I really thought I wanted to be an actor, but when I couldn’t stand the sound of my voice or tolerate my image on screen I dropped the dream and did what a lot of creative types do: worked for a large company in sales and hated it. When I discovered writing as an outlet I knew that the creative artist within was smiling. I mean, I could actually reread my own work without wanting to damage walls. That’s a pretty clear indication that this was the way for me. So when I started reading my manuscript out loud, I found it helped with the flow of my book, it helped with editing, and it helped reaffirm my decision to leave acting as a career choice. I’m glad I did it though. The male character walking over confidentially instead of confidently was certainly an error, unless he meant to keep this to himself. Overall though, the tone certainly didn’t sound how it did in my head. When my characters have my voice, they sound boring and irritating rather than witty and engaging.
It made me think. Am I boring and irritating? Well, it actually made me think, how will my manuscript translate to readers. And further, how will this translate as an audiobook? I love this one series, the character is hilarious. The humor is left field and less obvious. In my head we do great things together – with my dry wit and and her sass we are formidable. How on earth can any narrator do us justice? Yes, us. We are a team. So I listened to a sample and I was so excited when it did nothing for me. I thought, maybe I’m not doomed? Loads of people love audiobooks and this narrator is well-loved by our community, so maybe I just don’t get it. But they get it. How will I know when they get what I don’t get with my own work? I have to cover my bases, even those I don’t understand. We all have 4532 bases, right? It’s dark and scary as hell out there by the time I’m done covering them all.
ebooks and I rarely come into contact. I don’t get up in the morning for anything less than three dimensions. And if I find it difficult to embrace alternative dimensions or dream dimensions within my beloved books, you can imagine how well the auditory dimension is going to fare.
So, whats’ your take on audiobooks?
Have you ever read your manuscript out loud to see how it sounds? Did you it make you so crazy you ran around wearing black shoes with a brown belt?
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