MS Word Track Changes Webinar
I’ve produced this MS Word Track Changes Webinar to help authors demystify the editing process. I’m aware that many authors will not have come across MS Word Track Changes. Before I became an editor, I considered myself to be an expert in MS Word, but I had never used the Track Changes option.
It’s a fantastically versatile, useful piece of software, and is also surprisingly intuitive.
The editing process can be quite daunting for an author, and I’m aware that seeing your lovely manuscript covered in red pen can be a little overwhelming. I always provide two versions of your edited text – one showing all my suggested amendments, allowing you to review and accept or reject each individual suggestion, and one with all my suggestions pre-approved, meaning that you can see your edited manuscript and read it without the distractions of lots of red pen.
Some authors prefer not to see the detail of my suggestions. They read the final version, can see that it’s much improved, and simply choose to accept the clean version of their manuscript. Other authors prefer to see the nuts and bolts of an edit, to understand why certain changes have been made, and to learn from this information.
Self-Edit and Save Money
Reviewing each and every change can be an arduous task. But it can also help you to understand the nature of my suggestions, meaning that with subsequent manuscripts you can apply these changes yourself, before sending the file to an editor. Doing some basic housekeeping and some introductory editing yourself will mean that your manuscript will need to spend less time with a professional editor, and therefore the editing process will cost you less.
With this in mind, I’ve put together a brief, ten-minute webinar that will talk you through Track Changes. The demonstration manuscript used in the Webinar is one that I own. I would never share the details of a manuscript that’s been sent to me. Please note that the manuscript contains some profanity.
The webinar shows you a file that is similar to the red-pen version you will receive from me. It shows my comments, my suggested formatting changes and all the inserted and deleted text.
The MS Word Track Changes Webinar will show you how to:
- review, reply, resolve and delete comments
- review and accept a suggested amendment and move to the next
- review and reject a suggested amendment and move to the next
- accept all changes
I hope that you find it useful – if there is anything else that you’d like me to cover, please get in touch.
