[bksvol-discuss] Re: Seneca's Shadows was courtesy
- From: "Lori Castner" <loralee.castner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:43:17 -0700
Dear Gwen,
I have proofread about thirty pages of Seneca's Shadows; it is a very good
story. I have found some problems which I have fixed.
However, there is one problem I cannot fix without help. I think that there
are missing chapter numbers or titles in the book and I am not sure if there
are chapter titles or numbers only and how they should appear.
Is there a way you can check to see if the first chapter number is on page 5
and whether the heading "Summer 1943"? is a part heading or a chapter title.
If there should be chapter titles, I will need all of them; if the chapters are
identified only by numbers I would want to know if the numbers are indicated
with words or numerals.
If I cannot figure out how chapters are identified, I will release the book,
but I will ask that the work I have done be kept because I have removed extra
paragraph breaks throughout the text and corrected many scanning errors. I
would love to complete the proofreading.
Please feel free to contact me offlist at
loralee.castner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lori C.
----- Original Message -----
From: gwen tweedy
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 5:07 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
OK thanks
a million,
I hope I get better as I go along
let me know if it's not good.
----- Original Message -----
From: Lori Castner
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 8:04 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
Gwen,
I checked out "Seneca Shadows" today.
Lori C.
----- Original Message -----
From: gwen tweedy
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 5:56 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
one book I know why it was rejected,
what happened with another book was,
when I first learned to scan little books I turned this particular book
instead of left to right I turned it the other way around up and down
that time the words were cut off and it was rejected so I redid it
and I'm not sure what happened this time but I thought it said it was
rejected but I never got an email saying so but it seems as if it's still in
the list up there but it said rejected.
The others say being edited and one was out and now back in again saying
ready for proof reading so not sure about that one because it was gone a while
well
being edited that is and then it showed back up *smile*
the others have being edited on them.
----- Original Message -----
From: Cindy
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:36 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
You can put a hold for Cindy on your submissions, only I have at
least 2 that I have to do before I can take one, and a third that I should do
because it's been lingering in my pile for a long time. B But I can take one
of yours before the third
Cindy
Wish List (i.e., books wanted added to the collection) and
books-being-scanned list available at sites below
Wish List:
https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Bookshare+Wish+List
Books Being Scanned List:
https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Books+Being+Scanned+List
--- On Tue, 8/25/09, Mayrie RMauriei><mayrierenae@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
From: Mayrie ReNae <mayrierenae@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 5:31 AM
Hi Gwen,
So, here's a question. Are your books not being checked
out by
proofreaders, or rejected by proofreaders? There is a huge
difference. If
books are rejected, there is always a reason given. If they
aren't being
checked out, well, that's another story. Perhaps you could
tell us some
titles awaiting proofreading, and some experienced proofreaders
could take
on one of them and let you know what they find.
Mayrie
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of gwen
tweedy
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 5:25 AM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
Everyone has been nice here,
I'm frustrated with myself, because I'm not doing better, and
it would be
nice like I have had in some instances, to know the progress
of books, why
they are rejected and generally how I can do better, because if
something is
in limbo for quite some time you begin to wonder am I just
spinning my
wheels, am I making a difference, should I not put any more
books up at all,
because you don't want to put all that effort in if it is
wrongly done and
stuff.
Because if I'm not doing any better each book that is put up, I
need to know
why and if I what I can do better, and if not then I need to
stop altogether
because it's silly putting up books that will never make it to
the list of
books that are available to be read.
----- Original Message -----
From: "E." <thoth93@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:25 AM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] courtesy
> Now that my first wave of anger has passed, I want to write
with a sincere
> request.
> Volunteers invest a good deal of time scanning.
> Proofers, if we are doing it well, similarly give time to
making a book as
> perfect as it can be.
> My time and yours as volunteers is valuable.
> It is valuable particularly when given for free.
> It is as valuable as the time contributed by anybody who is
able-bodied;
> as valuable as time given by people being paid. We volunteer
"for love not
> money".
> In return we deserve the courtesy such love is worth.
> Please bookshare staff, let's work together to find a way for
books to be
> given out to outsourcers without undercutting and devaluing
the hard work
> previously performed by submitter and proofreader.
> It is a small thing. Those small courtesies from staff mean a
lot to us
> volunteers.
> We hold a special place in our hearts for those members of
staff who go
> out of their way to be courteous.
> Please staff! Together we can do this!!!
> I am sending a copy of this message to Pavi and the
> volunteer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx address.
> Elizabeth
>
> At 04:52 PM 8/24/2009, you wrote:
>>Hi Gwen, Kim, and all other volunteers who may be new to
proofreading!
>>
>>I'm sure by now you realize that all of us use different
methods to
>>proofread. We may do things in a different order, but the end
result
>>should be a book with similar characteristics such as
standardized fonts,
>>page breaks, paragraphs and so forth. I well understand that
it can seem
>>overwhelming at first, because there's so much to think about
and
>>remember.
>>
>>Here's what you really need to remember--proofreading is a
learning
>>process. It is not something you learn all at once. For
example, it is
>>only in the last few books I have proofread where I have
converted em
>>dashes to double hyphens, standardized and enlarged chapter
heading fonts,
>>and converted smart quotes.. Why didn't I do this before? I
didn't
>>understand how to do this even though I had read the
excellent directions
>>provided by several people on this list. It made me feel
pretty inept, so
>>I did nothing about it--and I've been proofreading books
since Spring,
>>2008.
>>
>>A few weeks ago, I began an e-mail conversation with Mayrie
about
>>something totally unrelated. I felt comfortable with her, so
I asked if I
>>could ask her a few questions. She graciously agreed, and I
sent her an
>>example of text where I had replaced the em dashes with
double hyphens.
>>She looked at it, and told me I had done it correctly. After
that, I was
>>embolden to tackle smart quotes and changing fonts for
chapter headings.
>>
>>I mention this is a way of encouraging you to begin the
process. Start
>>with something simple--maybe a short book or a children's
book. Make sure
>>it's something that interests you. Also, as others have said,
it's very
>>helpful to begin with books that have been scanned by careful
scanners
>>because you will have less correcting to do.
>>
>>I'm a Braille reader, and I use JAWS and a Braille display to
proofread
>>with. I set punctuation to most, and read line by line. I do
all of my
>>proofreading in Word. But before I start reading. I refer to
my checklist
>>which I have Brailed on index cards. I personally do certain
things before
>>I even read a book. You can do the same thing using speech. I
find a
>>checklist of some kind helps me remember what I have done,
and keeps me
>>from forgetting things.. Here's what I do ... you can use the
ideas that
>>are helpful and disregard those that are not. Remember, we
each may have a
>>different process, there is no wrong or right order here--Use
what works
>>well for you.
>>
>> 1. Before I checkout a book to proofread. I look at the
book information
>> page. I highlight and copy pertinent information such as
title, author,
>> copyright date, copyright holder, ISBN number, number of
pages, the brief
>> and long synopsis information, the categories which the
submitter has
>> indicated for the book, and the submitters name and e-mail
address (if
>> available). I save this in a separate text file so that I
can refer to
>> it. This also tells me if I'm going to have to add
additional
>> information, or do any editing in that area.
>>
>> 2. After downloading the RTF file, I make a copy of it and
store it
>> either in a different folder on my computer or, as I usually
do, on a
>> flash drive. I do this in the event I make a mess of my
original file.
>>
>> 3. Next I open the RTF file and standardize fonts, line
spacing and
>> paragraph format, set the paper size to legal,and
immediately save the
>> changes. I don't proofread technical reference manuals or
text books, so
>> it's easy to do the standardization of fonts and paragraphs.
>>
>> 4. Next, I look to see if the number of pages in my RTF
file matches the
>> number I obtained from the book information page. If it
matches, I
>> breathe a huge sigh of relief. If it does not, I know that I
have to
>> figure out why things don't match. maybe the preliminary
pages are not
>> included in the submitter's page count. Maybe, there are
unnumbered pages
>> at the end of the book. Maybe additional page breaks have
been inserted.
>> Maybe there a duplicate pages. Maybe, there are actually
pages missing,
>> and I may have to contact the submitter and ask to have some
pages
>> scanned. In any case, I don't get overly concerned. The
reason for the
>> numbering discrepancy will likely become apparent as I read
through the
>> book. I just know it's something I will have to resolve.
>>
>> 5. Next, I look to see if there is a page numbered as "1."
I use that as
>> a reference point to number the preliminary pages. I'm a
very orderly
>> person, so it's important to me to know what I have to do
with page
>> numbers. Everyone does this differently. Page numbers are
not absolutely
>> required. Some books do not have them. At any rate, once I
find a page
>> numbered "1" or find any page number, I can begin to track
page numbers.
>>
>> 6. Next, I do things like convert em dashes to double
hyphens, remove
>> "smart" quotes, split dialog, and make sure there are no
spaces either
>> preceding or following dashes. I also make sure the ellipsis
are treated
>> properly. Instructions for how to do all of these things as
available on
>> the "volunteer" page. Some people spell check prior to
reading the book,
>> and again after reading it. Personally, I do not spell check
until I have
>> read the entire book because I find it too easy to change
things I
>> shouldn't such as the spelling of proper names and certain
intended slang
>> words. After I have read the book, I can more easily
recognize what may
>> be a scanning OCR error. But if it's helpful for you to
spell check prior
>> to reading, by all means do so. Just be careful about what
you change.
>>
>> 7. I now begin reading the book. As I read, I make sure
that page
>> numbers and chapter headings are surrounded by a blank line,
make sure
>> that there is a blank line at the top and bottom of each
page, change the
>> font of chapter headings or chapter numbers to Times New
Roman 16 point,
>> remove extra blank lines that should not be there, remove
any extra page
>> breaks that have been accidentally inserted, remove headers
or footers at
>> the top or bottom of pages which contain the book title or
authors name
>> (only in the text pages), correct known OCR errors, and
remove any extra
>> characters such as back slashes, slashes, brackets, spaces,
and carets
>> that the OCR program inserted during scanning. Most of these
occurrences
>> are easily caught when punctuation is set to "most". When I
come across a
>> page that is blank, I make sure to insert [This page
contains no text.]
>> If there are picture captions, I make sure they are noted as
such. Again,
>> there are instructions concerning how to deal with picture
captions and
>> descriptions on the "volunteer" page. I'm especially alert
to strange
>> characters that appear at the top and bottom of pages, or at
the end of a
>> line of text. Usually it's pretty obvious that they are
"junk characters"
>> and should be removed.
>>
>> 8. As I read, I make a list of things I need from the
submitter such as
>> missing pages, a rescan of any pages because I cannot figure
out what a
>> word or sentence should be, or any other clarification I may
need. I do
>> my best to include page number references for the submitter,
and if I
>> think my question is confusing, I will copy the particular
word or
>> sentence about which I have a question. I e-mail the
complete list of
>> what I need to the submitter after I have read the entire
book, unless I
>> know that I particular submitter likes questions one at a
time.
>>
>> 9. After I receive what I need from the submitter, I make
all necessary
>> changes, spell check the entire document, and copy the file
to a folder I
>> have created on my computer called "submit." Personally, I
find it easier
>> to upload a book when it is the only one in a folder. I've
come very
>> close to uploading the wrong book, so having it in a
separate folder is a
>> good insurance policy for me.
>>
>>10. Before I upload the book, I open the text file I had
saved which
>>contains the book information and make sure that the title,
author's name,
>>copyright date, copyright holder, ISBN number, publisher,
page count, and
>>book categories match what appears on the book's "checkout"
form. I remove
>>any "hold for" designation that may be in the title. If the
book is part
>>of a series, I make sure that the title reflects that. I also
reread the
>>brief synopsis and make any necessary changes. I usually
include a long
>>synopsis if one is not provided, though it is not necessary
to do this if
>>an ISBN number is present. I do so only because I enjoy
knowing as much
>>about a book as possible before I decide if I want to read
it, and I
>>assume others may feel that way also.
>>
>>I hope this encourages some of you to try your hand at
proofreading. The
>>real key is don't be afraid to try, and most of all, don't be
afraid to
>>ask questions as you go. Asking questions is the only way to
learn, and
>>none of this is easy, at first. *smile*
>>
>>blessings.
>>
>>Lynn I
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of
virus
>>signature database 4364 (20090824) __________
>>
>>The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.
>>
>><http://www.eset.com>http://www.eset.com
>
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