[Nfbv-announce] Kindle Reader and the Authors GuildFW: Call & Email to Authors Guild

[Fredric Schroeder]

Friends,
 
As all of you know, the Authors Guild is concerned that the Kindle 2 eBook
reader will harm sales of audible books.  As a result, Amazon has agreed to
allow publishers to turn off the text to speech feature on newly released
eBooks.  Below is a note from Debbie Prost.  Following the protest in New
York last Tuesday, Debbie contacted the Authors Guild to express her views
on the controversy.  I encourage all of you to do the same.  Debbie's note
below is an excellent example to follow when writing.
 
Thanks for all you do, and keep up the good work.
 
Fred Schroeder, President
National Federation of the Blind of Virginia
 


  _____  

From: Stewart & Deborah Prost 
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 6:50 PM
To: Fredric Schroeder
Subject: Call & Email to Authors Guild


Hi Fred,
 
I'm sorry I couldn't attend the protest in NYC Tuesday because of my work
schedule.  However, this issue concerns me a lot because I love reading so
much.  (Saturday night after the Cane Event, I stayed up till 5:00 Sunday
morning finishing a book I had started that day in the conference room.
MarCh`e chose to stay there and read, too.)  Anyway, I got an email sent by
Larry Povinelli which was a response that someone had gotten from the
Authors Guild.  This prompted me to call them myself.  I spoke to a woman
named Andrea, who seemed to understand our concerns, and she also seemed
sorry that things are the way they are.  She suggested that I send the
Authors Guild staff an email following up on our conversation.  I am sending
you a copy of that email.  I also think as many people as possible should
call and email the Authors Guild.  The phone number has been in several
emails on NFB listservs, and their email address is staff at authorsguild.org. 
 
Debbie Prost
 
 
I spoke by phone today with Andrea in your office, and she suggested that I
send you an email follow-up to our conversation.  As a blind person and a
teacher of blind children, I know that blind people and others who can't
read printmust take advantage of every reading medium available to us in
order to be informed, productive citizens on the same level with our peers
who do read print.  I am an avid Braille reader, but, unfortunately, not all
books are available in Braille.  I urge the Authors Guild and Amazon NOT to
disable the text to speech feature on any books made for the Kindle 2
reader.
 
The fear by authors and publishers that the text to speech feature will take
away from sales of audio books done by professional readers is unfounded, in
my opinion, for several reasons.  Comparing text to speech and reading done
by a professional reader is like comparing apples and oranges, so to speak.
Each of these two reading modes has its place, and I don't believe one will
take away from the usefulness of the other.  the quality of a computerized
voice used in text to speech is certainly NOT the same as the quality of a
human voice.  If books were available in equal numbers and at the same
prices in both of these media, I'm sure the audio books would outsell those
read by computer software.  I understand that authors and publishers need to
be paid for their work, just as everyone else does.  However, I don't
believe that the text to speech feature would take away from audio book
sales.  Just as print readers ALWAYS have a choice to buy books in either
print or audio format, those of us who can't read print must have the same
choice, substituting text to speech for print--without always having to pay
more money than our print reading peers for the same books.
 
I saw an email that was sent by the Authors Guild that was circulated in
which the writer talked about having text to speech available for
"certified" users of the Kindle 2.  To me, this procedure is not acceptable
because it adds an unnecessary step to making books accessible for us.  No
sighted person has to prove that he/she is sighted or able to read print in
order to purchase a book from a local bookstore, online, or in any
situation.  Why should we be treated like children and need someone to
certify our inability to read print?  I personally wouldn't choose text to
speech if I could read print because I prefer to READ Braille rather than
listen to books.  .  It seems that if someone chooses this feature, he/she
should be treated like an adult and trusted that this need is indeed real.
As a blind professional, I feel that having to have someone else sign a
statement that I am really blind is demeaning.
 
When I spoke with Andrea today, she seemed to understand my concerns, saying
that they make sense.  She and I also talked about the fact that Amazon
needs to make the Kindle 2 itself accessible--controls, menus, and all
operational features must be accessible for independent use by blind people.
 
Thank you very much for your attention to and consideration of my concerns.
I believe that if the Kindle 2 is made totally accessible to people who
can't read print, All of us--authors and readers--will be winners.
 
Deborah Prost