Any wise writer knows the importance of keeping track of the manuscripts he submits, which publications he submits to, the status of his submissions, and any income and expense generated in the process. All of this information can be recorded in a notebook, of course, but good software can make organizing, storing, and accessing the information easier and promote more productivity.

I did a lot of research before I began writing this article. I found that there aren't many submission-tracking programs out there (compared to other types of writing software), and of the programs I found, only four of them are worthy of review. The four I chose range in price and vary in features. They appear below, listed from most expensive to least expensive.

The Working Writer: The most expensive, but worth every penny, and once you purchase the software, upgrades are free for life.

The Working Writer has everything submission-tracking software should have and then some. There are seven modules (screens) where you can enter detailed information about markets, query letters, manuscripts, submissions, agents, and income/expense. The Working Writer has, by far, the most complete report system of any of the software I looked at. Detailed reports can be generated for manuscripts, markets, and your income and expenses using a wide range of for filtering criteria, allowing you to track every aspect of your writing.

The Working Writer comes with picklists of publishing positions, genres, income and expense items, etc. that you can customize to suit your needs. The picklists (called lookups) are a time-saving feature because most of the information you need to enter is accomplished using drop-down menus based on the lists.

Not only does The Working Writer have the essential features you want in submission-tracking software, it offers some great bonus stuff. There's an internal word processor so you can write your queries without leaving the program, there's e-mail capability so you can fire off your queries to editors without leaving the program, and there are numerous utilities, including tagging and reminder features, a story idea component, and an invoice generator to help keep you paid.

The Working Writer is distributed by Dolphin Software Solutions. It was created by Christopher di Armani. Customer support for The Working Writer is exceptional. Christopher has put a lot of love and devotion into creating The Working Writer, one of the most essential tools I've seen for writers, and he backs it all the way. You can download a trial version of The Working Writer at http://www.dolphinsoftware.bc.ca/download/ww.html. Cost - $79.95 + 7.50 S/H.

Write Again: I discovered Write Again, ironically, while researching markets for my work. I downloaded the software with little hope of being impressed because, quite frankly, a lot of software products promise, very few actually deliver. I was elated to find out Write Again did not fall into that category.

Write Again was developed by Tom Dullemond and is distributed by his company Asmoday Enterprises. Write Again is well designed and packed with all the features a writer needs to maintain the day to day business of submitting and tracking manuscripts, markets, and money.

From the main menu in Write Again you can select between the Projects Manager, Markets/Contact Manager, or the Submissions Manager. You can also access the Time Planner, Submission Status Reports, Market Viability Reports, the Finance Manager, or Settings from this menu.

The first thing you'll notice about Write Again is its impressive layout. So much valuable information is available at a glance. Write Again makes use of colors, icons, tables, and graphs to help you better track your manuscripts through the submission/publication process, and your information is cross-referenced to make navigating through the system a breeze.

Write Again lets you to enter extensive details about your projects, markets, and income/expense items, all of which come into play when you later search the database using any of the numerous search filters provided in Write Again. The more details you enter into the Write Again database, the better the program works for you. One feature in particular, Suggest Markets, is a prime example of this. Simply right click on a manuscript in the Projects Manager and a menu comes up. Choose "Suggest Markets" and Write Again does the work for you, sifting through its database to find suitable markets for the manuscript you've selected. This feature, which is unique to Write Again, is a joy to use.

Write Again's Project Manager component lets you link files, set up tasks, mark tasks as you complete them, and track the progress of your manuscripts from conception to publication. The task list can be customized to suit your work style, and tasks can be set to start and end on specific dates, which keeps you goal orientated. Each task can be color coded to help track progress more efficiently. You can also set up detailed bibliographic information about your projects from the Projects Manager as well.

The report features in Write Again include two unique graph reports. One is the Submission Status Overview, the other is the Submission Genre Overview. These two visual reports are color-coded graphs. The Submission Status Overview shows you at a glance the percentage of your submissions that have been accepted, rejected, or are waiting. Submission Genre Overview is a graph that shows you the percentage of your submissions by specific genres.

Write Again only prints details for one project at a time, which is something I'd like to see changed in a future version. The issue is minor, though, and there is an alternative. Write Again allows you to export most information to .csv format, which can then be opened and printed by any spreadsheet software.

Write Again is extremely customizable, allowing user-control over almost every aspect of the program. Like most submission-tracking software, the basic information you'll be working with is supplied by drop-down menus based on lists. Write Again lets you modify those lists to suit your personal needs. Write Again also allows users to turn off modules they don't need.

Write Again is a strong, reasonably priced tool. Its feel and functionality make this software a valuable addition to any writer's toolbox. Check out Write Again by downloading a fully functional trial at the Write Again web site. Cost - $49.95.

Power Tracker: I had high hopes for Power Tracker because the software was developed and is distributed by Write-Brain, the same people responsible for my word processor of choice, Power Writer. Power Tracker doesn't pack the punch of Power Writer. First off, Power Tracker's report functionality is limited. You can print reports about submissions, projects, and expenses, but these reports do little more than allow you to track a project or submissions status. You can also keep track of expenses and generate expense reports, but Power Tracker doesn't let you track of income at all.

Power Tracker does offer extensive filtering criteria and comes with a pre-loaded database of industry contacts (primarily in the movie business) that make it worth the cost of the software. The contact database is, of course, fully editable, as are the generous lists of genres, industry titles, etc.

Power Tracker will work best as a contact management tool. I can't really get behind this product for anything else. I will give a thumbs up to the people behind Write-Brain. Their customer support is awesome, and like I said, I support and fully recommend the Power Writer word processor, which I believe to be the best word processor available.

Visit Write-Brain to download a demo of Power Tracker. Even if you decide to purchase another submission-tracking product, you might want to purchase Power Tracker for the contacts alone. Cost - $29.95.

Sonar2: It's almost impossible to say anything negative about a product that comes to you absolutely free. The only marginally negative thing I can say about Sonar2 is that it's basic, but like I said, you don't pay anything for it, so that's something you'll have to live with. This is software for writer's on a serious budget.

Sonar2 keeps track of your manuscripts, markets, and submissions effectively, allowing you to enter essential information in each category. Unfortunately, manuscripts and markets appear listed in the order the information is entered and can't be put into alphabetical order. Sonar2 does allow a simple search of your manuscripts, but you can't search the other categories. Printing is limited to the ability to print the unordered lists of manuscripts and markets.You can filter your manuscript view to include all of your manuscripts, only manuscripts you've sold, only those ready to send, only those under consideration, or only manuscripts you've removed from the submission process for whatever reason.

Other than the ability to print simple lists, Sonar2 offers no report functionality, not even for income and expense. You can enter payment information for individual manuscripts, but there's no way to total the income and expense and generate reports based on that information.

The bottom line on Sonar2 is that it's good software for budget-minded writers, but serious working writers will quickly outgrow it. You can download Sonar2 at the Spacejock Software web site. Cost - Free.

Two submission-tracking programs of note are missing from this article. The first is Quick Query Tracker, not included here because the latest word I have is that the software's creator is considering pulling it from the market. The second is SwiftTrack, not included here because it was written for Windows 3.1, and while the program appears to be functional, it's in desperate need of an update.

Bottom line:

The Working Writer and Write Again are both excellent products. There are major differences in the way the way the two look and operate, but both products have all the essential features a writer needs and more. I could recommend either of these products and sleep well, knowing that I've done a service for unorganized writers everywhere.

Here are a few random thoughts about these writing tools.

The Working Writer has more bells and whistles than its competitors, better printing capabilities, and the most extensive report functions.

Write Again has the most logical navigation, a couple of unique report functions, and the best search filtering features on the market.

Power Tracker makes an awesome contact database. The pre-loaded database of movie-industry contacts makes Power Tracker worth the purchase for screenwriters, but I wouldn't recommend it for submission tracking.

Sonar2 is good, stable software that doesn't cost anything. It contains no spyware. It's useful for beginners, but busy writers will want more.

I was lucky enough to get detailed, articulate interviews with the creators of The Working Writer and Write Again. I tried to make the interviews similar but with slight differences, hoping to get a well-rounded take on everything. I believe it all came out pretty good. Enjoy.

Christopher di Armani - The Working Writer.

Tom Dullemond - Write Again.

The great thing about articles done for the web is that they can be updated. I'll be tracking these products and updating this piece as changes are made. Check back for the latest developments. In the meantime, purchase one of these products and get your shit together. It's time to write.