[bksvol-discuss] Re: changes in books and volunteering

Hi Gwen!

I don't know whether this will help you or not, but when I began 
proofreading, I was very nervous because I thought I'd mess up someone's 
book. And you know what, I did. I proofread Pretense by Lori Wick. It was 
submitted by Laura Ann--an excellent Christian book, by the way.

Anyway, there was a scanning error that I needed to check with Laura Ann 
about. Beside the sentence I had a question about, I typed "scano". Well, I 
fixed the problem, but neglected to take out the "scano" note to myself. As 
far as I know it's still there. I was so embarrassed when I discovered that 
mistake. But I decided I could either be embarrassed, or use it as a 
learning experience. What I learned was not to make any notes in the book I 
am proofreading. That way, I don't have to worry about removing extraneous 
material that shouldn't be there.

I'm trying to say that none of us are perfect. With time, help from other 
volunteers, and a concerted effort on my part, I'm a much better proofreader 
because of mistakes.

Also, I thought I'd never proofread a book without using a Braille display. 
Well, now I often read passages sitting in the living room with my feet up, 
using wireless headphones and a wireless keyboard. My Braille display is in 
the next room. I've learned to listen well to JAWS, and with punctuation set 
to "most", I catch a lot of "scanos". I read line-by-line, and it's easy to 
tell when lines have only one or two words. Really, you develop a sense for 
this kind of thing over time.

But if this kind of thing is not fun for you, and if it causes you a lot of 
frustration, you may not want to continue to put yourself through that. I 
know I certainly wouldn't put myself through something I didn't enjoy, if I 
had a choice. *smile*

Blessings.

Lynnsky

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gwen tweedy" <gstweedy@xxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 5:57 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: changes in books and volunteering


It is wonderful to have more books get on site,
that means more to read and this is good.
And I am glad quality has gone up,
this is what it should do, because no one enjoys reading a poor book.
Where I'm concerned is,
I can correct words that are wrong or missing,
I can make sure there are no missing pages,
and there numbers are there that kind of thing.
But I have to be honest,
I'm probably gonna mess up,
like beginning and ending of paragraphs, or maybe won't see a blank line,
I have to   figure  out how to erase blank lines,
I've been known when I have had to  add a missing word or correct I've ran
it into another word and had to take it out and put it on a new line.
That insures that I don't mess up something,
and yet that messes up the book probably the paragraphing the ends of lines
that kind of things,
and if my book is gonna be rejected for those types of things,
 there is no way in the world I'm gonna turn out a book that meets or is
totally satisfactory.
I just am not  gonna know always where a paragraph ends or maybe I'll break
it off at the wrong place.
Not seeing the print or the screen I'm afraid that is gonna be tough to get
it perfect, and Gwen's having enough trouble as it is,
so this seems like a puzzle for me anyway.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob" <rwiley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 5:23 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: changes in books and volunteering


>I think we can all agree that bookshare has changed.
>
> Every day we get a list of the new books added to the system, and it's
> normally at least fifty books or more. Once we were lucky if we got fifty
> books a week.
>
> We now have a choice of downloads, daisy or Braille, and sometimes we can
> choose daisy with or without images.
>
> The clientele for bookshare has changed too. Bookshare isn't just for the
> blind anymore.
>
> Most of us look back with some sense of loss (them was the good ol' days).
> But as I see it, I welcome these changes. This is a long long way from
> where I started getting books via the internet. My first books were
> downloaded from newsgroups and illegal sites that rose up to fill a need.
>
> Volunteering for bookshare has also changed. Books rated fair are no
> longer accepted, submitters and proofreaders are asked to do much more,
> including changing the fonts of chapter headings etc.
>
> As I see it if volunteering for bookshare becomes a thing of the past, it
> will be because we can't, or won't, keep up with the other changes going
> on.
>
> Roger, and others, have asked some wonderful questions. The main one, I
> think, is, is there a future for volunteers, and my answer is there will
> be a future, if we make it so. Frankly, I'm enjoying being part of that
> future.
>
> Just my opinion.
> Bob
>
>
> "We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us
> will live on in the future we make,"
> Senator Edward M. Kennedy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Donna Goodin" <goodindo@xxxxxxx>
> To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2009 3:05 PM
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] changes in books and volunteering
>
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I have been feeling for some time that the blind/braille community is
>> becoming almost an afterthought here at bookshare.  I agree with the
>> person who said that bookshare is getting away from its original
>> mission, perhaps broadening it, but in broadening it, also focusing  more
>> on the reading issues of other groups.  More and more I find that  when I
>> submit a book to bookshare, I have to produce two copies, one  for
>> myself, and one for Bookshare.  Honestly, I'm not sure how much  more of
>> that I am willing to do.  I also wonder if it's really  realistic to have
>> a one-size-fits-all approach to formatting.  It  makes total sense that
>> the needs of a user who is sighted like Judy,  would be different from
>> the needs of someone like myself who is not.   For example, the first
>> thing I do when I pull up a book in MS-Word, is  make the font size
>> uniform throughout the document. I find that  getting rid of large fonts
>> makes the editing process much easier.   Similarly, I don't care about
>> page numbering in fiction books, and I  don't want to have to forward my
>> braille display through a line of  dashes, another line that says "blank
>> page"  and then another line of  dashes.  Bookshare seems much more
>> willing to ask me to put up with  that, than to say that a sighted user
>> should have to live without  enlarged chapter headings. I'm not sure what
>> the answer to all this  is, but I will say that I've been feeling unhappy
>> for a while now  about what I'm seeing coming out of Bookshare.
>> Best,
>> Donna
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>>
>
> To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to
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>

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