*side note: You may want to pop open Word to play with the options I'm talking about.
When I edit, I use the "Review" tab at the top of the screen. It has your basic spelling, grammar, research, thesaurus, etc. to the left, but the stuff in the middle and to the right are what I use the most.
In the center there is a little icon that looks like a pad of sticky notes (Post-Its). This is labeled "New Comment" and is used to be able to type in notes about what you are reading without interfering with the text within the document. You highlight the text you're talking about, or near the text, and hit the "New Comment" button. A column will appear to the right of the body of text along with a little box (mine's red, but I don't know if that's what color everyone else's are). You can type anything in the box/bubble. For example, as an editor I will write notes about character inconsistencies, if I feel like a change I made needs an explanation I will put it there, or even if I want to put a little note about the story (ex: I like this part! or I want to live in this house!). As a writer, you can use the comment box to make notes to yourself so they're easier to spot later on when you go back. For example, if you can't decide what someone's name should be or what color their hair is, you can highlight what you wrote, then put your alternative ideas in the box.
You can also easily browse through the comments in the same part of the tab above by clicking the "next" or "previous" buttons, or you can "delete" a comment if you're finished using it.
The other main button I use is the "Track Changes" button. This allows me to show (in red or blue) the author what changes I've made to their piece. That way they can keep track of what was their original work and what I've added/deleted/changed.
I don't use the "Balloons" button, but it seems to control what is shown in the boxes/bubbles on the right side of the page with the comments. Like I said, I never use it so you'll have to play with it if you think you need to change anything with it.
Another section has to do with changes, I never use that either. If someone makes changes to your document, you can accept and reject their changes accordingly using this section.
There are two more sections called Compare and Protect. The compare button gives you the option to compare an original with an edited copy. There's also a "combine" option, that will combine all changes within the two compared documents.
I never use the Protect Document button either because I'm not working in a space that is compromised to outside people (I work in my house. My son can't read and my husband doesn't want to, so I'm good there unless the cat has talents I don't know about.) This button is just a way to password the document so it stays safe.
I saved these next two for last because most people won't have them and I went super silly giddy when I discovered them. One is called "Ink Comment" and the other is called "Start Inking". You may or may not know that my trusty old laptop died at the end of last year, November or so, and my new dream laptop became my Christmas/Birthday present. My new LT has a touchscreen. So why are these two buttons so exciting? I can write on documents with my stylus!! The Ink Comment button pops a box up to the right of the text, just like the regular New Comment button does. But I can write in the box that appears! And the Start Inking button allows me to edit an electronic document the same way I would a paper one: with a red pen. And if you've been following me, you probably know by now that red-penning is my favorite!
I know that wasn't a super-exciting post, but hopefully it'll give you some idea of how I electronically edit. Also, writers might be able to use the comments to help them out along the way.
I've been writing a lot today, pushing forward with the Book Store Series. I'm at about 12,600 words at this point with quite a bit of story left to go. I'm getting really excited about this, and the possibility that I might actually be able to become a published author too! So while you all get to wait impatiently (I hope!) for every Thursday's posts, I have to keep myself quiet until I publish each section! I hope you guys like it, and like I said yesterday, if you show me that you've been reading all along, I'll reward you at the end! (Possibly with a signed-before-it's-released copy of the finished book???? Who knows?)
See you guys next week, have an amazing weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
Another section has to do with changes, I never use that either. If someone makes changes to your document, you can accept and reject their changes accordingly using this section.
There are two more sections called Compare and Protect. The compare button gives you the option to compare an original with an edited copy. There's also a "combine" option, that will combine all changes within the two compared documents.
I never use the Protect Document button either because I'm not working in a space that is compromised to outside people (I work in my house. My son can't read and my husband doesn't want to, so I'm good there unless the cat has talents I don't know about.) This button is just a way to password the document so it stays safe.
I saved these next two for last because most people won't have them and I went super silly giddy when I discovered them. One is called "Ink Comment" and the other is called "Start Inking". You may or may not know that my trusty old laptop died at the end of last year, November or so, and my new dream laptop became my Christmas/Birthday present. My new LT has a touchscreen. So why are these two buttons so exciting? I can write on documents with my stylus!! The Ink Comment button pops a box up to the right of the text, just like the regular New Comment button does. But I can write in the box that appears! And the Start Inking button allows me to edit an electronic document the same way I would a paper one: with a red pen. And if you've been following me, you probably know by now that red-penning is my favorite!
I know that wasn't a super-exciting post, but hopefully it'll give you some idea of how I electronically edit. Also, writers might be able to use the comments to help them out along the way.
I've been writing a lot today, pushing forward with the Book Store Series. I'm at about 12,600 words at this point with quite a bit of story left to go. I'm getting really excited about this, and the possibility that I might actually be able to become a published author too! So while you all get to wait impatiently (I hope!) for every Thursday's posts, I have to keep myself quiet until I publish each section! I hope you guys like it, and like I said yesterday, if you show me that you've been reading all along, I'll reward you at the end! (Possibly with a signed-before-it's-released copy of the finished book???? Who knows?)
See you guys next week, have an amazing weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
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