Part 4
Click here for Part 1, Getting Started
Click here for Part 2, Finding My Producer
So. you've signed with your narrator, and the process of production has begun. There are different ways for your producer to submit the product for your approval.
1. Wait to submit the entire audiobook.
2. Submit the chapters one at a time or in smaller batches. My narrator, Tristan Hunt (aka
Jason Downs), did it this way, and I loved it.
Either way you'll need to listen to your audiobook--with the manuscript open before you. Getting the chapters in smaller batches made it easy for me to go through a few chapters after work and get back any feedback. By the time he submitted the last of the book, it was almost ready to be reviewed by ACX before going live.
Something to consider--what if once in a while your narrator reads the words a little bit differently from how you wrote them? What if he uses a contraction when you didn't? You can certainly request that s/he fix it. Bear in mind that ACX allows a small percentage of differences between the ebook and the audiobook. Maybe 3%, I think Jason said. I forget the details.
Prior to starting this process, I'd seen a discussion where an author chose to accept some of those variations and changed her manuscript instead. I kept this in mind. I chose to be flexible and made several small changes to the ebook manuscript. There were some that I had him change back to the way I'd written them. So, it was a give and take.
Remember, you
are the author. This is
your story. But the audiobook is a collaborative effort. If you've got a good narrator who's "getting" your story and your characters, be open minded. If it makes for a better end product, you might decide to accept a few changes.
I'll conclude with an excerpt from one of the early reviews because the third sentence made smile:
I really enjoyed both the story and the narrator. He added a lot of personality to Jori by just the tone of his voice. I might have a little bit of a crush. ;)
~K.R. Patterson
Next week, I'll be sharing an interview with Tristan, and you'll get to hear a sample of his work.
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Update - Operation Underground Railroad
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| Source: ourrescue.org |
Last month I
posted about the tough issue of child sex slavery. I'm excited to see the movement is gaining momentum now that
Timothy Ballard has become a spokesman for the program of rescuing these poor kids.
There's a great post
here, I would recommend you check out. I love the concept of the
Abolitionist Moms. She's got some great suggestions for ways to help. One is by joining the
Facebook Group where various events to raise money to help free these children will be posted.
The words of Edmund Burke were never so true:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing."
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What I'm currently listening to is
White Dragon by Rebecca Shelley. This is the second book in Shelley's
Dragonbound series. It continues the adventures of Kanvar from
Blue Dragon.
What do I think? Holy smoking volcanoes but there's a lot of action in this book. It's got me sitting right on the edge of my seat as I listen. Tren Sparks, the narrator, does a great job handling the mental communication between Kanvar and his dragon.
While Kanvar searches for his grandfather, Kumar Raza faces a savage Great White dragon that attacks his village. With no armor and only a fishing spear, Raza fights the white dragon but is mortally wounded in the battle. Raza's youngest son, Denali, must find a way to save his father and bring him safely out of the frozen wasteland. Lost in a blizzard, hunted by a pack of wolves, followed by a Great White dragon hatchling, Denali must use all his wit and skill to survive.
What have you been up?
Have you ever become involved in a social movement like Operation Underground Railroad?
She's a feisty redhead who has to deal with challenges at work and at home, including the addition of a permanent house guest in the form of handsome ex-Marine, Marc North.
Escape into twenty-three epic worlds that will leave you breathless.
A corpse in the bathroom of a popular bar. An old acquaintance still nursing a mad-on from fifteen years earlier. And a cast of characters possessing secrets they’ll do almost anything to keep. It’s enough to make reformed (sort of) party girl Blaise Runa want to quit her dead end job. But in the meantime she fully intends to grab her sexy private eye fiancé and dig into the mess. Because she might be trying to adult, but that doesn’t mean she’s gotten any less nosy! 
Just in time for Halloween, here's a clean, ghostly romance novella for you in the spirit of The Canterville Ghost.
A Change of Plans is on sale for $.99 between now and November 3rd. Once again, if you own the Kindle ebook, the audiobook is only $1.99 more.
Because if someone owns that Kindle book, the Whispersynced audiobook is substantially reduced. For example, the audiobook for A Change of Plans has a list price of $19.95 (which Amazon will discount, of course, if you buy from them).
As you go into the production of your audiobook, you may end up with a lot of people auditioning to do your book. Some of them are very experienced. Others ... not so much. As you listen to those auditions, ask yourself some questions.
What am I reading (listening to)?
Torn Canvas (Safe Harbors #2) came out last June. My publisher had arranged for the audiobook production of A Change of Plans, but I had to do this one myself.
The first is an audiobook by Patricia Briggs. It's the fourth in the Alpha and Omega series, an offshoot of the Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series.
What's it about?
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I don't usually track sales on Amazon. That's not what I got into writing for. However, sometimes we need to know what's working (or not) with our marketing.
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First Meander ...
Running away is nothing new for Annie Dell, aka high-fashion model Anna Delany. With the paparazzi hot on her trail, an out of town wedding couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. What better place to hide out than the quaint Florida beach town Liddy’s told her so much about. But a delayed flight, the mix up with the car rental, then a speeding ticket from the local Sheriff of Nottingham, her getaway is looking anything but relaxing.
