Put It In Writing

About once a month, a writer or editor asks me about transcription. Should they do it? Is it worth it? Is there someone I’d recommend? The short answer is yes, yes, and yes.

Back when I worked in a college publications office, I taped tons of interviews—and had them all transcribed by student workers. It was one of the many great perks of my job that I wasn’t sufficiently grateful for until I didn’t have it anymore. When I left to freelance full-time, I tackled transcriptions myself, and discovered the work was pretty brutal.

It took me three years to realize that getting interviews transcribed might be smarter than trying to save a few bucks by doing it myself. Thanks to some recommendations from colleagues, I discovered CLK Transcription, which is quick, reasonably priced, and accurate. There is no question that it’s changed my working life for the better. It’s easy, it saves me hours of headaches, and it lets me focus on the most important parts of my job. It’s also helped me boost my bottom line, because I’m not spending hours procrastinating instead of transcribing. I just download the interview, send it off, and then look for a finished transcript a couple days later in my inbox. Delightful.