A writer's hardest work begins when the presses stop!

By John MaGuirk

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Is the world ready for us?

I’ve watched Doris Kerns Goodwin sit in a drafty hall, sign books, and make small talk with strangers. She has won two Pulitzer Prizes.

This is the blog you have been waiting for: Number 3 in the series producing your audiobook.

We’ve bought the equipment, learned how to use and edited our effort. What happens next?

Journaling, Blogging & Podcasting are three sides of a single coin. If you think of a Podcast as a spoken blog, you’re almost home.

Every Podcast is three things: creation/writing, performing/producing & distributing.

I hope what you may have been doing is bombarding your friends, family & mailing list with promotional material. If our friends won’t buy our book, maybe it’s time for new friends. You’re stuck with your family.

I used my first novella as Christmas presents for some family & close friends and sent a review copy to a media friend. I also mailed PDF copies to friends who were confined to home by illness.

I posted installments on my website, but not the concluding chapter. Your first chapter should contain a further special offer. Every episode should invite feedback. For your website, get professional help to build a subscription offer and/or a sales funnel.

It’s possible to distribute any file through your website. The trick is to build a proper sales funnel to channel subscribers to your premium content. That’s a task for your webmaster; websites are always collaborative efforts. It takes two to tango, as they say.

A webmaster creates the site, and a content provider (writer) gives the site substance ie. Make a post! The webmaster should assist you by building the sales funnel or channel which directs visitors/users toward your premium content. 

You may invite readers to subscribe via your website or through Facebook, for content to be delivered direct to their inbox by subscription. 

An audiobook is just one more arrow in your quiver and if you have built your sales funnel properly you don’t have to share with anyone else, not even Amazon. But you have to do your share by creating the best content you can manage and demand equal performance from your webmaster. 

FYI/iBooks author by Apple permits the inclusion of video, and audio along with the text. 

Another promotional tool is to create a CD for mailing to friends and associates as a sample, be sure to include a “special offer” or mini sales funnel on the CD. 

At the end of each production be sure to encourage feedback. It’s the audio equivalent of a “sales funnel.”

Yes, any MP-3 is indeed a large file, especially if it has a run time longer than 30 minutes. Exporting content to a Cloud server aids in compression. 

Although we are unaware of it, radio personalities or newsreaders speak just a little faster than our normal speech pattern.

That makes it necessary to plan your work into as short segments as you can manage. Try to stay under a maximum of 45 minutes of reading time. 

The message I write for is: “that was great send me more….”

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John MaGuirk creates, writes & produces digital content by PodCast. Since his debut in 2011(December) he has produced over 1100 unique episodes.

Performance/Production

By John MaGuirk

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Yes, you can create your audiobook. All it takes is time, patience, and a minimum investment in equipment.

Equipment requirements are modest. For best results, invest in a headset microphone. Logitech makes inexpensive, reliable equipment. If you are after “big studio” sound, a boom mike with spit screen is better. 

My mike was so sensitive I could hear myself turning script pages on my desk. I invested in a music stand to slide the pages, reducing background noise.

A walk-in closet makes a great recording studio. Remove the doors and use egg cartons (paper if you can find them) as sound absorbers. They will eliminate that nasty “big room” echo. 

Tech Tip # 1 Beware handheld or stand mikes have two aspects. 
Side delivery & top delivery. 
Always speak/talk to the “badge” (makers insignia). 

Any smartphone may provide a digital file, use “voice memos” It’s a widget on your iPhone. Since iOS-7 it’s possible to share a larger file through a Cloud source.

Many production programs will permit you to record directly into a “region” or track. Because of the nature of the display, I prefer not to get distracted and use voice memos exclusively. 

When I first began as a podcaster, I left in the little stumbles and glitches everyone makes. Sometime if you can find it, watch “outtakes” of R. Lee Ermey, it’s a hoot. However, your consumer expects your best, don’t disappoint them. 

Tech Tip # 2 A headset is necessary for best editing results. 

Good editing requires practice and patience, and your first effort is bound to be frustrating, especially when it comes to “joining” regions. Think re-assembling!

Digitally editing an MP-3 file is a piece of cake compared to the old “razor & tape” days of the past. 

I prefer GarageBand. It’s extremely powerful and relatively easy to master. On the PC side, look for Audacity. There is a free version, get some practice before moving up to the paid version. It’s relatively straightforward or user-friendly, as we used to say.

There are several PodCast apps and programs that you can use, but most of these lack basic editing features. 

I hark back to the days of The Radio Reader/PBS Dick Estell, WPLN carried his programming and he read from current published works. His daily program was thirty minutes. It’s my personal opinion you want to keep your content at about 45–50 minutes, especially the first episode if you release your effort serially. 

Consider that many of your listeners may be in their car or engaged in other tasks like working out.

The Bard of Avon said it best:
“Brevity is the soul of wit…”
Shakespeare

Be sure to include a special offer at the end of each episode, think of it as a personal commercial. This is especially useful if you are engaged in writing a series. If you are a mystery writer this might be a way to create some suspense. 

Your special offer could be a copy of the print edition at a discount price, or perhaps containing added material. It’s up to you to make the offer tantalizing and unique. 

Next Time: Distributing your audiobook.

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If you would like a personal workshop: working with GarageBand editing features, I would be pleased to do a thirty-minute tutorial via Zoom (there is no charge for this activity.) Text a request to 615 - 584 - 2717 include contact information or via email to sideshoj@aol.com. use Coupon Code: Killer/Nashville 

John MaGuirk creates, writes & produces digital content by PodCast. Since his debut in 2011 (December) he has produced of 1100 unique episodes.