Build a chapter-by-chapter pace schedule for one book with Copilot in Excel
For Copyeditor / Proofreader (Freelance / Publishing)s ·
What This Does
You have one book, a deadline and a pace you know from experience. A table with one row per chapter turns those into hours per chapter, a running total and a flag on any chapter that should be finished by now and is not. Copilot in Excel can write the formulas and the highlighting from a plain-language request, so you spend the time on the plan.
The sheet holds codes and counts. It needs no manuscript text.
Before You Start
- You use Excel with a Microsoft 365 account. Microsoft says Copilot in Excel is available on Windows, Mac and the web, and that edit mode on iPad and iPhone is still rolling out.
- Copilot is available to you. Microsoft says a missing Copilot icon may mean your Microsoft 365 plan or your organization's settings do not include it. Check Microsoft's Copilot plan page or ask your IT contact.
- You have a word count for each chapter. Use Word's own word count on each chapter file, and keep the counts in a plain list first.
- You know your own pace in words an hour for this kind of copyedit. Copilot does not set it, and neither does this guide.
- Use a project code such as "P104" in the sheet, never the book's title or the author's name.
Steps
1. Set up the table
In a new workbook, make one table with these columns, one row per chapter:
| Project | Chapter | Words | Pass | Planned Start | Planned Finish | Done |
|---|
Pass is Copyedit, Cleanup or Proof. Done is No or Yes. In a separate cell beside the table, label one cell "Pace" and type your words-an-hour number into the cell next to it.
2. Open Copilot in Excel
Select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner of Excel. Microsoft says Copilot in Excel opens in edit mode by default, where it can change your workbook, and that it also offers plan mode and a chat-only mode. For a first try, plan mode lets you read the approach before anything changes.
3. Ask for the columns
Type a request that names the cells:
In the table, add an Hours column that divides Words by the value in the Pace cell, rounded up to the nearest quarter hour. Tell me which function you used for the rounding. Add a Running Hours column that totals Hours down the rows. Then highlight any row where Done is No and Planned Finish is before today.
Read the plan or the changes. Microsoft says the content stays editable and that you can stop Copilot at any time with the Stop button in the chat input field.
4. Test every formula on a row with a known answer
Do the arithmetic yourself on one row. A chapter of 3,000 words at a pace of 2,000 words an hour is 1.5 hours. If the cell says 1.5, the Hours formula is working. Do the same for the Running Hours column on the second row. Then check the highlight on a row you know is late.
5. Keep it for one book
This sheet tracks one book. Deadlines across several clients belong in the cross-client tracker described in the next guide, and the Level 4 digests read from that.
Real Example
Scenario: Invented sample. Project P104, eight chapters, an invented pace of 2,000 words an hour, and an invented current date of 2026-10-14.
| Project | Chapter | Words | Pass | Planned Start | Planned Finish | Done | Hours | Running Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P104 | 1 | 4000 | Copyedit | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-06 | Yes | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| P104 | 2 | 5000 | Copyedit | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-09 | Yes | 2.50 | 4.50 |
| P104 | 3 | 6500 | Copyedit | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-13 | No | 3.25 | 7.75 |
| P104 | 4 | 3000 | Copyedit | 2026-10-13 | 2026-10-14 | No | 1.50 | 9.25 |
| P104 | 5 | 7000 | Copyedit | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-16 | No | 3.50 | 12.75 |
| P104 | 6 | 4500 | Copyedit | 2026-10-19 | 2026-10-20 | No | 2.25 | 15.00 |
| P104 | 7 | 5500 | Copyedit | 2026-10-21 | 2026-10-22 | No | 2.75 | 17.75 |
| P104 | 8 | 3500 | Copyedit | 2026-10-23 | 2026-10-26 | No | 1.75 | 19.50 |
Total words are 39,000. At 2,000 words an hour that is 19.5 hours, which matches the last Running Hours cell. Every chapter happens to land on a quarter hour, so rounding changes nothing in this sample. Try a chapter of 4,100 words and the answer is 2.05, which rounds up to 2.25.
What the highlighting does on 2026-10-14: Chapter 3 is highlighted. It is not done and its Planned Finish, 2026-10-13, is before today. Chapter 4 is not highlighted, because its Planned Finish is today, not before today. Done chapters 1 and 2 are not highlighted either.
Tips
- Ask Copilot to explain its rounding choice. "Round" and "round up" give different answers, and you decide which fits how you plan your day.
- Change the Pace cell and watch the Hours column move. If it does not, the formula points at a typed number, not the cell.
- Let a new project reuse the layout. Duplicate the sheet and clear the rows. Keep the formulas.
- The hours are a plan, not a promise. Check the first two chapters against how long they actually took and adjust the pace.
Tool interfaces change. If a button has moved, look for the Copilot icon near the lower right of Excel and for edit, plan and chat modes in the pane.