Book on transcribing on MTurk: what should it include?

Discussion in 'General' started by naturegirl, Oct 15, 2012.

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Would you buy a Kindle ebook to help you in transcribing on MTurk?

  1. Yes, if it were $2.99 or less.

    3 vote(s)
    6.5%
  2. Yes, if it had enough good info.

    7 vote(s)
    15.2%
  3. Yes, if it had good info AND it is $2.99 or less.

    23 vote(s)
    50.0%
  4. No, I'm not that interested in transcribing.

    2 vote(s)
    4.3%
  5. No, I would only want it free or am happy with information I can get elsewhere.

    8 vote(s)
    17.4%
  6. No, I don't bother with ebooks (or don't bother with Kindle) most of the time.

    3 vote(s)
    6.5%
  1. anne53

    anne53 User

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    It would be a good thing but remember the one rule and rules can be broken - KISS- Keep it simple ... simple!!! For those of us who like thing simple and understandable. Thanks.
     
  2. naturegirl

    naturegirl User

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    Hi, anne,

    Thank you so much for your feedback!

    Because of what was said in this thread about wanting the best information all in one place, the book is definitely not a simplified version. :) It wasn't intended to be. It's intended to offer everything Turkers would need to know about transcribing on MTurk, including a lot of stuff that folks don't often think about.

    I like the idea of writing a just-the-basics one, though, and I certainly could! You're right---after someone said they wanted the best information all in one place, I didn't also check to see whether others just wanted, like, a 99-cent version that would pull out just the most important things. That's why it's over 60 pages. It's everything I know or could think to find out.

    So...would anyone else prefer a short version, too? (PM if you would rather!) I'm happy to start collecting info on that.
     
    #22 naturegirl, Oct 29, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 29, 2012
  3. Neona

    Neona User

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    I seek out the audio transcribing jobs on here - they usually pay better and since I'm a fast typer, I can knock out several of them in an hour.

    I wouldn't buy the book because the different requesters have their own style guides they want followed. Some want every ah, um, sneeze, etc included in the transcript, others do not want any "stumble" they want just the main words. Some want every number spelled out no matter the denomination, others want you to write the numbers as numbers no matter what context they are spoken in. Some want long sentences broken up with a period even if it creates a fragment sentence.

    Claritrans wants words you can't dephiper marked in place by iii, Redwood wants xx, Speechlink wants ...

    I haven't applied for casting words but I bet they want something else as well.

    My point being that unless your book was broken up to address every transcription requester's individual style guide (which I can usually get on the hit anyway), its not going to be much help to anyone. What is right for one requester can get you a rejection by another.
     
  4. naturegirl

    naturegirl User

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    Hi, Neona!

    Thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate the honesty.

    I don't want to be harsh, but it sounds like you are making assumptions about what is in the book based on not ever seeing it, and maybe even without reading what other posters in this thread had suggested and asked for. (I made the thread when I was writing it, so I could write the book that people asked for.)

    So to address your objections, it isn't a style guide. :) That would be a totally different book. And you are totally right---it could be hard to write a style guide for all the different requesters.

    So that isn't why I wrote the book, and it isn't anything like you're assuming.

    (I do think a huge combined style guide could be done, though. That is actually one of the things I talk about in the book---breaking down multiple styles to be able to work across requesters easily. I'm CastingWords' lead writer right now on their style guide revision, and I know it is possible to bring together style points that seem contradictory to make it all easier to remember. Still, again, that's not the book I wrote, lol.)

    The book does offer an all-in-one CastingWords style cheatsheet, because many people have said here and on other forums that their style is very complicated! But that is the Appendix, a bonus item.

    Instead, the focus of the book is on everything that beginning transcribers don't think about, including lots of important tips that apply to any requester you will ever work for on MTurk, and many of which will also apply when/if you decide to take your skills off of MTurk, for much more money. It's also got a full guide to the main four MTurk companies, including (among many other things) every HIT type they commonly offer, so you can compare all the pay rates and bonus structures.

    Heck, I could go on further, but I'm starting to sound like an ad! So I'll stop there. :)

    Thanks again for chiming in. I don't mean that everyone has to love the book. That would be silly on my part. But I don't want people to make assumptions about it that have nothing to do with its actual content. I wanted to write the book that would be most helpful, and I agree with you that the kind of book you are describing would not be on the top of most people's lists!

    ETA: Just in case anyone is confused, the book is already finished and available on Amazon. I was only posting to this thread to do a follow-up. And...I'll start a new thread now, so that'll be clearer!
     
    #24 naturegirl, Oct 29, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 29, 2012
  5. Wizard

    Wizard User

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    From what I have seen/read the book is only available an a e-book. I do have a kindle which I could download to. But I would much prefer, a printable version, even if I need to print it from my computer. I don't mind paying and would be willing to pay you directly for a PDF format which I could print. I can reference a printable version much easier and highlight, make notes for myself etc. Please let me know if this is an option. TIA
     
  6. naturegirl

    naturegirl User

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    Hello, Wizard!

    Sorry I wasn't able to get back to you sooner; I haven't been active on the forum in a while!

    You are right that it's only available in Kindle format. Thank you very much for your offer to pay me for a PDF version, but I made an agreement with Amazon that makes them the exclusive distributor, so no other formats are available, and the book isn't available through any channel except Amazon---not even me.

    One of the reasons that I made the Amazon deal was to get the book into the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, so that anyone owning a Kindle can borrow it for free. The number of folks who have done that is small compared to the number who have gone ahead and bought the book, but that means there's still about 50 people already who have read it as a borrow. I know that this doesn't help for the way in which you wanted to use the book, but I mention it because I wanted to give you some idea of why it's important to me to stick with the terms of my contract with Amazon.

    Thanks for asking, though, and I hope you find a way to make good use of it anyway, should you decide you'd like to buy the Kindle edition!
     
  7. naturegirl

    naturegirl User

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    People seem really happy with the book, and I've been so excited to see that! I'm working on a second edition now which will be out this month. Anyone who owns the first edition at that time also will be able to download the updated version free, from Amazon.

    Thanks to everyone for your support with it. Can't wait to finish the second edition so you can get your hands on it. The second edition will include the following major updates, plus a host of small ones:
    • CrowdSurf overview
    • CastingWords' Workshop overview
    • Updated style guidance to match any style guides I originally addressed
     

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