Audiobooks present the perfect opportunity for every author to increase their audience and give their readers a new way to experience their paperbacks, hardbacks, or e-books. These days, it is not surprising that the process of self-publishing an audiobook is just as easy as publishing an e-book – if you know the right way to actually create the audiobook. Creating an audiobook is ten times more complicated, time-consuming, and more difficult as well, and you will need to be aware of that before you even start.
On the other hand, many book lovers prefer to listen to audiobooks rather than read the books from a tablet/Kindle screen or paper, and if they are the right audience for your book, then creating an audiobook is the right choice for you. Below, you will find the things you need to watch out for when creating an audiobook, and discover what needs to be done before your readers would be able listen to your book.
1. Polish your book to perfection
Before you start, read the book out loud, to yourself, and even record yourself if you are able to. This is an important step – reading out loud helps polish a manuscript to perfection. When you’re reading your own work out loud, you will notice errors, repeated words and other tiny mistakes you might have missed in your initial editing. What you want to accomplish here is avoiding the instinct to edit your book as you’re recording the audio version. In fact, try to do this before originally publishing the book. Otherwise, if you edit some of its content for audio, you don’t have an audio version of your paperback, or e-book, you have recorded a completely different book. If you’ve already published the e-book, then you will find yourself editing the e-book and re-uploading it on Amazon, which can have a negative effect on your image as a professional author, especially among the readers who had bought the not-so-perfect version of your book. They will consider themselves either cheated out of good content, or pressured into paying two times for what is, essentially, the same story.
2. Find the right voice
Nonfiction books can, and in many writers’ and readers’ opinion, should be read by the author, especially books that focus on self-help and self-improvement. There is something incredibly wonderful for the readers to hear the writer of the book to read the book out loud for them, especially when the writer shares how he/she overcame an adversity. On the other hand, fiction novels are, well, fiction. They have a plethora of characters and all of them need unique voices. So, unless you are a great voice actor, you should hire a professional narrator who will be able to bring forth all the voices your book needs to sound perfect and professionally done. You can even use more than one narrator if you think it’s necessary, especially if your book is written from a dual point of view or more.
3. Know what you don’t know
Unless you have experience in audio recording, you should try to gather as much knowledge as you can about creating an audiobook before beginning. This will help you plan your audiobook creation budget better, and avoid any surprising, but necessary costs. Creating an audiobook does not mean sitting at home, reading the book and recording it on your phone. There are plenty of other things you need to do – from making sure the sound is crispy clear and at the right volume, to deciding whether or not you should use any special music to accompany the reading voice, or any other special effects. Hiring professional help might cost you more, but it will make sure your audiobook is perfectly and professionally done.
4. Use a studio and professional equipment
Some writers avoid this by creating a mini studio out of their own closets – padding it up and using a special microphone to ensure that there is a minimal amount of noise. However, that option will not grant you the same audio quality as a professional recording studio. There is also the fact that you will be spending hours reading your own book – or someone else will – and it can get tiring. It seems easy in theory, you are after all, doing nothing more than just reading, but you’ve probably never had to read for so many hours before. You will make mistakes, your voice will get tired, and you may even change your tone without realizing it. This means that some sections will need to be recorded all over again to match the tone of the audiobook, increasing the number of recording hours. Taking your time, making sure you don’t exhaust yourself, and using a professional studio and proper equipment might be more expensive, but it will save you a ton of extra work.
5. Don’t skip post-production
Creating an audiobook doesn’t stop with the end of recording. Your audiobook will need to be cleared of all unnecessary noises; the bad takes will need to be removed, and the pacing and rhythm of the audiobook needs to be consistent. This means that you will need to go through the recording very carefully – or hire someone to do it for you, to make sure you don’t miss any extra sounds. Additionally, the audiobook will need to be perfected sound-wise. Many audio self-publishing platforms have their own guidelines on pitch, volume and tone that your audiobook will need, as well as a crisp, clear and even sound which will not distract the readers from the story.
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Georgina Roy wants to live in a world filled with magic. As an art student, she’s moonlighting as a writer and is content to fill notebooks and sketchbooks with magical creatures and amazing new worlds. When she is not at school, or scribbling away in a notebook, you can usually find her curled up, reading a good urban fantasy novel, or writing on her laptop, trying to create her own.