OneNote

 

We’ve been looking at some complicated programs so far in 2021. For the next set, I’m taking a step back to an oldie but a goodie, OneNote by Microsoft.

OneNote is (now) a cloud-based filing system. Depending on which Office suite you own, you will have slightly different versions of the app. The older version does not use cloud-technology. Don’t have Office? No, problem. OneNote can standalone and still be just as powerful.

The app is designed for taking notes, saving data, and organizing information. Essentially, OneNote is a filing cabinet full of folders and drawers to keep your projects organized. It can be used as a notebook, drawing pad, or even whiteboard. Multiple users can access OneNote for project sharing.

Many users find it’s perfect for a story bible because of its structure. If you are using Office, OneNote files attach to Word documents. Word even has a shortcut button for it on the Home menu. But OneNote can also be used standalone if you do not use Word for drafting.

This app is free and can be used on mobile or a desktop/laptop for Mac and PC. It will sync automatically to all your devices. Free note-taking with the power of Microsoft behind it.

Win, win.

 

 

Ideas for Using Airtable

 

This post is almost redundant with all the topics from our first two posts on Airtable. As a writer, what can I use it for? The answer is just about anything.

Novel Planning

Airtable, as a database system, lets the user create any kind of project needed with the combined bells and whistles of many other programs we’ve discussed. The app lends itself to plotting a novel or a series. Each base can contain a chapter, an act, or an entire book. Plotters can find nirvana using the combined bases of Airtable, Google, and other apps that can link in. Use Airtable to outline your book, collaborate with a co-writer or editor, or even plan a whole series with linked bases to keep the details straight. Airtable is perfect for creating a series bible, especially if you have many novels planned. Bases are easily connected, and you can include research, photos, charts, and more.

Marketing Campaigns

Airtable’s bases can create an entire marketing campaign for authors for one book or many. It works with checklists and reminders and connects with Google Calendar. Events, posts, social media, and sales calls can be monitored, planned, and scheduled through Airtable. And because the program connects with Google Sheets and Excel, files can be exported, expenses and income from the campaign can be monitored easily. Add an automation about thresholds (for spending or income goals), and you have an even more powerful tool to monitor your progress. Don’t forget, automations can post to social media for you! After the initial setup of your campaign, Airtable can run much of it for you.

Templates

We talked last week about the templates on Airtable but didn’t dig into them. I won’t go through each one. I’m highlighting only two. Airtable is designed for your needs, and I don’t want to stifle any creativity by shortchanging the uses of the app.

Blogs: Airtable has a blog management calendar template set up with titles, status, schedule, editors, etc. Obviously, those of us who blog can apply this to our personal and professional posts. It could also be used for a serial series. Perhaps you regularly add a snippet of manuscript to your blog or newsletter, or maybe you post your writing to apps like Wattpad or Fanfic.com. Using this blog schedule template, you can see your pace, your content, perhaps add a feedback column.

Event Planning: Someday, we authors will get to go to signings, conferences, and events again. The Event Planning template is based on a large event. Perhaps you are the event planner for your writing group, this template can help you put together a great conference or signing. If you are just participating in an event, you can scale down the template to fit your appearance. Give yourself a packing checklist, a schedule, or a list of talking points. But again, these templates are so flexible you can morph this one for a simple bookstore signing or a marketing campaign. The handy calendar makes it easy to use for a multiple-day event.

Airtable is a powerful program and makes using a database easy. It might not be for beginners, but with all the tutorials, walkthroughs, and templates, any user can get started designing bases for their writing career.

 

 

Airtable How-To Part 2

 

Such a powerful program needs a second post. Let’s dive into some more complex features.

Automations

Airtable can connect with other apps such as Twitter and Instagram. This allows the user to streamline tasks. To keep it simple, I’m going to create a Status trigger to post on Twitter. There are MANY other tasks automations can do for you.

Trigger

1. On the base page, click on Automation on the top right. Then press the Create an automation button.
2. Next, choose a trigger. A trigger is a status that tells the automation to run. For example, changing a record from Pending to Post can be a trigger. Choices of triggers include record creation, record updated, scheduled time, and more. Users can also grab triggers from Google docs, forms, and sheets.
3. Click on “when record matches conditions.”
4. Next, choose which table will have the condition by clicking the down arrow. Use any tables created that have a Status field. (It’s a good idea to always have a status field in any project-based tables.)
5. The next step is to set the conditions of when the trigger will run. Click on the down arrow next to Name (name of the field) and choose Status. Then opt for either To Do, In Progress, or Done. (We all know how I love a checklist.) Use Done for this demo.
6. Then press Done on the bottom of the window.

The Automations pane should still be up. At the top, under the name of the automation, there are Steps and Runs. Steps shows the criteria you have created for the automation. Runs shows the status of all the time this automation has been completed.

Action

Once the trigger is created, we need an action to be triggered by the conditions you have set. Let’s continue with a Twitter post.

1. In your base, on one of your notes fields, create a tweet with text and a pic if you want one. Be sure to create this on the same table that has a status field.
2. Back in the automation pane, click the action button. Actions include sending an email, creating a record, sending a Slack message, post a tweet, etc.
3. Scroll down and pick, post a tweet. Here you may need to authorize Airtable to access your Twitter account if you haven’t already.
4. Click on Add Twitter account. Type in your account email and password. Then click authorize to allow Airtable to post for you.
5. Cut and paste your tweet text from the cell where it was created.
6. Click + Add to include any pictures. Note: Airtable does not allow @ mentions in these tweets.
7. Click Done. When you finish writing that tweet and change the status from To Do or In progress to Done, Airtable tweets for you. You can also schedule tweets through the app and use the scheduled time option to make Airtable auto-tweet.
8. Additional actions can be added to one trigger. Add more actions by clicking + Add another action, such as posting to an additional social media platform, and repeat the process. One click can do several tasks. (Close the Automations menu by clicking the word Automation in the upper right corner again.)

Apps

In the upper right corner, next to Automations, is Apps.

Open the pane and Airtable will prompt you to add apps to the program. Click on Install an app. These are additional small programs to make Airtable a better fit for your project. All items listed are only available with an upgrade to service. So the free version does not allow the use of other apps. BUT if you need a map, timeline, flowchart, graphs, or videos, you might want to invest.

Templates

1. Go back to the Airtable home screen and click Add a base.
2. Choose Start with a template. Airtable will display a new page with lists of templates.
3. On the left menu, the categories are broken out for ease of choice. Because most of you are writers, let’s go to the Publishing category.
4. In this category, templates include publishing campaigns, social advertising, print editorial calendar, content calendar, podcast editorial calendar, digital video production, development and preproduction, content promotions and programming tracker, market content promotion tracker, and content studio. And this is just one category. One of the wonderful helpers at Airtable has already made the full database for you. You only need to add your content. There are more useful templates in the sales category as well as the project planner set.

Again, we could spend a good month plus learning all the features of Airtable. Hopefully, these two how-to posts will get you started.

Next week, specific ideas for writers. 

 

 

 

How to Use Airtable

My best advice for beginning with this app is to download it and watch all the tutorials. 😊

Here’s a how-to short sheet to supplement.

On first use, the app opens into a new workspace. Workspaces are places to organize data and databases. It’s a folder, but visual—a page on Trello, a timeline on Aeon Timeline, a worksheet on Excel. Airtable gives a few sample bases—databases—to start. But let’s create one from scratch to get the hang of the app. (I’m working with the app on a browser.)

New Workspaces

1. Click on the + Add a Workspace on the left menu. A new base will appear below the sample one.
2. Give the workspace a name.
3. Select the small arrow to the right of the name to rename, upgrade your plan, or delete the workspace. You can have an unlimited number of workspaces. But base records are limited on the free plan, with 1200 total records on your bases, regardless of the number of workspaces and bases.

Building a Base

Base stands for database, and there are a ton of choices in the templates. But save that for later. Let’s build a new one.

1. Click on Add a Base.
2. Select From Scratch.
3. Give the base a name, color, and icon. (You don’t have to do the color or icon, but it helps with organization.) You can change any of these aspects by clicking on the down arrow next to the base title.

Now you’re inside your database. Airtable has some great tutorials on the left menu if you need some assistance. Let’s work from left to right.

Views

There are multiple views to examine data. To truly see the difference between views, add some basic data to the table.

• Grid—the first view given. It shows the base like a regular database, with fields across the top. Again, Airtable starts you with some basic fields. You can change the titles, add, and delete fields.
• Form—this transforms data into basically a Google form. Useful for creating questionnaires, surveys, and sign-ups.
• Calendar—see data as it occurs chronologically. Great for viewing deadlines, meetings, and project progress. This calendar can be synced with Google Calendar.
• Gallery—perfect for an image-based record. Each image can have notes, attachments, and status.
• Kanban—a view for the project as notecards on a corkboard, similar to Scrivener.

All views are stored on the left menu. Click and hold on the dotted box to sort the views by dragging the icon up or down. You can add multiple of the same type of view (three grids, two galleries, etc.).

Deleting and Changing Views

1. Click on the view you need to change or delete.
2. On the status bar above the list of views, your current view can be seen with a colored icon.
3. Select on the three dots next to the view and choose options.
4. Change the view name, description, or duplicate it.
5. More importantly, PRINT the view for a hard copy and also Delete as an option. You cannot delete the initial Grid view.

Let’s go back to Grid view and play with fields.

Adding and Editing Fields

Adding is simple. Click on the plus sign + after the last field, and a new one will appear.

Dealing with Fields

Select on the small arrow next to the field name. A menu will appear with multiple options.

• Customize field type—This allows the user to change the field name, add the type of data entered (money, dates, etc.). Each type has an icon with it to let users know what type of field it is. A check box has a check box icon. A single line of text as a capital A and so on.
• Rename field—change the field name only.
• Edit field description—add a few words to further explain the field’s purpose.
• Edit field permissions—use when working with others on the project to allow (or disallow) editing of the field. (Premium features apply here.)
• Duplicate field—make an exact copy of the field.
• Insert right (or left)—add a new field in whichever direction.
• Sort—Sort data in the field alphabetically.
• Add filter—sort data automatically to a new field if it has certain text, numbers, etc.
• Group by this field—add a grouping to the data to further organize it. Groups will appear in the status bar above the field names.
• Hide field—close a field from view. Hidden fields will appear in the status bar above the field names.
• Delete field—remove a field, except the first field. All bases must have the first field.

Adding Data

Adding information to a field depends on the type of field. Here’s a short list (because there are twenty-nine types).

• Adding text using Single Line or Long Text is accomplished by clicking on a blank cell and typing. The box is small but will expand to whatever is typed. If it’s hard to read in the small box, click the blue arrow to expand the cell into a text box. Click on the X when done, and the text is saved in the cell.
• Attachments are easy to add to cells. Change the field type to Attachments. Then drag and drop files right into the cell.
• Checkbox fields. Select this type, and the name changes to Done. (That can be customized.) Each cell will have a checkbox for the items in that row. This type has an added feature that a check can trigger another task, message, or field. (Sadly, the cool colors and icons are only for premium users.)
• Single and Multiple Select cells allow the creator to make a list of choices. Single allows users to choose one option. Multiple can have several answers.
  
• Add a web address to a URL field. Type the address, and Airtable will link the data to the site.

That’s quite a bit of info, and I haven’t gotten through all the features. We’ll do another How-To next week!