[stylist] Smashwords

Thu Oct 31 19:42:41 UTC 2013

Hi,
I just got the SmashWords guide. I am cautiously optimistic that I have accidentally hit upon a way to create totally accessible documents that you can either import into Word, import into Word and then save as totally accessible PDF, convert to HTML, RTF, and I'm unsure what else. This would take some learning, but if you learn this, the original document is completely accessible, because it is nothing more than plain text. As you write and format your document, you have complete control over the formatting, and you know exactly what you are doing to the document. Once you format the document, you run a little program against it. The program turns it into either HTML or XHTML, your choice, and then you open it with Word. Word automatically picks up the formatting and converts it into Word styles. The cautious part is that I need to sign up for SmashWords and put it through their process to see how close it comes to passing their meat grinder. But for accessibility, you simply can't beat this process. You have no more fooling around with searching through Word and messing around with your screen readers reading features to see where you put in too much bold text, or where you accidentally left the heading 1 style turned on for too many paragraphs, or whether you forgot to turn off auto correct. I'm going to put this thing through its paces. My only thing is, I don't have an e-book to put through it, so I need to write one. I'm going to write a short one. I'll put it through the process, and report back, but I feel that this  might just work. Even if it doesn't work perfectly for the SmashWords thing, it will absolutely work great for any Word, HTML, XHTML, or PDF doc that you want to create, as long as you have Word and can save to PDF. On its own it can make a number of kinds of documents including XHTML and HTML. 

It takes a little bit of learning to understand how to format the plain text documents, but you can probably learn the bulk of it in an hour, and if you have a cheat sheet, you can simply refer to the formatting you want to create, and put it in. And since the whole thing is plain text, you don't even need sighted help to make sure your formatting works. I check my documents by looking at them in my web browser. I can pretty easily spot the formatting errors, except perhaps for the bold and other formatting in the middle of text, but that's because I forget to use the screen reader features that speak bold text. If I want to check that stuff in my text editor, I don't even need screen reader special features. I took the time to create a clip set for this in NoteTab Pro, my text editor of choice most of the time, only because I'm lazy and don't want to format by hand, but formatting by hand is very easy.

If you want to get a feel for this stuff, visit http://www.txt2tags.org/.

OK. That's enough for now. Hopefully, tonight, I can get started on my little e-book and see in a few days how well it works.

Have fun.

Jim

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Atty Rose
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 3:24 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Smashwords

The tracking is the control shift e and the hide/show is the control shift 
8. I see what you mean.

Yeah they want the show/hide on so people know what sort of stuff is showing 
up in their document for their meat grinder. LOL

Thanks folks,
Atty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Homme, James" <james.homme at highmark.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 12:05 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Smashwords

> Hi Atty,
> My memory, possibly falty, says that when you press CTRL+SHIFT+8 im MS 
> Word that you are turning on and off the showing of the paragraph mark. 
> JAWS should say the words paragraph mark when you put the cursor on the 
> end of a line. This is how you know it is on.
>
> Related to this, though, I wonder why SmashWords is telling you to do 
> this. I can have a quick look at their guide, but what are you 
> specifically trying to accomplish? Are you trying to use Word styles for 
> headings, bulleted lists, and so forth? Are you putting in  a table of 
> contents?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Atty Rose
> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 10:25 AM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: [stylist] Smashwords
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm going to put a story up on smashwords for folks to read for free, and 
> I
> am working out how to format it.
>
> I have word 2007. I've just started and I'm setting up word to give me the
> cues I need, so, I've turned off the markup/tracking features, control 
> shift
> e.
>
> Next it tells me to turn on the show/hide feature, control shift 8.
>
> Now, when I did the first one, the markup, it told me off or on. However,
> when I did the show/hide it did not. Finally, we reach my question! Well,
> two of them.
>
> First, is there a feature in jaws 9, that will turn on and off 
> anouncements
> like the show/hide?
>
> And second, if not, how does a person know if it is on or off?
>
> Thanks for reading this.
>
> I intend on giving this story away, then giving away another, and finally
> having a short story collection including the two free stories, for people
> to actually purchase. Probably around 5 stories and a novella, and price 
> it
> something reasonable.
>
> Creativity and peace to you and yours,
> Atty
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
> To: "Cherylandmaxx" <Cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>; "Writer's Division 
> Mailing
> List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 7:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Cookbook and other - Linda
>
>
>> Yes, that is correct, it is NOT a vegetarian nor a vegan diet but the
>> program she discusses and writes about holds great information  for 
>> anyone
>> who wants to feel better by eliminating a number of foods that are making
>> so many people sick.  Lynda
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Cherylandmaxx" <Cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 7:26 AM
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Cookbook and other - Linda
>>
>>
>>> Lynda it isn't a vegan diet doesn't state it is. I saw the pbs program
>>> not sure if I will be doing the diet
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S®4
>>>
>>> -------- Original message --------
>>> From: Lynda Lambert <llambert at zoominternet.net>
>>> Date: 10/31/2013  6:43 AM  (GMT-05:00)
>>> To: meekerorgas at ameritech.net,Writer's Division Mailing List
>>> <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Cookbook and other  - Linda
>>>
>>> I should say that the Virgin Diet is NOT a vegetarian nutrition plan -
>>> not
>>> at all. I am Vegan, and eat only a plant-based diet.   I just bought a
>>> book
>>> , "My Virgin Diet Cookbook" by New Health Cook Books. It arrived
>>> yesterday
>>> from Amazon.  I was extremely disappointed to find that the  first three
>>> chapters in this book are recipes for meats and sea foods - and I 
>>> thought
>>> I
>>> would just send it back and get my money back.  But, I looked on, into
>>> the
>>> book's contents  and finally, at page 114, it begins to list very good
>>> recipes for plant based foods.  (Page 115 - 175), so I think I will keep
>>> it.
>>> Lynda
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Cheryl Orgas & William Meeker" <meekerorgas at ameritech.net>
>>> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 11:11 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Cookbook and other - Linda
>>>
>>>
>>>> Dear Chris and Linda,
>>>>
>>>> This cook book, The Virgin Diet, by JJ Virgin,  is also available on 
>>>> the
>>>> BARD download.
>>>>
>>>> Warmly,
>>>>
>>>> Cheryl
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lynda
>>>> Lambert
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 9:46 AM
>>>> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Cookbook and other - Linda
>>>>
>>>> haha!  OK, I'll tell you - they are all foods I had been eating my
>>>> entire
>>>> life - or just about.  I am waiting for the CD of the book to arrive - 
>>>> I
>>>> ordered it from Amazon. I listened to a 2 hour lecture by jj Virgin on
>>>> public TV over a month ago and decided to try it - I could never have
>>>> anticipated the great results I have had just be deleting these:  Soy,
>>>> Peanuts, Corn, Sugar, Dairy, Eggs, Gluten.  I do not intend to ever eat
>>>> any
>>>> of those foods again, the results I am enjoying are  just too good to
>>>> ever
>>>> go back there. I cannot wait for my next regular check-up at the
>>>> doctors -
>>>> he is going to be quite  impressed!  Lynda
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Chris Kuell" <ckuell at comcast.net>
>>>> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 10:06 AM
>>>> Subject: [stylist] Cookbook and other - Linda
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Linda,
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll take a look at the Virgin diet, but in the meantime, you have me
>>>>> very curious. What are the seven deadly foods?
>>>>>
>>>>> Inquiring minds need to know!
>>>>>
>>>>> chris
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Writers Division web site
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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