By the time this post goes live, I’ll be pitching a lot of short stories I’ve written so far and writing more. But, I haven’t seen anybody writing about this, at all, so wanted to share a bit of a tech tip for fellow visually impaired writers out there.

Even though this trick is mainly for VI writers, others can use this trick too. Here’s how to automatically round words in a Microsoft Word document using a screen reader and the keyboard.

First, a bit of an explanation.

Proper manuscript format explanation.

When submitting to pro markets, the submission guidelines require that the manuscript be formatted in, what’s known, as proper manuscript format. AKA, Shunn manuscript format. This format has a lot of visual specifications that make it easier to read manuscripts. It, also, though, puts a ton of extra work on those of us that are blind or visually impaired.

All the same, fiction and nonfiction publications like this format. Book publishers love this format. Even if they don’t say they want this style, you should change your normal template to this style anyway, just because it will make your life easier in the long run. Plus, it looks professional.

I’d suggest you use the below templates and make changes to them. These templates are the only screen reader friendly ones I could find, so far. I’ve included an anonymous template because some pro publications do blind readings.

Shunn templates. Made for Word 2007 but is screen reader friendly. There is no modern version that’s screen reader friendly. Anonymous template. Provided by the very inclusive folks at Escape Artists.

Now that you have your template, let’s get counting!

I’d suggest you practice on the below with a document first, not a template. When you’re ready to edit a template, open the template with Control O, as you would a regular document.

Counting words using fields.

It’s tiring to have to open up the word count dialog, copy that number, then paste it in the document. It’s far better if you insert a field that will count words for you into the Normal template so you won’t have to enter the number every time you want to write a story.

At the top of your template, delete the numeral that says 100 words. This numeral is aligned a certain way, so be careful not to delete the tab stop before the word, about.

Once, 100, is deleted, do the following to insert an automatic word count.

Place the cursor exactly where the 100 was or wherever you want this field. Press CTRL F9. NVDA won’t speak at all. Type, NumWords without spaces or pressing anything else. The label has two capital letters in it. Press F9.

To update the count, select the field and press F9. Alternatively, select the whole document, CTRL A, and hit F9.

You can also update the field automatically. Here’s how to automatically update all fields when closing a document.

Record your Macro. Name it, AutoClose. Make sure the, A, and C, are capitalized.

To open the Record Macro dialog, press Alt+W, M, R. Type AutoClose as a name for your macro, and then press Enter. The name cannot contain spaces. Record the macro by performing the commands or pressing the keys for the steps in the task. Word records your keystrokes. While the macro is recording, press, CTRL A. Then, F9. Then, CTRL S. Don’t do anything else! To stop recording, press Alt+W, M, R.

You’re done! If you put this macro in your modified normal template, your workflow will be basically automated. Now, onto rounding the above field.

Automatically round word count fields.

The reason you may want to insert a rounded number rather than an exact number is because it makes writing cover letters easier. It also makes looking for paying markets easier. Always look for markets that are 100 words higher than your rounded count, by the way.

Press Control-F9. You are now in a field. NVDA does not speak, at all, so you need to be very good with keyboards and cursors here. In the field, type, =ROUND(,-2)

This is the rounding function, where the -2 indicates how many digits you want rounded off. If it were -3, it would be to the nearest thousand. Case isn’t important: you can type =ROUND or =round or anything in between.

Put your cursor between the left parron, ( and the comma. Press Control-F9 again to get another field inside the first one. NVDA will not speak, at all, but you are exactly where you need to be. Don’t press any other keys! Type the field name, NUMWORDS. press F9 to update the field. Alternatively, Toggle the whole thing so it shows as text, either by hitting Shift F10 and choosing “Update field” from the context menu or by pressing Alt-F9.

So, your field code looks something like this, using {} for the special field characters:

=round({ numwords }, -2 )

It took me a few tries to get it right so always make a backup copy. Try doing the above on a document first, rather than a template to be sure you got the hang of it. When you’re ready, apply it to your actual template so you never have to do this again.

Also, backup your writing templates in OneDrive so it travels with you. OneDrive is accessible to screen readers.

If you liked this post, and enjoy my fiction work, donate to my Patreon. This post explains what you get if you pledge.

Happy writing!