Adapting to the Digital Era
Electronically Proofreading Works
For those born before the digital era took over the world we know today, it is almost difficult to fathom electronically proofreading a work rather than physically marking every word with a red pencil. There’s no doubt the pleasure of penmanship can not be fulfilled by electronic means yet it is inadvertently the world we live in that forces our work to be submitted via the web. In point, publishing has gone digital, and here is how easy it is to adapt.
Gettin’ Use to it All
Physically editing and digitally editing are two different, but very similar ways of editing. Although it may seem super confusing at first, digitally editing can be made easy once you get used to the software you’re using. Software such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs can make it easy to clean up a copy by using features such as using the Rules feature to create rules that will mark up the text automatically. It has been proven that digitally editing documents can take up to half the time as physically editing documents. This is just one example of the many tools that can cut your editing time.
But What Specific Software Should I Use?
The most trustworthy software out there is Microsoft Word. Whether you have a PC or a MAC, Microsoft is adaptable (just like you!). Other word-processing software works as well, but since MS Word is dominant in the industry, most of your documents will have been created using it. So save yourself the trouble of constantly converting documents into other formats by sticking with MS Word.
Do I Really Need to Make the Digital Switch…
I get it. You don’t think it makes sense to make the switch from pen and paper to keyboard and screen. But the sad truth is that yes, you really do need to make the switch to digital editing because now of days, everything you receive will most likely have been written on a computer and will be sent to your computer. This is because it avoids the hassle (and time) of printing and sending it in person as well as totaling the cost to zero. It is also easier for everything to ‘delete’ a mark or error rather than physically have to cross and change.
So do yourself a favor and download MS Word. Watch some tutorials on how it all works, what tools are available to you, and the hundreds of short cuts you can take when editing. Trust me, it’ll save you the time and effort if you expand your digital knowledge for the publishing world.
By Karla M. Cortes
www.karlamarianacortes.com
