[bksvol-discuss] Re: a book submission rejected, poor me

  • From: "Judy s." <cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 19:45:50 -0500

Hi Rik,
From what I've been told by Bookshare staff when I asked about how the whole publisher quality book thing works, it's something like as follows. Every publisher that donates books to Bookshare provides them with the same ebook files that are used to create ebooks for the Kindle, the Nook or equivalent ebook readers. Because there is no one industry standard inside the publishing industry for how to code ebook files, and no one way that publishers lay out how their books look on a screen to a sighted reader, Bookshare has to write a conversion program for each publisher that takes the format that the ebooks come in from the publisher and converts them into the kinds of files Bookshare needs to create the different kinds of accessible versions that are made available through Bookshare.
One of the reasons a title may show up again and again over several days as a new book is that the conversion program can't possibly catch on the first pass all the different variations in a publisher's versions of ebook files when you're talking thousands of books at a time. So 500 books may convert correctly, then some don't because they have some quirk that's different from the first 500 that wasn't obvious even in testing. The Bookshare programmers then have to tweak the conversion program for that publisher to take that into account. It's sort of a lather, rinse, repeat process, if you know what I mean. smile.
On the book quality report, every book's page on bookshare has a link on it that let's you file a book quality report. You must be logged in for that link to appear. Click on the link, and it will walk you through filing the quality report. You'll get an automated email within minutes after you file the book report telling you that the quality report has been filed. Bookshare staff will examine the book, usually within a few days, and you'll either get an email saying that they can't do anything (that's fairly rare), or you'll get an email that says, "yup -- we can fix that" and the book will go into their internal queue for fixing. When you file the book quality report, I think there's an option that says "let me know when the book is updated." If you select that option, you then get an email when the fixed copy enters the collection, with a link to the fixed version. 

Judy s.
Follow me on Twitter at QuackersNCheese <https://twitter.com/QuackersNCheese> 

On 4/30/2014 7:24 PM, ohio1803@xxxxx wrote:

*Thanks for hearing me, folks.*
*Sounds like my little rejection is not singling me out at all, is it.*
*I will try and be more careful about how much I scan, and all. *
**
*And the suggestion about the Book Quality report.*
*Thanks.*
*I have not ever done that or really was not savvy to know about it or how to do it.* 
*But I will follow up and make that report. *
*Makes sense, that unless a report is filed who would know.*
**
*Reading your posts, I realize more now about the Penguin deal and the many books coming in this way.* *That is all good. Love to find a book when I want it, and this is becoming more and more the case.* 
**
*The impact is on us who have done these scans and submissions.*
**
*Curious. So how does this separator thing happen exactly then?*
*the PQ book, is it just delivered as an electronic book?*
*And is it then evaluated somehow for its quality? Or is it put right in to the collection?* 
*It is not scanned, right?*
*It is not my turf, I am just curious.* *You folks know a lot more than me.* 
**
*Rik*
**
*From:* Judy s. <mailto:cherryjam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Wednesday, April 30, 2014 5:58 PM
*To:* bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [bksvol-discuss] Re: a book submission rejected, poor me
Hi Cindy,
A volunteer BSO can't replace a publisher quality book. In the cases where a volunteer submitted book of a title that is already in the collection, or enters the collection, as a PQ, and has something it like image descriptions or is a totally different edition that is a substantive difference in terms of content, it can co-exist in the collection with the PQ book. If a PQ book lacks navigation, then members or volunteers need to submit a book quality report on the title and it will get fixed. 

Judy s.
Follow me on Twitter at QuackersNCheese <https://twitter.com/QuackersNCheese> 

On 4/30/2014 6:38 PM, Cindy Rosenthal wrote:
I agree with Judy and Christina. Rik, if you file a quality report, maybe you can ask Madeleine to accept your book as a BSO to replace the PQ copy. And Christina, is the PQ copy of the book you and your proofer did perfect? So often, I gather they are not -- especially, I suspect they lack proper navigation formatting. So maybe your book can also replace the PQ copy and you and your partner can get your credits. 
Good luck to both of you.
Cindy
On Wed, Apr 30, 2014 at 3:25 PM, Christina <greensleeves1@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:greensleeves1@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote: 

    Hi, Judy.

    Can you at least get the credits for it since it was in the
    approval queue?

    Christina

    *From:*bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
    <mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
    <mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] *On Behalf Of *Judy s.
    *Sent:* Wednesday, April 30, 2014 4:54 PM
    *To:* bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
    <mailto:bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
    *Subject:* [bksvol-discuss] Re: a book submission rejected, poor me

    Hey, Rik,

    I feel your pain. Four books that I was in the middle of working
    on with another volunteer (one already waiting for approval)
    showed up as publisher quality books yesterday.  Wah! Oh well,
    none of us could have known (including Bookshare) that Penguin
    would cave and make available almost immediately tens of
    thousands of books. But it is frustrating to lose the time.

    I really encourage you to file a book quality report on the
    publisher quality book regarding the separation of the first
    letter of each chapter from the rest of the word. If we don't
    file those reports, these things don't get fixed and the
    conversion that Bookshare does of PQ books doesn't improve over time.

    Judy s.
    Follow me on Twitter at QuackersNCheese
    <https://twitter.com/QuackersNCheese>

    On 4/30/2014 3:27 PM, ohio1803@xxxxx <mailto:ohio1803@xxxxx> wrote:

        I am sad, but it is my own fault, I guess.
        My submission of Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times by
        Ralph Stanley and Eddie Dean, published in 2009.
        Dang it if I didn't have some bad luck.
        I had been wanting to read this, I had been watching for it
        on Bookshare.
        I get a friend to loan me his copy, and last week I check the
        Bookshare collection just before I start to scan it.
        I submitted it on Sunday. It was downloaded for proofing on
        Monday.
        And it was rejected on Tuesday.
        What?
        Sure enough, the proofreader replies to my email query, the
        reason was it was already in the collection.
        It had been added on April 23!

        Ain't that just like a sad and lonesome old song?

        Anyhow, not to whine all too sorrowful.
        Any suggestions what I can improve so as not to have more
        rejection anxiety?

        But ....  Here is also what I wanted to mention.

        My scan had a fix in it that the copy of this book now in the
        Bookshare collection that I just downloaded does NOT.
        At the beginning of the text in EACH chapter, the enlarged
        font of the first word  in the paragraph is separated from
        that first word.

        Example
        from Chapter Seven....

        W

        e were really on a roll.We had a

        My submission from my scan fixed that.
        Maybe it does not matter that much.

        But as a reader of many books, and a long time big lover and
        believer in Bookshare, I want to pass along that.
        And ask that it me not so currently an accepted practice in
        these publisher supplied books.

        I'll try to avoid being rejected.
        I'll keep on scanning.
        But wow, my 14-15 hours last week, well I have a copy of my
        own to read anyhow.

        Thanks.
        Richard (Rik) James
        d28rik@xxxxxxx <mailto:d28rik@xxxxxxx>


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