I’m thrilled to announce that my audiobook version of “The Art of the Compromise” has passed the Aubile validation checks. If you are interested or have an Audible account, follow this link.
The audiobook is a little over six hours of listening. I recorded the book with more than 40 hours of reading and editing. It was an amazing experience, and I learned several new skills.
I first set up an in-home studio with the purchase of a Yeti USB microphone along with a pop filter and other accessories.
The in-home Warped Minds Studio with Yeti USB mic and script used to record the audiobook.
One lesson I learned is how poorly I had edited the original book. The conversion of the book text into an audiobook script for the read-through required minor edits, and through that process, I recognized how many errors the hardback version contained.
The second lesson centers around reading the script. I had great difficulty in reading without awkward pauses, fill words, and unacceptable errors. I cleaned these errors during post-editing, and I experimented with a couple of different techniques.
I first used what’s known as punch-and-roll whereby one edits while recording. Some folks love this method, but for me it was cumbersome and tedious as it interrupted my reading process.
The method I preferred was to read straight through and continue reading even with errors. I bought a dog training clicker to “mark” the errors to allow easy identification in the post-edit process. The clicker would introduce a sharp spike in the time domain that I could readily identify.
The third lesson was the attention to detail required during post-editing. I used Audacity software for this step. The challenge is that I recorded the audiobook over about six weeks, and yet, the final audio of six hours must sound like it was recorded in one sitting.
If the audio levels change and other elements of the sound break the illusion, the listener will become frustrated, and the audiobook will lose their attention. I’m not sure I succeeded in this line of effort, but I tried to create a professional-sounding audiobook.
Finally, the most interesting lesson was how easy it was to upload and publish the book on Audible. The process took about 10 minutes once I had my completed chapters and file bundles. Then, I had to wait about 10 working days, which was an anxious waiting period, and then “Voila!” the audiobook was available!
The process required several weekends of dedicated work, but I’m thrilled by the outcome. I’m now looking forward to starting another book. Stay tuned!