TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES FOR AUTHORS
including manuscripts, memoirs, interviews and dictation

We enjoy providing transcription services to authors, novelists, journalists and writers as the subject areas are always so varied and fascinating. Transcribing authors' manuscripts, writers' memoirs, ghostwriters' research interviews or journalists' dictation, we have been able to free up their time to work on the book itself while we take care of the time consuming transcription.

We understand the importance of providing an accurate transcript while maintaining a cost effective transcription service. Our prices are listed below, and we pride ourselves on our flexible approach to urgent deadlines. We believe our Testimonial page speaks for itself and we take our clients' confidentiality very seriously.

We can transcribe a wide range of digital recordings including the most popular formats of DSS, WAV, MP3, WMA and Real Player recordings. Please view our digital transcription page for information on all the formats compatible with our transcription software.

While we would urge all clients to switch to digital recordings, we realise a lot of writers, and journalists in particular, still use analogue tape recorders. As long as the need is there, and the equipment is manufactured, we are happy to cater for such preferences at an hourly rate. We understand that the use of a dictaphone recorder is often a convenient and familiar method, and we offer both mini tapes and micro cassette tape transcription, as well as standard audio tape transcription. Some dictaphones are also suitable for one to one interviews in quiet environments, but that really is the limit of their capabilities, without the addition of an external microphone.

Digital dictaphones are now reasonably priced and just as simple to operate. If you're reluctant to switch completely to digital, why not try a halfway house? Minidisc recorders produce an excellent quality of sound and coupled with an external microphone, they are as good as digital. We would be happy to advise if you're considering switching to a digital system - please see our comparison of digital and analogue recordings. If you do make the switch, we feel sure you will see the benefit in terms of superior recordings, increased transcript accuracy, and reduced costs as we are able to offer a per audio minute price for all digital and minidisc recordings.

We have provided information on our Guidelines and Equipment pages which we hope will answer any specific queries about setting up your recordings. We realise that budgets are limited but would urge you not to cut corners and costs too much when investing in recording equipment - it really is a false economy. Poor quality recordings will cost you more to transcribe, easily outweighing any cost savings from cheaper equipment. Invest in good quality, digital equipment with an external microphone and you will save money in the long run in transcription costs.

 

Author Transcription Services	Price Range Per Audio Minute (digital recordings only & based on Intelligent Verbatim transcripts+)
Transcription of dictation	£1.20 - £1.50
Interview transcription (up to three participants)	£1.30 - £1.75
Please note: these rates apply only to good quality, clearly audible digital or minidisc recordings. The price range is designed to cover issues such as background noise, strong accents and technical terms. Should the subsequent recording prove to be not as described, we will requote and discuss this with you before proceeding. See our Times page for the factors which influence transcription. All prices are in £ Sterling and VAT is NOT applicable. + Please add 50p per audio minute for a Complete Verbatim or 25p per audio minute for Edited Transcript price. See our Definitions page for details of what each transcript style means.

ALL RECORDINGS are listened to a second time, Internet research is carried out to identify names or terminology, and all transcripts are proofread by the Director, Irene Boston, before being sent to clients. There is no extra charge for this service. Not all transcription companies do this, some don't even proofread so make sure you ask the right questions before choosing a service.

Our default transcript style is Intelligent Verbatim as that is by far the most cost effective method of transcription. Please read our definitions of Complete Verbatim, Intelligent Verbatim and Edited Transcript so you can choose which format is most suitable for your needs. We have a standard page layout for all transcripts but are happy to follow your preferred style to save you reformatting work later on. As with all our transcriptions, we provide a Transcript Code for each document to signify areas which are inaudible or unclear.

Free Digital Recording - we convert all audio tapes, micro cassettes, mini tapes and minidiscs to digital audio files for ease of transcription. This is only possible with a clear quality recording. As part of our service, we offer our clients the digital version of their recording free of charge, which can be sent using a secure file transfer service, provided the client has Broadband.

We provide a free File Upload service for all digital recordings via our website to ensure prompt delivery to our transcription team. We can also download your audio sound files directly from your website if you prefer, or you can post CDs directly. For all audio tapes we advise sending them using a traceable method, such as Registered Post, but please ONLY send the originals. Copies will be of much poorer quality and will increase transcription time and costs.

We pride ourselves on our project management experience for large scale projects, but would recommend giving us as much advance notice of your requirements as possible. This allows us to reserve space for you in our schedule. Most established transcription companies have a long list of regular customers and to suddenly find a block of free space for a large project can be difficult. So book your transcription company in advance, the same way you would an interview schedule.

We hope this provides you with a thorough overview of our transcription services specially aimed at authors, novelists, writers and journalists. Feel free to call (01485 543746) or email us for a detailed quote and turnaround times based on our current schedule, or browse our Overview or FAQ pages.