprints. The places you enter information are highlighted yellow. Date, title, time started time stopped, Set #, Sprint # (This is modeled after a pomodoro type sprint sheet. Pomodoros are usually done in sets of four sprints.) Starting word count and ending word count. There are also spots for notes and to list distractions.
WIP page
Two shots of the WIP page. The first shows where to enter the information at the top. Enter starting word count, because sometimes we pick up a manuscript that’s been put to the side for some reason. The expected total word count. Lately I’ve been massively underestimating the word count of my WIP. Next yellow box is Goal Daily word count. That’s for the green column you see. If you meet your count, it will be green. If you don’t, the cell will turn red. Deadline. This can be a hard deadline or just a goal deadline. There’s also a box for the date you started this WIP.
The spreadsheet will calculate percent complete, average words per day *, target words per day, total words per day, and days to completion.**
*This spreadsheet doesn’t count the zeros because all those zeros would majorly skew the results such as average words per day of a book started in June.
**If you’re working on two manuscripts (or more) at once, the completion date will be a little off because of the lack of calculating zeros. (I’m still working on ways to make it more accurate.)
The instruction page has all the necessary information on how to get started with the WIP, but because of the way it’s set up, the sheet has to have totals on all of the days up to the point where you start to work correctly. So, if you start on say June 2nd and your starting a new wip, you’ll put a 0 on 1/1/17 in the end word count column. Click on the bottom right corner of that cell and drag the zero down, filling until the 6/2/17.
This sheet has the yellow highlight on the current date, making it easier to find amid all of the columns and rows.
Revision List
This is unchanged from the last version of the spreadsheet. It’s a simple checkmarked list to put in tasks for revision.
And that’s it, my dated spreadsheet. I share it from my google drive. Here’s the link. The Word Count Spreadsheet.
Happy reading and writing!
