To be honest: I'm so tired of it

[JSWolf]

If you have to scan/OCR a book to make it an eBook, have one person read the book out loud (including the punctuation marks, styles, and new paragraphs) and have the other person follow along with the eBook and it will be easier then A/B comparing and getting tired eyes and missing things. They can switch as need be and keep going until done.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you have to scan/OCR a book to make it an eBook, have one person read the book out loud (including the punctuation marks, styles, and new paragraphs) and have the other person follow along with the eBook and it will be easier then A/B comparing and getting tired eyes and missing things. They can switch as need be and keep going until done.

That will find a lot of things, but it's still very difficult to spot errors like, say "comer" instead of "corner", because if you see something on the page like "There was a tall cupboard standing in the comer", your brain will probably read that last word as "corner", since that's what you expect to see.

Increasing the font size can make it easier to spot this type of error, but it's still very difficult to find them.

I was reading a book recently which repeatedly used the word "dock" in ways which didn't seem to make sense, and it took a while before the penny dropped that the word should really be "clock" .

[andyh2000]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That will find a lot of things, but it's still very difficult to spot errors like, say "comer" instead of "corner", because if you see something on the page like "There was a tall cupboard standing in the comer", your brain will probably read that last word as "corner", since that's what you expect to see.

Increasing the font size can make it easier to spot this type of error, but it's still very difficult to find them.

I was reading a book recently which repeatedly used the word "dock" in ways which didn't seem to make sense, and it took a while before the penny dropped that the word should really be "clock" .

A while ago I came across a font specifically designed for proofing. It made "rn" and "m" look completely different, along with other tweaks.

Andrew

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by andyh2000

A while ago I came across a font specifically designed for proofing. It made "rn" and "m" look completely different, along with other tweaks.

Andrew

Yes, there was a thread about it on MR a month or so ago.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That will find a lot of things, but it's still very difficult to spot errors like, say "comer" instead of "corner", because if you see something on the page like "There was a tall cupboard standing in the comer", your brain will probably read that last word as "corner", since that's what you expect to see.

Increasing the font size can make it easier to spot this type of error, but it's still very difficult to find them.

I was reading a book recently which repeatedly used the word "dock" in ways which didn't seem to make sense, and it took a while before the penny dropped that the word should really be "clock" .

But the way I figure it, if you have two people doing this (one reading and one proofing), they are bound to pick up errors like comer instead of corner.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Yes, there was a thread about it on MR a month or so ago.

URL for this thread please?

[HarryT]

It was discussing this, Jon:

http://www.pgdp.net/c/faq/font_sample.php

[QuantumIguana]

Text to speech can help you pick out things that the eye might gloss right over.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It was discussing this, Jon:

http://www.pgdp.net/c/faq/font_sample.php

You can spot a lot with that, especially zero and "o"

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

You can spot a lot with that, especially zero and "o"

I did download it just in case I ever have a need for it. Though it should have an italic, bold and bold italic version. I suppose I'll just have to make them.

[Katsunami]

At some point, I want to reread a book that I have as a hardcover book. There is no official ebook yet, but an illegal version does float around on the net. How it got there, I don't know, but it is formatted like the hardcover version, with all italics in place (not much, lucky.) However, it seems to be "Calibre-ized" multiple times, converted from one format to another. I can't make heads or tails of it with regard to code. MOST of the formatting is OK, but there are some very bad bugs in there, such as most (but not all) dialog starting at random positions on a line, among others. I can't fix this. The code is a mess; starting over will be faster.

I've just exported the entire book to text, and made my own epub out of it. I've split it up into its 7 parts already, and split the first part into chapters. Also put the title page in, cover, metadata, and written the CSS for part and chapter headings, some specific stuff such as "About the author of this foreword", and for the normal paragraphs. I've also put the images back in (there are only a few), and it all looks quite OK now.

Now to split the other 6 parts, mark the part headings and chapter headings, and then skip through the book using it's RTF version to put the italics (mainly some poems) back in.

The hardcover is about 1275 pages long, but hey, I'm already 12,5% done. Hey, I'm crazy too.

I wonder what a publisher should say if I contacted them and said: "Hi. I've created an eBook for you, on the basis of this 1275 page novel. If you want, you can have it for free."

[jasontaylor7]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

However, it seems to be "Calibre-ized" multiple times... I can't fix this. The code is a mess; starting over will be faster.

I have so been there. Love the new word.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I wonder what a publisher should say if I contacted them and said: "Hi. I've created an eBook for you, on the basis of this 1275 page novel. If you want, you can have it for free."

I think it's a great idea. In an ideal world. In our world? Not so sure. I'd offer it to them with a request they release the ebook within 30 days. If they ignore you, you should still be reluctant to self-publish (e.g., upload to some semi-illegal website in places like russia), but nobody would stop you IMO. It's a somewhat free world over all. But remember, a lot of hackers are in jail right now because they told the public of a bug (aka "vulnerability") in their code before the software company. Is the author alive? They should be the person who decides, ideally.

Jason

[HarryT]

It's fine to create an ebook for your personal use. It would of course be copyright infringement to redistribute it.

[jasontaylor7]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Sometimes I wish I've never (re)started to use eReaders and think I should have just replaced all my pockets with hardbacks so I don't have to worry about anything. Not about readability, layout, or usability in the future.

I think your post just goes to show the ebook era is still somewhat young. By comparison, car tech is about 100 years old, and they are still improving, with battery power coming back into the mainstream only just recently, for example, even though it dominated the car market about 100 years ago.

Don't give up. Always look for how thinks can be improved. Email software authors of issues you notice. Be patient.

Jason

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by jasontaylor7

I have so been there. Love the new word.
I think it's a great idea. In an ideal world. In our world? Not so sure. I'd offer it to them with a request they release the ebook within 30 days. If they ignore you, you should still be reluctant to self-publish (e.g., upload to some semi-illegal website in places like russia), but nobody would stop you IMO.

I've "found" the text on the internet and extracted it from the book into a plain file. I could have typed the book into the computer myself using my own hardcover as a source, but this was faster. Now I'm reassembling the the text into an eBook for my own personal use. In the Netherlands, this is completely allowed as I can make copies for personal use any way I want, provided I own a legitimate copy. I may not give those copies away of course.

Originally Posted by jasontaylor7

Is the author alive? They should be the person who decides, ideally.

The author is not alive anymore. The original text was published in 1892, but the English translation is from 1981. Therefore the English text is not yet out of copyright. I'm not going to publish or upload anything. I just want this book foor myself.

I could read the hardcover of course, but that's a huge book, with very small print.

And I can provide a current picture of the real book on request