Interview With Bob Walsh and Brief Review of CastingWords
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I did a podcast interview with Bob Walsh, who just released a new book called MicroISV: From Vision to Reality (you can download the audio here if you haven’t already). I also used the interview to test out a new service called CastingWords.
CastingWords will take any audio file you provide and transcribe it for you at a rate of just $0.42 per minute of audio. To transcribe the 45 minute interview with Bob, I paid $18.90, and the turnaround time was about 36 hours. They provide you with three file format: html, text and RTF. I simply copied their transcript, pasted it into MS Word, then converted it to a PDF file. It’s pretty long, so I’m not posting the full transcript on this blog. If you want to read it, get the PDF file here.
As for CastingWords, I couldn’t be happier with it. You simply provide a link to the audio file, tell them how long the audio runs, then pay the fee. Very simple. Very easy. The only way it could be better is if it was free and faster, but 36 hours is pretty damn good in my book, and from what I’ve seen, their rates are below most of the transcription services out there. I’ve not yet checked the transcript thoroughly for typos, but it did pass a spell-check with flying colors. If you need some audio transcribed, definitely give it a look.
About the Author
Michael Pollock is the marketing and product development guy for Solostream. He's also a blogger, a web marketing trainer and an entrepreneur. When he's not evangelizing Solostream, he trains other solopreneurs on how to use the web to reach more people, earn more money and live a bigger life. Michael's Website.
I should give it a try and tell others about it. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing the info. Glad I’ve found this post.
I have used Castingwords for several projects. They have, until lately, been very good. When I did have a recent problem with mistakenly uploaded files they refused to help me out. Their customer support was non-existent, I mean they didn’t even reply to my very polite and solicitous email. They can do better I believe.
Hi Michael
I too use castingwords and have done so for over a year now. I had my live public address transcribed from video to MP3 for only $40 and with all the interference from the transition they did a great job. I can’t recommend them highly enough. Thanks for the review because they are a great crowd to deal with and deserve the plug.
Dan
A friend of mine was asking me if there was anyone who could transcribe a few of his audiobook interviews at a reasonable rate. I will ask him to take a look at your CastingWords review. Tks
Hi Michael
I landed on your site after searching around for “audio transcriptions”. CastingWords looks like an excellent resource…especially for those of us working on a budget. I have a number of interviews that I need transcribed so I will definitely be looking into CastinWords.
Thanks!
I really like the look of CastingWords. I’ve got an archive of interviews from my radio days that could be put to good use.
Reg
This is exactly what I was looking for! I have a few audio filed that need to be transcribed to put up on the web. Was looking for a smart and inexpensive way of doing this: Now I got it! Thanks! (That they do HTML is an added benefit)
The intervie with Bob Walsh makes for very intereting reading! Rolf
I’m gearing up to have a number of audio book reviews with author interviews transcribed and I’m happy I dropped in here to read your post. CastingWords sounds like a smart way to go.
Deborah
They provide you with three file format: html, text and RTF. I simply copied their transcript, pasted it into MS Word, then converted it to a PDF file.
Michael, thanks for the info about CastingWords. It is definitely a good deal. I pay $40 per audio hour for transcription which is also a good deal, however as any savvy solo knows, saving a few more bucks is a good thing! I looked at the transcript and if that’s the format in which you received it, it looks good. Nice and clean. Thanks again for the tip, I’ll be checking them out.