Organising research for a book with a web highlighter

For nonfiction and historical fiction alike: a project per book, folders per chapter or theme, highlights that remember the page, and sources you can still open when the manuscript is done.

The shape

One project per book. Inside it, folders for chapters if the structure is set, or for themes, characters and places if it is not. Notes in the editor link to each other with [[wiki-links]], so a place note can point to the chapter notes that use it.

Capture as you read

Highlight the sentence, not the page, and write the comment as a note to your future self: what it gives the book. Tag by use (scene, fact, quote, check). Quick Capture (Ctrl+Shift+S) drops a passing thought into Thoughts with tags and attachments without leaving the page.

Keep the source

Save the pages you will rely on to the Library. A snapshot with a hash means the interview, the archive page or the newspaper article is still readable and citable at publication, even if the site is gone. The Cite dialog formats Chicago, the style most publishers ask for, as well as APA and MLA.

Feeds for a long project

Follow the two or three journals or magazines that cover your subject from the journals A to Z, and skim them monthly; new material lands in the same workspace as your notes.

Limits worth knowing

The editor has no tables, and there is no PDF annotation; keep scans and PDFs in your files and link to them. Three projects are free; a Pro plan removes the limit and adds shared spaces for a co-author or researcher.