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Pros and Cons of Recording Your Own Book

by | Jul 11, 2024 | News

I’d heard at Writer’s Conferences that you shouldn’t record your own book, but I blew it off. It felt like another expense to support the writing industry, so when someone suggested an audio edition of my book, Suspended: Living with Dying, I thought, “I’ve worked with recordings before. I can do this.” 

Let’s just say, I’m learning a lot!

Pro: I saved some money. I’m not sure how much because I never got estimates – which was my first mistake. I’m sure I could have made better decisions if I had facts rather than assumptions

Con: I don’t have a professional voice. My voice is low in tone which is good, but my age, Covid, and other factors make it scratchy. I don’t hear it when I’m talking because I’m focused on what I’m saying. But put me an inch from a good microphone and the result is that I’m not even sure I want to listen to the next chapter in my own voice, and if I’m not sure, will others want to listen to it?

Pro: I am the author. I’ve been counseled that it would mean more to listeners to hear the book from my voice, the voice of someone who is fighting a disease like they are. Having a professional read it would remove some of the personal connection.

Con: I don’t have professional pacing. Professionals know how to pronounce words distinctly, and to place the right emphasis on different parts of a sentence. They know when to string a group of words together to quicken the pace and when to slow up for emphasis. It’s the things we do as writers with commas and paragraphs, they do with their voice.

Pro: I can do my own audio editing. I learned audio editing for her.Bible, the first free audio edition of the Bible in English with diverse women’s voices.  I know how to quicken a pace, correct breaths, and add, delete, or replace words. Although the Bible had to be word-perfect, I knew I wouldn’t need to be as fussy with mine.

Con: I’ve had to do a lot of audio editing. Because the voice I am editing (me) isn’t professional or hasn’t had professional coaching, the editing has been overwhelming. As an editor, I can make it sound pretty good, but it’s more work than I bargained for. I’ve wondered what it would have cost me to hire a professional reader but do my own editing since that is where the time and cost lie.

I’m still in the midst of the experience. I may scrap my audio and hire someone else. Or I may decide that what I have produced is good enough. Let’s call it a learning curve.

One thing is sure: I’m going to listen more closely to advice at the next writer’s conference!

 

 

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