For the record, I am publishing stories, not writing code. To work with publishers, I need to use their format. That format is Microsoft Word. Specifically, the

For the record, I am publishing stories, not writing code. To work with publishers, I need to use their format. That format is Microsoft Word. Specifically, the Windows or macOS versions of Word, _not_ the online or iOS versions. The only workable alternative I know of is Pages on macOS. Word's Track Changes feature is used to show where an Editor or Author wants to make changes, ask questions, or make comments. If you do not use Word, you risk comments or changes going silently missing. Worst case, complete, irreversible corruption of the document. This is not theoretical, publishers have horror stories about authors using Libre/Open Office or incompatible versions of Word. Word is very much the "real format" for most of the process. You may be thinking of typesetting, which uses different file formats depending on which application is used. As an author, I don't see that part of the process.