Okay, so I have completed making an audiobook! I have spent the last 2 weeks or so narrating the first in my X-Calibur series and I have produced just over 6 hours of narration.
It was a lot more difficult than I expected.
I thought the main difficulty would be using the software to make the audio meet the ACX requirements, but as it turns out that was the easy part. The most difficult part was the narration itself.
I talk a lot. A LOT. And I seldom have trouble saying the words I want to say in the order I want to say them. So why does that change when I am reading a piece of text into a microphone? The X-Calibur books are written with an age of 12+ in mind, so don't have much in the way of long, complicated words in them, but I still struggled to get out the words I wanted in the way I wanted it to sound. Some sentences I would do 4 or 5 times before I could make it sound right.
Once I had finished narrating, editing, fixing and tidying, making the audio files meet the ACX requirements seemed relatively easy. I used google and a plug-in for audacity which assessed each file, and after 20 minutes of tinkering it said that they met the ACX requirements. They have now been submitted and are awaiting the ACX audio review.
Fingers crossed...
Tuesday 11 August 2015
Friday 17 July 2015
Audiobook Narration
My apologies for the long delay since my last post, but life happens (as they say) and I have been trying to get my head down and work on Oracle. That being said, the Amazon Prime day on the 15th July has presented me with an interesting opportunity!
For a long time, I have been keeping a microphone in my wish list, one I read about when I first posted my books to ACX. Then, on Wednesday, the microphone appeared on sale at half price so how could I say no?!
So, being Prime, the mic and pop shield arrived yesterday and I have been setting it up and trying to sound proof the room I use for writing (full details of how to do this are provided on the ACX website) with the intention of narrating the X-Calibur books myself. Another useful tool is a program called Audacity, which I haven't used yet but I intend to try. It is an all-in-one audio file editor, and more importantly (to me at least) it's free!
Onto ACX, the criteria for the audio files is very strict, so I have been researching these before I begin recording. To summarise, they are:
Your submitted audiobook must:
For a long time, I have been keeping a microphone in my wish list, one I read about when I first posted my books to ACX. Then, on Wednesday, the microphone appeared on sale at half price so how could I say no?!
So, being Prime, the mic and pop shield arrived yesterday and I have been setting it up and trying to sound proof the room I use for writing (full details of how to do this are provided on the ACX website) with the intention of narrating the X-Calibur books myself. Another useful tool is a program called Audacity, which I haven't used yet but I intend to try. It is an all-in-one audio file editor, and more importantly (to me at least) it's free!
Onto ACX, the criteria for the audio files is very strict, so I have been researching these before I begin recording. To summarise, they are:
Your submitted audiobook must:
- be consistent in overall sound and formatting and be comprised of all mono or all stereo files
- include opening and closing credits and a retail audio sample that is between one and five minutes long
Each uploaded audio file must:
- contain only one chapter/section that's shorter than 120 minutes and the section header must be read aloud
- have room tone at the head and at the tail and be free of extraneous sounds
- measure between -23dB and -18dB RMS and have -3dB peak values and a maximum -60dB noise floor
- be a 192kbps or higher MP3, Constant Bit Rate (CBR) at 44.1 kHz
Looking at these to begin with made my head spin, but reading more about them I think it is perfectly possible to provide audio samples to the stated levels. It's all about making sure that the finished product sounds professional, which having listened to several audiobooks I can understand completely, and I would like people to think the same should they listen to any of mine.
Again, the ACX website is incredibly helpful. For the opening and closing credits, they even provide a sample template of what to record!
Recommended Opening Credits:“[title of audiobook]"
Written by [name of author]
Narrated by [name of narrator]
Written by [name of author]
Narrated by [name of narrator]
Recommended Closing Credits: This has been [title of audiobook]
Written by [name of author]
Narrated by [name of narrator]
Copyright [year and name of copyright holder]
Production copyright [year it was recorded] by [company name]
Written by [name of author]
Narrated by [name of narrator]
Copyright [year and name of copyright holder]
Production copyright [year it was recorded] by [company name]
So, here I am, about to dive into the world of audiobook narration.
Wish me luck!
Saturday 18 April 2015
IndieRecon 2015
The last three days have given us all another excellent IndieRecon, dare I say it even better than last year! Just like last year I have learnt lots and enjoyed so much more, so I thought it best to share some of my favourites with you all.
1. Joel Friedlander - Formatting the inside of your book
This was an excellent talk by someone who has spent many years honing his craft. He gives us so many hints and tips as well as pointing out the simple things you can do to take your production from looking amateur to looking professional with a couple of clicks. Well worth a listen, but now I need to go and remove all the page numbers from the blank pages in my Benjamin Knight novels!
2. Joanna Penn - Making a living from your writing
This is something I am sure we all dream of, and Joanna gave an amazing talk about the practicalities of it. First off, decide what you mean by 'making a living'? Joanna went part time over 3 years to focus more on her writing before finally giving up work and focussing full time. This involved downsizing considerably, and even now, after 5 years writing full time and doing talks and consulting work etc, she is still only earning half of what she earned as an IT consultant. The benefits? She is happy!!!
3. David Farland - Million Dollar Ideas
David has spent many years helping very successful writers as well as writing himself. He gave a great talk about how to break down your story idea to make a best-selling book appealing to the largest audience. The discussed rationales for choosing your setting (time, place etc), audience (which will impact the age, gender of your protagonist etc) and making sure you give your book emotional appeal (which has to both powerful and appropriate to the content!). Well worth an hour of your time!
4. Knowing your author rights and licensing
This is something I hadn't considered before but something I am now actively thinking about! As an indie-author especially, you own so many rights to your intellectual property and there are people out there who may want to buy them. The speaker from www.pubmatch.com mentioned that their website deals mainly with the sale of foreign rights to your books, while the speaker from www.iprlicense.com looks more at other rights (eg movie/tv and other publishing rights). It is a lot to think about, kind of like giving your baby away (or at least letting someone else do as they wish with it), but might be worth thinking about.
5. Jessica Bell - How to self-edit your book
Even though we all know we shouldn't, this gives an excellent checklist of things to look at in your manuscript and a framework to make sure you don't miss them. Jessica is a longtime editor who was kind enough to discuss her process, so even if you use her checklist before sending your work to an editor, it should help the whole process go much more smoothly.
These were my top 5 talks from the event, which were yours?
1. Joel Friedlander - Formatting the inside of your book
This was an excellent talk by someone who has spent many years honing his craft. He gives us so many hints and tips as well as pointing out the simple things you can do to take your production from looking amateur to looking professional with a couple of clicks. Well worth a listen, but now I need to go and remove all the page numbers from the blank pages in my Benjamin Knight novels!
2. Joanna Penn - Making a living from your writing
This is something I am sure we all dream of, and Joanna gave an amazing talk about the practicalities of it. First off, decide what you mean by 'making a living'? Joanna went part time over 3 years to focus more on her writing before finally giving up work and focussing full time. This involved downsizing considerably, and even now, after 5 years writing full time and doing talks and consulting work etc, she is still only earning half of what she earned as an IT consultant. The benefits? She is happy!!!
3. David Farland - Million Dollar Ideas
David has spent many years helping very successful writers as well as writing himself. He gave a great talk about how to break down your story idea to make a best-selling book appealing to the largest audience. The discussed rationales for choosing your setting (time, place etc), audience (which will impact the age, gender of your protagonist etc) and making sure you give your book emotional appeal (which has to both powerful and appropriate to the content!). Well worth an hour of your time!
4. Knowing your author rights and licensing
This is something I hadn't considered before but something I am now actively thinking about! As an indie-author especially, you own so many rights to your intellectual property and there are people out there who may want to buy them. The speaker from www.pubmatch.com mentioned that their website deals mainly with the sale of foreign rights to your books, while the speaker from www.iprlicense.com looks more at other rights (eg movie/tv and other publishing rights). It is a lot to think about, kind of like giving your baby away (or at least letting someone else do as they wish with it), but might be worth thinking about.
5. Jessica Bell - How to self-edit your book
Even though we all know we shouldn't, this gives an excellent checklist of things to look at in your manuscript and a framework to make sure you don't miss them. Jessica is a longtime editor who was kind enough to discuss her process, so even if you use her checklist before sending your work to an editor, it should help the whole process go much more smoothly.
These were my top 5 talks from the event, which were yours?
Thursday 12 March 2015
Fallen Heroes
Growing up, my heroes were never rock stars or actors, and certainly not politicians. No, growing up my heroes tended to be fictional characters, whether they be in books, comics, movies or on TV. The people I connected with and aspired to emulate were as unique and varied as anyone living or dead.
In my late teens, a character on the TV show Babylon 5 seemed to be everything I thought a good, honourable man should be, and I wanted to be more like him. For those of you who remember, he was the Ranger called Marcus Cole. In movies, characters like Eric Draven (in The Crow) and Rick Deckard (in Blade Runner). In my thirties, the movie Fight Club spoke to me like nothing else I've ever experienced (I really was just another thirty year old boy), and as time goes on I find yet more fictional characters who have attributes I wish I possessed.
Which brings me to why post this today. As I've said above, I didn't look to the actors portraying the characters, or the TV channels on which they were broadcast for guidance. So, I looked to the writers, those incredible people who created someone so amazing I wanted to be more like them.
And today we have lost one of those most amazing, incredible people.
Terry Pratchett.
For those of you who don't know, he is the author of the Discworld series of books, as well as so many others, and his stories and characters have been entertaining me for as long as I could read. He made witches funny and wizards cool long before they went to Hogwarts, and his stories about the City Watch make me smile just thinking about them. He was a true genius, and the world is less without him in it.
It's only 2 weeks since Leonard Nimoy died, another of my childhood heroes (though it was Spock who truly spoke to me growing up), and hearing of his death made me feel much sadder than I expected it to. He was a great man, by all accounts, and an accomplished and successful actor, but I'd never met him and knew him only from the characters he portrayed. Why did news of his death make me feel so sad?
Perhaps it's a sign of getting older, having your heroes (or their creators) die, but after hearing about Sir Pratchett today I've been able to think of little else. Maybe it's the knowledge that I'll never read a new story WHERE DEATH SPEAKS IN CAPITALS or wake my wife up laughing at a scene I've read in the early hours of the morning (because his books are just so un-put-downable!).
I don't know, perhaps I just want a way to say goodbye, to say thank you for all the endless hours of joy he brought me throughout my life. I have all of the Discworld series in paperback, as well as many of his other books, and my daughter is almost old enough to start to appreciate them. I can't wait to share all of those wonderful, magical and hilarious moments with her.
Goodbye Mr Pratchett, and thank you for everything.
In my late teens, a character on the TV show Babylon 5 seemed to be everything I thought a good, honourable man should be, and I wanted to be more like him. For those of you who remember, he was the Ranger called Marcus Cole. In movies, characters like Eric Draven (in The Crow) and Rick Deckard (in Blade Runner). In my thirties, the movie Fight Club spoke to me like nothing else I've ever experienced (I really was just another thirty year old boy), and as time goes on I find yet more fictional characters who have attributes I wish I possessed.
Which brings me to why post this today. As I've said above, I didn't look to the actors portraying the characters, or the TV channels on which they were broadcast for guidance. So, I looked to the writers, those incredible people who created someone so amazing I wanted to be more like them.
And today we have lost one of those most amazing, incredible people.
Terry Pratchett.
For those of you who don't know, he is the author of the Discworld series of books, as well as so many others, and his stories and characters have been entertaining me for as long as I could read. He made witches funny and wizards cool long before they went to Hogwarts, and his stories about the City Watch make me smile just thinking about them. He was a true genius, and the world is less without him in it.
It's only 2 weeks since Leonard Nimoy died, another of my childhood heroes (though it was Spock who truly spoke to me growing up), and hearing of his death made me feel much sadder than I expected it to. He was a great man, by all accounts, and an accomplished and successful actor, but I'd never met him and knew him only from the characters he portrayed. Why did news of his death make me feel so sad?
Perhaps it's a sign of getting older, having your heroes (or their creators) die, but after hearing about Sir Pratchett today I've been able to think of little else. Maybe it's the knowledge that I'll never read a new story WHERE DEATH SPEAKS IN CAPITALS or wake my wife up laughing at a scene I've read in the early hours of the morning (because his books are just so un-put-downable!).
I don't know, perhaps I just want a way to say goodbye, to say thank you for all the endless hours of joy he brought me throughout my life. I have all of the Discworld series in paperback, as well as many of his other books, and my daughter is almost old enough to start to appreciate them. I can't wait to share all of those wonderful, magical and hilarious moments with her.
Goodbye Mr Pratchett, and thank you for everything.
Thursday 15 January 2015
X-Calibur book 3
I managed to write around half of the third in my X-Calibur series before Christmas, and after a two week break I have been going through it, trying to get back in the groove and continue the story. At first it seemed to be going ok, but the more I write, the more I can see the plot as it stands just isn't working.
I have come to the painful decision to scrap it and start again.
The overall story thread will continue, but I seem to have written myself into a hole and the best way to get out of it is to start from scratch. I'm sorry that this will mean a delay in the third book being published, but I hope you will get to read a much better book because of it.
My plan is still to get this book published as well as the 4th Benjamin Knight book and first Shadowalker this year, this is just a minor bump in the road.
Here's to keeping everything crossed that it will all work out for the best!
And if anyone wants to volunteer to be a proof reader, please get in touch.
I have come to the painful decision to scrap it and start again.
The overall story thread will continue, but I seem to have written myself into a hole and the best way to get out of it is to start from scratch. I'm sorry that this will mean a delay in the third book being published, but I hope you will get to read a much better book because of it.
My plan is still to get this book published as well as the 4th Benjamin Knight book and first Shadowalker this year, this is just a minor bump in the road.
Here's to keeping everything crossed that it will all work out for the best!
And if anyone wants to volunteer to be a proof reader, please get in touch.
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all my readers!
It's been a turbulent year, but one that has seen the release of the final Benjamin Knight book as well as the first 2 in my science fiction series (X-Calibur) and all 8 of my series for younger readers (Pups - The Adventures of a Third Grade Werewolf).
In other news, the final 2 competition entries have been won! Congratulations to Chris from Indiana and Andrew from Philadelphia. Your signed copies of the first 3 Benjamin Knight books are on their way to you.
Next year, I hope to release the third X-Calibur novel (The Trial), the fourth Benjamin Knight novel (Oracle), and if you're really, really good, the first in my Urban Fantasy series, currently titled The Shadowalker!
Happy New Year!
Thursday 6 November 2014
Third winner
There has been a third correct entry to decipher the secret message at the end the New Light (Book 3 of The Chronicle of Benjamin Knight).
Well done to Sarah from New Zealand!
That still means that there are 2 prizes remaining (signed paperback copies of the first 3 Benjamin Knight books). Get your thinking caps on and work out what the message below says!
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