Monday, March 26, 2018

The Perks of Google Docs

My last post was on why hire an editor. When I edit, I've found that my favorite program to use is Google Docs. The good news is that while it's my editing tool extraordinaire, there are ways it can be beneficial for the writer as well!
In order to use Google Docs, all you have to have is a Google account since it's a Google app. For me, that came with signing up for a Gmail account since it's also under Google.

I don't even remember how I first stumbled upon Google Docs ... maybe through a friend using it. But it is the most helpful thing ever. It's basically just Google's version of Word, but it has several features that set it apart in my mind.
In days gone by I'd write all my ideas and then the draft of the manuscript itself in Word (not that I was finishing drafts in those days). So I have dozens of fragmented drafts saved to my computer. When I started writing in Google Docs, I wrote chapters in individual docs. I'm not sure why that seemed less extravagant than doing it that way in Word, but I really like having things separate for my early drafts.

Since I share my first draft with at least one friend, I love that I can just click share and input their email. Sending an email is basically the function, but because it's in-house, I know I'm not going to forget or put it off. No attachments they have to download or anything ... just opening up my shared file in Google Docs.

Though I'm only sending my writing to people I trust, accidents happen. I can prevent accidents through Google Docs. When I share a file, I can choose the person's level access: editing, suggesting, or view only. I always give people suggesting access. That way any changes they make display as suggestions instead of actually changing the document. So if they bump a wrong key or a cat walks on the keyboard the integrity of the document is not at stake.

Those comments and suggestions are the best part. Suggestions you just accept or decline and the change is implemented or dismissed. Comments are just that--little comment boxes with messages and input or what have you. If this is sounding similar to Word's track changes feature, it is. But the main difference is Google Docs is interactive, meaning I don't have to wait to share a Word attachment and wait to get it back completely edited. I get emails as people leave comments and I can open the doc and interact with the comments which will then generate them an email. That kind of interaction really keeps the process moving much faster and smoother as I share my drafts with alpha and beta readers. And it's so much fun to have a dozen people interacting with each other about your book ... it kind of becomes a virtual book club.
You can probably see why this is my preferred method as an editor.

Again, getting answers to my questions and uncertainties in the middle of editing is so much more useful than having to shoot clients email after email to hear back on preferences and such. Google Docs keeps all correspondence in-house and thus saves time. It's pretty useless for me to suggest all these minor changes if they're going to be irrelevant in the end. In Google Docs, I find things like that out sooner rather than later and can fine tune my editing to the client as I go.

I also feel like I get to know people better when I use Google Docs. Again, because the interaction is simpler, I get a lot more of it when people decide to use Google Docs with me. They'll explain themselves, discuss plot holes, clarify things ... all of which help me do my job better.

Using Google Docs also means I'm often given more time on a manuscript because the client can get to work editing on the beginning even as I'm still working on the middle or end. Letting the stages of receiving and applying the edit overlap condenses the timeline overall, but also takes some pressure off me if I need to take a little longer. I waste less time even if I take a day off because the client has access.

So in the end, I vastly prefer Google Docs even though Word's track changes is the only other thing I've tried. It's the next best thing to marking a hard copy with a red pen.
Honestly whether writing or editing, I can only think of a few downsides.

Most people don't write in Google Docs, so to be able to use it they're often copying things over and I think there are some minor things like emdashes and such that don't always copy correctly? To me that's a fairly minor con considering all the pros as I'll catch that kind of thing in an edit.

Also, Google Docs requires internet. This is rarely an issue for me, but it's a little easier to be handicapped for that reason. This also means that when I'm editing a manuscript that's a single file, it can take a minute or so for it to load the entire thing.  (This is one reason I share my manuscript as a file per chapter.) It's worth it, though, because it's more searchable as a single document.

That's literally all the negativity I can think of! Have you tried Google Docs?
Yes, I am aware that this post is two days late. My week exploded (and I had a manuscript to finish in Google Docs), so there ya go. :P What programs and apps do you use for writing and editing? Do you like Google Docs?

15 comments:

  1. I am a hardcore Word girl. Word has been awesome for years, and that's the reason why I want a Windows computer, because Pages is HORRIBLE. (I guess that I can get Word on Apple, but I still prefer Windows) ;) But this is interesting! I might check this out sometime just to see if it works better. The two things that I probably would dislike about it though, would be that we have less than awesome internet and I write in the car sometimes (gasp!).
    Thanks for sharing!!!
    astoryspinner.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes, I can agree that Pages is horrible. My family has only ever used PC computers for such reasons and I've cringed every time I've had to work with Apple applications xD Yep it can be a pain when I can't access stuff due to internet. I still feel like that means it's more protected over time, though?? Like my computer could crash and I'd just log in elsewhere and get to it.

      Gosh, I wish I could write in the car! That's awesome ^.^ Sure thing! I'll be interested to hear what you think of Google Docs :)

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  2. I've been using LibreOffice for drafting purposes for years, and have also just started using Scrivener for editing purposes (which I really love!). At first I was hesitant to use Google Docs (I hate trying new things), but I've slowly been using it for a few things, and it's been quite nice! I don't think I'll ever draft or do my own editing with it, but it is extremely useful for sharing a document for readers to edit (or edit for someone else), or even just co-writing a story.

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    1. Ohh I haven't heard of that one! Scrivener I've heard of a lot and just haven't ever invested in xP Ohh I'm glad! Yeah a hesitance to try new things is what's kept me away from Scrivener and Evernote and all that I think hehe. YES sharing is so nice. I've done some basic co-writing stuff in it as well now that you mention it and it's so nice! It's neat to hear how it compares to more mainstream programs! :)

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  3. I've used google docs to help edit friends' writing , but I've never had send it for my own writing.... mainly because I have slight internet paranoia... XD But I guess another upside is the storage. If your computer crashes, then you still have the doc.
    Thanks for this post! I'll probably use docs for my next round of editing. :D
    Danielle | silverphoenixwriter.blogspot.com

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    1. *used, not send. *crumples autocorrect and tosses it out the window*

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    2. Well that makes sense. It's quite blatantly internet ;) But yes!! I love that I can access it from any computer without having to save things to an external archive. SO NICE. But to be perfectly honest I copy my chapters and paste them all in one big Word doc and save that to my computer both locally and externally so I have a copy of each draft ... So while the internet factor doesn't exactly bother me, I still have it everywhere else too haha xD

      Ahhh autocorrect -_-

      Thanks for the comment!! :D

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  4. I started using Google Docs last Nano, when I wanted something different from my usual LibreOffice. And I pretty much fell in love. :) It's so clean and not as cluttered as a lot of other writing systems. there's a comments feature, which I use to leave notes to myself. During Nano, I'd make a note at the end of each day to mark how many words I wrote each day and how many were left. And now that I'm reworking the novel, I'm leaving all kinds of comments and ideas in the margins. The internet factor is the one downside, but the rest of it definitely makes up for it!

    This was a great post, Abigayle - I really enjoyed it!

    ~True // atruewriter.blogspot.com

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    1. I leave notes for myself with the comments feature as well! I agree that it's less cluttered and I really love it for that! One reason I haven't checked into Scrivener yet. Glad you liked it. :)

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  5. I use Open Office (which is like the free version of Word and I like it better. XD) and Scrivener these days. Google Docs can definitely be handy, but I don't have internet in my room, so it's not an option for me. :-/ I love that it works so well for you, though! And the times I have used it in a beta capacity, it was definitely fun interacting. :)

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    1. Come to think of it that might be what I use?? Idk ... it's installed by disc instead of a subscription, but either way :P I haven't tried Scrivener yet because it seems so exclusive and kinda cluttered?? Like I know it's supposed to help with organization but that many features and options kind of overwhelms me xD Everyone raves about it thought.

      Ahh bummer. There is an offline option that you can set docs to but I haven't fiddled with that much yet to see what functionality that removes. Yep, it can't be beaten for beta interaction I'm convinced. ;)

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  6. Ahh, I loooveee Google Docs. <33 I use it for literally everything. In the days when I wrote on an iPad and didn't have consistent internet access, I used the Google Docs app—which can be used offline! :)

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    1. Right?! I need to look into the offline features because I've run into needing that few times but I don't know what effect it has on the functionality :P I do have the app on my phone. It just simply can't be beaten in my opinion ^.^

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  7. Google Docs is a LIFESAVER. The functionality and the sharing ability are unmatched (well, aside from other sharing software like Dropbox, but those are more of a hassle, in my opinion). Also the fact that it syncs between everything that has a Google Account connected. I love it!!

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  8. I use basically nothing but Google Docs. It's so nice! I actually use it offline a lot, too ... you just have to install it correctly and make sure it's saved to your computer before you go offline. It's really nice! :)

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