« Getting Freelance Work: The Essentials | Main | Dear Carol: My Staff Is Out of Control! »

11/13/2012

Comments

Patricia Boyd

Wise words, as usual, Carol! I'm still not sure why publishing houses don't handle their (noncomplex) books as a single file, rather than, say, twelve files. But anyway, I always first make a master file for my own use for the books I copyedit. Then, using the "Style" function in Word, I usually quickly apply a heading style to all the heads as they are. That is, what appear to be A-heads get "Head 1" style, B-heads get "Head 2" style, and so on. Then in the "View" tab, I check the "Show Navigation Pane" box. Voila! You have a godlike view of how the entire manuscript is organized (or not organized).

This view is much better than the Outline view, as it shows relationships between headings, and you can navigate easily throughout the entire book by clicking on the headings shown in the pane. I find this step well worth the minutes it takes up front. It makes inconsistent or illogical headings much more apparent and helps me see overall tendencies or problems in the book.

Apps 55753818692 1673506752 E7d0f159c4adc94fb72d8b2b51ed79c0

I am simply excited about those elevators! Those would be great assets to very tall buildings. Maybe it is that certain types of people would like it better than others. As you say, editors need to plan ahead, so this type of elevator fits in with the way our brains work.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been saved. Comments are moderated and will not appear until approved by the author. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)