I have made a sample for my audiobook coach to listen to. It took two tries, but it was only a two-minute adventure.
One thing I learned was how easily I adapted to Audacity. After twenty-five years of editing video and sound, it all comes back to me. I have yet to try the last steps in editing because that comes after the first chapter is complete. I decided the manuscript had to look more like a script, marking it as a news piece with slashes and more paragraph divisions as I practiced. My next book will be read aloud before it’s published, so there’s no awkwardness when I do its audiobook.
It takes a lot of concentration to perform an entire chapter correctly. Each character must have a differentiation, and I must remember that differentiation so the book has continuity. Characters may have to have a different pace in speaking. For example, Marcie’s daughter would talk faster than other characters, giving the readers a clue about her age. I don’t have pitch differences between male and female voices. Irritating when I’m listening to a book. There could be an inflection change.
Finally, I have After the Tears Dry as a paperback on Amazon with the original art. I also have the audiobook cover ready. Fiverr had Amazon’s new size demand for my paperback cover completed in twenty-four hours.
I was frustrated, so I planned to work with AI to design a new cover, but Fiverr came to my rescue. To learn how to design a cover myself with AI was another costly adventure, and I decided I would instead find another artist than do it myself. I don’t mind AI. I find it helpful, but I want to retain my artistic style, not a bot or machine.
After The Tears Dry, Audacity, Audiobooks