Storyphile | Your life. Your story. For the people you love.

Audio Recordings and Transcripts

How transcripts work

Transcripts add a printed record to your audio recordings. What you say is written down, word for word, so you can read your interviews instead of listening to them. That can be more convenient.

You can enjoy your transcripts on their own or use them as the starting point for a life story manuscript or book.

Transcription is labour intensive, so it’s more expensive than audio recording alone. For each hour of recorded interview, it can take 8 to 10 hours to produce an edited, formatted, indexed transcript.

Adding transcripts to your life story project also adds a bit more work for you. You’ll need to review and approve the transcripts before final drafts are printed.

When you choose a life story package that includes transcripts, the process begins with audio-recorded interviews.

Read more about what to expect at interview time.

Read more about Storyphile’s transcription process.

What you’ll need to do

  • Get started. (You’ll need to sign a letter of agreement and pay a 30% deposit.)
  • Review Storyphile’s list of memory-sparking topics and think about the areas of your life you’d like to focus on.
  • Complete and return Storyphile’s biography and family history worksheets.
  • Work with us to develop an interview plan.
  • Sit for interviews. (It will be fun!)
  • Review a first draft of your transcripts. Let us know if there’s anything you wish to delete. Mark any corrections that may be required.
  • Approve your final, corrected transcripts.
  • Approve your final audio files. (If you’ve deleted content from your transcripts, we’ll delete the corresponding portions of your audio files.)
  • Enjoy your transcripts and recordings and share them with your dear ones!

What you’ll get

  • edited, formatted, indexed transcripts of your interviews (We deliver these in a high-end, archival-quality binder—so you can add documents or photos to your life story.)
  • a USB thumb drive that includes a PDF version of your transcripts
  • unedited, MP3-format audio recordings of your interviews (We’ll include these on the thumb drive and send a copy straight to your computer too.)

What it costs

  • Recorded interviews and transcripts for a complete life story start at $10,470 (plus GST/HST).

How long it takes

  • It typically takes 10 to 16 weeks to complete the interview portion of your project.
  • It takes an additional 3 to 8 weeks to prepare, format, edit, index, revise and submit your final transcripts and audio recordings.

Deposits and payments

The deposit is 30% of the total fee. The balance is invoiced over the course of the project.