Managing Audiobooks

 In addition to my own audiobooks, I have also managed them for several of my clients. They are time-consuming but fun to work on. It is different to hear your words spoken by others. As an author, I often see something unexpected when someone else interprets my stories.

My first venture into the world of audiobooks was Ghost Writer back in 2015. I was fortunate to get a very good producer off the bat. The producer is the narrator of the book. This is NOT just a reader. The person had to have the right tone and be able to act out the story using only her voice. Jean’s audition sounded perfect. We have since worked together on three other books, and I am currently working with her on another. She has agreed to produce the last three of the romance anthologies.

The next audiobook was The Memory Keeper. We actually started this project in 2014 before Ghost Writer and had several people audition for it. The person we chose was a teacher born in Wisconsin who lived in the south. However, we wanted the story told by someone who had a slight Spanish accent. This was also a challenge because we had several Native American (Acjachemen) words. Aaron worked very hard to get them just right. The effort was worth it because we ended up with a terrific audiobook as a result. This one took quite a while to complete.

Aaron went on to record Larry’s short story collection, Lakeview Park, as well as the first two books in his sci-fi series, The McGregor Chronicles.

Our memoir, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, proved to be a major challenge. It contains Japanese words, and we really wanted two people to produce it. I had worked with a couple on the terrific recording of our friends Leonard and Luanna Rugh’s book, Promises Kept: How One Couple’s Love Survived Vietnam. (They were technologically challenged, so I took care of the production process for them.) We waited for the producers to complete the Rugh’s book before they started on ours.

When they were about thirteen chapters in, I suddenly had no contact from them. They did not answer emails and wouldn’t respond to messages on Facebook. After a year, we gave up and cancelled their contract. (I still don’t know what happened, but the guy got a divorce, and his subsequent posts on Facebook were a bit strange.)

We tried putting the book back out for audition with little success. The couple of people who auditioned could not pronounce the Japanese words correctly. Finally, we found Andrew. He had lived in Japan for a year and aced the language. After a long wait, this one was finished in 2018, and we are pleased with the result.

In the meantime, I had edited an anthology of short stories set in Hawaii called Passion, Paradise, Murder. I worked with a wonderful producer on that audiobook. So, when it came time to turn our mysteries into audiobooks, I turned to him.

Since he lives on Maui, Paul knows how to pronounce all the Hawaiian words. He recorded Murder…They Wrote and Murder in Paradise, and we are delighted with them.

By the time we were ready to record The McGregor Chronicles: Book 3 – Alien Invasion, Aaron was no longer available. So, we hunted for another producer. We found one we liked very much. He did about nine chapters, then we didn’t hear from him for quite a while. When we did, he wrote that he had been in a serious auto accident and could no longer manage the recording. We were sorry for him and wished him well. So, the hunt began anew.

Finally, Dan auditioned. He was truly the answer to our prayers! He had a warm and engaging voice, and we have enjoyed working with him. Our most recent audiobook is The McGregor Chronicles: Book 4 - Kaùsan’s War.

A fun experience was working on the production of our grand-niece’s YA fantasy novel, A Wolf’s Magic. This book was published on her twelfth birthday, so we needed a young-sounding voice for it. We were lucky to get Traci, and she did a fabulous job!

 In addition, I have managed the production on several other audiobooks for my clients, and I’m currently working on two more for them.

 Audiobooks are challenging, both for the author and for the producer, but they are also very satisfying when they are finally completed after all the hard work!

 Do you listen to audiobooks? What do you look for in an audiobook?

Guest Blog

Today I'm featured on Holli Castillo's blog, Twelve Question Tuesday. Find out some new things about me. http://www.gumbojustice.blogspot.com/

I had a great time answering her questions. What would you have said?

Making Video Trailers

I’ve been working on video trailers for all our books. I finally finished the last ones. I doubt they make much difference in book sales, but I think they are a fun way to introduce readers to the books. Most of them are posted on our website.

A lot of people spend a great deal for professional videos for their books. I must admit I’m too cheap for that!

Mine are put together using PowerPoint and Microsoft MovieMaker. Choosing the right music is the biggest challenge. Fortunately I have over 10,000 songs on my iTunes, nearly all of them from CDs I own.

All of the trailers are now on YouTube:

 The Art of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed5KkCKUQGA

An Aspen Grove Christmas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CA0x1K575Y

Directions of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrStb8z39mI

Seasons of Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-6Oqruyzk

Snowflake Secrets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4MkJqHZQag

31 Months in Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKx4DheNEKk

 Lakeview Park: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfF_0p2vK-0

Ghost Writer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uJ7--CpEok

Murder… They Wrote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1JQ8emjE2A

Murder in Paradise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPlxJWw98mA

What do you think about video trailers? Do they encourage you to read books? Do you enjoy seeing them? Let me know.

Writing Conferences

Larry and I spent the weekend at the Southern California Crime Writers Conference in Pasadena, California. We're still exhausted after a jam-packed weekend of speakers and panels.

Unlike some of the other conferences we attend, this one is really geared to writers rather than published authors. Oh, don’t' get me wrong. Many of the attendees are, indeed, published authors.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was Sue Grafton, author of the Alphabet (Kinsey Millhone) mysteries. Starting with A is for Alibi, Sue has crafted a protagonist with a spunky personality and personal foibles, who is both believable and likeable.

As she spoke, her voice reflected the personality of her character. She is a master of creating original and creative metaphors. These add depth and color to her manuscripts as well as to her own speech.

After the keynote, she was interviewed with a Q&A session following. She is as funny and approachable as one might expect from reading her books.

The keynote speaker for Sunday was Elizabeth George. I must confess, she was the speaker I most wanted to hear since we had seen and heard her at the Maui Writers Conference in 2005. I still quote some of the wisdom she imparted at that time.

I was sardined into a small meeting room for her workshop, along with far more attendees than the room would hold. In addition, several more were turned away for lack of space. And once again, she inspired and taught while speaking about her own writing process.

Her keynote was self-revelatory and relatable, as I had expected.

Since her book signing went long, so many of those who might have wanted to hear her interview (including Larry) decided to attend other workshops. She was well-worth the wait! She sat around a table with about a dozen of us and was interviewed. The questions were well-thought-out, and her answers were thoughtful. But she also answered our own questions with the same candor. She even revealed a bit of the background for her next book, to be released in October of this year.

And those two great authors were only the icing on the cake. The offerings were rich and varied and provided something for everyone.

Why do we continue to attend conferences? Because we get so much rich material, but also because we get enthused about the writing process again.

Writers who are serious about the craft owe it to themselves to attend conferences where they can be surrounded by the best in the business. Sit at their feet, and learn.

Meet Christy Dyer!

Today on my blog, I welcome the new intern at Oak Tree Press, Christy Dyer.

First, welcome to the family of one of my favorite publishers. You'll like it here!

Thanks! I think I will like it here!

Exactly what will you do as intern? What will be your responsibilities?

I’m working as an acquisitions editor. So I will be looking over people’s queries and manuscripts to decide if they can be published. I am also doing some editing work, but not through OTP. Just something on the side.

What is your background?

I am a recent college graduate from Western Illinois University. So now I am in the “real” world, trying to find a job that fits my major, English.

I can relate. I was also an English major. I'm an editor (independent plus for several publishers) as well as an author. I even have the t-shirt:

You can get one, too, here: http://tinyurl.com/l7qdlbt

How did you become interested in a career in publishing?

As cliché as it is, I am a huge reader. I will read anything and everything. So I wanted to work in a place with books and authors and help them get their ideas into print. I've also entertained the idea of writing!

How did you find out about Oak Tree Press?

The power of Google search! I was looking for publishing houses in Illinois so I didn’t have to move right away, and OTP came up. So I took a chance, and here I am!

What appealed to you about the intern position?

I was really glad Billie decided to give me a chance. Most places didn’t bother to answer me or told me I didn’t have enough experience. Plus, Billie is really kind and answers all of my billion-questions-a-day emails as they come. So I’m glad for the chance to show what I can do.

What contribution(s) do you hope to make?

Maybe possibly add to the fantasy section of OTP? I am a huge fan of fantasy and it might attract even more authors to OTP since we publish those works. It would also add more readers since it is a popular genre. But for now, I’m happy reading all the queries and helping in any way I can!

[Lorna: My book, Ghost Writer, was the first published by OTP under the new fantasy imprint, Mystic Oaks.]

What do you see as the future of publishing?

With all the ways people can self-publish, it is difficult to predict where it might go. On one hand, it could continue to grow as people get their ideas out to the world in pursuit of the next bestseller. On the other hand, books in print could disappear as the new e-readers continue to become more popular. But I believe books will never die.

Anything else you think my readers would be interested in?

As I mentioned before, I am doing some side editing. Yes I will charge for my services (I am a poor college student after all!), but I’m not doing it through Oak Tree Press. I am willing to edit everything and anything. So if anyone is interested, I’m here!

Glad to know of another editor! Writers really need our services, and there are far too few of us to go around. All the best of luck at Oak Tree. Please don't nag me to get going on my next book for Mystic Oaks, to be called Sophia's Garden. Like Ghost Writer, it also has a ghost. I've promised it to Oak Tree when it's finished. Hope you'll enjoy being with us. We have a great group of authors.