If any of you follow my socials or listen to me on The Joined Up Writing Podcast, you’ll know I’ve mentioned the audio book recording of my novel a few times over the past few months, but finally I can say it’s complete and out in the world. To be completely honest, it’s taken longer than I planned and there are a few reasons for that, which we’ll get to. But before that, I thought I’d take a moment talk about audio books in general, their growth in popularity and why platforms like Spotify are investing in them so heavily.
The Stats . . .
As of this year, Audio books account for just under 5% of the market share, but by 2027, that’s expected to be more than 10%. In 2022 alone, audio sales went up by more than 70% in the US. It’s clear that book lovers are flocking to audio, but why?
Busy lives and multi-tasking . . .
Many of us want to read more, but modern life can make that difficult. Be honest – how many of us get hours of the quality quiet time needed to sit down and read an actual book? We want to be able to consume our media while we’re on the go – commuting to work, cooking the dinner or while we’re at the gym. It’s why podcasts have exploded in popularity over the past decade and it’s why more and more people are subscribing to Audible or listening to books on Spotify.
The Making of Safe Hands Audio book
So, what was involved in the making of my audio book? The first ingredient was TIME. Lots and lots of time. The edited recording of the entire book comes in at just under 9 hours – that’s a long time to spend in a vocal booth (see picture above) with only the Kindle version of the book and microphone to keep you company. With all my outtakes, false starts, fluffed lines and strange body noises (always in the quiet or tense moments!), there was around 14 hours of material that needed to be edited, segmented into chapters and checked to maintain the best audio quality throughout.
Voices in my head . . .
Writing lots of different characters is one thing, but giving them an actual voice is a challenge it took me a while to adjust to. There’s a fine line between making the characters sound unique and channeling my inner Monty Python and descending into farce. There are multiple accents, male and female, and once I decided on a voice for a character, it had to remain consistent throughout the entire novel. Did I succeed or fail? I’ll let you be the judge of that, if and when you have a listen to it. Be sure to give me your honest opinion – I can take it! My main goal was to put the book and the story across in an entertaining and engaging way, that holds the listener from beginning to end. Here’s a trailer . . .
Where’s your favourite place to listen?
For me, it’s while I’m on my bike trainer or out for a walk. I often have an audio book on the go when I visit one of the locations mentioned in Safe Hands – Bradgate Park. What about you? Where do you like to listen to audio books and podcasts? What’s the most exotic or unusual place you’ve tuned in? Maybe you’ve never tried an audio book before? Why is that? Drop me an email or comment below.