Hi everyone,
lately I talked with a few fandom peeps who are blind, or partially blind, and are using special screenreaders to browse the internet, use twitter and such. I learned that it is really tough for them to get into a story they 'read' at ffnet or elsewhere, because those screenreaders' emotionless robot voices kill all the joy... sometimes it's even hard if not impossible to keep up with POV changes, or who's saying what in dialogues. Well, I thought it sucks.
And when it comes to fan fiction of the M rated kind, it's quite obvious why blind folks do NOT exactly want to ask a family member or friend to read it out loud to them, right? LOL.
So I started thinking about making fan fic accessible for blind people, those with certain reading disorders or just anyone who has trouble with print or simply enjoys audiobooks.
After finding a lovely narrator (I'm German.... you wouldn't want to listen to my accent, LOL), and two weeks of producing and learning about the specifics of a page that meets blind peoples' preferences, I yesterday launched chapter one of my fan fic Little Green and Easybella. It was originally a O/S, so even though it's just the first chapter, it's over an hour listening joy.
http://littlegreenandeasybella-audiobook.blogspot.de/
The first reactions were very encouraging, and I couldn't be happier. I would love for you to check it out, and if you know of any folks who would appreciate this form of 'fic reading', especially those who depend on blind comp technology, please spread the word.
THANKS IN ADVANCE!!! XOXO Betti
P.S. That fic is still a WIP, 32 chapters in so far. The audio version will update every time, a new chap is produced. The url of the written version on ffnet is http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6412470