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Tracking Tools with Notion
How writers can use Notion to track submissions, publishing rights, worldbuilding, story bibles and more
This feature first appeared in the print issue of Writing Magazine, September 2026.
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?
