Accessibility Matters For E-ARCs, Too
I had the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy of a book this week that I was very excited about. It’s by an author I’ve been meaning to read but haven’t quite gotten around to yet.
I really enjoyed this book. The premise was right up my alley, and I loved everything about the actual novel itself. But I’m not going to publish the name of the book, or the author. All I will say is the publisher, which was Bloomsbury USA.
Here’s why:
My review is based on what I received. While the writing itself is fantastic, the prose witty, the plot compelling, and the setting tasty as hell, it was nearly impossible for me to get through this very short e-ARC because the file itself is horrendously inaccessible to anyone with visual processing disabilities or impairments. The text is white on a grey background and light pink watermarks are slashed multiple times across every page with such violence, it’s impossible to read and interferes with my text-to-speech programs.
Y'all I literally could not physically read this. I struggled through what I could and asked my partner to read aloud the rest. Honestly, I feel insulted by the publisher. There wasn’t even the slightest attempt to adhere to basic universal electronic accessibility standards. I know this because I worked in electronic accessibility for four years. If this publisher even has an accessibility team, they should fire them.
I will not be purchasing the e-book. What I received isn’t representative of the quality I expect from a major publisher’s ebook. I MAY consider buying the physical copy, but I’m not sure I want to support a publisher who can’t be bothered to ensure their ARCs are accessible, even if the final ebook remediates the accessibility issues, I understand the need for watermarks, especially when we’ve got to deal with AI scraping everything it can get its filthy little digital claws in, but it doesn’t have to interfere with accessibility.
Because people with disabilities deserve to be a first thought, not a last one. And I cannot give a five star review to something I quite literally was unable to read. What an insult. The author deserves a better representation of their work, which is why I have not revealed their name or the title of the book.
I say again, because I simply cannot believe it, what an insult.
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