Audiobook Production 101
You’ve written your book and decided to self-publish. Now you need an audiobook. In fact, statistics show that you must have an audio book.
A article posted at GlobalNewsWire.com in July 2022, predicted that revenue from audiobooks will exceed $33.5 million by 2030 — up from just over $4 million in 2021.
In June of this year, Publishers Weekly reported that “For a 10th straight year, the Audio Publishers Association’s annual sales survey has revealed a double-digit increase in audiobook sales.” Obviously then, there’s a huge audience of potential listeners available to you.
One reason for the popularity of audiobooks is that people can be informed and entertained while they do something else: drive, exercise, cook, laundry, clean. Listening to audiobooks allows us to accomplish two things at once — a big boost in the productivity of busy people.
Now that you know why you must create an audiobook, you’re probably wondering how to do it. As with most projects, you can pay professionals or do it yourself.
Hire a production company and a narrator. Once you’ve agreed on cost, timeline, format specs for distribution, and the narrator, you’ll send them your manuscript and let the production company do the work. (Note: Before you can decide about distribution, you’ll need to calculate the approximate length of your audiobook.) Or you can hire the production company to record you narrating your own audiobook, which they would then edit and format.
If you need help understanding first steps, contact me. I offer a free 15-minutes consultation.
Do It Yourself. With your laptop, a clothes closet, and a free app called Audacity, you can create an audio book for a couple hundred dollars — the cost of a mic stand, cable, and a decent microphone. But you must be somewhat tech savvy and eager to learn things. Don’t worry. Learning to record an audiobook is no more difficult than learning anything else you’ve ever learned. It just takes patience and time. Here are the basic steps.
Calculate approximately how long (how many hours) your audiobook will be.
Decide what service you want to use for distribution. Get formatting specifications from them.
Identify a clothes closet (or a small room) that has enough floor space in it for you and a microphone stand. A walk-in closet is best. Decide whether you will sit down or stand up while you read. (This project will take many hours, but you don’t have to record the book all in one day. Give yourself a week, or so, depending on the length of your book.) The microphone will be at the height of your mouth and positioned in front of and pointing away from the hanging clothes, which will deaden the sound. You’ll also need a light inside the closet that’s bright enough for you to see your manuscript clearly.
Download Audacity (free), or the editing software you’ve chosen to purchase, to your laptop.
Purchase a microphone stand, a mic cable with a USB connector, a USB microphone, and a pair of headphones.
Set everything up in your recording space. Do a few test recordings to be sure the levels range between -6 and -12 db. You can always boost the levels, but you can’t fix recordings that are too hot. Be sure you wear your headphones so you can hear and eliminate P-pops and other irritating noises. Add a windscreen to your microphone if necessary. Be sure you record in .wav format.
Record yourself reading the first two pages of your manuscript. Listen to that recording and decide what you need to change about your narration style. You want to sound relaxed and engaged with the story you’re telling. If you haven’t heard your recorded voice before, you’ll probably cringe. But don’t let that discourage you. Read How To Stop Hating Your Voice and carry on.
Whenever you make a mistake, pause for five seconds and then re-read that part. This will make editing easier because you’ll be able to see those spaces and know where you need to make corrections without listening to every word again. If possible, find someone to sit and listen while you record (you’ll need a larger closet!). Give them a copy of the manuscript and ask them to note any mistakes, mispronunciations, missed words, etc., as you read. With those notes, you can record corrections at the end of each chapter. This, too, will save lots of editing time. Whenever possible, end your recording sessions at a chapter or section break.
Before you begin recording the next day, listen to a few minutes of the previous recording. And then read along with it so the tone of your voice in the new recording will match.
During the editing process, make sure there’s enough space, but not too much space, between chapters or sections. Create a smooth, natural flow. And remember to follow the formatting and segment length guidelines from your distributor.
Convert your .wav files to .mp3 files (at the correct bit rate) before uploading them to your distributor’s site.
Viola! You’ll soon will be a professional narrator/audiobook producer.
If you need help, send an email message to me at info@magpieaudioproductions.com.
More information is here:
Microphone Stands: Mistakes And Solutions
