Right now, I’ve started a learning process to create an audio version of The Boy Who Ran. Since it’s only a 38,768 word book (that would be a novella for adults, but is a novel for Middle Grade), my education process should be less painful. That is, my mistakes will hurt less. I’ll use The Boy as my first effort (just as I did for publishing, although the draft of The Balance was written first). A audio version of The Balance should follow a bit later, since every production, paper, Kindle, or audio, requires an investment of both time and money on my part, and I’m just a micro-publisher.
I’m working through ACX, which is an AMAZON company exchange to match voice artists with authors. I’m often asked questions about this, such as: why don’t I record it myself. In my case, I know that my voice wouldn’t last through the whole book, and I prefer to work with professionals anyway. The same applies to editors, designers, and so forth. You get a better end product when you work with experienced pros. I know this is true and I’m all about the quality of the finished product.
This week, I’m receiving audition recordings from voice artists—often these are actors or actresses who do voiceovers, but sometimes they are teachers. I’ll be reviewing the recorded auditions (probably several times) until I feel I have a good match for this book. I may also contact the artists to ask a question or two. The demo interpretation may be close to what I want, or I may hear something in the voice or expression but want to make sure everything is a proper fit. I went through so may many revisions on The Boy to achieve exactly what I wanted, but I may not have the best notion of what works best for an audio book version.
I plan to make a decision for a first and second choice next weekend and then contact the person to see if we can work out an agreement and a schedule.
Meanwhile, I’ll work on I AM—I’ve been lazy lately—and try to get it into shape for the editing runs. I’m still hoping to release the paperback and Kindle versions of that in the late spring.
Leave a Reply