[bksvol-discuss] Re: courtesy
- From: "gwen tweedy" <gstweedy@xxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:25:21 -0500
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
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