Some of you may recall that I successfully completed the Editorial Freelancers Association’s series of online copyediting classes last April (specifically, I completed Advanced Copyediting at that time). Although the classes were fun, they did take up a significant amount of my time (Advanced especially so) and at the end of April, I said to myself, “It will be a long time before I take another class!”
You know what they say: Never say never.
This past week, I registered for another online class offered by the EFA: Macros from A to Z.
“What is a macro, what does it have to do with editing, and why do you want to learn about macros, Suzelle?” you ask.
It’s very difficult to explain what macros are without plagiarizing the words that I have read that were written by others. So I will attempt to explain them on my own. Bear with me.
Macros are, in my feeble understanding, keyboard shortcuts that editors install on their computers and that make editing more efficient.
I’ve read in Carol Fisher Saller’s The Subversive Copy Editor that if you aren’t using macros, you’re not making an honest living (paraphrased).
I’m all for efficiency and I’m definitely all for making an honest living, so off to “macros class” I go, come April 18, 2022.
Fortunately, the class is for macro beginners, and comes with a discussion forum and three Zoom sessions in which students can help each other and get help from the instructor. I’m looking forward to it, although it is most likely not going to be easy, as it deals with material with which I am unfamiliar. With the copyediting classes, I could say, “Oh, I’ve seen this kind of thing before.” With macros…uh-uh.
I blogged a while ago about how one should never stop improving, and what I’m writing about here goes right back to that point. If I use macros in my editing and they make me more efficient and save my clients money, then that is a strong improvement. (And yes, I will be doing my editing work as usual during the period of time in which the class will be, which means that my Saturdays will be for macros.)
Dear readers, if you know any information about macros, kindly share it with us in the comments.