Hi all. If anyone has a voice recorder on their phone or tablet use it to read your work into and play it back. I've just found a voice recorder on my phone and I'm so glad I did. I read page one of my ms into it and when I listened I realised it didn't sound right, so I've re-written most of paragraph one. Most of you are probably already doing this but to those who aren't it's a huge help.
I use an old (2004) Serif ‘WordRead’ (UK English, US English and Australian English; whatever happened to Canadian or South African English I wonder), and find it excellent. The programme is also known as ‘Real Speak’.
The speaking voice (a rather nice lady known as Emily in my edition), can be adjusted in speed, and I have a slow deliberate one; it helps my mind grasp the nuances, and gives me time to make a quick note (if I do not wish to stop the reading).
It is artificial of course, but is rather good at what it does. I would not send anything off before I had listened to the read-through. ‘WordRead’ has prevented a lot of embarrassment.
You will see my comment at the start of this note – about the type of English the programme uses. It may seem obvious, but if you are trying to sell to Australia, or an Australian writer trying to sell to the UK, it can be useful to hear your words as people speaking another type of English will hear it.
ps: About Canadian English; the UK ‘railway crossing’ is known in Canada as a ‘railway crossing’, but in the USA becomes a ‘railroad crossing’. If you happen to travel on a Canadian train that criss-crosses the border, you will know which country you are in by noting what is written on crossing signs.