Editing on the Computer

Editorium Update usually just assumes that you're editing on the computer, specifically in Microsoft Word. But *why* should you edit on the computer? Because, to attain the same level of quality, it's cheaper than editing on paper--cheaper in money, time, and stress. I've heard editors complain that they don't like to edit on the computer because they "miss things." I've got news for them: They miss things on paper, too. In my experience, editors who really understand the advantages of editing on the computer wouldn't go back to working on paper for anything. Here are some of those advantages, particularly in Microsoft Word, which I offer for those who don't understand them or who may need to convince others of their reality:

* Word's Find and Replace features help you attain complete consistency in matters of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation in a relatively small amount of time. To accomplish the same thing on paper, you'd have to comb through a manuscript several times, and even then you wouldn't be sure you'd caught everything.

* Word's Heading styles, Outline view, and Document Map let you see and revise the overall structure of a manuscript in ways that are practically impossible on paper. (Ah, the days of scissors and tape.)

* Word's spell checker makes it possible to catch even the most elusive of typos. It won't find correctly spelled words used incorrectly, but it sure will catch incorrectly spelled words. Editors should use this tool to full advantage.

* Word's macro features let you automate all kinds of nitpicky chores that would take hours to do by hand. I often plead with colleagues, "If you have some tedious, repetitive, mind-numbing editing task, please *tell* me so I can write a macro that will do it for you." Sometimes they do! If you'd like to try some of these macros to make your work easier, visit our Web site at http://www.editorium.com.

* Word's reference features (such as Thesaurus and Look Up Reference) let you instantly find synonyms, check definitions, and much more. In addition, all sorts of reference works are available on CD and online, so you can find information and check facts in a fraction of the time it used to take. One CD product, Microsoft Bookshelf, was made to work with Microsoft Word; it includes The American Heritage Dictionary, The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, The World Almanac and Book of Facts, and other publications. If you also use Encarta or other CD-based reference works, I recommend that you install at least two CD-ROM drives on your computer for easy access. Better yet, put the electronic reference works directly onto that giant hard drive of yours.

Some useful reference Web sites include:

FreeByte's Guide to Free Online Reference: http://www.freebyte.com/reference/

The Reference Desk: http://rking.vinu.edu/ref.htm

Research Tools: http://www.westwords.com/guffey/research.html

Research-It!: http://www.itools.com/research-it/research-it.html

OneLook Dictionaries: http://www.onelook.com/

Library of Congress: http://catalog.loc.gov/

Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com

And, of course, the Internet itself is a marvelous research tool.

* Editing electronically saves time (and thus lowers costs) throughout the production cycle, making you and your company more productive and more competitive. Here's why: If you edit on paper, somebody still has to get your corrections into electronic form for typesetting (and, nowadays, all sorts of electronic publishing). Some companies have typesetters key the whole edited manuscript. Others use the author's word-processor files, with typesetters keying in only the editor's corrections. Either way is a duplication of effort (and thus a waste of time and money), because the editorial changes are being made twice, once on paper and once electronically. Add to that the time and cost of proofreading (and correcting) the typesetter's work, and you begin to see the real extent of the problem. Why not just make the editorial changes electronically to begin with?

"Because," the papyrophiles exclaim, "we don't like making all those little changes on the computer." To which I say, "Why not? You make them on paper. And then check all of them on paper. And then send corrections back to the typesetter. And then check those corrections. You really like that better?" But okay, okay, I don't like making them either, on the computer *or* on paper. That's why I've created tools like FileCleaner, which avoids the whole ugly mess of manually eliminating double spaces between sentences, making sure punctuation following italicized words is also italic, making sure commas and periods are inside of quotation marks, and so on. By automating this kind of stuff, you make it easier to find substantive errors you might miss while messing with the miniscule. Editing on the computer doesn't turn editors into typesetters or technicians. It lets them focus on what good editors do best: grapple with meaning and clarity and communication.

If you're still working on paper, why not do yourself a favor? Learn to use the electronic tools that will make your work better, faster, and more fulfilling. You'll be glad you did.