Getting Great Documents from Your Audio or Videos: Seven Insider Tips

1. Don't bother with voice recognition software. You will have to have someone proofread and edit your transcript heavily afterwards anyway. Get an affordable speedy transcriptionist instead right from the start. You'll save money in the long run.

2. Make sure your audio is clear, free of static and background noise, and that the person(s) speaking is being as articulate as possible. Using a good quality microphone is key. Also testing your audio equipment in the same environment in which you will be using it first will save you a lot of headaches later.

3. Remember who your target audience is and stay on topic. Try to remember that you are being recorded and omit the types of verbal trackbacks that you use when talking casually. Write things down if it helps.

4. Don't record more than 30 minutes at a time--it will be too cumbersome a document to read otherwise, unless you plan to create several chapters in an e-book or it is part of a larger body of work.

5. If your audio/video is a webinar or teleseminar, make sure you clearly identify each caller and spell their names for your transcriptionist ahead of time.

6. Find a transcriptionist with whom you can relate to well personally and who is willing to transcribe your transcripts just the way you like them done. There are disagreeable and agreeable transcriptionists. Shoot for the latter!

7. Make sure your transcription service is US-based (no outsourcing--it's just not worth the potential savings), affordable, quick, and uses English accurately.

I will expand upon each of these seven tips individually in my next article.

New Editing and Proofreading Pricing

Do you need some editing done on a book, an e-book, a website, a term paper, or thesis? You've come to the right place! How much do I charge for such services? Here are my very affordable prices:

• For heaving editing = $3 per page (1 1/2 to double-spaced). For single-spaced, it would be $4.
• For light editing and/or proofreading = $1.50 per page (for 1 1/2 to double-spaced). For single-spaced, it would be $2.

Contact me at aaatranscription@sbcglobal.net or leave a comment on this blog after this article. I will be in touch.

Transcriptionist for Hire

• Are you looking for someone to transcribe your audio or video files?
• Perhaps you need someone to proofread your latest book or e-book.
• Maybe you've gotten some comments on your website stating that you have lots of spelling errors or poor grammar.
• Maybe you own a general or medical transcription company and are looking for independent contractors to work for you.

If you said, "Yes!" to any of the above, then you've landed at the right place. It would be a pleasure to work for you and make your products more appealing, more marketable, and more gramatically correct.

Check out "A Bit About Me" for my qualifications, and feel free to ask me any questions you have.

Help Me Navigate Your Blog, Angela!

Okay. Are you new to this blog and you're wondering where to go? Here are 10 friendly suggestions of what you can do here:

1. Read about the author to the right, and check out the photos of our family.

2. Subscribe to the RSS feed and/or follow me (I just installed that module today).

3. Weigh in on the short poll in the righthand column.

4. Read about what transcribing is all about (see Posts).

5. Read about what types of transcription we do (see Posts).

6. Sound off in the short survey toward the bottom.

7. Play around with my favorite music on my Playlist Player toward the bottom. I have varied and perhaps unusual tastes when it comes to music. :)

8. Read about my prices and especially my 1/2 off special deal.

9. Check out my other interesting lenses on Squidoo (they're like web pages on a number of topics).

10. Leave a comment, suggestion, or contact. I'd love to hear from you!

There. Now you know some of the things you can do on this blog. What do you say?