{"id":9001,"date":"2013-07-16T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2013-07-16T16:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=9001"},"modified":"2013-07-16T00:19:39","modified_gmt":"2013-07-16T07:19:39","slug":"editing-on-the-go-by-tiffany-turpin-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/16\/editing-on-the-go-by-tiffany-turpin-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Editing on The Go by Tiffany Turpin Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Creative<\/a>Welcome back to\u00a0Tiffany Turpin Johnson<\/a>, a kidlit writer and editor whose monthly column, Scribe Supplies: Writerly Tools for Success<\/b>, brings you the best in all types of tools for professional writers. Today she shares her secrets to editing on the go.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A few months back, I posted a column that outlined an efficient way to write your entire novel on your iPad or iPhone<\/a>. But writing a novel is more than just stringing words together on your device. Eventually you\u2019ll have to edit those words. And then edit them again. And again.<\/p>\n

There are a few ways of doing this. You can go old-school and print out a paper copy of the manuscript, then go through with a red pen. I like the tactile experience of this method, but you end up having to sit at your computer to type all the changes in, which doubles the time involved and increases the risk of editing errors, which you\u2019ll then have to do another read-through to check for.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, you can turn your novel into an ebook and load it onto your ereader, then handwrite notes on paper while you read through. The problem with this method is that while you can digitally flag sections you\u2019d like to come back to, the flagging process is cumbersome and doesn\u2019t allow you to make changes to the actual document without going back to the original file on your computer. Which means that with either of these methods, you\u2019re going to spend a vast amount of time married to your computer.<\/p>\n

Life is just too busy for these methods today, and editing is tough enough without having to dedicate rare bits of quality time to your computer. What if the only few minutes of free time you get are while waiting in the car for your kid to come out of piano practice, miles away from your computer? Or in the waiting room of your dentist\u2019s office with only your wallet and smartphone?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in luck, because I have another method for you. Many writers prefer the simplicity of Microsoft Word\u2019s<\/a> Review tab for their editing, whether it\u2019s for their own work or for a client or critique partner. In Word, you can use the Track Changes function to highlight every change that you make to the document, so that you can reverse a change at any time (or accept\/reject the changes of others). You can also insert comments, marking sections to come back to, things to add in, unanswered questions, and the like. The problem is that you generally need your computer to work in Word, and your computer\u2019s usually at home. Microsoft does offer a to-go app<\/a> for their Office suite, but unless you have a Windows Phone, it\u2019s too pricey for most of us struggling artists.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t afford the Microsoft app, so I found another way. There\u2019s an app that allows you to work in Microsoft Word using Track Changes and comment functions, all on your mobile device. Best of all, it\u2019s free and available for both Apple and Android platforms. (I know, I sound like a commercial, right? But I swear I\u2019m not getting paid for this!)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need:<\/p>\n