[bksvol-discuss] Re: For Gwen and Robert
- From: "Monica Willyard" <rhyami@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:22:18 -0500
Hi Gwen. No, please don't give up. You're smart and enthusiastic, and that
means you can do this. (smile) Actually, I think scanning is harder to learn
than proofreading. It takes over a year for most people to get really good
at it to the point that every scan comes out well. If you ask most
submitters here, I think they would tell you the same thing. When you scan a
book, you are scanning and doing some proofreading, so there are several
things to learn. They're simple things, but not intuitive things at first.
Learning to scan is like learning to ride a bike or play a piano. You're
going to fall flat on your first few tries.
My first few scans were dreadful! Four of them were so bad they had to be
completely rescanned. I got 3 rejections too. Ouch! Someone on the list told
me that I should just quit scanning, and I was in tears. I was so
discouraged and embarrassed that I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide...
forever! I saw other people getting great scans, and mine weren't even close
to that. I thought I wasn't ever going to be good at it.
I got lucky though. Several people, I think of them as teachers and
cheerleaders, came to my rescue. They coaxed me out of my hole, mentored
me, taught me how to use my software, and encouraged me to keep trying.
Little by little, my scans got better. Soon my scans began to be passable
but not great. Now my scans are fairly clear. If a book isn't scanning well,
I know what to do to make it work better. I'm still learning things after
four years. I still have to do some clean-up like running the spellchecker,
and I read my books and correct errors as I find them. All good submitters
have to do that part.
If you will allow it, I'd like to be one of your mentors/cheerleaders. I
like reading Christian or wholesome fiction, and it would make me so happy
to see you reach your goal. From working as one of your proofreaders, I can
offer you constructive feedback on how to get clearer scans. Is there a book
on step 1 I could help you proofread?
If you'll stick with this scanning thing a little longer, you can get to
the point where you'll give Robert a run for his money in the quality
department. (grin) Once you know how to scan comfortably, you'll be able to
read almost anything you want and will be serving other Booksharians too.
Monica Willyard
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." -- Peter Drucker
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