RSS
Home
Using Microsoft Track Changes? Accept or Reject!
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The intern came running to my office one day frantic because she’d just sent out a newsletter and all the editing changes from Microsoft Word were showing up when people opened it. She’d made all the suggested changes and then changed the settings in Microsoft Word to see the final document. That was perfect, so she’d sent the newsletter. Which showed up in people’s mailboxes with red marks and comments from the Track Changes feature.
I’m hearing that writers out there are making the same mistake the intern did when submitting to agents and publishers. Writers are using Microsoft Track Changes with their beta readers and editors they hire to help with the manuscript. Good steps. But when the manuscripts are submitted electronically to agents and editors, they’re showing up with all the changes still indicated in them.
So, this is important advice—
In Microsoft Word you MUST accept or reject all changes for the final document.
If you don’t and the document goes to an agent or publisher who works with their Track Changes option on, they will see all the red marks, comments, changes, history, etc. And they are receiving manuscripts where they see everything. So remember, always accept or reject your changes before sending the manuscript out.
