Overwhelmed with tracking ideas, submissions, and series bibles? Simon Whaley chats to three Notion users
Ten years ago, in August 2016, two developers released a new piece of software called Notion (notion.so), which they described as the “Lego of productivity tools.”
While, as writers, we may be more interested in writing than monitoring our productivity, we do still need a system for keeping track of ideas, submissions, agent approaches, rights sold, world bibles for our novels, or a list of tasks to help us self-publish our next book.
Every writer is unique, as is our writing business. Therefore, finding a system that helps us monitor everything we need to track can be frustrating. But Notion’s flexibility means it’s possible for writers to create a tracking system that works exactly how we need it to.
It’s estimated that there are tens of thousands of writers using Notion to help them achieve more with their writing. But what exactly is Notion, and how might it help you?
Notion Notables
Notion is an online system, which means it works on any computer or device. While it has paid plans, its free plan is more than ample for most writers.
The software allows users to write notes on a page, embed photos and videos, and attach Word documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs. Links to other Notion pages can be added, creating a wiki-link system connecting these notes.
But Notion’s pages can also include databases, making it extremely useful for tracking things like submissions, tasks, rights, etc.
Notion Nurturer
Malin Alexander writes urban and contemporary fantasy, science fiction and fantasy, and paranormal fiction, and she’s the creator behind the Notion for Writers videos on her YouTube channel (youtube.com/@malintries).
She came across Notion when she was looking for somewhere to reference her character and world dossier for her novels.
‘I was looking for a tool that would allow me to keep track of all my world-building ideas,’ says Malin, ‘and could help me build a story bible for each of my books. I had used Scrivener before and didn’t enjoy the formatting.’
‘For me, Notion presented an aesthetic option which was also available from my computer or my phone, where I could keep track of notes and find them again easily, instead of one long continuous document like Word or Google Docs. I wanted easy access and an easy way to find bits of information again, sort of like a wiki for my own book worlds.’
Notion’s flexibility means it is capable of some complicated monitoring, but that also means it can be a little daunting. Malin’s advice is to keep it simple. Use it for notes to start with.
‘When I finally made the jump to Notion for my writing, I had already been using it to take various notes for my daytime job, so the learning curve was easy enough. I always tell people Notion is just a note-taking tool, which remains true for me.’
If you’re daunted by the flexibility, there is a marketplace of Notion templates for writers, which may help kick-start the setup process, but these templates may not meet all of your needs.
‘I think people love to watch others make stunning templates, but get overwhelmed easily when using them,’ Malin explains. ‘What worked for me is that I started with simple pages of notes, then figured out later how to nest them into one another, and I left the aesthetic aspect for last.’
‘Most people start with the aesthetics, then realise they barely need any of the tools in the templates they’ve downloaded. It’s a lot easier to mould it to your needs than it is to make your work fit into someone else’s template.’
Notion Notation
Jann Alexander (jannalexander.com/) is the author of the Dust Series of historical novels, the first of which is Unspoken, and her second, Vacancy, will be released this September. For her, Notion’s templates were a great starting point.
‘I adapted a few existing templates built for authors, and by using those, I began to understand the way Notion works,’ she explains. ‘As I understood its power, I added more so I can track my editorial calendar (for blog posts, articles, newsletters) and my speaking calendar (for book clubs, presentations, podcasts) and the pre- and post-production schedules for my second and third books in The Dust Series, Vacancy (September 2026) and Overdue (May 2027).’
For Jann, once she’d signed her contract with her publisher, she knew she needed a system for managing the tasks of getting her book ready for publishing.
‘I tested out most project management systems available in 2024 and found them all lacking until I heard publishing industry expert Jane Friedman talk about Notion. I tested Notion out, and it was adaptable enough to handle everything about my busy author life.’
Notion Navigating
Gianaclis Caldwell (gianacliscaldwell.com) began writing non-fiction books about cheese-making, but in June 2025 she published her first novel, The Binding, and her second, Assisted Living, will be released this autumn.
She came across Notion when she was looking for something that gave her a visual representation of what she needed to do to get her novel into print.
‘Initially, I had trouble wrapping my mind around the steps I needed to take in order to give a book its best chance of success. Like many analog-based writers, I needed to see the steps. Notion helped me map that out.’
However, Gianaclis completely understands why some writers might be put off by the software and its capabilities.
‘The learning curve is a bit steep. To be honest, as it exists, Notion is more complex than it needed to be for my intended use. It makes sense. It’s an app designed for teams doing myriad projects and tasks! If I weren’t a spreadsheet-lover, I probably wouldn’t have attempted to use it.’
Notion Nuisances
Notion is an online system, so everything created and stored in a Notion system is stored on Notion’s servers and can only be accessed when a device is online.
But Malin has experienced no issues with this.
‘I might be living on the edge here, but I don’t really take any steps to backup my data. I’ve been using Notion since 2021, and haven’t had any problems with this. It does help that Notion keeps a version history of each page, and that you can access the trash to see anything that has been accidentally deleted. If anything, what I like most about it is that it’s online and that I can access it from anywhere, be it my own laptop, a work computer, or my phone, as long as I’m connected to the internet. And everything will be synced together.’
Similarly, Gianaclis has had no problems either. ‘I’ve had no issues with the online service or with backing up in the .csv format.’
Users of Notion’s free plan can download their data in three formats: Markdown, CSV, and HTML.
Despite not having experienced any issues either, Jann still makes backups just in case.
‘I use the desktop version of Notion on my iMac, and I can also log in using my browser. It’s always available on my iPhone and iPad too, and I have never lost any information. I have never had any issue with data loss. I do have an online backup system, so I never worry about losing anything.’
Notion Nexus
Jann is now using the software for other parts of her writing life.
‘I use Notion for every aspect of my business life. It’s a calendar with due dates, follow-up dates, reminders, and all the related details for everything I do. I am a volunteer with the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, where my job is arranging presenters for biweekly Zoom meetings of our Historical Fiction members. Notion has all the presenters’ info: title, description, date for each presentation, plus a bio of the presenter. I have projects that organise my book launch tasks, my production tasks for future books, my speaking engagements, my calendar for my blog posts and newsletters, book promotions I’m participating in, and my marketing and social media plans.’
Malin also uses Notion for several aspects of her writing business now.
‘I use Notion to help me keep track of all my book ideas, to organise my story bibles and world-building pages so that I can find information easily about the world my characters live in, and to outline and revise my novels. I use databases a lot, especially for world-building. Currently, I’m editing a book into draft 2, and I am using a table format to sort each of my scenes, which I also sort into a calendar view so I can keep track of my schedule and finish this draft on time for beta readers.’
Of course, Notion isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. As Malin says, ‘There are other options out there. Maybe Obsidian is more your vibe, or simple pen and paper. But I believe Notion works for many people because it’s a simple tool at its core: take a note, file it somewhere. Notion has a big community online, and many Redditors and YouTubers are willing to help others figure it out when they’re at an impasse.’
While Lego allows children (and adults!) to be creative with their imagination, Notion allows writers to track what their imaginations create.
Business Directory
Malin Alexander’s Top Tip:
‘Start small! The main goal of the app is to take notes, so start with that. I would start by figuring out what you need and how you work, then try to find a way Notion can facilitate that.’
Jann Alexander’s Top Tip:
‘Notion is light-years beyond anything you can do with Excel or Word for tracking projects and tasks. Things don’t get lost among many different files when you can collect them all in Notion. Spend some time looking through the writing and author templates, then choose one to try. Notion is a beautiful way to stay on top of the business of being an author.’
Gianaclis’ Top Tip:
‘Know your strengths. Are you already comfortable with spreadsheets and databases? Have a large monitor, or another monitor on which you can leave the app open so that you don’t put off updating the data.’
