Publishing Audiobooks revisited

As you may know I’ve been focused on publishing audiobooks lately. (You can find my lessons learned starting here.) It’s not that I’m not writing or teaching (although the latter seems to be ending), but that I’ve been going through a writer’s block period. I’ve also got a largish back catalog of books suitable for audiobooks. So I’ve been focusing on converting those before adding to the catalog. I’m not sure how long I can afford to continue but my writing efforts are currently producing bupkis. So I’m at least doing something.

My first audiobook was self-narrated. I’m doing the same thing with the rest of my non-fiction that is suitable. However, I wrote most of my fiction books using a pseudonym so I’m recording the fiction using another author as narrator. So I’ve had a chance to learn even more. Here’s some of the things I’ve learned.

1. Audiobook recording is a great way to edit.

Now, this may be because the books I’m recording are my early books, but my almost perfect work turns out to be not so perfect. In addition, I’m discovering that some of my standard elements (author’s message etc.) aren’t so standard. So as I record, I’m going to end up republishing an updated and re-edited version of the books. In some cases, this isn’t a problem. In others, it means that I have to reformat the covers.

2. Be prepared to release a new print edition

Following on with the edit comments, it’s probably good practice to assume that you’ll need to release a new edition and be done with it. In addition to errors, you’ll probably find differences between print and Kindle editions that you’ll need to reconcile.

3. What works for one format doesn’t work for others

In my fiction, I have samples of my other books. Typically, these are 1 chapter selections. Unfortunately, this isn’t going to work for the audiobooks. At the moment, I’m leaving off the samples entirely. However, I may end up reintroducing them as 1 or 2 minute segments. We shall see. In any case, I won’t be able to do so until I’ve recording most of the books.

4. Don’t try to record audiobooks if you have a cold

I have breathing problems. So at the best of times, my breathing sounds like fishing in a school of piranha. Lots of catches. This winter, I’ve suffered from an almost continuous cold and sore throat (a side-effect of my asthma). In addition, the individual narrating for me has caught a cold during the recording time.

So my recommendation: if you have a cold when recording — don’t do it. The effort isn’t worth the trouble. Editing coughs and breath catches is a pain in the rear. And listening through studio headphones to a friend coughing their lungs out is truely painful. Shirley, I’m so very sorry. You’re a trooper but I really should have said no.

5. There’s a reason ACX says to record as a block

ACX is very clear in their recommendation. Record in a block, then edit in a block. Because my narrator is using my setup, and because I’m busy schlepping the family around on weekends, we’ve had to limit the recording sesssions to one day per week. And while my friend is able to record for longer than a two hour block there is still a limit to how much she can record in a day. As a result the recording session has split over mutliple weeks.

In that time, her voice and position have changed. One day she is a little more stuffy than another. Or maybe she is a little closer to the mic. Or speaking a little quieter. Both have major effects on the sound produced. As a result, the recordings don’t have the same sound throughout the audiobook.

This is especially obvious during the pickup (or callback) sessions where the narrator is re-recording portions of the recording that have issues. In several cases, I’ve had to simply accept the mistake because the rerecorded sound is just too dissimilar and would be an obvious patch. In all cases, I had to make major adjustments to get the sound to match. I’m down to hoping that none of my patchwork will show.

6. Break the editing up

While you don’t want to break the recording up, you do need to break up the editing. Or better still, outsource it to someone who enjoys the editing process.

Listening to the audiobook once is fun. Listening to it for the twentieth time is less so. Especially if you are short on sleep. Generally I found one fifteen minute chapter would take about a day to edit. Not because the editing took that long, but because I couldn’t listen to my writing without falling asleep. After listening so long and carefully, I’m convinced that I’m both a good writer and the worst writer who ever existed. Talk about a mental tennis ball.

7. Don’t edit when your motivation is low

Depression and writing seems to go hand in hand. As I mentioned, by the time I finished editing the recording, I was simultaneously convinced I was both a good writer and the worst writer who ever existed. If I ever had a confident bone it has now been pounded into mush. My writng output has dropped to zero as a result.

8. Consider narrating audiobooks for others

My arrangement with my friend involved setting her up as a producer for ACX. She has been getting a steady stream of offers since then. All without any effort on her part. I’m not sure how lucrative it would be, but being a voice actor for audiobooks certainly has the customers. Because many of the projects are “half- the-sales” deals, the actual money involved is difficult to predict.

9. Narrators and Writers can use a pseudonym

It isn’t clear in ACX’s documentation. I had to ask. However, when you are making an offer to the narrator you have the option of adding a pseudonym for the writer. When the producer/narrator uploads the finished files, they have the option of adding a pseudonym for the narrator.

10. Revising your file directories to store audiobooks

In my previous lessons learned, I suggested a naming convention that will help you track and store the interim wav files. After producing four audiobooks, I’m suggesting a slight variant. I’m still using a format of “A raw Ch 00 Title” for the files. This seems to be working well. However, It does end up taking up too much disk space. It also leaves it difficult to determine the source files.

What I’ve started doing is to use two seperate directories. One is dated for the raw and edited files. The other is a “Final” and “Revisions” directory. Under each of those, I maintain three directories: Original, Final Edited, and Post Production. In the main Final directory, I store the MP3 files and the cover source and jpg. The Original directory stores the “A raw” version (i.e. the original wav recording files) and copies of any revisions that were recorded. In the Final Edited directory, I store the last edited version of the recordings (i.e. just before the Compress/Normalize chain is run). The Post Production directory is where I store the last wav file that the MP3 is based on.

This allows me to be certain of which files I am uploading. Also once, ACX approves the upload then I can copy the entire directory to long term storage and delete all of the dated directories. That way I don’t have the interim files on the disk (I use a USB memory stick) taking up space. And yet I have the key files available if I need to do a revision.

The Revisions directory is used to store the revisions that are awaiting upload. I’m not sure how I’ll handle new editions but I do know that will involve retaining the prior version on the long term storage rather than the USB stick. (I use a 3 Terabyte MyBook USB drive as long term storage).

What’s next

That’s it for now. I will be doing more audiobooks as I work my way through my back catalog. As discover things, I will post a new lessons learned blog entry.