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Editorium Update, 2006/06/14: The Need for Speed
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The Editorium
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Jun 14, 2007 11:30 PDT
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EDITORIUM UPDATE
Tips for Publishing Professionals Using Microsoft Word
June 14, 2007
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CONTENTS
Feature Article: The Need for Speed
Resources: Macro programs
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THE NEED FOR SPEED
By Jack M. Lyon
In my last few years as a corporate employee, I felt compelled to edit
faster and faster while still maintaining accuracy. (Could it have had
something to do with the many rounds of layoffs in the company?) If
you're feeling the same squeeze, I have some suggestions that might
help.
1. Choose the fast way over the easy way. That sounds paradoxical, but
it's often easier to spend *ten* minutes making corrections manually
than it is to spend *five* minutes recording and running a macro to make
the same corrections automatically. Human nature, I guess. But if you
can keep breaking through your own resistance to change, all those new
techniques will soon become second nature, and you'll be working at a
higher and faster level.
2. If you're still working on an old 233 MHz computer with 256 megs of
RAM, get an upgrade, fer cryin' out loud! Buy a new computer--something
fast, with, say, a 2GHz processor and at least 1G of RAM (I recommend,
for now, sticking with Windows XP and Word 2000 or 2003). Over the past
few years, desktop computers have become very powerful--and cheap:
http://www.techbargains.com/
The latest Macs make me drool, but they're on the expensive side:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/
"But," you say, "I don't need a fast computer; all I'm doing is reading
through one document at a time and making simple corrections." If that's
true:
3. Learn how to automate as many tasks as you can; that's what computers
are for, and that's why you need one that's fast. If you're still
editing as you would on paper, learn how to use macros and wildcard Find
and Replace. That will require an investment of time and effort, but
you'll be amazed at the results.
http://www.editorium.com/euindex.htm (scroll down to "Macros and
Programs").
http://www.editorium.com/euindex.htm (scroll down to "Finding and
Replacing").
4. Spend a few minutes once a month researching new software that might
make your life easier. There are wonderful programs out there, many of
them free, and I'll try to feature some of them in the future. As a
friend of mine says, "If you keep doing things the same way, life will
never get any better." Of course, I recommend my own Microsoft Word
add-ins:
http://www.editorium.com
For lots of other interesting ideas, check out LifeHacker:
http://www.lifehacker.com
5. Maintain your computer. How to do that is beyond the scope of this
article, but there's plenty of information on the internet. I like
Windows Secrets:
http://www.windowssecrets.com
6. Set your mouse and keyboard to run as fast as you can stand. I always
have mine at full blast.
http://lists.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1700849395
7. Don't use directly applied formatting. Do use paragraph styles.
http://lists.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1705536230
http://lists.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1711522967
8. Make sure you've got the final version of the document you need to
work on. I can't tell you how many times I've edited something only to
have the author say, "Oh, that was a preliminary version." Editing once
is fast; editing twice is slow.
9. Educate your authors and clients. If old Professor Higgins always
hits ENTER at the end of each line as if using a typewriter, pick up the
phone, call the good professor, and explain why that's a bad idea. Don't
just sullenly correct the same mistakes time after time. Why not give
your authors a checklist of (1) things to do and (2) things not to do?
It would make your life easier, and your work faster. I've included a
few such items at the end of the instructions for my free Author Tools
Template:
http://www.editorium.com/ftp/authortemplate.zip
10. Educate yourself. Spend one hour each week (I like Friday afternoon)
learning one new skill or technique that would make your work easier and
faster. You might consult my newsletter archive for some ideas:
http://www.editorium.com/euindex.htm
Do you have other hints and ideas about how to speed up editing (while
still maintaining quality)? If so, share the love:
mailto:edi-@editorium.com
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RESOURCES
Macro programs
Can't do what you need with Word macros? Check these out:
http://www.autohotkey.com/
http://docs.blacktree.com/quicksilver/quicksilver
http://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/
If you'd like to share a resource that others might find useful:
mailto:resou-@editorium.com
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Got books? Get even more at Waking Lion Press:
http://www.wakinglionpress.com
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NEED HELP?
If you need help with Word, there are actually lots of places to go.
Some of the best include:
The Word-PC List:
http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/word-pc.html
The McEdit list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/McEdit/
Microsoft's Word discussion groups:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/FlyoutOverview.mspx#13
(Look in the lower right of the page.)
The Word MVP site:
http://word.mvps.org/
Woody's Lounge:
http://www.wopr.com/cgi-bin/w3t/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=wrd
But if you can't find what you need in those places, send your question
here:
mailto:he-@editorium.com
I'll put your question in the newsletter to see if some astute reader
knows the answer.
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Your support will help keep Editorium Update alive and kicking. Thanks!
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THE FINE PRINT
Editorium Update (ISSN 1534-1283) is published by:
The EDITORIUM, LLC
Microsoft Word Add-Ins for Publishing Professionals
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