How to write an encyclopedia?

Question

I have an idea for an encyclopedia that I want to write. Keeping all the entries alphabetized in MS Word would be cumbersome and prone to errors. A database like Access or Open Office does not work because the fields are too short. I anticipate some of these entries to be multiple pages. Is there a program that will help me write this and keep it organized? Or is manual alphabetizing the only way to go on this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Nicole

Answer 1

I think MS Word will allow you to sort a table to keep it in alphabetical order.



A wiki might be a better option than a database. You can download the software that runs the wiki onto your own computer, rather than accessing it over the Internet. You get the advantages of a wiki (simple markup, version tracking), while keeping your text private.



MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) can, I believe, automatically produce alphabetical lists of articles. I'm not sure if it can export the articles to a different format. If the number of articles isn't huge, you could manually copy and paste them in the right order into a single MS Word file to send off to the publisher. Or you could pay someone to write a program to do the copying and pasting for you. It's a fairly simple matter, so it shouldn't be very expensive.

Answer 2

I am not giving an answer, rather I am asking you to share with me. I arrived at your question because I was asking the same question. Did you receive a better answer in the meantime? I am a MS user; how can MS Word organize alphabetically without using a table?

Answer 3

You could have one file on MS Word per letter. It would make alphabetizing much easier.

Answer 4

a great number of the time i haven't carried out something of this way. even nevertheless, for the universe that my recent tale is set in, I actual have written down some historic events someplace else with a view to make confident i understand what order they go in and what variety of previous timescales i'm gazing. i will at last upload different encyclopedic content fabric besides with a view to maintain music of it.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guide_to_improving_articles