This post includes a sample of me narrating my own book!
I decided I want to start creating audiobook editions of my books, but audio comes with its own unique set of challenges. It’s nowhere near as fast, easy, and affordable as publishing an ebook or a paperback. (So if you’re wondering why some authors are not publishing audiobooks – that’s why.)
The big decision I had to make was do I want to pay a lot of money for a professional narrator (and I do mean a lot…the audiobook version of ONE of my books alone would end up costing around $1,500 – $1,900 to produce – ouch) or do I want to spend a lot of time and effort doing it myself.
I admit, the cost of hiring a professional intimidated me, whereas a decent microphone (Rode Podcaster, in case you’re wondering) only blew a €200 hole in my budget. I got ambitious, and wanted to try narrating myself. The book I want to start with – Hers, Untamed – only has one POV: Alyssa’s. Meaning, female point-of-view, meaning it requires a female narrator, so it seemed like a perfect fit. (For books that include male POV I’ll obviously have to hire a gent…)
So here’s a 5-minute sample of me reading from Hers, Untamed! The piece is from Chapter 2 where Alyssa and Jax have their first conversation.
(And if you think that was awkward, wait until we get to the steamy parts… 😀 )
What do you think about my voice and narration? Great? Terrible? Just meh? Let me know in the comments!
I have to admit, I have a love-hate relationship with narrating. On one hand, I love the challenge. It’s so satisfying to (try to) read the lines of my characters the way I imagined them in my head while writing. On the other hand, there’s a reason why I’m an author and not a professional voice actor – my voice, accent, and reading style are far from perfect. Also, I’m a total rookie at this. I make tons of mistakes while recording and then spend ages trying to edit them out. I make mistakes while editing too. The time and energy I’ve sunk into this project is INSANE…
So if you’re an author and you have the means to hire a professional narrator for your books – DO IT. I only recommend narrating the book yourself if the professionals are too expensive and/or you’re mentally prepared for the mountain of work involved in doing the narration yourself.
Because OMG. *dies*
Hers, Untamed will be out in audiobook once I finish editing it. 😀
PS. If the audio sample for some reason doesn’t work, visit here: https://books.annaadlerbooks.com/audiobooks.html
This is awesome! I think you sound fantastic – the pace is good, and you’re very easy to listen to.
I’ve been thinking about trying the same thing, but … SO MUCH work …
Thank you, Kim! <3 It took me a while to get the pace right - in my first takes I was reading way too fast and it sounded like I had to run for the bus or something. 😀
I know from your videos that you'd have a great voice for narrating, but yeah, it's A LOT of work... I wish we could outsource the editing somehow. Editing the audio is my biggest time sink at the moment.
I love your accent! I can’t imagine how much work it must be to record your own audiobook, but I admire your guts to do it! 🙂
(Also, why did I not get an email when this post went up?)
Thank you, I’m so happy you like my accent! 😀 Yep, the workload has taken me by surprise. People who narrate for a living must be NUTS.
(Also, sorry, my silly blog doesn’t have a follow blog-function…)