Are you a writer or editor who needs to save time? Who isn’t, in today’s entrepreneurial world? What I do know is that I love macros! They have been a game-changer for me.
And I don’t mean the macros where you track your protein, carbs, and fat.
I mean the macros you can use in Microsoft Word (and Excel), which are created with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)—a programming language—to automate a series of commands.
With macros, I can analyze a document’s punctuation, get a list of all proper nouns, get a list of possibly misspelled words, highlight pretty much anything I want to keep an eye on, do large a large Find and Replace, and much more!
Don’t let the fact that I said they are a programming language earlier scare you off. They are simple to install and use.
How to get started with macros for editors and writers
Paul Beverly is a great resource for how to install and use macros for editors and writers. His YouTube video below about starting out with macros is a great starting point, as is his very helpful and free book (where I get all my macros). It walks you through how to start.
C.K. MacLeod has a very short free 20-Minute Macro Course on his website that I found helpful as well.
Where to find macros for Word
My favorite resource for macros is, of course, Paul Beverley. His free book Macros for Editors contains over eight hundred macros to help with writing and editing tasks. He gives detailed instructions on what each one does, how to install and run them, and the macro script for each one. He also regularly updates the macros.
The Editing Podcast also had a great episode on macros for writers and editors that you can listen to here. It is Season 2 Episode 5: 10 killer editing macros for writers and editors.
I hope I’ve given you some resources to get started on your macros journey. Be sure to check back to see the monthly macro. as I highlight my favorites in “Macro of the Month”!
Subscribe
Recent Comments