“Help! The editor deleted entire scenes! The editor changed my sentence and I hate it! The editor rewrote my book!” Sound familiar? I’ve seen a few writers posting anxiously about their negative editing experiences lately, and I was quite surprised. After all, ethical, professional editors don’t change your writing. We suggest changes, and you, the writer, always have the final say. But how does that work, practically? Well, the most efficient way to do this is with Word’s Track Changes. There’s a reason Word is the industry standard. It’s not perfect—not by a long shot—but the tracked changes and commenting tools work very well. Plus, they’re relatively easy to use.
Before you dive into the edited file, make sure you are using Microsoft Word. Other software may feel similar or claim to be compatible, such as Open Office, Libre Office, or Pages, but these are not perfectly compatible. Using the same software your editor is using will prevent hiccups, misunderstandings, compatibility errors, frustration, and miscommunication down the line. Using the same software means that you see what I see, and I see what you see, and we’re both speaking the same language.
This blog post will give you some tips for using tracked changes effectively during the review round. Editing should feel like a conversation; knowing how to use Word’s Track Changes tools will empower you to use your voice in that conversation.
How to view tracked changes
Tracked changes are a visible record of insertions, deletions, and moves that have been performed on the text. They are suggestions; the changes have not yet been permanently applied, and they can easily be undone. To view them, click on the Review tab and select “All Markup” mode in the drop-down menu.
There are several options for how those tracked changes may appear in your document. To minimize clutter in the margin, I recommend showing insertions and deletions in-line, and showing formatting and comments in the margins:
- On the Review ribbon, click the Show Markup drop-down.
- Hover over Balloons.
- Select “Show Only Comments and Formatting in Balloons.”
To preview how the manuscript will look with all the changes applied, change the view mode to “Simple Markup.”
In All Markup mode, you’ll see a gray vertical line in the margin next to where changes have been made. In Simple Markup mode, the changes will not be visibly marked up in the text, but there will be a red line in the margin showing where they have been made. You can also click that vertical line to switch easily between All Markup mode and Simple Markup mode.
If you’re having any trouble using Word’s Track Changes tool, try looking at the Word help files online.
Why are the tracked changes tools locked?
To protect the file from accidental deletions or the insertion of errors during the review stage, I may “lock” the file before sending it to you for review. This will disable the Accept and Reject buttons for comments and tracking, but you’ll still be able to add or reply to comments, or type directly in the text. Once your decisions have been made, I’ll accept the things you’re okay with and revert the changes you don’t like, or make other changes you asked for during this process.
When locked, the Review ribbon will have some buttons grayed out and unusable:
How to view comments
Comments can be viewed in Word in two ways: in the margins or in the Reviewing pane. I prefer to look at them in the margins, myself. To view comments in the margins, turn on “Show Comments” in the Review ribbon. To view comments and other changes in the Reviewing pane, click the Reviewing pane button in the Markup section of the Review ribbon, or use the drop-down menu to view it vertically or horizontally.
How to add or reply to comments
Sometimes I’ll leave a comment to explain a change; this doesn’t need a reply. If a comment does need a reply, I’ll put “AU:” at the beginning of the comment. You can then use Word’s search function to look for “AU:” This can help you make sure you haven’t missed any.
As you respond to queries, it’s best to reply directly to the comment by hovering over the comment and clicking the “Reply” button. Or, you can right-click the comment and click “Reply To Comment.” It’s also totally fine to rewrite the text the comment is specifically referring to.
Be careful not to delete the comments! Select the text that is attached to the comment (it’ll be highlighted in a color matching the comment color) and type over it, rather than deleting it and then writing the new text.
If you agree, it’s fine to just say OK or yes. If you disagree, try to be as clear as possible about what you do want instead. You can say “Please leave as is” or “Please see my revision in the text” or “No, what I meant was …”
Time-saving tips when reviewing tracked changes
It is best to go page by page, looking at the tracked changes and the comments in the margin. To step from change to change, you can click the Previous and Next buttons in the Comments and Tracking section of the manuscript. If I’ve asked something that applies in multiple places, such as the spelling of a character’s name, you only need to reply once; I’ll fix it everywhere based on your decision.
If you agree with a change, you don’t need to do anything. You can just move on to the next one.
If you disagree with a tracked change, you can leave a comment saying what you prefer, or you can make a change directly in the manuscript. Locking the manuscript will mean that any changes you make will be tracked, so I can see everything you’ve done, catch any accidental typos you might insert at this stage, and ensure that changes are applied consistently throughout.
If you’d like to make a global change, you can also make a comment on the style sheet to point it out, like “Please always capitalize military terms like the Navy, the Army, etc., instead of following CMOS.” I’ll then go through the manuscript and methodically apply that change everywhere that it occurs. If you’d like to call extra attention to it, you can leave a comment on the first instance you notice in the text and tell me to refer to the note in the style sheet.
Prevent new errors from creeping in
When reviewing copyedited or proofread text, it can be tempting to rewrite whole sentences or paragraphs. I’ve even had authors who decided to rewrite entire chapters! This is very risky, as any new additions to the text increase the odds of errors or inconsistencies creeping in. Try to limit rewriting to a few words here and there in response to queries only. This will help to ensure that your manuscript is as polished as possible in the end.
Don’t worry about how it looks in Word
Word is a text editor, not a book formatter. How the text looks in Word is not the same as how it will look on the printed page or ereader screen. Sometimes Word might display weirdly, like hanging quotation marks connected to em dashes.
During copyediting or proofreading review in Word, don’t waste time making changes based on where the words fall on the page, or trying to fit it onto a certain line or page. Those types of decisions can be made when you review the formatted file, much later.
Returning the file to the editor for final cleanup
Add your initials to the file name and send the reviewed file back to me. I’ll then work through your responses to queries, additions, deletions, or further questions and apply the decisions you have made. At this point, I am not making new edits, just confirming the tracked changes you’ve agreed to. By using Word’s Track Changes correctly, I can clearly see what you want and what you don’t want. At the same time, locking the file means that any changes you’ve asked for can be reviewed to avoid introducing typos, and we’ll both be on the same page about how the final text should look.
Once I’ve accepted or rejected changes based on your decisions, I’ll remove any outstanding comments, update the style sheet, carry over any missed queries, and return the clean file to you. It’s now ready for the next step in the publishing process.
Gecko Edit
Editing should be a conversation, and you should get the last word.
Make your voice heard and keep control of your story.
