I'm a member of two different on-line lists that I turn to when something in Word goes wrong. On the advice of one member, I bought this book . . . and then forgot about it.
A few days ago, I was trying to move a large section of text that had been marked with Track Changes -- the text moved, but the changes stayed where they were. In a deadline panic I started an e-mail to both lists . . . and then remembered this book.
There was the solution on page 39, easy as pie. Within 30 seconds I was up and running again.
This book is a great resource for those moments when you encounter some obscure but dire problem that no one -- except, apparently, Hilary Powers -- has ever run into.

Edward Batchelder
Freelance writer and editor

The glowing (and growing!) buzz about Hilary's book that I kept encountering in my online discussion groups turned out to be absolutely true: Hilary's book is perfect--slim, to the point, full of helpful examples. I was especially thrilled to find "Walking Through a Job" (Chapter 9), which is an outline of how Hilary tackles an edit in Word (I've earmarked it).

Elizabeth Degenhard
Freelance copyeditor and proofreader

Hilary Powers has managed to make the ordinarily dull computer manual into one that is not only useful, but also entertaining. Novice and experienced editors will enjoy reading this book and following Hilary's suggestions. I especially appreciated the spiral binding that enables the user to lay the book flat and have it stay open at the desired page.



Carol Stone

The Stone Cottage Science Writing and Editing

The message from Making Word Work for You that I've found most useful is the idea that if you find yourself doing something over and over, there is probably a way that the task can be made more efficient. Even if a reader's specific challenge is not covered in this book, the author has provided enough information (including a number of additional reference sources) to get the reader well on the way to a solution tailored to his or her own needs.

Some of the specific tips in this book have already saved me considerable time and frustration (more than enough to make the purchase worthwhile). Other tips have explained problems I've had in the past and should help keep me out of trouble in the future. I highly recommend this book for anyone who does editing in Word and has that nagging feeling that "there must be a better way to do this"!

Reviewer: Ginger Peschke, Oakside Editorial Services

Once again, Hilary's wisdom saves the day! In as little as 5 minutes, I was able to resolve a baffling problem in a manuscript today. Yes, 5 minutes is all it took to read 1 or 2 pages, implement Hilary's suggestions, and rid a manuscript of one large, pesky (and until now, mysterious) field that the author unwittingly dirtied it with.

I've been chiding myself for not sitting down to study Hilary's book more thoroughly. No more! I'm going to read it cover to cover, starting this afternoon.

Thanks for making this available to us, Hilary. I hope it garners all of the recognition that it deserves.

Reviewer: Christina Quinlan, Proprietor and Editor at Quinlan Creative

Hilary Powers writes in her book,“If you really want your computer to act like a stack of paper and a set of colored pencils, you can…,” and using Word is “the shortest distance” for efficient electronic editing. Considered in my opinion one of THE authorities on making Word work for editors and writers, I avidly have read Hilary’s posts at EFA’s online discussion forum since I joined EFA. Hilary obviously is one of the most widely read posters there. There isn’t any question regarding any version of Word that she can’t answer and her recent book reflects her exceptional in-depth knowledge base. Congratulations Hilary. I can’t wait to see Volume 2.

Reviewer: Nina M. Sherwood, Professional Writer / Editor / Researcher / Proofreader; GiftedWriting.com