Occasionally, you might be asked to edit a school paper, resume, or cover letter from a family member or friend. Or, if you’re like me, and you offer professional editing services, then you may get the occasional client who needs something like a user’s manual to be edited, as I did last week. So, how do you handle this?
The old fashioned way is to just pull out your red pen and go to work on the hard copy of the document, but in this paperless digital age, we have a better method. Let me show you how to use that method, but before I do, let’s first consider how editors and the writers that they edit can have a good experience, despite the critical nature of editing.
Establish Roles and Responsibilities
Before you even get started editing, make sure to clarify your role as an editor. This will help prevent misunderstandings over whether or not you have done more than what was asked, or not enough. Ask the person who wants your help if they want basic editing or comprehensive editing. In other words, do they want a basic edit of spelling, grammar, and usage? Or, would like a more comprehensive edit that includes spelling, grammar, and usage – plus, editing the format, which may effect the appearance and readability of the document. In addition to asking what level of work they desire, it’s also helpful to assess what level of work you’re able to give. For example, a comprehensive edit of a 25-page user’s manual will require a lot more out of you than a basic edit of a 1-page cover letter. To ensure that both parties are happy with the arrangement, first clarify if what you’re able to give lines up with what they need.
Utilize The Track Changes Option in Word
When you open up the document that you are editing in MS Word, click on the Review menu option, displayed at the top. Look for the Track Changes option, that is probably turned off. Click it to turn it On. From this point on, any changes you make to the document will now be marked in red.
Utilize The Comments Option in Word
Under the same Review menu option, you will also see icons displayed which look like post-it notes. When you wish to make a comment, click on the area in the text that wish to reference your comment, then click on the New Comment icon, that is the farthest to the left of your screen, and features a green plus sign. Once you click on this, a box will appear for you to write your comment.
To see for yourself how this is done, watch this video that includes a demonstration:
“How To Edit On MS Word 2011”
Seize Opportunities to Encourage
Use this as an opportunity to point out what is right about the document. Having one’s work edited by another can be a very painful experience for writers, and editors often have bad reputations for being too critical. In fact, I’ll never forget a Composition I professor in my early 20s who marked up my paper with all sorts of ill-willed words, and mocked my writing style. At the time, I took it very personal, to the point of not wanting to sign up for another English class. Even thought my writing had been consistently praised throughout my school years, and I had consistently scored exceptionally high in English assessment exams – this one very unprofessional professor discouraged me greatly in my writing. In hindsight, I realize that I had some growing to do as a writer (we all do), but editing is most helpful when editors are constructive to writers as they are growing in their abilities. Besides, “a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down”, like the song says. So, we editors can and should do a great deal of good by acknowledging what writers are doing right, and encouraging them as they are refining their art.
Now, once you have taken edited your word document, simply “save as” whatever file name it was previously named, with a “-Edited” attached to the end of the name. This way, when you e-mail the file back to the writer, it’s clear that your document is the edited version. With this version, the writer can accept or reject your changes, and they can save the file as whatever name they prefer.
And, don’t forget:
Those of you who want the advantage of a having second set of eyes for your writing, remember that I’m available for editing writing-related projects. If you want to add credibility, readability, and profitability to your writing, contact me. I look forward to hearing from you! ~ Stephanie
Stephanie Auguste 