My usual reading mode is old-fashioned, involving printed paper, pages that must be turned manually, and a card-stock bookmark inserted to indicate where I leave off. Yes, I load up the Kindle for convenience when traveling overseas. Audiobooks are restricted to long car journeys with my husband.
That perspective changed with the preparation and publication of the audiobook version of Daughters of Riga.
My story of two girls who meet at the Dutch consulate in Latvia on the eve of World War II is the book of my heart. I spent fourteen years writing, researching, revising and trying to find a publisher for this novel which was finally released a year ago. Almost at once I thought about increasing the book’s audience by issuing an audiobook version.
Narrate or not?
I have a good speaking voice, and it’s not just the British accent. Decades ago, I recorded Books for the Blind as a volunteer; I am a regular lector at my church; and I’ve done my share of other public speaking, including in court when I was a lawyer. Who would be better to narrate my own novel than me?
My first step was to take an online course on Audiobook Narration and Production at Home offered by a local college. I installed the free audio recording software without too much trouble, and logged on for the introductory session. I quickly understood that audiobook recording is complicated. The first hurdle is equipment. The built-in mic on my laptop would not be adequate—I’d need a separate professional level mic. I’d also need to construct a soundproof recording studio in my house. Not impossible for a DIY-er (which I’m not) but a further financial investment.
By the second class, the instructor seemed to be speaking in a foreign language. I kept up through “punch-and-roll” (a technique for re-recording over mistakes) but fell behind on “RMS normalization,” “gain,” and “dynamic compression.” These terms (I think) refer to “mastering:” maintaining a consistent volume and achieving the sound levels required by audiobook distributors. I stuck with the rest of the sessions just for the little jolt of self-confidence when we got to narrate a prepared piece—I could handle the Narration part, but I was never going to manage Production.
I explored renting a recording studio and hiring a production engineer so that I could just narrate and leave the technical stuff to someone else. The costs were too high for what I knew would be a vanity project.
A lucky encounter
Bellingham has a lively arts community. I heard about a monthly show where people read letters—ones they’d written, received or made up. The show’s producer and host is Jayne Entwistle. I discovered her main gig is audiobook narration. After sampling some of her work on Amazon, I arranged to meet Jayne for coffee.
Jayne was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a teen. She drifted down to Los Angeles where she attempted to make it as a screen actress. Answering a blind ad for someone who could do the voice of a twelve-year-old English girl, she landed a book narration job with Penguin Random House, which led to more audio work with other big publishing houses. Now in Bellingham, she has a recording studio in her home, and is willing to work directly with authors.
Readers, I hired her!
Choosing a platform
As a complete novice at audiobooks, I was happy to take Jayne’s advice about a distributor: Findaway Voices. Unlike Audible, which is exclusive to its parent company Amazon, Findaway Voices partners with almost forty distributors worldwide, including Spotify (which recently acquired Findaway Voices), Apple, Kobo, Google Play, and LibroFM, as well as the library programs, Hoopla and Overdrive. Yes, Daughters of Riga will be available on Audible/Amazon as well.
If you haven’t read Daughters of Riga—and even if you have—I hope you’ll listen to the audiobook version. It will make its way onto the retail distribution sites over the next two weeks at an introductory price of $12.55. I’ll be listing the audiobook sales links on my website and social media as they become available. Let me know what you think. Even better, leave a review: it’s the nicest thing you can do for a writer.
I’d also like to know what share of your reading is actually listening. Drop me a comment, or reply on Facebook.
