Editing and Formatting

I've been noticing something lately. It's particularly frustrating me.

I've been reading a lot of books on my Kindle lately. I'll admit, I use it for my "fluff" reading more than anything else. Things I want to read but for enjoyment only or don't want to keep a print copy of for later use. And, I'll admit, quite a bit of what I've read on it the last few months are books that were offered for free on Amazon. Sometimes this means the book is from a small press.

Formatting discrepancies get to me. A sudden carriage return in the middle of a sentence. New paragraphs that make little or no sense (because of their spacing, not because the story doesn't flow).  Odd spacing in general. I've even noticed places where longer words have been hyphenated, presumably because in either the original print format or just in a smaller font size that I'm using on my Kindle those words needed to be hyphenated at the line break. And sometimes those hyphens are not used properly in the first place. (Yes, there are hyphen rules. See #s 5-8.)

Spelling really stands out to me as well--either out and out misspellings or multiple spellings of the same word/name/location used frequently in the story line. Sometimes it's almost forgivable, a simple typo. And one is always forgivable to me. Other times it is such a glaring error that it pulls me out of the story. Once I'm enthralled, it takes a lot to pull me out of the story, so if a misspelling does it, it must be unforgivable.

It makes me wonder if anyone looks at these things before they are approved or made available to the public. I realize that smaller presses (which often offer Kindle versions for free in order to boost publicity), may not have the editorial departments that a large publisher has. Random House, for instance.

I also come from a world that teaches us to proof read, proof read, and--oh yeah---proof read before handing over a "final" product. You don't hand in something that isn't your best work. And you certainly don't make it public unless it's done well. It doesn't speak well to me that a company selling the written word doesn't take time to check it. Then to reproduce a book in a digital format and not make sure it looks good in that format is, to me, just about unforgettable.

I've no doubt I'm not the only who notices this and is bothered. Even if I'm not paying anything for the Kindle format of many of the books I'm reading, that doesn't mean I should expect (or receive) lesser quality. This is a tacky metaphor, but I'm not at the factory outlet expecting seconds or that the seam on my Levi's may be a little off. I'm expecting a certain amount of quality, that doesn't look, well...not quality.

So, I'm going to make an offer...though I'm sure it'll be buried under a million other posts.

I'll proof your book. I'll work on the digital formatting. I won't charge you an arm and a leg. I won't even charge you by the hour, even though I could. Flat $50 and your publication will be better for it. Seriously.

Sites to See update

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.~~Samuel Johnson


Online YouTube Converter
http://convertyoutube.com/default.aspx
There is some REALLY good stuff on YouTube, that hasn’t made it to TeacherTube yet. But since it’s blocked, the only way we can use a YouTube video is if we convert the videos to a different file type. This online, FREE (though you do have to register) converter will do that for you.

100 Incredibly Useful YouTube Channels for Teachers
http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2010/10/20/100-incredibly-useful-youtube-channels-for-teachers/
Now it should be clear why I led with the Converter tool this time. In the list you’ll find channels from universities, nonprofits, museums, and plenty of other places. It’s a fount of amazing ways to add some media to your classroom lessons.


Nikon’s Small World Photomicrography Competition
http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/
The online gallery for a competition that challenges photographers using a light microscope. The images are beautiful, and can often highlight lessons in biology, chemistry, and art.

100 Helpful Photography Tutorials for Beginners and Professionals
http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/round-ups/100-helpful-photography-tutorials-for-beginners-and-professionals/
With the Digital Camera Learning Community offered by the Technology Department starting next week, and the already amazing photographs coming out of Kim Caskey’s class this year, I thought this one might be interesting to many of you.

Database Profile
Student Research Center, powered by EBSCOhost
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,cookie,uid&profile=SRC
Username & password: See Turney for this info.
This one of our “free” databases provided to all K-12 schools by the State. Like all good “free” things, if we don’t use it, we’ll lose it. Take some time to take a look. From the main page you can search for articles (magazines, newspapers, academic journals), books (including encyclopedias and biographies), radio and TV transcripts, country reports, state/province reports, primary source documents, or images (photos, maps, flags) on nearly every topic you can think of. Titles and information are updated almost daily, and in several cases I’ve read an article via the database before the magazine is delivered in my mail. All-around, it’s a wonderful resource for just about anything you’re interested in.

Changes...changes..changes...

So, my brother is a partner in a web development/hosting company now. Well, he has been for a couple years now. His partner does the design work, and he does all the code work. We've tossed around the idea of them creating a hosted site for Mean Old Library Teacher.

I have finally taken the plunge, and we're working on it. Ed, his partner, has my (very simple, very limited) ideas for the look. My dear brother has registered my domain and set it up to work with Blogger until we move to the new site/server.

So....update your bookmarks.  http://www.meanoldlibraryteacher.net/  will be the new home for me. Hopefully by the end of the year, we'll be there permanently.

I'm doing it....

I'm doing it. 

And I'm taking applications for cheerleaders.

Wanderings

Every few weeks, I put together a list of websites that I think my teachers may find interesting or useful in their classes. I call it my.

Global Rich List
Compare your income with the rest of the working world. You'll be surprised how well off you are, and what just a small amount of your income could do in other places around the world.

I'm the 59,029,289 richest person on earth! Discover how rich you are!

 

 

Atlas Obscura

"A compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities, and esoterica." This is just really interesting to browse. This month they are featuring Detroit, MI. There are some AMAZING pictures from the early 20th century as well as historical information. I was utterly entranced.

 

Study Guides and Strategies

More study guides and study strategy information than I've ever seen in one place. I've even found some to help with my own projects.

 

Mural Locator

I've always been fascinated by public works of art, on buildings and such. This site helps you find some truly beautiful images around the world. It'd be a great way to talk about the cultural of a region.

 

The Giraffe Heroes Project

A non-profit honoring "people who have the courage to stick their necks out for the common good."  Basically, these are people of good character doing the right thing for the right reasons. Giraffes are spot-lighted frequently and there is curriculum for school-age children to teach them about being a Giraffe Hero.

 

DK Clip Art

Collection of clip-art originally found in DK books. This can be used by students and teachers alike, without fear of copyright infringement.

Smithsonian Images

Hundreds of photographs from the Smithsonian Office of Imaging and Photographic Services which can be used by teachers and students.