There are times, as editors, when we must tell our authors things about their writing that are not necessarily “nice.” By this, I mean we have to tell them what needs improvement, and then offer suggestions. However, when we point out what is lacking in an author’s writing, we must be diplomatic. That is part of being a good editor.

The Comments feature in MS Word can be an editor’s best friend…or their worst enemy. Here are a few helpful hints for commenting in Word.

• Use the word “please” liberally. For example, “Please delete the hyphen in ‘nonbinary’ because it is a closed compound” sounds gentler than “Delete the hyphen in ‘nonbinary’” or “’Nonbinary’ is a closed compound.” (Don’t you hate it when you are at the table and your annoying brother says, “Pass the salt,” and you just want to say, “What’s the magic word?” That’s how an author sometimes feels.)

• Use more dos than don’ts. Don’ts are negative and nobody wants to hear them, especially the author of the document you are editing. If you must tell an author to refrain from doing something, use the word “avoid” (as in “Please DO avoid…”). Which of these would you rather hear: “Please avoid the use of slang,” or “Please don’t use slang”? If I were an author, I would much rather hear the former because it sounds positive rather than negative (DO avoid slang rather than DON’T use slang).

• When correcting an error that is contrary to the style guide being used, cite the style guide and the section having to do with that error. For example, “Chemical compounds are open in both noun and adjective form (The Chicago Manual of Style 17^th ed., 7.89).” This will, of course, tell the author you know what you are doing as an editor.

The basic thing to keep in mind is, “If I were writing this, would I like it if an editor said that to me in those words?”

If you are an editor, what tips do you have regarding comments?