Life is full of good-byes and this year I had to say good-bye to Charles Carr and SoundsEnglish, a subcontractor to MTM*. We have worked together since 2017 and it is difficult to move on. On a good note, my new partner in crime is Tundell & Salmson and they have welcomed me with open arms. But let’s start from the beginning.
In 2017, when I first started, I didn’t quite understand what the work entailed. I still don’t understand every step, or how to describe some elements. However, I feel stronger and surer of myself and my abilities. It’s all thanks to Charles, of course.
On my LinkedIn profile I say the following about my work:
“[..] Describing graphic elements and tables in books for the visually impaired is equally challenging. The descriptions must be short, to the point and easily understandable.”
Many famous writers and authors have said, that writing simply and with clarity is the most difficult task you can set yourself. I’m not sure if my humble work applies to that, but it sure can be hard to keep it “dry” and to the point.
In short, I go through books (i.e. pdf’s or ePub files) looking for tables and graphical elements that may need a description. Then I write the descriptions as accurately and simply as I can. The last step is to paste the descriptions in a new ePub file that later will be either recorded or prepared for speech synthesis.
The changes in my work-life may take me in a new direction, but for the time being I will continue working for Tundell & Salmson.
*MTM means Swedish Agency for Accessible Media (Myndigheten för tillgängliga medier)
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Photo: Toa Heftiba on Unsplash