Adventures in reading, running and working from home

12 Comments (+add yours?)

1. How to record, transfer and send audio files – for journalists and researchers | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Dec 19, 2013 @ 07:35:57

2. How do you start a career in transcription? | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Dec 19, 2013 @ 07:37:08

3. Why you need to be human to produce a good transcription | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Dec 19, 2013 @ 07:38:08

4. What is transcription? What does a transcriber do? | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Dec 19, 2013 @ 07:38:52

5. Small business chat update – Liz Broomfield | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Dec 28, 2013 @ 08:00:44

6. Tacitus
   Jan 02, 2014 @ 10:03:35

   Another useful book from Liz. Full of sound advice, this follows on from her succesful earlier volume on starting a business at 40.

   For me though there is one glaring omission and that is any reference to the importance of the keyboard you are using and its impact on both your potential typing speed and the possibility of RSI. This is particularly important for those doing a lot of transcription work as Liz can no doubt testify.

   It would have been useful for there to be some reference to this, possibly with some links to specific keyboard types/makers. My own favourite was an old IBM ‘clackety’ type keyboard that came with an IBM PC. Whilst this was incredibly noisy, I could get up to really high speeds, something I’ve seldom been able to replicate on any other make of keyboard. The current ‘chicklet’ type keyboards – particularly those supplied with Apple computers – whilst understandable on a laptop, are useless for all but short typing sessions. I find the lack of properly sculpted home keys would make any serious transcription work virtually impossible.

   Some keyboard recommendations would have been valuable especially since they would come from an experienced transcriber.

   Otherwise a useful book and well worth the modest price.

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   • Liz at Libro
     Jan 02, 2014 @ 10:38:49

     Thank you for your comments. You’re right that it would be good to have some general points about RSI. One problem I have there is that there are two current schools of thought on the best position for working in! And I would hesitate to recommend a particular keyboard, although I do recommend one of the mechanical ones, expensive but worth it for the amazing feel.

     What I’m going to do is add a section to the book and upload it. If you send me a message via my contact form with an email address, I’ll be happy to send you a new copy in pdf format.

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     • Liz at Libro
       Jan 02, 2014 @ 11:32:44

       Note: I have updated and reuploaded the book on Amazon. If you have bought a copy before today, do contact me and I’ll send you a pdf of the new version. A copy has been send to the original commenter.

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7. Your transcription career: RSI, ergonomics and keyboards | LibroEditing proofreading, editing, writing
   Jan 09, 2014 @ 11:07:27

8. Change your book title and boost sales …? | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
   May 31, 2014 @ 06:55:17

9. Deb a.k.a Netscriber
   Mar 03, 2015 @ 15:34:06

   Although I have worked for quite some time as an Internet transcriber, I am just now studying the various ebooks about the transcription business niche. Quick Guide to Your Career in Transcription was decidedly my first stop because it promised to be quick and get to the point. (I’m sure there are lots of transcribers out there who understand just how that bell tolls for us.)

   Liz certainly had the kind sense to put in the start-up “must knows” in a nutshell — even several that I had not been given when I started out and took a far more expensive road (although a paid apprenticeship after the course made that pain worthwhile).

   My take-away, though, from Liz’s book was “localization.” I had not known this is a niche unto itself. I had done such a thing several times, actually, without the faintest clue that was what it was!

   When it comes to transcribing, it does take a bit of time and patience to develop. I don’t know if transcription would be an area that I would be interested in pursuing full-time, but I do plan to look into that market.

   Have you considered writing a guide covering the most used phraseology in transcriptions, when converting U.K. English into U.S. English? Often contractors and subcontractors in the States do not fully know the differences in punctuation and/or spellings and have no look-up resources to reference.

   What about Canadian English? Do they follow U.K. practices, or do they have their own nuances?

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   • Liz Dexter
     Mar 03, 2015 @ 17:07:01

     Thanks for your comments about my book, Deb, and I hope you feel you can pop onto Amazon and post a review on there as that really helps us indie publishers!

     Transcription is a good add-on – I only ever do it part-time, and I think it would be difficult to sustain full-time as it’s quite hard work physically.

     Regarding UK and US English, well, I tend to transcribe in one or the other rather than changing from one to the other (I do do that for one client, though). There are books on the differences already out there, and I think it would be beyond my scope to do a guide. There is a good book called “British or American English?” and also the “New Oxford Style Manual” covers many of the differences.

     Canadian English is different again – there is a good book called “Editing Canadian English” which I have which covers the basics there.

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