The Making of an Audiobook: Behind the Scenes with Narrator Maryann Carlson

By Patricia Beal | @bealpat

Hi! I’m thrilled to introduce you to Maryann Carlson, the narrator of my debut novel, A Season to Dance. She did an amazing job and is here today to share her experience with us. Welcome, Maryann 😊

If you’re a fan of audiobooks or an author thinking about turning a book into an audiobook, you may wonder what happens behind the scenes. Or maybe you’re a reader considering buying an audiobook for the very first time. In that case, knowing how it’s created could help you to decide.

Whatever brings you to this post, I hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how the magic happens from a narrator’s perspective.

Here’s how A Season to Dance became an audiobook.

Producing A Season to Dance was an adventure that Patricia and I took together with the goal of taking the listener on a wonderful journey. Recording an audiobook involves specialized skills. There’s a lot more to it than simply reading the book.

Book prep.

Before I started recording, I needed to prep the book. What does that mean? I sat in a comfy chair with my notebook beside me and read the whole book.

As I read, I created a character list and wrote down my observations of Ana, Claus, Peter, Jakob, Brian, Lorie, and all the wonderful characters. Things like:

What makes each character tick?
What are their needs and struggles?
How do they fit into the plot?
What’s their reason for being?
What’s going on for them in each scene and what is the relationship between each of them?

I also made a list of all the pronunciations that I needed to look up:

Blumenstraße
Hessisches Staatstheater
Les Sylphides
Ich liebe dich
And ballet terms like bourrée, pas de deux, and the ever so challenging “Pa, papa, papa, papa, parararapa…” and “Ta, dada dada dada dada dada dada dada, pa.” (That’s a story within itself!)

Then I made audio files for each character to reference how I was going to voice them.

Ready to enter the booth and take the listener to Ana’s world.

The booth is the recording studio. My studio is a small, enclosed, and sound-treated room with a professional microphone, a monitor screen to read the manuscript, plenty of water, and a nearby Chapstick.

Outside of the booth is a mixer and a computer with my favorite DAW installed (that's the audio editing software).

How does my recording day start?

First, I drink four glasses of water. Throughout the recording day I drink twelve to fourteen glasses of water. Why?

The microphone picks up all sorts of noises that our mouths naturally make, especially when the mouth is dry. Those noises need to be edited from the recording so it's best to minimize them on the front end.

Then I need to do a physical warm up. There are specific stretches that help support the vocal cords, so my voice will have the richness and flexibility it needs for the performance of all the different characters. Especially when Ana and Claus get into a heated exchange! Then I do vocal exercises and some cardio. Now I’m ready to join Ana on her many adventures. What an amazing world that is.

So I step into my private booth. It's just me, the book, and the microphone. In the intimacy of the booth, I get to become each one of the characters. What they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, and how they’re reacting to each other within the context of the rich and wonderful plot. I danced in Romeo and Juliet. I traveled to Prague, to Germany, and to Atlanta, Georgia. I walked through Callaway Gardens and saw the world through Ana's eyes, Claus's eyes, and Peter’s eyes. I was a mom, a dad, a stranger that Ana meets along the way, and much more.

The same way that Patricia wrote A Season to Dance to serve her readers, I performed each of these characters and told their stories with the listener in mind.

One hour of finished audio usually takes about two hours to record because I may need to do pick-ups along the way, which are retakes for things like a mispronounced word.

Then I leave the studio and the privacy of Ana's world, and it's time to edit the audio.

So how long does it take and what happens after I record the audio?

Editing takes the most time in the creation of an audiobook. It can take several hours to edit one hour of finished audio. And if I find additional mistakes, I need to record additional retakes.

When I record the original audio, I make note of the time of day it was recorded. Why? The sound of our voice changes throughout the day. When I do any needed retakes, I aim to record around the same time of the day for accuracy and consistency.

In addition to retakes, the audio file is edited for timing, pacing, and those pesky mouth noises.

Then the audio needs to be mastered. I won't bore you with the technical details of all that 😊

The entire process can take from two to four months, depending on the length and complexity of the book and the number of projects a narrator is working on at any given time.

When the audiobook is completed, a retail sample is created, it goes out for final approval and then it's ready for distribution.

Be sure to check out the sample audio of A Season to Dance.

A Season To Dance Audiobook from Maryann Carlson on Vimeo.

I took this adventure into Ana's world with Patricia every step of the way. We had a wonderful working relationship that made the book a joy to narrate and produce. I hope that joy translates to the listeners’ experience of the audiobook.

As an author, you may be asking yourself:

“My book has been out for several years. Isn’t it too late to turn it into an audiobook?”

It’s never too late to create an audiobook. Ultimately the book is written to serve the reader. You want to give your reader the option that suits them best. Some people want paperbacks or hardcovers. Some people prefer Kindle. Others want audiobooks.

It also gives you another opportunity to re-launch your book and introduce it to new readers/listeners. So go ahead and create your audiobook!

If you would like more information on creating your audiobook, you can contact me through my website www.maryanncarlson.com.

***************

Patricia here :) I hope you enjoyed the post. Isn’t Maryann awesome? We enjoyed our process and the audiobook so much that we decided we have to go to the Met together one day to watch the American Ballet Theatre. 
#bucketlist

About Patricia 

Patricia Beal has danced ballet her whole life. She is from Brazil and fell in love with the English language while washing dishes at a McDonald's in Indianapolis. She put herself through college working at a BP gas station and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in English Literature. She then worked as a public affairs officer for the U.S. Army for seven years. 

She now writes contemporary fiction and is represented by Bob Hostetler of The Steve Laube Agency. Her debut novel, A Season to Dance, came out in May of 2017 (Bling! / Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas). A Portuguese translation will be out in her native Brazil in August of 2018 (Editora Pandorga). Patricia is a 2015 Genesis semi-finalist and First Impressions finalist. She and her husband live in North Carolina with their two children. 

Goodreads - www.goodreads.com/bealpat 
Facebook - www.facebook.com/patricia.beal.author 
Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/patriciasbeal 
Twitter - www.twitter.com/bealpat 
Web - www.patriciabeal.com

Bookish Tuesday ~ A Season to Dance by Patricia Beal plus #giveaway

By Narelle Atkins @narelleatkins

Today I'm sharing a book recommendation for A Season to Dance - the debut novel from ICFW blog member Patricia Beal.

Book Description

Ana Brassfield has her path to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House all figured out until her first love, renowned German dancer Claus Gert, returns to Georgia to win her back. Despite a promising start towards her ballet career and pending marriage to landscape architect, Peter Engberg, Ana wonders if her dreams of dancing at the Met are as impossible as her previous romantic relationship with Claus.

Then, an on-stage kiss between Ana and Claus changes everything.

Convinced the kiss is more than a one-time mistake, Peter breaks off their engagement. With an old dog crippled by arthritis and dreams deferred but not left behind, Ana moves to Germany to be with Claus. But the ghost of his late wife, Ana’s own feelings for Peter, and the pressure of earning a spot in a large ballet company are a high price for a shot at success. Ana seems on the verge of having everything she ever dreamed of, but will it be enough?

Narelle’s Thoughts

I absolutely loved reading A Season to Dance. I read the book within twenty-four hours, during the time I should have been using to write my own book, because I just couldn’t put it down. I needed a bunch of tissues to mop up my tears toward the end of the story and my family had a late dinner because I lost track of the time.

It was a powerful story and an emotional read, but before I go into more detail there’s something I’ll share with you first. This wasn’t the first time I’d started reading this book.

Patricia’s debut novel released in early May 2017 and I’d planned to read and review it for my May posting date on the Inspy Romance group blog. I’ve known Patricia online for a few years and I was thrilled to see her debut book release. A Season to Dance had great endorsements and early reviews, and I’d set aside time after the release date to read the Kindle version.

There was only one problem. I read Chapter One and the ending chapter hook triggered a deep fear I’d been grappling with for eight months. The fear of losing my husband to a life threatening health issue. I read Chapter Two but it became too hard to continue reading. The characters were too real, the writing too vivid, the story too good and too painful to read at that point in time.

For Inspy Romance in May last year, I used this reading experience to springboard my ideas for the post I wrote on Hot Button Issues and Trigger Warnings in Christian Romance. And I prayed. A Season To Dance had revealed to me an issue in my life that I needed to work through and hand over in prayer. I made the decision to put the book aside and read it in His timing. At the same time I won a print copy from a giveaway. The print book sat at the bottom of a pile of books on my bedside table, waiting for its turn to be read.

Ana is a girl from small town Georgia who has big dreams of an international ballet career. Her goal is to dance at the Met in NYC.

Ana isn’t a Christian at the start of the story. This means she doesn’t hold Christian values and doesn’t follow Biblical principles regarding morality. She’s real and she makes mistakes. Her life is complicated and messy as she lives out the consequences of her unwise decisions. The bedroom door is closed but the reader is aware of the physical nature of Ana’s romantic relationships in the story.

A love triangle plays out between Peter, the landscape architect from back home and Claus, a successful German dancer who travels the world. I’m not usually a fan of the love triangle romance trope, but the unique twist it adds to the plot is brilliant.

We journey with Ana to Germany and Prague and also experience the angst in her complex journey to faith. The setting in Europe and Georgia is stunning. I enjoyed travelling with Ana and gaining an insight into the world of ballet.

The opening chapter doesn’t reveal the identity of her husband and it may seem odd to jump ahead in time at the start. In the second half of the book the importance of the placement of Chapter One makes sense and adds to the building tension in the story.

I loved the ending and closed the book with a smile on my face.

The gospel message in the story is clear and powerful. The author’s note at the end of the book explains how the author herself became a Christian while writing the book.

A Season to Dance is a contemporary romance I’d recommend to Christians and seekers who are exploring Christianity. It addresses the hard issues in life and how our inherent selfishness will hurt others, including the people we love.

Many thanks to Patricia for blessing me with a print copy. It’s now on my keeper shelf. Learn more about Patricia and her book at her website and stop by our blog tomorrow to read about Patricia's real life journey in the book setting with her characters.

Have you put aside a Christian fiction book that was too hard or challenging to read, and later been blessed by reading it? I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings.

*Remember to comment to participate in the giveaway. The prize is one autographed print copy of A Season to Dance (open worldwide, void where prohibited). The deadline to comment is 11 p.m. EST on Friday, January 12. Participants can comment on the A Season to Dance review posted by Narelle Atkins on January 9 and/or on Patricia Beal's Wandering Wednesday real life settings post on January 10. People who comment on both posts get two entries. Winner will be selected via random.org and announced on Saturday via comment on both blog posts. Thanks!

About Narelle Atkins

A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, NARELLE ATKINS was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia.

Website: http://www.narelleatkins.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NarelleAtkinsAuthor
Twitter: @NarelleAtkins https://twitter.com/NarelleAtkins