This article got me thinking again about my workflow. I don’t use Microsoft Word at all. I’m not sure I’ve ever even purchased a copy of it. I only use Pages (AppStore) for client proposals and contract since I want them to look really nice and they are presented via PDF.
For most people now, though, publishing means putting things on the Web
The bulk of my writing is for the web and solo. I don’t need change tracking (which a few publishers I’ve talked to about book writing cite as a requirement), I just need to put text on screen. Both Word and Pages are total overkill for that and Word is terrible for basic page layout, which is where Pages shines.
I don’t see a time when I’ll need to own Word, unless of course someone does convince me to write a book for them.
4 responses to “Why Microsoft Word is not a Tool for Me”
I would seriously question a publisher who says you need to use Word. Yes, change tracking is important, but Word is absolutely horrible for typesetting anything for publication.
When it comes down to it, stick with Scrivener for research/storyboarding/drafting. Then go to a fully-featured publishing app (i.e. InDesign) for layout.
Many publishers want it in Word the they move it to a pro app for layout. At least all the publishers I’ve talked to about writing books.
I’m not a big fan of Microsoft Word either, hence why I use LibreOffice (much better in my opinion, plus it’s free).
Pages is a good tool for Mac users as well as you mentioned 🙂
When I was on Windows I was an Open Office user but I just never found it great on a Mac (compared to Pages). I admit, I have never tried the Libre Office ‘fork’ from Open Office. Libre would be my choice now if I was looking for a Pages and MS alternative and really needed a bunch of features. The reality is that plain text with Markdown get’s about 99% of my writing time. The only documents I have in Pages are my client contract so it looks nice and documents (typically Word doc) that clients sent to me. Most users I know (admittedly power users) are in the same boat.