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Laurie Buchanan's avatar

Tracey — My hat is off to YOU!

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

Thank you Laurie!

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Carl Vonderau's avatar

Wow, what an ordeal. You'v convinced me that it's not something I want to tackle.

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

I agree, it's not for the faint of heart. Thanks for commenting!

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Saralyn Richard's avatar

Such an interesting process. Hearing the author's own voice in her audiobook will be a remarkable experience for your audience!

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

I hope so. Thanks Saralyn!

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CHRISTINE DESMET's avatar

Thanks for this information. I know the best way to get audiobooks for my books--write a check, as they say. I've learned a lot from these posts about your journey. And of course there is the way to spend no money and that's what Valerie Biel explains below my comment with the ACX royalty share program. Congratulations! And thank you for sharing how this is done.

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

Thank you Christine! It was a learning curve, and one worth sharing.

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Valerie Biel's avatar

Thanks for taking us with you on your audiobook creation journey. I never realized how complex the audio recording process can be with getting clean / level files. (It's crazy that the One Drive updates were having that kind of impact.) And, yes, the allure of AI audiobooks is tugging at authors for the simplicity and cheap (sometimes free) creation costs But you're right about those missing the warmth and tone and inflection ... all the things that make an audiobook fun to listen to. I have been wondering about cloning my own voice and using software to take that voice clone and narrate my middle grade novel. I'm curious how it would sound, but I already know that it wouldn't be 'good enough' for me to want to put out. (Probably?? If I give it a try, I'll share the sample at some point.) For authors who are looking for a cheaper route to audiobook production, there's always ACX's royalty share program where there are no upfront costs and the narrator and author share the royalties 50/50. Cannot wait to listen to yours though. Bravo for doing this!!

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

No problem. I forgot to add that I did all the recording in a small bedroom with pillows and curtains everywhere to deaden the reverberation. Anyway, the one thing I learned, there isn't an easy way to do this unless you go through a service and pay for it. And it will be expensive. You will have to share royalties with the narrator, and I hear not all narrators care about promoting your book as much as you do. Now that I've streamlined my process, it may be easier the next time. I'll just plan to put aside 3 months for recording and production. Thanks so much for your thoughts Val! Valuable insights for sure!

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Valerie Biel's avatar

Did you take pictures of your recording studio?? I see some narrators videotaping their process in tiny closets and such, which probably does help with sound insulation to stop the reverberation. Oh, and for sure on the narrators not doing any promotion. That was my experience anyway. (Maybe other authors have had better luck?) For my last book I just paid the per finished hour fee rather than go with royalty share.

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Tracey S. Phillips's avatar

I didn't take pictures. I heard one guy say he recorded a whole book under a ladder draped with a big comforter! LOL. Too cramped for me. And I don't have any walk in closets in this house. We did what we could. Just don't do it in a bathroom- too many hard surfaces let the sound bounce around. you're striving for a super flat, dead sound, the opposite of a big performance hall. True -Some audio book production companies have options for the payment. Thanks for sharing!

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