So You Want to Turn Your Book into an Audiobook?

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Introduction:

There are several ways an audiobook can be created by commissioning a complete stranger. The two companies I’ve used are ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange, a site for authors and narrators to connect) and Findaway Voices. I wrote a separate article that compares my experiences with the two. The focus of my discussion today will be an overview of my process. I intend to write a small how-to book about the topic someday, but since that could be quite a while, this will have to do for now.

Who am I?

Before I begin, a brief introduction is in order. I am a multi-genre writer with books ranging from nonfiction to fantasy to short story to mystery/thriller to science fiction. I’ve created 14 audiobooks to date through ACX and 1 through Findaway Voices. Three more titles are in the works as we speak.

Whenever I have made the mental leap from “should I?” to “I really want to” create an audiobook.

What’s the first step?

I write up a brief description of who and what I’m looking for and set the title as open for auditions, if I chose ACX. The exact steps differ if I’m working with Findaway Voices because they’re very involved in the narrator selection process. Also, I have to choose a passage for the narrator to audition with. Recently, I’ve taken to offering two passages. This gives me a variety to listen to. However, it can get difficult comparing two people if they’ve chosen different sections.

Next step?

Second, I go to ACX to research narrators. I’ve learned the hard way that certain books are best suited to male or female voices. Usually, all my books fit the “engaging” style. I search ACX for a narrator that fits the title, filtering for those who do RS of $200 pfh or less [Royalty share of $200 or less per finished hour]. That means ticking off about half the boxes under the payments filter. I tend to go American General for accent, but that filter’s not that great, which means you’ll get British accents too.

Third, I send invitations to anyone I would consider hiring. Usually, this is anybody who’s passed my 5-second test. Basically, I listen to a brief section of their audio samples. If their voice annoys me or their audio quality stinks, I avoid sending them an invitation.

How long does it take to select a narrator?

I have gotten a tad pickier as time has gone on. For the first book, I think I took the first lady who didn’t make me cringe. I wasn’t even sending out invitations in those days, so I was lucky to find a great actress just starting her audiobook journey. These days, it takes about a week or two to go through the process. Part of that is that I tend to open a few projects at once. My last pair was Scratched Off (male) and The Holy War (female).

Choosing a narrator …

Listening to auditions takes a fair amount of work because it’s important you get it right. Besides having a voice I can listen to all day long, the ideal narrator has a great range of voices, works quickly, communicates regularly, is open to suggestions, and produces a clean product. There are tons of talented people out there, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with at least two who hit all my “great narrator” boxes: Reuben Corbett and Julie Hinton.

When you find the one, hire him or her. Contract details will include how much you’re going to pay them and a timeline for getting the first fifteen minutes and the finished audiobook.

Providing the narrator with character and voice notes:

Here’s a sample of what my notes look like:

Melissa Novak – 34; pediatrician; specialty is cancer; smart, brainy, practical, scientific, nice, generous, kind; reserved; likes to run
Voice notes: it’s important to get good variety between the female characters; esp Josie and Jenn

They also need the actual manuscript. Usually, that’s handled through sending them a word doc or pdf through email, but ACX and Findaway Voices have places to upload manuscripts as well.

Wait for chapters to appear:

I like that ACX allows for part of the manuscript to be uploaded. That lets me review the book as it’s being created and ultimately streamlines the process. If I got with Findaway Voices again, it’ll only be for short projects. Their process is different and it might have changed since I used them. There, once the whole book was ready, it was uploaded for me to review. I like that with ACX it’s really about direct communication with the narrator.

What do I listen for?

Remember how I said a great narrator is somebody I can listen to all day long? Well, when somebody’s producing an audiobook, I better like their voice because that’s pretty much true. I end up listening to the book about 3 times through, sometimes more. First listen through of any chapter is directly with the manuscript where I can follow along and note places where there are mistakes in the reading or odd noises in the file. I create notes for the narrator with timestamps. ACX’s system isn’t perfect, sometimes the timing is off from a different reader like Audacity. But, generally, I can get close to the place.

I color code my notes so that red is something that’s definitely a mistake, orange is a possible mistake, green or blue is a general comment, and purple is something I really liked. That’s usually the parts they made me laugh.

Here’s a sample of audiobook notes from Varick’s Quest:
Ch 39
~4:08 Ethan’s line “where would we go…” is repeated twice
Hi, folks, sorry for the wait. Hope you’re not dead from a heart attack. I’m fine now. Lots of love, Danielle.
Nice inflection

Second listen:

Second listen of a chapter is without the manuscript, while I’m doing something like laundry or ironing or checking email. This is to see if I can follow the story without the manuscript. What kind of entertainment value is in the performance?

Here, I’ll return the notes to the narrator and let them make the fixes. When I get the files back with corrections, I’ll either listen to the whole chapter again with the manuscript, or the exact passage. That depends on how many things needed to be fixed. Depending on how much time has gone by, I may listen to this new version a few times before returning comments. This process goes back and forth as many times as it takes to get it right. If the narrator’s any good tech-wise, it’s usually only once or twice unless I return something new to them because I had to change the manuscript for some reason.

When the narrator indicates that they’re done with the project, I do another listen through with the manuscript start to finish. I write every chapter number down and put little check marks by the ones that are clear. After the review, the narrator hits “done” and I hit “approve.”

And we wait some more:

ACX has a 2 week quality assurance check. It’s sound quality, not story, because mistakes like the same chapter being in there twice or missing a chapter are not caught. This is why my personal review of the project is so important. Also, something I learned the hard way. If the project is pfh (pay per finished hour), then the narrator has to click a button that says they received payment. Yup, learned that the hard way too. Waited about 2 months for a project I’d paid for along the way because that’s what I do because who the heck likes getting a large bill at the end of all this?

Conclusion:

I suppose you could get away with doing “less” work along the process of bringing your book to audio, but why? This is your baby. It’s one thing to trust the narrator you’ve hired to bring the story to life, but ultimately, the author is the project director when it comes to this, producing an audiobook independently of a publishing house.

Hope that helps. If you have questions, feel free to email devyaschildren @ gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

Links:
Audible titles
Amazon page
Facebook page
FB Special Agents group
Audiobook Edge Authors/ Narrators Facebook group
Audiobook Edge Readers Discussion Facebook group
Website
Twitter: @uthorGilbert
Email: devyaschildren @ gmail.com

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