Save a copy of the original Track Changes document, name it V2, and accept all Track Changes in it. Save a copy of the original Track Changes document, name it V1, and reject all Track Changes in it. Change all existing Track Changes authors to one name: 1.And, yes, I know Google Docs has a similar function (and it also very helpfully keeps track of different versions of the same document), but believe me when I say that a familiarity with “track changes” in Word is or will become important to you as you work back and forth with editors.Obviously, you can search the internet for instructions or video tutorials on using “track changes,” so I won’t try to accomplish more than a short introduction to this valuable tool (and the following details will be slightly different if you’re working on a PC I use Word for Mac because, well, I’m a good person).When you open a document in Word, you can pull down the “Tools” menu at the top of your screen one of the choices you’ll see is—looky here—“Track Changes.” That’s the one you want.Select “Track Changes,” and then “Highlight Changes.” Check all the boxes, then return to your document. And it’s the go-to editing tool of editors. See, I told you.“Track Changes” is a function in Microsoft Word that, well, tracks the changes made to a document. If the review toolbar is showing above your document, you can also.One fairly common knowledge gap among writers, I’ve often been surprised to learn, involves the use of (or even existence of) “track changes.”“What is ‘track changes’?” you ask. See screenshot:Turn on tracking: Choose Edit > Track Changes (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen).
It’s a magical land of enchantment. See it up there? No, not at the very top of your computer screen in the document itself, where “Home,” “Insert,” etc., appear? Click on “Review,” and lo and behold, your “track changes” choices allow you to “accept” or “reject” each change, either one-by-one or all at the same time. In your Word-for-Mac document is a “Review” view. Instead, after editing is complete, I do a “Compare Versions” between the original and my edited version, and the resulting new document looks exactly like a “tracked changes” document. Since the tracked changes get visually in the way while I’m editing (I want to keep seeing the unfolding end result only), and they also don’t work well sometimes for the best clear indication of changes resulting from editorial macros (a necessary tool for heavy editing), I forgo the tracked changes function. So, whether you’re working on your first book or eleventy-first book, get familiar with “track changes.” You’ll be glad you did.And if you use “track changes,” feel free to add tips, helps, warnings, protests, and outbursts in the comments.I’ve found Microsoft Word’s “Compare Versions” feature to also be very helpful, and in fact usually a superior editorial tool to the “Track Changes” in providing the same end result. You can even customize your “track changes” colors and other preferences to make it more useful for you.But believe me when I say, “track changes” will make your writing life much easier when the time comes to work with an editor on a book manuscript. Use Track Changes In Word Update It ToI also teach my clients to use Track Changes.I’ve edited a few books, and I edit columns for the local newspaper, but most of my consulting/editing work is with doctoral scholars. I don’t save all the previous colorful changes in the current working document–I update it to the last edit each day but I do save the file with a date in the file name at the end of each work session so I can always go back and find something that was changed or deleted previously and retrieve it. (And in that redline version, some automatic presets have redefined style tags so that all UNchanged text shows in a fainter gray type, while the changes are bolded–deletions in red strike-through, insertions in bold green underline.) The “Compare Versions” functions can still produce some quirky looking results at times, but all in all, I find that it seems to produce an easier-to-read document for the author (and editor) to review exactly what changes were made.Here’s another editor chiming in. Play multiplayer on n64 emulator for macDoing that might benefit other writers in critique groups, as well. Since the client must Accept or Reject each suggested change, I think including the rationale for the suggestion is extremely important. I can highlight the error or the TC correction, select New Comment, and in the right side column, explain/teach. The New Comment function under Review is perfect for explaining a recommended change.
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