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How To Record, Produce And Distribute Audiobooks With J. Daniel Sawyer

4,046 views · Published 4 March 2013 · 37:34 · Indexed 4 November 2026

Channel: The Creative Penn · 2013 · Education

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Lots more info on audiobooks here: 
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/audiobooks/
There are plenty of subsidiary rights that you can exploit for your book and audiobooks are high on the list because of the rise in popularity of listening during commutes or workouts, and the increased penetration of smartphones. Today, J Daniel Sawyer explains how to record, produce and distribute audiobooks.
What's so special about audio anyway?

Dan talks about listening to stories as a child and how magical it was to have a movie play in his head based on words that were read aloud. Human culture began by sitting around the campfire telling each other stories, and now it's keeping commuters entertained, or what you might listen to at the gym that's driving the growth in this market.
What's the difference between an audio podcast and an audiobook?

In terms of fiction, it's the delivery format. For an audiobook, you divide the audio into chunks and it goes into the store as a complete product for sale. As a podcast, it needs to be a standard length per episode, usually 20-30 mins (average commuter time) and people subscribe and get each episode. Podcasts are usually free, and audiobooks are paid. Podcasts are really a fan service and the conversion rate to paid fans is pretty low. But some authors have done a great job of creating a hardcore audience who become evangelists for the author. Dan is one of them, Scott Sigler would also be a great example.

Dan's book Making Tracks includes a lot of the business end of audiobooks e.g. what markets you can consider in order to actually make money at this.
What are the technical complexities of creating an audiobook?

The book includes the details of what you need to know about the technical side of audio, all the way from one-person, single-read to full production audio with multiple actors and sound effects. But you don't have to get too technical.

One good example is Nathan Lowell who uses no special studio or equipment for his podcast fiction. The audience will engage with the story as long as the production quality is consistent over all. There is a connection between the audience and the author as a reader, and this can happen even if you have a professional read the book. The audio is another interpretation of your work. Having it read aloud is different to someone reading it on a page. There's an interpretative filter, so it is an artistic choice.
What's the difference between reading and performance?

This is just as important for authors who want to read at a festival or live event, as there is nothing worse than monotonous reading. It bores the audience and puts them off your work. Dan demonstrates with a few lines of his own work how your tone, emotion and expression can change the effect of the book.
"I hate my voice"

This is a typical reaction to the suggestion of reading your own work. But the voice you hear in your head is not what other people hear. The sound YOU hear also includes the bone conduction in your head. You can modulate the way you speak and also change the type of mic you use e.g. use a dynamic mic.

You can read in different voices as a single-read (if you can), or just read it however you like, and the audience will get used to it! Dan demonstrates some techniques.
How do you find a voice artist if you don't want to read it yourself?

You can use ACX or look into the voice-over industry and there are a lot of sites out there. If you listen to audiobooks, note down the talent you like and since they are all freelancers, you can often get that person to read if you can afford them. You can also go to a local college or community theater and get a young and hungry actor. Make sure you pay for their time, but you can get a good deal that way.
What about editing?

Essentially, you will always make mistakes while reading. A single read when you're really good will take about 4: 1 editing time. So for every finished hour of audio, you need at least 3 or 4 hours of production. If you're just starting out it can be more like 10 hours production to 1 of finished audio. This is why it can be expensive to produce good quality audiobooks.

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