Audiobook Editing

In 2018 I narrated and released an audiobook version of my novel, Etti’s Intended. Riding a shallow learning curve, it took over a year for me to grasp the daunting combination of knowledge and skills necessary to reach “The End” of that first novel.

It’s magical to hear your novel come to life in audio, but it’s even more amazing how audio spotlights errors.

In this COVID era, more critique groups are meeting via Zoom in lieu of live meetings. Many have found the Zoom format difficult for reading their submissions aloud. It takes too long, so they opt to read submissions ahead of time and simply critique and discuss the submission during the on-line meeting.

When recording other writer’s work I find it difficult to read without mentally making light edits to sentences, transitions and scene structure.  No, I don’t put a heavy hand to their work without first asking if they would like light editing as I progress in the studio. Since I don’t charge extra for it, and since they always have final say on their material, I have yet to find someone who refuses this option.

Since I’ve narrated two of my own novels, I understand the power of focus. In the studio, there’s nothing but the microphone, me and the words. I was shocked at the number of errors I found in my own novel—a novel I had proofed several times, and one that had been beta read by four people.

I respect my authors’ privacy, so I would never discuss their work with others, but I have no problem sharing what I’ve learned as a narrator of my own work. Here are some tips to make your final version shine.

1. Read through the entire novel for “echoes.” I have discovered that I “echo” a lot. It’s more obvious when spoken. Here’s one example from a previous sentence in this very blog:
   
   Many have found the Zoom format difficult for reading their submissions aloud. It takes too long, so they opt to read submissions ahead of time and simply critique and discuss the submission during the on-line meeting.
   
   Common echoes are the character’s name. Etti withdrew her hand. To Etti, the offer was obscene and Etti would have nothing to do with him.
   
   I’ve also discovered that with each novel I seem to develop a pet word.  “Then” is a good word for me to search. MS Word will gladly search for every occurrence, and in past searches, I have just cringed to find so many instances of “then.”  (Did you just notice my echoes of “search” and “just?”)
2. Excessive use of tags. Good paragraphing can eliminate excessive “he said” and “she said” tags.
3. Excessive choreography. Sometimes I fix one problem, only to create another. In an effort to avoid excessive “he saids” I have in the past made my characters clench their fists or smile so frequently that the choreography becomes distracting.
4. Excessive similes. My book club members complained about one particular novel we had read. In that novel, the author used 72 (counted ‘em) similes in one chapter.
5. Attributing dialogue to the wrong character. It horrified me to discover that error–and in a late chapter, no less. How did it get through four beta readers? It’s my guess that beta readers, conscientious though they may be, don’t read novels out loud. 
6. Inadequate scene setting. Back to our book club. We read two women’s fiction novels back to back. Each involved time periods spanning decades and several POV chapters. In one novel, one NYTBS author created clear scene settings, masterfully anchoring her fans in the story moment. In the next one we read, another NYTBS author created settings that forced the reader to slog through up to two full pages before discovering the POV character, the setting, and in what decade the action had occurred. This problem becomes apparent, even magnified during narration.

As we bide our time for a return to normalcy, remember the power of reading scenes aloud

Replicate the recording studio environment when you proof yours or someone else’s work. Eliminate all auditory, visual and olfactory distractions. You may be surprised at what you hear.