Whether you are an author or a bibliophile… or both… you have probably discovered the joys of audio books. I’ve been hooked on Audible books for a few years now, and I don’t know how I survived without them before. I love them not only for their entertainment value, but also for how they’ve helped me to become a better author. (more on that later) In fact, the only thing better than enjoying Audible books is enjoying a free subscription to Audible Unlimited Plus. This free Audible subscription includes not only 3 free months of Audible Unlimited but also a free 3 month trial for Amazon Music Unlimited. You can’t go wrong with a deal like this. Plus, the nice thing about Audible trial subscriptions is that it’s fairly easy to cancel at the end of the trial subscription. I always add a reminder in my calendar about a week before the end of the free trial subscription of music or audio books. That way, if I decide that I don’t want to continue the freebie subscription, I will remember to discontinue it before I get billed for another month.
Using Audio Books to Improve your writing
By now, you’ve heard it a thousand times in a hundred different ways. To be a good writer, you have to be a voracious reader. And it’s absolutely true. But I’ve found it also helps to be a dutiful listener. And by this, I mean a dutiful listener of audio books. I’ve found that reading helps me in so many aspects of writing from getting ideas, becoming motivated and helping my overall writing ability. But I’ve found that listening to awesome narrators reading interesting books helps me with all of those writing components plus it also helps me improve my writer’s voice. By focusing on how good narrators bring books to life, it makes me start to think like a narrator. Now, whenever I write, I can’t help but ponder, “How would a skilled narrator read this sentence or paragraph?
Should Authors Hire Professional Narrators for Their Books?
My short answer is YES!!! I say this for numerous reasons. I am pleased to say that I’ve had a very positive experience with the audio version of my Halloween novel, The Legend of Decimus Croome: A Halloween Carol. I originally narrated and published the Audible book on my own. It didn’t do nearly as well as the paperback version of my little Halloween novella. So I decided to pony up and hire a professional narrator for the audio version of A Halloween Carol. I hired the amazing John Pirhalla as my narrator, and I’ve been pleased with the decision ever since. First of all sales definitely improved once my book featured the narration of a professional voice artist. I have to admit, other than the works of Neil Gaiman, I think twice before ordering an audio book that has been narrated by the author. Let’s face it, authors are usually good writers, but they aren’t often the best narrators. If for no other reason, they lack all the tools that a professional narrator has access to. But it goes beyond that. Having a professional narrator read my book also helped me as an author. First of all, I love listening to a true professional reading my words. It just sounds so… good. Plus, working with John had the added bonus of providing me with a different sort of editor. John read my book from a different point of view than I did or than a professional editor may have done. It’s always nice to have a different perspective and a fresh set of eyes on your writing.
When is it Okay to Narrate Your Own Book?
Not all books are suitable for hiring a narrator. For example, some books actually benefit from the author narrating their own writing. One example of this is with very short literary works such as short stories and certain novellas. Another type of books that may benefit from self-narration include novelty books. For example, Ralph Lane, author of several holiday gift books, narrated the audio version of Dad Jokes Gift Book. In a recent interview, he revealed that he plans to do the same thing with his Dad Jokes Halloween Gift Book, Dad Jokes Birthday Gift Book and his Dad Jokes Christmas Gift Book. This has been a successful strategy for the King of Dad Jokes for numerous reasons. First of all, his books are packed with over a 100 jokes, but they are still fairly short books. Second, this allows Mr. Lane to sell his audio joke books for under $4.00, so they are more affordable for his loyal fan base. And finally, since the books are novelty gift books, Ralph Lane is able to add his own comedic flair to the reading of his holiday dad jokes books. Of course both The Legend of Decimus Croome and Ralph’s holiday joke books are also available in e-book format for those who prefer the Kindle holiday book experience.
