-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 At 09:45 AM 10/4/2005, you wrote:
I guess my questions should have been: What format is the output BEST delivered in? and What programs do all of YOU use? (To compare them or see if I already have the software on my system.) Although I am a big fan of our language, I sometimes feel like I am speaking a foreign one!
In order to make an effective comparison, we'll need to know what operating system you are using. If you are using windows, you could easily just use the simple wordpad or perhaps even notepad. They both output the plaintext format, and so should work fine. The only situation in which this might be a problem is if you have foreign characters in your book. If that is the case, then you'll need to talk to someone else as I'm not an expert on character encoding. :) Okay, well, I intend to do just that, dive in with a book. Maybe it is overwhelming to some, but I have no trouble with typing. Besides which, I don't know how to make my scanner's text-recognition software run, so... I assume that (save typos) there will be less proofing required of a work which is typed as opposed to one which is scanned, anyway. You're probably right, because as you type, you will be proofing in a way. Also, just so you know, if you wanted to scan the book, you could send the image files of each page over the internet to someone else and they could run OCR software on them and send you back the output. Alternatively, if you don't mind parting with the books, you could mail them to DP headquarters where they would have their bindings chopped off and be fed into a high speed scanner with a sheet feeder. I'm not trying to discourage you from typing them if that is what you would like to do. I'm just making sure you are aware of the alternatives. If you would like to type them, then go for it! The effort will be greatly appreciated! One other place you might want to check before you start is the in-progress list. This is a list of all of the books which have been submitted for copyright clearance, even if they have never been completed. For example, I had a book I wanted to add to the collection not too long ago. I couldn't find it in the Gutenberg catalog, but I saw that someone had submitted it for copyright clearance a couple years ago. I contacted the copyright clearance folks, and they provided me with the persons e-mail address. When I e-mailed them, they didn't have the book and weren't working on it, but they were interested in helping me proof it. Anyway, it's always a good idea to check that list so you can be sure not to duplicate effort. You can find it at http://www.dprice48.freeserve.co.uk/GutIP.html I will look over what is there, but I doubt that I'll spend that much time at it. Thanks for the suggestion, though. Looking things over is a good idea. They have a few guides which talk about how to format things. They should be useful, even if you aren't working for DP directly. Anyway, good luck, and feel free to drop back in any time, especially when you would like someone to look over the final product of your labors to proof read and offer suggestions. Sincerely Aaron Cannon - -- E-mail: cannona@fireantproductions.com Skype: cannona MSN Messenger: cannona@hotmail.com (Do not send E-mail to the hotmail address.) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (MingW32) - GPGrelay v0.959 Comment: Key available from all major key servers. iD8DBQFDQqzRI7J99hVZuJcRAmQqAKCrzsKl+EnvsKr6ed8GGKcCDmEpcACg0Jf3 E6+m5/SX8eS+2L28wpTkafk= =ziNR -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----