12 TIPS for Writing a Novel in WORD | These are 12 Microsoft Word Features You Need to Know!

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Bethany Atazadeh - YA Fantasy Author

Күн бұрын

I get questions from fellow writers all the time about how I use different features in Microsoft Word, such as track changes, the navigation pane, zoom, focus, comments, and SO many more! Here are 12 tools you NEED to know when writing a novel in word! If you'd like to get even more advanced, check out my novel formatting playlist below for a series of videos on formatting a book in Microsoft Word:
FORMATTING PLAYLIST: • FORMATTING A NOVEL FRO...
(1) Introduction to the Series: • FORMATTING A BOOK - Wh...
(2) 10 Essential Formatting Rules: • 10 UNBREAKABLE FORMATT...
(3) Front and Back Matter: • How to set up FRONT AN...
(4) Sizing (and Re-sizing): • CHOOSING THE SIZE OF Y...
(5) Fonts and Styles: • Choosing the FONT(s) +...
(6) Adding Images: • How to ADD IMAGES to y...
(7) Chapter Headers: • Creating fancy CHAPTER...
(8) Putting it all together: • FORMATTING A NOVEL FRO...
Template: WWW.DIYBOOKFORMATS.COM
(NOTE: if you run into any issues with this template, PLEASE talk to the creator about it, because I didn't make it and won't have the answers! ;)
◦ My NANOWRIMO Playlist: • WRITING A BOOK: TIPS &...
___
📚 T H E S T O L E N K I N G D O M S E R I E S :
www.bethanyatazadeh.com/thest...
◦ COLLECTOR'S EDITION / BOX SET: www.amazon.com/dp/B09KF5YYZJ
◦ THE SECRET GIFT: books2read.com/thesecretgift
◦ THE STOLEN KINGDOM: books2read.com/thestolenkingdom
◦ THE JINNI KEY: books2read.com/thejinnikey
◦ THE CURSED HUNTER: books2read.com/thecursedhunter
◦ THE ENCHANTED CROWN: books2read.com/theenchantedcrown
◦ The Stolen Kingdom Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/B088FVQNJK...
___
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Where you can receive digital early reader copies of my books, writing & publishing advice, help with your author platform, meet writer friends, and more!
/ bethanyatazadeh
💻 M Y A U T H O R N E W S L E T T E R :
Sign up for FREE exclusives (the first HALF of The Stolen Kingdom + a step-by-step self-publishing guide): www.bethanyatazadeh.com/contact
❤️ M Y M E R C H :
teespring.com/stores/bethanya...
___
📒 M Y O T H E R W O R K :
◦ EVALENE'S NUMBER: amzn.to/2LyJt87
◦ PEARL'S NUMBER: amzn.to/38FsJok
◦ MARKETING FOR AUTHORS SERIES: www.amazon.com/dp/B09CY8PCYK
◦ THE CONFIDENT CORGI: amzn.to/3oUIa1u
◦ Novel Planner Notebook: amzn.to/2LvyD2G
___
❤️ C O M P A N I E S I L O V E & A M A N A F F I L I A T E F O R :
◦ PUBLISH AND THRIVE: heartbreathings.teachable.com...
◦ THE BOOK LAUNCH PLANNER & STICKERS (10% off discount code is BETHANY10): thebooklaunchplanner.com/?ref...
◦ EPIDEMIC SOUND (where I get my music! If you'd like to try it for a month, using this link gives me a free month! Thank you in advance!): www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
◦ DRAFT2DIGITAL: www.draft2digital.com/bethany...
💬 L E T ' S C O N N E C T 💬
Website | www.bethanyatazadeh.com
Instagram | / authorbethanyatazadeh
KZfaq | / bethanyatazadeh
Patreon | / bethanyatazadeh
___
Thanks for watching!
❤️ Bethany
Note: some of these links are affiliate links and will support me with a little extra income at no extra cost to you. :)
BREAKDOWN OF THE VIDEO:
0:00 - video inspiration
0:31 - introduction to what’s in this video
1:45 - zoom in / out feature
2:47 - focus feature
3:39 - different versions of word / how to check
4:24 - split screen view (for multiple manuscripts on screen)
4:41 - navigation pane - the thumbnail view
5:02 - navigation pane - the document map (chapter headers)
5:57 - navigation pane - reviewing pane
6:42 - comments feature
8:10 - track changes feature
9:06 - turn mark up on and off
9:45 - protect document
9:54 - thesaurus (which most of you know)
10:08 - word count tracker (and pages, lines, paragraphs, etc)
10:21 - bonus mention: spelling and grammar check
10:39 - summary of the features
11:28 - bloopers
#Authortube #NovelWriting #NaNoWriMo

Пікірлер: 105

@JacquelineKirk 3 жыл бұрын

Glad to see other writers that use Word! 😊 I feel like we're the minority sometimes! 😂

@sararobinson5632 2 жыл бұрын

I have written documents in Word for over 25 years in the corporate world and I still learned a few tips :-)

@TheMsLourdes Ай бұрын

I figured out the chapter headings hack a year or two ago and its a godsend, so many features with having 'find' open :)

@katyhammy 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve been looking for Word help! You always produce what I need right when I need it! You’re a star Bethany!

@therealannataylor 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! Been waiting ever so patiently for this one!

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Woohoo!! I hope it was super helpful for you!!

@philbhm 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you...I feel a lot more comfortable with the features you led us through and would like to see your ideas on formatting features!

@nadakaram4877 2 жыл бұрын

This was so good, thank you for uploading it was informative and easy to follow

@jlslipak1483 3 жыл бұрын

Just found this video. I love Word! This video is so great and easy to understand if a Word user. Well done!

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! Thank you!

@lmicheli1 2 жыл бұрын

I am interested in formatting. Thank you for this video. Very helpful.

@deekshachauhan4818 2 жыл бұрын

So useful... thankyou ❤️

@qine6559 3 жыл бұрын

I loved this. Thank you. 💙

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!

@ISOShakespeare 3 жыл бұрын

Great information! Yes, more on formatting.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! You got it!

@SaintOfUnholiness 2 жыл бұрын

This was more interesting and more helpful than I thought. I didn't think Word was so useful before but then again I haven't had the pleasure to use it since I am only 15 now. Great video!

@kenzogm3536 2 жыл бұрын

Hey, I’m 16 too wanting to write a novel

@mlbullbooks 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing! :) I like using Word for formatting too and I'm hoping my future books turn out much better. I have the Windows version, which is a little different, but I have most of the features you mentioned.

@ChisiAmandaXiong Жыл бұрын

You are so wonderful! Thank you for this video!

@BethanyAtazadeh Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@griffinrorcrafts Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

@samp4050 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for this informative video.

@vanissa537 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!! I didn't know half of this!

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! So happy it was helpful! :D

@rycoryco2888 2 жыл бұрын

I’m purchasing a 2021 Office/Word. Had earlier edition. Didn’t learn all the features. Consequently purchased other writing apps. After all that returning to Word. Integrates with my sync cloud storage & editing, grammar specialized software. Thanks for your informative tutorial, concise & presented well.

@DancingQueen311 2 жыл бұрын

Okay, this is totally unrelated but I have to get this off my chest... YOUR CORGIE IS SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!! Now that that's out of the way, thank you so much for this video. You are a huge, warm bowl of awesome sauce!

@todddoyle558 Жыл бұрын

You know what's hilarious... I just recorded myself sneezing in a Tik Tok video the other day and I really thought about posting it. I said, "Well... you caught that sneeze live!" (It was a bad one.!) Props on all your videos in this series as I'm about to launch my debut book. I really appreciate you putting out this content! Also... will be signing up for your newsletter! THANK YOU!

@LsNicolai 3 жыл бұрын

Haha I freaked a second when I suddenly saw my comment :') Thanks for the tips! I noticed a smalle differences between the mac word and windows, so I'm going to have to dig into word to find those handy little buttons, but at least now I know they exist! So, win! Excited to start working with it!

@AngelaRWatts 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this--I just got Word and... yeah. Thank you. I'd love the format from scratch video!

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! As long as filming and editing goes well, that'll be coming soon!

@patrickskramstad1485 3 жыл бұрын

Did you know you can add "Grammarly" to word? Yes, you can and I have found it to be very helpful while editing.

@julialumina1615 3 жыл бұрын

Me too!

@TaniasWritingRealm 3 жыл бұрын

Cool I didn't know about focus. You can also rearrange your chapters (or scenes of you've used a heading style) using the navigation pane. My word version is different so doesn't have the same view options in the navigation pane. I started using scrivener for nano this year and love it. I didn't think I would because I love word as well. But you can compile directly into an epub worth scrivener which was the biggest sell point for me.

@dharmolaha3628 2 жыл бұрын

Congratulations you got another subscriber

@julialumina1615 3 жыл бұрын

Super helpful thank you! And yes! Would LOOVE a video on formatting in word :)

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! And the formatting video series will be coming in December if filming goes well! :)

@julialumina1615 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh ah yay! excited for that! could really use some more tips :)

@julialumina1615 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh yay! Excited!

@Artraive 3 жыл бұрын

Yes for a formatting video! And please add how to do bleed thing you brought up in the past and if you have interior designs, how to handle them in word 😊❣

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Noted! That may have to be a formatting 2.0 video not the basics, because both of those things are pretty intensive, but I will write it down for a future video! :D

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

p.s. in the meantime, KDP actually has video tutorials on that, which is how I learned - go check em out! :)

@Artraive 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh Thank you, that means a lot! I'll see if I can find it in the meantime 😊. Have a great weekend Bethany 😁

@peterronhovde 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tips. I do think people under utilize what Word provides. I would also add that I've used a number of Word macros that significantly improve productivity and/or make some of the tedious tasks less so. The learning curve is steep, but it is worth it to be able to customize Word to your own particular work flow. I sent an e-mail to the address on your About page (sorry, I know it said "business inquiries" but it was the only address I could find) that explains more details if you are interested enough to want to know more. I would be happy to share some them with you.

@jjotis9443 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips. I like using Word too. I like how I can move the headers around just like how you can move things around in Scrivener. So if you need to move a scene it’s super easy.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

That’s so cool! I think I asked you this on IG too, but I’m so curious what version of word you have and wonder if I have access to that feature!!

@jjotis9443 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh I have a Windows PC and 2016 Word. I've found I can move subheadings but not main headings. :)

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

@@jjotis9443 ahhh that makes sense why I couldn't, I'll have to try subheadings! :D

@jjotis9443 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh I do chapters as main headings then scenes as subheadings. 😊Hope it works for you too.

@chandragray8186 3 жыл бұрын

That is so cool, I do what a formatting from scratch video.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! And will do!

@lyssadawn7664 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this! Please do a formatting from scratch tutorial video.

@mackenzielee4441 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! I would love a video on formatting from scratch! I am wanting to self publish a book and was hoping to save some money by doing my own formatting.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yayyy! Okay I’m super excited about making this video! My goal is to get it filmed, edited, and uploaded for December so it’ll be coming soon!

@mackenzielee4441 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh yay!

@LL51190 3 жыл бұрын

When I write I'm normally with The Saurus or Google "x word synonym" open, so the video helped me a lot :) Something similar I do is use the Grammarly extension with word to help with the self editing between steps. It's quite common for someone to miss a comma, a random letter or something right haha I just wish I could toggle off Word's comments per chapter or something. The initial anxiety of seeing 99/999+ comments makes me want to toggle off the markings every time :P

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yay so glad it was helpful!

@scribbles7470 3 жыл бұрын

MS Word for the win ✊

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!! 🙌🏻☺️🎉

@sarahmatthews5878 3 жыл бұрын

I am getting word RIGHT NOW!!! So cool!!!! Thanks for sharing these tips. I would have never considered Word. I'm not a scrivener fan either. I'm a google docs, but only because I was using Libra Office and my husband accidentally(he says. I believe him) wiped my laptops hard drive and in doing so, erased 67,000+ words! I'm sure you can imagine the level of heartache I experienced.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Woohoo! I hope you love it!! And ooooh my goodness, I’m SO sorry that happened!! Ahh! My heart hurt for you just thinking about it!! 😭 I have lost work before because of a computer crashing, and it was only 10k or so, but I still feel for you! I love word but just in case, I always email myself my work at the end of every writing day, just to have a backup file! 😬

@thereelaccountant9246 3 жыл бұрын

This may sound crazy, but every single day after I make any changes to my writing docs in word, I email a copy to myself lol. Just in case.

@savennerwriter 3 жыл бұрын

Would love a video on formatting from scratch

@EricaLucasLoves 3 жыл бұрын

The dog on the chair intro ❤️

@francesnsofor9632 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this. Kindly make the formatting from scratch video. It's a pain point for me.🙏

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

I understand, formatting was a headache for me when I started as well! The formatting video series will be coming in December if filming goes well! :)

@kristinabaird 3 жыл бұрын

Please do a complete formatting video! I have tried and tried but still fall short in it. I use Word exclusively as well. I don't know how to get the chapters to show up on the navigation pane or how to do all of the styles, etc. How to send it to editors or how to upload it to KDP. I deeply appreciate your time in making these videos! They are so helpful!

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yayyy! Okay I’m super excited about making a formatting video! My goal is to get it filmed, edited, and uploaded for December, so it’ll be coming soon!

@hannahj4265 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!! I would love to learn more formatting! Thx Bethany. 💗💗💗😬

@ladykim2671 2 жыл бұрын

Hello. Your videos are super helpful. Do you have one that show how to merge the word doc to canvas to add page designs? I’m trying to create a journal that has some content but I don’t know how to merge them. I want some designs on my pages. Please help. Thank you.

@bbnowak5510 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Bethany! I know you uploaded this video a long time ago but i’ve only just gotten back into trying to write my book. I’m really struggling with where to start, but i feel like if you answered this question it would really help me out. With formatting my book, do i first write my whole book on word without organising it as a draft and then format it and make it all book-looking at the end or so i format as i go? I genuinely don’t know if i supposed to just write it all out with chapters and then format it once that’s done?

@anttisaksi5735 Жыл бұрын

I would say you should just write the book first. Otherwise, it's easy to get stuck on the editing side of things. Just write. Would recommend using chapter titles, just to keep track of things. It's easy then to find the parts that you want or need to revisit (fixing plot holes etc.).

@cwfcwfcwf 3 жыл бұрын

I have only had Word for about a month so any information you can give us would be appreciated. :)

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Hope the video helped!

@andrewlaberge400 3 жыл бұрын

ZOMG. I can't believe it took me this long to notice this video. Yes! The distraction-free view is amaze. The only thing I wish it could do is have two separate docs open in "focus" mode while in side-by-side mode. If you're also paying for Office 2016 or Office 365 (which I believe is a subscription model now), then you likely have an MS account which also means you probably have OneDrive attached to that. If you're saving/syncing your working files into that OneDrive folder, you can (a) enable auto-save, and (b) you have version history. With auto-save, you never have to worry about remembering to save your document. OR if your computer crashes unexpectedly, you didn't lose all that hard work. And since it's being saved to the cloud, it's being backed up. WORSE, I hate it when I accidentally save a change that I didn't intend to make - like you almost did with the comments. Ish. Version history keeps track of periodic revisions and lets you restore a particular save you made at an earlier time. Otherwise, if you're like me, you probably have a giant folder labeled "Chapter 1" and then in that folder "Version 1" and "Version 2" and then, oops, "Version 1.5" and then version "2.1"... uh... ... ok. OneDrive does that for you. It's like if Auto-Save and Backup had a weird alien love child that had time traveling abilities. And it's saved my bacon COUNTLESS times. I think Google Drive and Dropbox also both offer Version History features, but they don't connect directly into MS Word. Google Drive works best if you're working Google Docs, but this lacks the features of a full featured office suite like Office. Dropbox has their own text editor called "Paper" with even fewer features. However, it is handy though when you're out and about and just need to make a quick note to self ("fyi: Magnus is a horrible name. I should use that for the protagonist.")

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Just seeing this now, but this is awesome! Thanks Andy!

@kekeok6931 2 жыл бұрын

There are other word alternatives too, like WPS office, and bear notes!

@ChristianityExplained 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Bethany. I was watching some of your videos, last night. I am in the middle of writing my 2nd book. I'm currently using the format specs used in the 1st book. I'm just doing a collection of short stories. I have a question for you. Should I be bothering with the old specs that I got from Amazon's CreateSpace? The first book was only 87 pages. Should I be using the 1" margins for the page and go back to the specs when it is time to submit the manuscript to CreateSpace? Thanks.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Createspace doesn't exist anymore, so definitely not. Check out whatever platform you want to publish on to get up to date information on requirements, I personally recommend KDP as a replacement for createspace.

@ashleyroaden3084 3 жыл бұрын

Please make a format from scratch video! Really would be helpful for some of us starting out.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Coming soon! Hopefully in December if I can get the whole series filmed and edited in time! :D

@theunwantedbookclub8823 3 жыл бұрын

I only ever used word for a trial when I needed to sign for taxes and didn't know how else to do it... PErsonally prefer Dabble, but this one isn't bad.

@crystalbaynard6735 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Beth, Yes I need "How to set up my paper in Word 6x9 I am on my second book and still having problems.

@jvantonder651 5 ай бұрын

What is the beautiful font you used for the book name

@GabrielleBGoode 3 жыл бұрын

If people don't know about such basic things, it goes a long way to explain why they don't use it. I have scrivener and I had no trouble learning to do stuff in but I don't like it one bit. It misses features Word has and I didn't find anything in it that I need and I couldn't do with Word. I've been looking at Vellum tutorials and I do stuff like that in Word for paperbacks.

@ryanvoll7088 3 жыл бұрын

Can the word count tell you how many words are in a single chapter as well? Or just tells you for the entire file?

@cassiemerson7789 2 жыл бұрын

You mentioned comments from your editor - how do you share the doc with them? Just via email or using like Office 365 online?

@BethanyAtazadeh 2 жыл бұрын

Yep email!

@sergiomeza9316 Жыл бұрын

I need to know how to set up to start writing on Microsoft Word. How to set up the page if you can please be so kind and generous to guide me through I would really appreciate it

@alanhembra2565 3 жыл бұрын

Do you have a blank book template you’d be willing to share? I’ve been writing in Word 2003 cause that’s how old my book template is.

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

Yep! It’s in the formatting video I mentioned in this video, linked in the description bar, I actually got this template from someone else so all the info is in there!

@poohbear0320 2 жыл бұрын

How do you get everything for the book in the same document?

@t.e.d.i1678 3 жыл бұрын

Wow you're sorry title is awesome ❤️ can you make a video on it Pls❤️🥺🙏

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

That title page is done by my cover designer (it's the book title design), so unfortunately all I can say is make sure when you hire a cover designer that they'll provide the title page font as well! :)

@t.e.d.i1678 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh 👍

@olivierdube8110 3 жыл бұрын

How do you write your title in that font and style? Please I've been looking for hours

@BethanyAtazadeh 3 жыл бұрын

It's my book cover title font from my cover designer!

@olivierdube8110 3 жыл бұрын

@@BethanyAtazadeh how could I make a similar one? 🤔

@angusorvid8840 Жыл бұрын

While Word is not perfect (what word processing program is?) too many writers are quick to knock it without taking the time to learn it's full capabilities. I also love free programs like LibreWriter and Google Docs. But nothing has the full power of Word. It's the publishing industry standard for a reason. One of the best things I've added over the last year or two is Dark Mode. I just prefer it to standard mode.

@samp4050 10 ай бұрын

😮😅 oh damn, this is too much for my 64 year old fossil brain!😂 Can you please do a video on how to copy and paste a few pages from word document, into the body of the Gmail, as requested by literary agents? They don't want attachments. Thanks Bethany. 😊😊