Writing to be Heard: Audiobooks
July 14th, 2009 by Therese Walsh
Have you ever heard of The Audies? They are, according to the AudioFile Magazine website, “awards recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA).” This year’s Audie for general fiction was a tie, going to both Stephen King’s Duma Key, read by John Slattery, and Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, read by Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee and Juliet Mills. Other Audie awards are given for literary fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction/fantasy, teen lit, children’s and more. (Read the full list of categories and winners HERE.)
I don’t listen to scads of audio books, but I own a few. Sometimes I buy an audiobook if I loved a novel to bits and want to experience it in a new way; I own Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and Stephen King’s Shawshank Redemption on audiobook, for example. Other times I buy audiobooks for car trips, mostly for my kids. We own the entire Harry Potter series in audio form (as well as in hardcover), and they’ve provided hours of true entertainment on long car rides. Last year’s “solo narration-male” winner was Jim Dale, who I think utterly deserved the award for his many voices and expressive delivery in the Harry Potter series. (You can listen to an outtake of Dale’s work on the AudioFile magazine website, HERE.)
I enjoy these books, hearing someone chew over the author’s chosen language like auditory candy. But as a writer, I wondered: Is writing to be heard something to consider when you’re drafting your novel? I spoke with Robin Whitten, editor and founder of AudioFile, to learn more.
I asked Robin plenty of questions, but everything came back to the most important: What, if anything, can a writer do to impact the potential quality and even future sales of an audiobook–or is it more about crossing your fingers and hoping your story is read by the equivalent of a Jim Dale? She admitted that she hadn’t thought about it much from the author’s point of view, but as we started talking, several ideas surfaced, things an author might be able to do to maximize audiobook potential.
• Avoid the story bog. Lifeless prose may be forgivable in nonfiction, but for fiction, it’s the great sin. “Some stories just flow better than others, even books by the same author,” said Robin. “A great narrator can only do so much, so if the story slows or flattens out for an extended period, they may not be able to compensate.”
• Vary your words. Every author has a favorite word or phrase. Didn’t think anyone would notice? “When you’re listening, if there’s a repeated word or phase, it is like neon for listeners, leaping out at you,” said Robin. Solution? Mix it up.
• And vary your sentence structure. Short sentences used back-to-back can create a narrative that evokes tension, perfect for suspense scenes, whereas long sentences are ideal for settling the reader back into calm. An intermingling of long and short together can help to create a dynamic narrative flow that’s pleasing to read and to hear. It also gives a narrator more to play with. “A good narrator pays attention to your work as the author, and pays attention to the pace the author intended,” said Robin.
• Polish your prose. As if you needed another, here’s reason #1768 why it’s important to tend to your wordsmithing: “Interestingly, I was just doing a podcast for
• Read your work aloud. As early as the first-draft stage, taking the time to read your work out loud can help make you a better writer. It’s one of the most effective way to catch problems with sentence structure; it’s also a great way to test the ebb and flow of your prose. “If an author reads their work aloud, then they can get a sense about how someone might hear it, even without the extra spin that you would get from a good narrator,” said Robin.
Regardless of whether you ever envision your story as an audiobook, all of the above tips are great for helping to polish your manuscript. And, hey, maybe your book will end up as an audiobook; if it does, you can be assured that your work will be music to your listeners’ ears.
Write on, all!
Photo courtesy Flickr’s suchitra prints(Away for a few days)
8 Responses to “Writing to be Heard: Audiobooks”
Personally I don’t like “writing to be read” (otherwise I’d be a speaker not a writer!) BUT I do think reading one’s work aloud can help you catch all sort of issues (namely the ones you mentioned above). And I think by default, MOST good writing will sound good read aloud. :)
Rhythm is so important to good writing; I think hearing it helps in that respect. But for some reason, I’ve never really gotten into audio books. Now that I have an iTouch, I should look into it.
Kathleen! Imagine doing housework AND reading a book at the same time. Sitting in traffic and reading at the same time. Relaxing, glasses off, eyes closed, in the sun (or shade)… and reading at the same time!
Now go and get yourself a good audiobook!
To comment on the article, I think the secret to a good audiobook is good narration — carefully paced and attentive to the author’s style and phrasing. I admit I also like a narrator who “does voices.” That said, no amount of talent can make a bad book more interesting.
What an interesting post! I never gave it much thought until one of my writing friends produced his first audiobook and is experiencing success with this medium.
I strongly recommend to all members of my writing group to read their works aloud because what may look good on paper, may not necessarily translate as well when read out loud. Also, you tend to catch mistakes that your eyes may have originally overlooked.
And as Kathleen said, it gives you a sense of flow and rhythm. Even if it never becomes an audiobook, you may be invited to do a reading and there’s nothing worse than to discover too late that you’ve got a problem with rambling sentences, repeated words, etc.
Reading your work aloud is absolutely vital to get a sense of rhythm, flow and balance. It helps iron out all kinds of problems – it’s amazing what flaws you may miss on the manuscript, but pick up aurally. I am convinced that studying music was one of my best foundations for writing, because it taught me analytical listening.
Hi,
When I write I don’t think that my writing will be read aloud. And even when I am editing, I read my text in my head.
And once when I tried to read my work, it just fell off. I think how you read a work matters a lot, and writers are not radio jockeys.
In short, I am not comfortable with this idea.
I am seeing (and hearing) more and more over the recent past about audio books which has caused me to consider the possiblilty of my book – Randolph’s Challenge Book One-The Pendulum Swings – being produced as an audio offering. So I read some of it out loud (and recorded it) and was struck by a couple of things.
First, writing with the possibility of audio presentation in your mind from the start is important – some of the simple adjustments from what is fine in print but might be better delivered if it is to be audio presented leap out at you. Just things like phraseology, sentence construction, etc.
Second is, unless you are blessed with an easy to listen to natural voice and one which can offer variety of tone, accent, pitch, etc. for different characters, then a professional reader is vital.
Chris Warren
Author and Freelance Writer
Randolph’s Challenge Book One-The Pendulum Swings
I’d heard the “read your work aloud” advice many times before trying it. It didn’t seem like it should be that different from reading in my head, but it was a totally new experience. I caught word and phrase repetitions, awkwardness (especially in dialogue!), and other issues that numerous silent read-throughs had never yielded. It can feel a little awkward, reading aloud when no one’s there – unless you happen to know someone who wants to listen as you read a whole novel out loud! – but I think it’s well worth it.