If you are going to put your book out to the world as an audiobook – you want it to sound good. No, you want it to sound amazing. To do anything less will not only prevent your audiobook from succeeding… it can also reflect poorly on your book in general.
So, there are a few things you want to make sure you have lined up before making the decision to follow this path.
- A great speaking voice, with some acting abilities. This doesn’t mean you have to have an academy award on your shelf… but you will want to make sure you have a pleasant voice that children will enjoy listening to, and the ability to connect with the text when reading. You wrote it, so you’ve got a big advantage. Try reading your book outloud to friends, children that you know, or classrooms. If your audiences enjoy your reading, you’re probably good to go!
- A good microphone. We’re not going to go into technical specs (or the rabbit hole of a debate) about what is and isn’t a good microphone here. But understand that recording on your phone, or with your computers built-in mic simply isn’t going to cut it here. You need a professional or semi-professional microphone. This can either plug directly into your computer’s USB port, or into an interface that in turn plugs into yoru computer. These days, you can find a really great sounding USB microphone for a few hundred dollars.
- Recording software – also called a Digital Audio Worstation, or DAW, is the next thing you’ll have to look into. There are many different DAWs, and they each have there devoted user base. They can be very expensive, but some of them are free, or near free. Look at Audacity and Reaper as good options to get you started without spending money. Alternatively, your computer may already have a simple DAW, such as Garage Band on a Mac. Though not as sophisticated as even the free options, these can certainly do the job.
- A quiet space without reverb. This just might be the hardest thing to acheive. Without spending tons (i mean, a lot) of money on acoustic treatment, is it possible to record without a lot of background noise and reverb? It is. Many people record in closets – surrounded by clothes that help to deaden the sound. Also, recording at night, after things have quited down, can be a good way to find a quiet environment for recording.
- The know-how to put it all together. This is the magic! It can be the most fun, or the most frustrating. But if you want to do a great job and create an audiobook that kids will want to listen to over and over… then this is just so important. Find blogs, youtube videos and podcasts about audiobook narration and voice over to help you understand how to put it all together to create an amazing listening experience!
That’s the basic rundown of what you’ll need. So if you are a real Do-It-Yourselfer with some know-how amd ambition, you’ve now got a roadmap. You can do it!
And of course, if you’d rather work with folks who’ve got all of the above wrapped up – with hundreds of books of experience under their belt, then please reach out to us – we’d love to help you bring your children’s book to life!
Should I Narrate My Kid’s Book Myself?
Narrating Your Own Children’s Book, Part 1: What Does It Take?
Narrating Your Own Children’s Book, Part 2: The Microphone
Narrating Your Own Children’s Book, Part 3: The Computer and Software
