Lessons in Audio Book Production

Allow me to introduce Paul Gilbert – the director of my FULL CAST audiobook production (did I perhaps, just maybe, perchance mention it’s a full cast production??) and sound designer extraordinaire …who also just happens to be my brother! Isn’t that handy??   I love knowing talented peeps from whom I can ask crazy favors …and he’s doing me a BIG one on this. It is not a small ask or task, let me tell you. But for whatever reason, he agreed and has been buried in this project for the last few months now. 

He lives several hours away, so this past week was the first time I was able to make it down to both see and listen in on some of the work they’ve been doing – from the recording bit to the MANY, MANY editing details involved in piecing it altogether.  Had no idea this was as complicated as it is — especially since not all of the actors can be there at the same time, so people record their parts and then their parts get pieced in to the right spot with other people’s parts .  And it sounds just like they were all right there in the same room chatting away.  The miracles of technology.

(And it sounds sooooo good!!) 

Anyway, while I was there, he had me record both the Author’s Note and the Book Dedication… in my very scratchy voice which won’t be nearly as pleasant to listen to as those of the actors voicing my characters. (Sorry about that, all you audiobook peeps. Just be glad they’re short bits. I got really sick a couple of years back and ever since, my voice mostly sounds like I’m recovering from a bout of laryngitis. Not much I can do about that, but he insisted those bits should still be read by me, scratchy voice and all, so…you can listen for yourselves when it comes out and decide if he made the right call or not.  🙂