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Using Evernote For Book Research

OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn

There is a lot of noise at the moment about Chris Anderson's (alleged) plagiarism from Wikipedia. He talks about the difficulty of citing references for internet sites, which we can probably all relate to. There are so many recommended formats! Plus, we can get ideas from everywhere on the internet and surf so fast that we forget where those ideas came from.

I am currently researching my next book which will be a fiction novel – an adventure in writing for me, and a whole new stack of research to do (which I LOVE!) Previously, I have kept notes on Word documents and in diaries, but I have recently found Evernote, which is making things a lot easier (Thanks to The 2.0 Life for this review which got me started).

I have also found the fantastic Audioboo iPhone app allowing me to create mini podcasts. Click play for a 2:30 min audio of me describing what I write about below.

What is Evernote?

It is a desktop client, an online site and an iPhone app and you can use all or just some of these options. They can also synch so you can view what you have saved anywhere.

When you are surfing the internet and you find an interesting picture, or text or link, you just click Add to Evernote (installed on your toolbar) , then add tags and it is put into Evernote with the URL and time/date stamp. You create the posts into Notebooks so you can split things up, so I have a Notebook for Novel research, another for posts I need to get back to, one for blog ideas and more.

You can also send emails to your Evernote account that get added as notes, so you can declutter your inbox and read them later. Plus record audio, add pictures and so much more that I am just discovering. I have only been using it a few days but I wanted to share it with you because it is SO useful.

I will be using Evernote AND Audiobook a lot more – so expect a video at some point soon!

Joanna Penn:

View Comments (6)

  • This is a great post. I've been using Evernote across two PC's and my ipod for months now, and I don't know how I ever got by without it. Since you can essentially "click n grab" and then sync it across your devices, there's no more excuses for missing anything. Didn't know about Audiobook, thanks for the info!

  • This article reminds me of a question I had for bloggers contracting with writers to produce articles and e-books. Many, apparently, are outsourcing writing to authors in countries such as the Philippines and I wonder how a blogger can insure the works are not reworked Wikipedia articles.

    We have contracted with U.S. based editors and always require they assume legal responsibility for their work, indemnify and hold our company harmless. It would seem a wee bit trickier when contracting with writers from countries not necessarily bound by the laws governing the contractor.

    Worth pondering ....

  • I use the Microsoft Office OneNote which is very similar to Evernote and can't imagine working without it. I often print online invoices to OneNote. Saves on paper and much easier to keep track of.

  • I also use OneNote and can't sing its praise high enough. However it is PC centered, unless it is working off a server.

    I noticed you mention EverNote can sync across PCs, best I be giving it a serious look then.

    Thanks for the info.
    Oh! and the other info and the previous info and... :)

  • I've always found Tinderbox the best tool for note-taking and writing.

    I did most of the work for two novels and a PhD in it and it still remains the first thing I open every morning after Mail.

    What I like most about it is that you can see all your notes in a variety of views including mind maps. Very useful for sketching plots and character outlines.

    For example: http://tr.im/qm2A

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