Inside Scoop on My Audiobook
I’m currently listening to Memory Lane’s audiobook before I make it available!
Here’s the timeline of how this audiobook came to be…
Mid-October – I emailed narrator Heather Masters to inquire if she’d be interested in narrating Memory Lane (slated to release mid-February). All of my prior novels were produced by Recorded Books after my publisher sold them the audiobook rights. I’ve only ever commissioned one other audiobook, Then Came You (an epistolary novella which released in 2018). I knew back then that Heather was the perfect narrator for that project because I’d listened to her fantastic work narrating my good friend KE Ganshert’s The Gifting trilogy. Happily, Heather said yes. At that point, I listened to voice samples for male narrators on ACX (an audiobook production platform) until one voice stopped me in my tracks. Ryan Hudson. He came on board for the novella and I was delighted with how that project turned out.
This past October, Heather told me that she’d be happy to narrate Memory Lane but that she only had one slot open in the next six months — February. I wished I’d thought to reach out to her earlier so that I might have been able to release the audiobook at the same time as the print book and ebook. Lesson learned. At that point, I could have switched gears and tried to find another narrator who could fit my book into their schedule sooner. But I didn’t. I earnestly wanted Heather to do Memory Lane. Not only is she crazy talented but she’s great to work with — friendly and professional.
Heather still had Ryan’s contact info from the last audiobook they’d done together for me. She reached out to him and he signed on, too! DREAM TEAM.
Mid-November – The narration contract was signed, which specified the timeline and the responsibilities of the parties involved.
January 5-15 – I ran a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to fund the audiobook. My awesome readers showed up in force and we exceeded my goal.
Mid-January – I paid the narrators a retainer.
January 22 – I sent the narrators a manuscript that specified which of them was to read which sections. Note: Memory Lane is written in third person and the hero and heroine’s point of view scenes are interspersed. On rare occasions, I even switch point of view mid-scene. My vision for this audiobook was always for Heather to read all the sections written from the female point of view and Ryan to handle the male point of view sections. At this stage, I also gave the narrators character information on the entire cast. Photos, personality traits, age, how I imagined the characters sounded, etc.
February 5 – I received audio samples from both narrators. I listened and got back to them with suggestions. (They pretty much nailed it from the start. I only had one small request for each of them.)
March 4 – I received the finished files. For the past several days, I’ve been listening to the entire novel so that I can request final edits before the audiobook goes out into the world. I can’t resist sharing another sneak peek of Ryan’s narration so you’ll understand why I’ve been swooning all week long.
I’ll finish listening soon. The narrators will make my requested adjustments. And then it will be available to you! Currently, you can pre-order the audiobook of Memory Lane via my web site bookstore. Once it releases it will be available at all your favorite audiobook platforms.
I can’t overstate enough how thrilled I am with this audiobook. It’s been so satisfying to experience a novel of mine in audio the way I’ve always wanted it to sound. I’m proud of this one! I love these characters and the way the narrators brought them to life. If you see me around Dallas over the next few days smiling while wearing earbuds, you’ll know why.
Before I go, I wanted to tell you about the wonderful giveaway I’m offering to celebrate Memory Lane! Click here or on the image below to enter!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on audiobook creation!
