Why Every Author Should Create an Audio Book?
Authors make their living with the written word, not the spoken one, so why should they make audio books? While a ton of work, creating audio books are fun and more importantly, will make the author a better writer.
First, let’s discuss the process. It’s best to work with experts. Don’t pick up a microphone and start reading! Companies exist that connect authors with professional narrators. One such company is Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).
Step one—find the right narrator. This is vital and cannot be rushed. Think critically about your book. Who is the most important character? Who speaks the most? Voice performers are a diversified group: some focus on young voices, others on a range of accents, and still others do both male and female voices equally well. Always listen to audition tapes from prospective narrators to make sure you find the one best suited to bring your book to life. You’re unlikely to find the perfect narrator, so, as in all things, expect tradeoffs.
Step two—audition the voice performer. Usually he or she will read some portion of the first chapter. That’s a good start, but before you commit, make sure you both agree on the voices for the main characters. Find passages with dialogue for the important characters and work your way through them with the narrator. Good narrators will take suggestions, so if a voice doesn’t sound right at first, give them direction and a chance to tweak them.
Step three—time to get working. Generally, narrators send authors chapters as they complete them. It’s the author’s job to make sure the narrator correctly reads the chapter and to offer critical direction about the performance. If you want to emphasize a certain line or envision a pregnant pause, this is the time to iron those things out.
I recently completed an audio book with the very talented Brian Rollins for Shatter Point. I greatly enjoyed helping him create the characters’ voices and to bring my words to life. It helped that he’s an awesome performer, but the entire process also took a lot of work.
As an important side effect, I discovered a few things about my writing that I hadn’t already noticed. A couple of patterns emerged that I will shy away from in the future, and I noticed a few dialogue tags that were not needed. Every author will discover something different about his or her work. That’s the point. At the end of the process, Shatter Point came to life and I’ve become a better writer. It was a win-win situation, and one I hope all authors look into.
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