Hey y’all, me again.

So, I’ve had this thought for a few weeks… and, now that I’m back at the blog, I think it’s about time for me to share that one thought.

I think… I think… I think… 

I may make my books into audiobooks. 

How does that sound, huh?

I got the idea when I got this free trial for listening to audiobooks on Kobo. I only took the time to fully listen to one book, but it was really the first time I ever chose to listen to an audiobook all the way through, and I found it really a different kind of experience. It was, like, I could listen to it while I was doing the dishes… painting… napping… really, just while I was doing anything and wanted some entertaining white noise in the background. Actually, during any time that I usually just put music on- I just started the audiobook up through my headphones instead.

And then, without even mentioning any of my personal audiobook experience, my sister just started telling me all about the audiobooks she listens to all the time, a lot in the same ways I would- while she was cooking or laying out in the backyard. And then she just stopped and went, ‘maybe you should make your stuff into audiobooks…’

And I took that as a sign.

Now I’m starting to plan out how I’m going to make my own audiobooks. Smashwords has also conveniently started up audiobook self-publishing very recently (another sign?), and I do think Amazon has ways to self-publish audiobooks, too.

So… there’s that.

Now, publishing isn’t exactly what I’m concerned about, anyway… it’s the recording.

I already know I’m not going to let anyone other than myself record my audiobooks. For one, it’s way too expensive for me to hire a reader or two for any of my books; they’re too long and I’m too poor as it is. I think it’s a lot more personal when audiobooks are read by the authors themselves, anyway. And, actually, I’ve always just kind of wanted to be some sort of voice actor at least once in my lifetime… and I guess this is just as good of an opportunity as any other.

So… there’s that, too.

But, as far as physical recording goes, I’m a little clueless right now. Well, not completely clueless… I know how to work audacity and I know how to edit audio pretty well and I know I’m going to have to invest (I cannot believe I actually just used that word…) in a somewhat decent microphone-kit-thing from Amazon… I guess I’m just a little clueless when it comes to, really, generally making an audiobook.

Like I said, I’ve only listened to one audiobook the entire way through once in my whole life; I still feel like I know nothing about audiobooks. Like… how is it supposed to sound? Am I supposed to read it fast or slow? How do I, like, separate one chapter from another?

It’s kind of just a ‘well, uh, where do I start?’ kind of thing in my mind right now.

And so… friends, colleagues, homedogs- this is where your comments and input could greatly help me and potentially impact the eventual, final product of whatever my first audiobook endeavor turns out to be.

Any suggestions on… where to just start?

-iKari