Writing for Audio

by Katie O Connor

Audible editor Katie O’Connor explores the craft of writing for the audio format with Audible Originals authors Samantha Allen, Lauren Blakely, Dennis Mahoney, and Ben H. Winters. Listen in as the authors discuss how they changed their approach to their work with audio in mind. You’ll also hear from two Audible Originals editors - Lara Blackman and Steve Feldberg - about how they collaborate with their authors and where they think the future of audio is going.

Genres: Writing, Audiobook, Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published November 19, 2020

Reviews

[Achyuth Murlei · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, 30 minute compilation of authors and audio-book engineers discussing the effect of writing for audio-books on writing in general. It may very well be the style of writing literature sees a marked change due to the lessons learnt by authors when exploring their material through sound.

Overly wordy sentences are re-framed to be cogent and just suitable enough that they carry out their responsibility of letting the listener understand the context. The aspect of dialogue is reworked to make it feel like a natural conversation as opposed to a formal exchange of words with an awkward pause in between. The tone of the dialogue plays a huge role in cutting down on redundancy by letting the listener know key information about the character rather than explain it descriptively. The narrations in a audio-book must not be distant but capture the listener as if in a direct conversation. This means reminding the listener of themself as opposed to giving a lecture for the masses. Humour is better conveyed through clear difference in intonation to deliver sarcasm, wit and punchlines.

What brings a reader to audio-books is immersive performance. The production of audio-books have developed a rapport between the author and performer where the narrator pitches in ideas that shapes the character they play. This is a definite change in the vocation which is traditionally seen as being aloof and "lost in one's thoughts". There is an element of plurality that shape the personalities we cherish in a story.

One of the main functions of an audiobook format is to provide the listener the freedom to do engage in other activities while consuming the contents of a book. The producers are cognizant of the difficulties and have brainstormed on overcoming them. By virtue of its format, it is cumbersome to flip back to re-read a particular segment, indications of time-skip may not be clear and homophones may perturb a reader, making them lose track of the continuous narrative. Control of volume, intonations, ambient-noise and fade-ins are employed to bridge the gap between the reader and narrator.

It is their belief an audiobook format is suitable not only for fiction and fantasy but all genres of reads provided the quality of production, narrative and audial clues is sufficiently utilized to serve the intended purpose.

This short session did its assignment of opening the door to introduce a shift in thought which is crucial when writing for audio.

[Nada | ندى · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good to know

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good in terms of pointing out when dialogue in a hardcopy book does not fit well for dialogue in an audiobook. This audiobook consists of several Audible audiobook authors being interviewed, or simply talking about how they had to change their writing in order to make their story sound good for an audiobook or audio play. Also, it is important in an audiobook to give some reminder to the listener of what a character is about if it has been a while since the character was introduced. In a hardcopy book, if I am confused as to who a person is, I can flip back through the pages to find their name and remind myself, or some novels with a large case of characters will have a list of them either in the front or back of the book, but audiobooks don't lend themselves to that sort of aid. Thus a writer must give more information within the narrative itself to remind the listener who such-and-such a character is.

I'd never given those things much thought, but some books really do lend themselves to an audio reading while others do not.

My only complaint was that this audiobook was too short, and while I appreciated the real-life examples used, it also served as an advertisement for audiobooks available from Audible. It wasn't crass or anything, but I noticed.

I'd listen to this audiobook again.

[Lance Eaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick and dirty exploration of the topic that doesn't go into a lot of depth. It felt like a throw-away work for Audible ultimately that could have a lot more potential but seemed to just be put out to be put out. Is it worth the listen? Sure, there are a few tips and insights to consider if you are looking to write for a listening audience (or even if writing text but anticipating an audio adaptation of some sort). Some of it is to be mindful of the speaking tags (he said, she said) or think about how to make the sound more evident in your writing or how actions, personalities, etc can be translated into sound. O'Connor interviews a handful of authors who have written Audible Originals, sharing brief snippets with each and while entertaining, I feel like it served more as a teaser than getting into a deeper conversation amongst the different writers about their craft or considering that "audio" could also mean different audiences. I would recommend it cause it's light and quick and might trigger an idea or insight, but it doesn't feel like it holds up much for those who have already been thinking about or writing with a listening audience in mind.

[Hali Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The audio was, as the Katie O' Connor mentions, recorded at her home, and thus doesn't sound all that great, and is rather reminiscent of online lectures. Still, the audiobook was informative, and it's already making me rethink the way I write (and in doing so, has made writing this review rather stumbly as I pick through my format!).

[Tony Salazar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has its pearls, but the book feels more like a podcast.
Nothing wrong with podcasts. I wanted to get more out of it.
Podcasts can be a bit more ethereal and not that direct on point,
but books of this type should be more assertive in concepts and practical examples. I didn't engage with the content because of how its presentation (at least in Audible, where I came across this book).

[Riana Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend this for editors, authors, actors, and even just those who practice public speaking. A good overview for increasing your awareness of both the thought behind the words and their correlation with the presentation of the ideas.

[Avin Zarlez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very basic 101 info, but still good info none the less.

[Guillermo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for beginner audio writers.

[Scott Wild · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always like audio over videos because I think the pictures are better...

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a small taste of what the differences are in writing and audio writing.

[D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting for sure. Great advice for beginners. Would recommend for self-published authors.