I’ve always had poor eyesight due to excessive reading without resting my eyes when I was a kid. Over the years, I’ve worn thick glasses, and I can’t see much without them. These days, I wear trifocals. My paperbacks all have slightly larger print than normal so that they’re easier for me to read them myself. Not just for myself, I want all my readers to be able to access all my books. I’m sorry I don’t yet have audiobooks, but someday soon I’ll publish them. However, I’m thankful to God for increasingly useful technology to enable my blind readers to access my books, for example, via the Kindle app on their phones.
I don’t shy away from featuring all different walks of life in my books. In my own real life, I’ve come across many people. When I was even in grade school, we had blind students in our school by the sea. There were blind students in college. And blind Christians in church. As such, I have a blind character in Olivia, the pastor’s wife in His Longing Heart (Seaside Chapel Book 1). Her own story is coming soon in a special prequel I’m writing this year.
Some of my readers are blind, and I am acutely aware of the need for accessibility. I have fallen short in years past where my author website is concerned because I kept forgetting to use the ALT tags for the images in my newsletters and websites. However, this year I am making an earnest effort to correct that. Today I’m interviewing one of my avid readers, Kelly Wickham, about accessibility so that I can make my books, author website, and my newsletters even more accessible to my blind readers.
Without much ado, here are my questions for Kelly and her answers.
Jan: I’m so thankful to God that you love to read my books. Tell us a bit about yourself.
Kelly: My name is Kelly Wickham. I am totally blind and widowed. I love to share the love of Jesus in song. In my spare time, I love to read and spend time with my family. My heart is especially in the nursing home ministry. I love singing with the people and praying for them when they need it. I also help with leading the singing at my church, and sometimes reading passages of Scripture aloud.
Jan: What are the main challenges you find as blind avid reader?
Kelly: The main challenge for most of my life was finding books in Braille or on audio, but now, kindle is here and I can easily read the books or listen to a text-to-speech voice read them. I would say the biggest challenge, though, is images. There are some books that are not screen reader-supported at all because they are all images. Those are the hardest to read.
Jan: I admit that when it comes to images, I haven’t been adding in ALT (alternate text) tags as much as I should. Sometimes I don’t know what to write in it, and the ALT tag doesn’t give me a lot of space to be descriptive, so I have to summarize as best I could. W3 has a free decision chart guide on what to put in the ALT tag field that’s helpful: https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree
Jan: How can authors make their websites more accessible to blind readers? E.g. using meaningful ALT tags.
Kelly: This is a big one for me. Descriptions and alt text are very helpful. I don’t like to click on links unless I know what they are. Also, I have tried to sign up for some authors’ newsletters but something prevented me to sign up and I’m not sure what it was. I ended up emailing the authors and asked them if they could sign me up.
Jan: What are some technology products that have helped you read more easily? Text to speech software?
Kelly: My FAVORITE piece of technology is my Braille display!!! It can either hook to my phone or be used as a stand-alone device that I can put books onto. Also, there is a great app called Voice Dream Reader. There is a small price to pay for it, but I can either listen to the book being read by a text-to-speech voice or read it in Braille. Also, the iPhone kindle app is pretty good, too.
Jan: Good tips on tools! With my computer background, I love utilizing technology to help in every day tasks. I use an iPhone and I’m working on getting it to read to me so that it can read Kindle ebooks to me any time.
I want to thank Kelly again for taking the time to answer my questions in this interview.
If you’re an author, do you take steps to make your books and website accessible to blind readers?
If you’re a reader with vision impairment, how are you using technology to help you read better?
P.S. Thank you in advance for your comments. Unexpectedly, I will be away from my desk until late afternoon. I will reply to your comments as soon as I get back. Thanks again!
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
Thanks Jan and Kelly for todays interview. I have to admit I don’t always use the alt for images but will try to remember to. I know I was taught it was important and use to but have fallen out of the habit. (I use to when I had a website but for blogs I forget)
This was really interesting. My husband is slowly losing his sight, ( he’s already blind in one eye) so I appreciated reading about the aids available. He listens to a lot of documentaries to try and replace books but it’s just not the same.
I am so glad that the blind can now have access to these books. My grandmother was blind her whole life. I would sit and watch her read her braille books, which were her Bible and children’s books that the Blind Society would send her.
Thank you for your comment! I also forgot for years. But I’m making a new effort.
I’m reminding myself to use ALT tags even on social media. Turns out that on Twitter, for example, whenever I use GIF images, it doesn’t always come with ALT tags unless I add it myself .
Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Are audiobooks an option? My local library has lots of audiobooks. So do ACX on Amazon and Findaway Voices on D2D. Also I’m starting to appreciate podcasts bc they are all audio.
Kelly mentioned that in Kindle, the ebooks can be read aloud for her. Maybe that’s an option too?
Thank you for your comments and have a great weekend in the Lord!
I agree. Technology does step up in a big way today for accessibility for blind readers.
I’m glad that the Blind Society provided books for your grandma. Sounds like she was an avid reader!
Thank you for your comments! Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
My Mom liked to read, though she needed really large print, thanks to age-related macular degeneration. However, there were some books that weren’t classed as large print that she could read just fine, so I bought her quite a few. She could see to crochet and make her cards, though she couldn’t tell colors, so I told her what colors everything was. She was NOT tech savvy, and though one of my sisters bought her a tablet so she could make the font bigger to read the Bible, she did NOT like it, so it stayed in its box in the drawer. I’ve worn glasses myself since I was in the 7th grade, and now I switch between bifocals and progressive. My docs are surprised I can do it, as you’re supposed to like one or the other, but not both.
I have a Paperwhite, and if there’s a way to have it read to me, I haven’t found it! I have an eye disease that’s taken a good chunk of my central vision but can manage just fine with electronics where I can make things big and bold enough to read. But I’d love to take some strain off my eyes at times and have my Kindle read to me.
I do have quite a few audiobooks, but way more ebooks!
This was so informative! Thank you so much for sharing ways we can make things more accessible!
interesting info
This was a really interesting insight, thank you to you and Kelly.
Years ago I used to work for the charity the Royal Institute for Blind People here in the UK. They produce a lot of books and magazines in braille and audio. Now it’s much easier for people to access accessible reading material via computers and apps like kindle as you’ve said, but their audio library (mostly on tape when I was there!) used to be a real lifeline for people.
Thank You so much for sharing I love reading print books I have had to have bifocals for awhile now due to my glaucoma. I inherited from my Mom! And I am so Thankful for today’s technology for readers to be able to enjoy what they Love to do! Have a Blessed weekend!
That’s wonderful of you to buy your mom books she can read. I hear you about the different size prints. I noticed that some of the books in the library have super large print, and some are not. For a while now, I couldn’t read the tiny fonts in those smaller paperbacks. So I knew that when I published my paperbacks, they have to have the same font size as hardcover books, which is at last point size 12. It also depends on the font as well, IMHO.
I wear progressive bc of computer work. The doc said I could wear bifocals but then I’m missing out on the middle part. So progressive allows me to see everything — far, screen, near, print, etc. I’ve never work bifocals, so IDK. IIRC I was told that progressive means trifocals.
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
We should ask Kelly about that. So is the Paperwhite good on your eyes? Does it read like a book? I wonder about getting a Paperwhite but I can’t get past the black-and-white. I prefer color for my book covers. BUT then again, the printed books that I read are not color anyway.
I googled Amazon and all it says is that text-to-speech is only on FireOS 5 and up. I have Kindle on my phone, and I am still trying to figure out how to turn on the text-to-speech on my phone itself LOL which should allow it to read Kindle to me. Apparently!
I sometimes listen to audiobooks if I am doing something else. I don’t think I can listen to it if I am driving due to focus. But as a passenger, it does pass the time!
Thank you for your comments and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you. I am learning more and more about accessibility myself. My website is lagging behind for sure!
Have a great weekend in the Lord!
Indeed!
Thank you! I think organizations that serve blind people are wonderful. It gets super expensive to print braille on paper, but good thing we have technology now.
Today a lot of people like audiobooks also because they are so convenient. I don’t have enough data on them because I haven’t crossed that bridge yet. But I do remember the tapes from the old days. I might still have some cassettes lying around somewhere!
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Yes. I also thank God for technology today making life easier for those of us with visual issues. If not for large print, it would be hard for me to enjoy reading books!
Thank you for your comments and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
The font size has quite a bit to do with it. Also, the paper they’re printed on, the type spacing, whether it’s one line or one and a half, or two, made a difference for Mom, too. I actually researched to find the largest print Bible I could find, and bought it for her. Then, when she wanted even larger, my sister asked me, and I had to tell her Mom already had the Bible she found, and that’s when she bought the tablet so that we could change the font size. But, since Mom didn’t like it, she rarely used it. My progressives are good for driving, and when I’m on the computer. However, I love to read and watch TV, and I can’t get re-focused fast enough and hold my head just right with the progressives, and when at church to see the screen and then write, so that’s when I really need my bifocals!!
My study Bible is also super giant print. But turns out that’s not the largest print they have. Years ago, I remember seeing a Bible that was at least point size 18. Nowadays there’s Amazon, but I can’t tell from the screen whether the font is bigger than mine. I hope you can find a super sized print for your mom. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon or CBD has it. Otherwise a local Christian bookstore can order it.
That’s interesting about bifocals. Good to know there’s a difference between bifocals and progressive! I guess I got used to one and didn’t research too much about the other options!
Thank you so much for sharing. I have had glasses since I was 16 months old. I wore contacts for many years. I now have bifocals. The doctor told my parents when I was a child, that I would be blind before I was 21 years old. I am now 58 years. old. I am still able to see. God bless you.
My 95 year old grandfather has bad eye sight so had to use an extra large magnafine glass to read paper but now his sight is so bad he doesn’t really read any more.
Thank you, Debra! Wow praise the Lord that God gave you sight all these years. I am also thankful to God that He protects my eyes in spite of the thick glasses I have to wear.
Thanks again for your comment. Have a wonderful week in the Lord!
Wow that’s amazing. I’m glad we have audiobooks and podcasts and so forth that come in handy when reading on paper is difficult.
Thank you for your comment. Have a wonderful week in the Lord!