Getting Started with Your
Audiobook on a Budget.
After a couple of years of back and forth, I decided to do my own Audiobooks. I thought I would also post my work as it came together.
My background: I have a degree in voice. Many times, when looking for a voice over artist for the books, they would tell me, “You’ve got the voice for it, why don’t you do it?” So, I finally decided I would.
That’s my setup in the pic. Let me go through it a piece at a time.
Microphone: I picked this one up at a thrift store for a song. (Broken USB port, and I happen to be a pretty good repairman in that regard.) I added the foam cover for sound quality. When you go out to buy a microphone, get the microphone you can afford, but read the reviews. Get one that will do the job and last. Additionally, make sure it’s plug and play. You don’t want to spend your time getting the thing to work.
Headphones: Again, get what you can afford. I got mine at a store that has everything under $5.
Sound Dampening: I picked up those 12” x 12” sheets of foam on the internet for cheap. They came in a 6-pack. It took me a long time to figure out how to get it to work on my desktop, but I finally went with a narrow cardboard box, cut open. The foam is hot glued on (easy to get, easy to work with and easy to repair if it fails.) The piece on the desktop is from the one cut for the center. You’ll note that the dampeners cover the screen. I use my Nook (an Ebook larger than a phone, smaller than a laptop or tablet) to read the book. I chose this method so that I didn’t have the sound of paper being shuffled in the recording. You can use anything you want that works for you.
Software: Audacity will do it for you, and it is not only free to download, but it is fairly easy to use. Controls are intuitive. So, get it all set up and record a couple of minutes. Now send the recording to some strangers. Yes, strangers. Friends and Family won’t give you a true answer. They know you and will tell you either great things in order to support you, or will be overly critical thinking they are being helpful. Find a stranger who will be honest and helpful. Once you are sure you still want to do this, upload your snippet to ACX Audiolab. (https://www.acx.com/audiolab) They will test your snippet for FREE and tell you what you need. Audacity has controls that can be changed to fix whatever they find. Not sure what they mean? Google the term.
Workflow: Cut your book into bites. Unless you’re recording a short story, you’re not going to be able to read an entire book in one sitting. For one thing, you will make mistakes. It takes time to stop, delete the mistake, and begin recording again. Read through your work out loud once or twice before clicking the record button. Save your work as you go, one chapter at a time, each in its own audio file. When you’re done, export to MP3.
Selling your Audiobook. I’ve not tried as yet, but will add more to this when I learn more.
That is really all it takes. Yeah, it sounds simple, but it has taken me a good year or two to make this decision and get it set up.