Directing an audiobook

Turning a visual eye to an auditory art

2 years ago, I released Cacophony of Crowns, my genre-spanning short story collection. Just last month, I released an audiobook!

It was so fun and different to bring my visual eye to an auditory art. I’ve spent years learning how to communicate what I see and how I want someone to feel when they look at something, but, describing sound and the emotion that sound evokes was an entirely different art. I can hear the characters in my head, but I’m still developing the skills needed to be able to describe those voices to others. Luckily, I wasn’t alone for this.

I was lucky to have Nick Plaisance, and his many talented voices, narrate the audiobook. He brought so much inflection and emotion to the piece; he took it to a level I didn’t expect. He really did make the whole book sound like story time by a campfire, and I love it. He also fulfilled the roles of engineer and producer, so I could upload files directly to the Zon and they were a perfect fit.

At Nick’s request, I gave him a pronunciation guide for all the fictional names and short descriptions of the personality and voice for each character. Nick brought great skills and talent, so I really just directed him until he found something that matched each story - no small feat for a book with 80 characters! We focused on a small main cast for each story, not worrying too much about background characters.

Nick handled the editing of pops and loud breathing, leaving me to focus on the higher level view of building a world through sound. We avoided real-world accents, but otherwise Nick was free to really push the characters’ voices. That left me with the task of listening and giving notes. None of my years of checking CG renders for artifacts prepared me for creative listening.

I honestly have a hard time with audiobooks and podcasts, so it was a struggle to get myself to focus long enough to give good notes. Nick’s work was wonderful, but without something for my eyes to focus on I got distracted easily. I had some luck going to bookstores, like Vroman’s, and sitting outside with headphones on while I listened. The fresh air helped me calm my thoughts and I could stare at a single object that wasn’t any of the same objects I always stare at in my home office.

Overall, it was a very different experience but I enjoyed it and can’t wait to write a new book so Nick can narrate it!

I’m really excited for folks to check out the book! It’s available on Amazon and Audible, or check my website for more formats. Go check out Nick’s work as well!