1. Compile your Scrivener document into an RTF

• Open your Scrivener document
• Go to File –> Compile
• Select the chapters and scenes you wish to include in this version of your manuscript
• Select ‘Compile for RTF Word compatible’ (you may wish to choose a different type of document, I use RTF to retain formatting)
• Hit ‘Compile’

2. Email your .RTF to your Kindle

• Find out your Kindle email address. To do this go to Your Account –> Manage Your Kindle –> Personal Document Settings.
• Ensure your regular email address is in the ‘Approved Personal Document Email List’ (if it isn’t you can add it)
• Open your email, add your .RTF attachment, and send your document to your Kindle email address

3. Sync Kindle and your manuscript shall appear!

It really is that simple. I’ve done this so I can proof my manuscript-in-progress while on public transport / in bed / on the beach.

- thanks to Ivan Salcedo who taught me how to do this.

I’m currently writing my fourth novel. It’s due at Easter. Everything was going swimmingly until several bad things happened and I took six weeks off work to bum about, eat cheese strings, and watch Mad Men on loop. But it’s a new year and I’ve decided to keep a record of my writing progress. I used to do it at the top of my manuscript when I wrote novels in Word, but since swapping to Scrivener I haven’t bothered. Which is clearly a mistake. Additionally, being transparent and therefore also accountable will possibly shame me into writing more.

Anyway, look away now if numbers bore you (they do me). Or keep reading if you want to see how many words I have written this year (note, these are manuscript-only words and do not include columns or articles which I also write).

Additional: I need to average 1000 words a day, or 7000 words a week, to hit my deadline on time. Wish me luck.

BOOK FOUR (still untitled. I need to sort this out – in my head it’s called Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark St, but I don’t think this is snappy enough I now have a title, but I’m not going to share it until after I’ve submitted my MS to my editor. Sorry.)

2012 manuscript word count total: 22,005 after 29 days.

Week 1 total: 4905 [+ 964 for The Kernel]

• Monday, 2 January: 2092.
• Tuesday, 3 January: 1023.
• Wednesday, 4 January: 1790.
• Thursday, 5 January: 0
• Friday, 6 January: 0 [I won a game of Scrabble though!]
• Saturday, 7 January: 0 [editing]
• Sunday, 8 January: 0

Week 2 total: 4514

• Monday, 9 January: 0 [researching]
• Tuesday, 10 January: 0 [meetings]
• Wednesday, 11 January: 2523 [and I made a presentation which I had to give the next day. Productive]
• Thursday, 12 January: [meetings / actual pounding-London-streets research]
• Friday, 13 January: 59. Not in the mood.
• Saturday, 14 January: 1932
• Sunday, 15 January: 0

Week 3 total: 4805 [+ 750 for New Media Age]

• Monday, 16 January: 0 [editing & plotting]
• Tuesday, 17 January: 1666
• Wednesday, 18 January: 0.
• Thursday, 19 January: 3139
• Friday, 20 January: 0
• Saturday, 21 January: 0
• Sunday, 22 January: 0 [I had the very best of intentions for the weekend but my plans were thwarted.]

Week 4 total: 6754

• Monday, 23 January: 1583 [and loads of research into the history of India's railways. Really.]
• Tuesday, 24 January: 2946
• Wednesday, 25 January: 1137
• Thursday, 26 January: 0
• Friday, 27 January: 0
• Saturday, 28 January: 1088
• Sunday, 29 January: 0

I’ve stopped consulting and have taken on a full time job … bring on the six-day week, working in the evenings, and constantly apologising to friends for not being able to see them as much as I’d like to.

Week 5 total: 0. I took the week off to settle into my new job.

Week 6 total: 1027

• Monday, 6 February: 1027
• Tuesday, 7 February:
• Wednesday, 8 February:
• Thursday, 9 February:
• Friday, 10 February:
• Saturday, 11 February:
• Sunday, 12 February:

Pink champagne, grungy glitter, gangster cages, dancing with flowers in our hair, Joshua trees in the desert, Soho, mint tea in Marrakesh, skinny jeans, shards of glass, Shoreditch, fires in the sky, Scrabble overdose, happiness, sadness, confusion, and never enough dancing …

2011:

BOOK

• What: The Novel in the Viola, Natasha Solomons (Sceptre, 12 May 2011)

‘In the spring of 1938 Elise Landau arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay. A bright young thing from Vienna forced to become a parlour-maid, she knows nothing about England, except that she won’t like it. As servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn, Elise wears her mother’s pearls beneath her uniform, and causes outrage by dancing with a boy called Kit. But war is coming and the world is changing. And Elise must change with it. At Tyneford she learns that you can be more than one person – and that you can love more than once.’

• Why: Because it’s beautifully writen, melancholic, and held my complete attention. A must-read.
  

BLOGGER

• Who: Milla / notjustanothermilla.com

Milla currently lives in Paris (although she’s also lived in London, New York, and Tokyo). In her own words:

‘Here I share my experiences, delights and musings from beauty and gastronomy to style and travel with a strong focus on luxury. Given my fondness for sweet treats, fabulous shoes and Afternoon Tea, expect them to feature heavily.’

• Why: Because her blog is elegant, glamorous, and never fails to give me a much-needed shot of inspiration.

COMPANY

• Who: Unbound launched at Hay this year, and is the brainchild of John Mitchinson, Dan Kieran and Justin Pollard. In their own words:

‘We think authors and readers should decide which books get published. On the Unbound site, authors pitch their ideas directly to you. If you like what you read, you can pledge your support to help make the book happen.’

Unbound recently won ‘best start-up’ at the FutureBook Innovation awards.

• Why: Because the boys (who I adore) have turned an original concept into a successful, thriving business. Unbound puts both the author and the reader first – unusual in an industry dominated by heavily discounted novels stocked in supermarkets – and they feature an eclectic range of books to explore and get involved in. As a friend said ‘I wasn’t sure at first, but now I love them.’ I was always sure.

SONGS

• Walk, Foo Fighters (Wasting Light, 2011)
• Criminal, Britney Spears (Femme Fatale, 2011)
• The Edge of Glory, Lady Gaga (Born This Way, 2011)
• Ladder Song, Bright Eyes (The People’s Key, 2011)
• The One That Got Away, Katy Perry (Teenage Dream, 2010)

And these got played a lot, despite not being of the year:

• Songbird, Fleetwood Mac
• Wake Up Dead, Veruca Salt
• Band on the Run, Foo Fighters

For all my tracks of 2011, see my Last.fm.

MOVIES

• Drive
• Bridesmaids
• George Harrison: Living in the Material World
• Limitless
• Black Swan (I only watched it this year, so it counts)

(Still to see: Attack the Block, Midnight in Paris, The Descendents, Hugo, Being Elmo, Senna)

BOY CRUSH

• Who: Milo Yiannopolous/ yiannopoulos.net

• Why: Many believe him to be a comedy right-wing troll (possibly partly correct), but there’s so much more to Milo than that. Milo has provided me with many amusing moments in 2011 – and how could you fail to enjoy a man who, when he comes to stay, has a lemon-scented bath while he drinks neat gin and plays Mariah Carey in the background? Milo is launching a new magazine this December, which will be the Vanity Fair for European techs. It will be outstanding, I’m sure. Secret tip: if you can’t find his off switch, give him a couple of drinks and 10mg of Valium.

GIRL CRUSH

• Who: Lindsey Kelk / lindseykelk.com

• Why: Because she is just like me. Lindsey lives a (more successful and cool) parallel life to me in New York, and she is brilliant fun. You know when you meet someone who has the exact same comedy timing as you? That’s Lindsey … and I wish she lived in London so we could make a fortune with our excellent double act. Lindsey writes the brilliant I Heart novels and also writes a column for Marie Clare UK. Read her.

LOCATION

• Where: West LA and Santa Monica, USA

• Why: Because they’re so fucking cool. West La is arty and bohemian in a Shoreditch kind of way, and Santa Monica is like a cleaner Covent Garden, but with a beach. And better stores. If I had to move anywhere, I’d move there. Love.

LONDON LOVES

• Where: The Book Club, 100-106 Leonard St  London EC2A 4RH / wearetbc.com

• Why: Because according to FourSquare, The Book Club is my most frequented place of 2011. It’s easy to see why: laid-back interior and vibe, ping-pong table, and there’s always someone in there who I know. Yes, it’s a little bit try-hard sometimes and is bursting with Shoreditch hipsters, but despite that I love it. Thanks for the fun, BC.

THEME TUNE

• Why: Because it’s sexy and sums up 2011.

The below is an advert placed by ASOS.com … before they got properly famous.

The soundtrack will grow as I write the first draft, and includes songs which are about places and situations in the novel, as well as songs that are mentioned.

If you fancy keeping up with the music that’s helping to shape the book you can listen via the playlist on Spotify.

Ilana x