From Manuscript to Microphone: My Audiobook Journey

Have you ever wondered what it takes to turn a book into an audiobook?

In this episode, I pull back the curtain on my journey of recording and publishing the audiobook version of my memoir, Accidental First Lady. From choosing a professional recording studio over a DIY closet setup to navigating ACX, Audible's audiobook platform, I share the lessons I learned, the mistakes I made, and the surprises along the way.

You'll hear:

• Why audiobooks continue to grow in popularity
• The different paths authors can take when creating an audiobook
• What recording in a professional sound studio was really like
• Why narrating a book is very different from writing one
• How audiobook files are organized and uploaded to ACX
• The unexpected challenge of audiobook cover design
• Why Fiverr saved me time, money, and frustration
• The emotional experience of hearing my own story come to life

If you've ever dreamed of hearing your own words in your own voice, this episode is for you.

Listen now and discover why audiobook publishing may be the next step in your author journey.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Making Memoir Magic. To learn more about my course, Make Memoir Magic, click here. 

Join my free Facebook Group, Memoir Magic for Aspiring Authors, where we honor your story, provide tips, create community, and help you write the story you were meant to tell. Join here!

Transcript

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Welcome to Making Memoir Magic, the podcast where we unlock the power of your story and guide you through the magical process of turning life experiences into memoirs that inspire and impact. I'm your host, Carrie Chrysman, a memoir mentor and storytelling champion. And I'm here to help you find the courage to embrace your unique story and share it with the world. Whether you're just starting out or refining your final draft, this is the place to be for practical tips, inspiration, and the encouragement you need to write the memoir Only You Can Tell. Ready to make some magic? Let's dive in. Hello, friends, and welcome back to the podcast. Today I want to take you behind the scenes of something that I have wanted to do for years, which was to record my audiobook. Now, my memoir, Accidental First Lady, was published in 2021, and I didn't immediately opt in to record it as an audiobook. So I'm not sure why, but um I listen to audiobooks mostly. That's my go-to in terms of how I consume books, but um I just hadn't thought about it for myself. So I finally did. And if you've ever wondered how books become audiobooks, or if you're an author creating one yourself or thinking about it, I invite you to pull up a chair because the process is fascinating, occasionally frustrating, but incredibly rewarding. So let's start with the big picture. Audiobooks are no longer a niche product, they're one of the fastest growing segments in publishing. According to the Audio Publishers Association, audiobook sales reached $2.22 billion in 2024, which is a 13% increase over the previous year. More than half of American adults have listened to an audiobook, and interest among non-listeners continues to grow. Digital audiobooks now account for 99% of audiobook revenue. So, in other words, people are listening. They're listening while driving, walking their dogs, cleaning the house, exercising, gardening, and commuting. Books have escaped the page and found their way into earbuds. And for authors, that's hard to ignore. So naturally, many authors will ask themselves, should I create an audiobook? And for me, the answer was yes. But then came the next question: how? Now there are several paths that authors can take. And if you're traditionally published, your publisher may manage the entire audiobook production process. And that sounds wonderful. Okay, it takes it off your plate, and it often is a great way to go. But it can also mean that you have limited input in the final product. So, like any of these choices that I'm going to outline, it's a personal choice. And, you know, if you are traditionally published, chances are your publisher is going to select the narrator. Um, and it could be a professional actor, and it might not even be you, even if you wrote memoir. Um, most memoirs are narrated by the author because it's their story, but not always. I have listened to memoirs, um, audio versions of memoirs, um, and they're not always narrated by the author, so it just depends. So if you want to be the narrator of your audiobook, just keep that in mind. And it may work out there may be some room for negotiation with your publisher, but it's just something to keep in mind. Um, you know, memoirs are personal, and readers do often want to hear the story in the author's voice. So some authors opt for the DIY route. Do it yourself. You've seen the videos probably on YouTube or um Instagram, um, how people transform their um closets, if you will, with that have no windows and mostly sound barriers, um, into a makeshift recording studio. They hang blankets on the walls, they stack pillows around their microphones, and they create a little soundproof cocoon where they record chapter after chapter in the quietest corner of their house. So honestly, I admire these people because that takes determination, creativity, and a lot of patience. But that wasn't the route that I chose. Um, instead, I decided to use a professional sound studio at a local production company. And I must tell you that it was one of the best decisions that I ever made. Now, I come from a broadcasting background, that's what I studied in school. Um very comfortable talking into a microphone. I have limited editing experience. I learned it more than 30 years ago, but it has changed. So I was not about to attempt to edit my own audiobook. But in terms of speaking, hearing my voice, which used to make me cringe, to be quite honest, but hearing my voice and having it manipulated through the editing process, doesn't scare me anymore. So I was very happy to um partner with this production company and you know, spend some time in their recording studio and record my audiobook. It was the best decision that I made. Um, and I believe that because it eliminated many of the technical challenges that can plague a home recording. So um, I don't know if you can see behind me, there's um, and if you're watching this on YouTube, if you're listening, you'll just have to believe me. But I've got two dogs in here. Um, Jake, they're both black laps, and Jake is on the couch behind me. So if I was recording my audiobook, I would not have felt comfortable having him in here with me. Um, because sometimes, like dogs do, he will bark. Um, you know, I can tell you which day of the week the uh lawnmower will sound at which neighbor's house because I work from home. So unfortunately, you know that Tuesdays is for the next door neighbor, Wednesdays for the house is two doors down the street. But my point in all of that is that there was no barking dog on my recording, no lawnmower, no air conditioners kicking on at the exact wrong moment, and no wondering whether my microphone settings were correct. It was just me, the manuscript, and a professional recording setup. Now, before I ever stepped into the studio, I thought recording an audiobook would simply involve reading my book out loud. How hard could that be, right? After all, I wrote it, I know the story, I know the characters, I know the emotions, I know how it turns out. But reading a book and narrating a book are two vastly different things. Whether you're um recording for the first time or the tenth time or whatever, every stumble matters. If you need to clear your throat, you need to start over. If you happen to hit the table like that, when you are emphasizing something, you need to start over. Turning a page in your book must be done very quietly if you are reading right from the book. So you get what I'm saying. I I pretty much learned to just keep water in there for me. I tried the tea and honey route and it actually made my throat itch. So I learned quickly that that was not the best way to for me to record my audiobook. So you also, when you are reading what you wrote, you become hyper-aware of words that you've read dozens of times before. Occasionally, you look at a sentence that seems perfectly fine on the page, but sounds a little different when spoken out loud. So there were moments that I would get halfway through a paragraph and realize that I had emphasized the wrong word. So I'd stop, back up, start again, and repeat. Now that didn't happen too much, but it happens, and you just have to know that going through this process, you're gonna have to maybe start over a couple of times, and you're not gonna get the whole book done in one setting because um, you know, your throat gets dry, your vocal cords get strained, and they need a break. So um the whole audiobook reporting process taught me something important. It taught me that writing is one skill, but narrating is another. And audiobook narrators deserve far more credit than they get. Now, here's another thing many first-time audiobook authors don't realize. Your audiobook isn't delivered to you in one giant file, it's broken into individual sections. So in my case, I had separate files for title and author name, the preface, each of the 22 chapters, and the epilogue. Each section had to be recorded separately, and every section had to be edited separately. And this is where my audio editor became worth his weight in gold. It was a great partnership. We worked wonderfully together. He knew exactly what ACX, which I'll talk about a little later, needed and understood the specs and knew exactly what he needed to do on his end so that he would give me files that I would be able to use. He removed mistakes, he balanced the sound, he cleaned up background noise, he made sure everything met professional standards. Then he sent the completed files back to me, and then they were ready for upload. So now that brings us to ACX. If you're unfamiliar with ACX, it stands for Audiobook Creation Exchange. It's Audibles Production and Distribution Journey platform, and it's owned by Amazon. When I started my audiobook journey, ACX offered the widest distribution available, so that was the route I chose. After a few months, and it's only been out a couple months, so in a few months, um, I can opt to have my audiobook available on other platforms, including libraries. And for me, this is important to note because of the accessibility issues that exist in publishing and the book world. I'll be honest, I toggle between checking out books, the print and audio version from our local library, and purchasing from local bookstores. And yes, sometimes downloading from Audible, which is owned by the Behemoth Amazon. Now, I know I don't need to make excuses, but you might be wondering why Amazon? Why was that? Why did she do that? So I'm answering the question for you. And also just simple things like sometimes my book club chooses a book that isn't widely available yet via the library or an alternative app. And I'm not sure maybe that I want to buy it to have on my shelf because I also don't want to crowd my bookshelves with books that I may never read again. That's just a personal choice. But anyway, that's when I turn to my Audible account. And honestly, my Audible account often has unused credits because the libraries and other apps are so amazing at offering a comprehensive list of titles. So now let's get back to the progress process. And you can excuse that little sidebar, but I just wanted to be clear on who I support and why it's necessary that I believe to have several sources for your reading. So now we're at the upload process. This was not difficult at all, okay, but I thought it would be very tech heavy. I thought I would need to download files, reopen them, upload them to ACX. Um, and like I told you, I had 22 chapters, a preface, an epilogue, and then just the separate files like title and author name that I needed to have. So that's at least 25 files right there. Um so my book had been published in 2021. So there wasn't this real urgency to get the audiobook out right away because people had already been reading, they continue to read. So thank you, readers, for those of you who are just now finding my book. But I just didn't have that urgency, you know, to do it. I had the files and I I figured I would get to it. So I procrastinated a little bit. Um, but once I sat down to do it, it really took like 30 minutes to upload my audiobook files to ACX. It was so easy. And I, you know, did make sure that all the titles matched, so I was very meticulous and took my time doing it, but it was much easier than I envisioned it would be. But, you know, like everything, nothing runs completely smoothly. So the one hiccup that we had that was easily overcome was the cover art. Now I thought this would be easy because I had a beautiful book cover that that I love. And I saw the specs, I thought I could just plug them into Canva and my five by eight, which rectangular book cover, it's five by eight in real life, um, but still it's a rectangular image. I thought it would I could adjust it appropriately in Canva to fit the specs, uh, the square specs that ACX wanted. Um and it wasn't that easy. You can resize your files in Canva, but it would distort the image. Um, so I was after spending a couple hours, I thought, you know what, I'm gonna turn to someone else and see what I can do. And the first person I found on Fiverr had a five-star rating on doing exactly what I needed, which was converting images to fit ACX audible specifications for audiobooks. It was the best $24 that I spent. And she was a pleasure to work with. Her communication was top-notch. She knew exactly what I needed. I didn't have to educate her too much on the process at all, and she reformatted the cover beautifully. Still, ACX, after a couple weeks of waiting, rejected the cover because they had updated their specifications without telling anyone. So I reached back out to her and she revised it again in less than an hour at no cost. So, you know, she was amazing. And I, if I ever need any of those kinds of services again, I'll definitely turn to her. And honestly, and it was my first time working with someone through Fiverr, so it was a great experience. Um, so within a few weeks, you know, I had to wait another couple weeks, I received via email approval that my audiobook was live. So what a happy surprise that was. And a bonus was that they sent me promotional codes for me to distribute to listeners. So that way they can listen for free. They have to have an audible account, but they can listen to my book for free and not use one of their credits or pay for it. So they redeem the code, they listen for free, and then I politely have asked them, the ones who've received the codes, to leave a review or at least provide me with feedback on my book. So for a new audiobook, those reviews and early feedback is valuable, just like any reviews. Authors love our reviews, and I try to give reviews now whenever I can because I know how much it means to me. Um, but readers help, or reviews rather, help readers discover an author's work. They help build credibility and they provide social proof that real people are listening. So now that the audiobook is complete, what stands out most isn't the technology or the uploads or even the editing, which thankfully I did not have to do, but it was the experience of having my own story come to life. And there's something powerful about listening to words that you wrote. So there's something magical about hearing the emotion behind the sentences, and for memoir authors especially, audiobooks offer something unique. Readers don't just consume your story, they experience your voice. And with memoir, the author's voice is everything. So if you're an author considering an audiobook, my advice is simple don't let the process intimidate you. You don't need a Hollywood budget, you don't need a sound engineering degree, you don't need to know everything before you begin. You just need a willingness to learn and let yourself engage with the process and enjoy it. So whether you use a professional studio, a home setup, or a publisher-managed production, there is a path available to record your audiobook. And with audiobook listening increasing year over year, there's never been a better time to check it out and see if that is right for you. I would always put my hand up and say yes because I love the process and I love audiobooks. And your readers, while they may love holding your book in their hands, they also want to hear it in their ears. So keep that in mind. And thank you once again for joining me today. Now, if you created an audiobook, I'd love to hear about your experience. And if you're considering one, this is your sign to start exploring the possibilities. And if you check out the show notes, I have a link to get one of those promotional codes that I was telling you about so that you can listen to Accidental First Lady for free. So until next time, keep writing, keep creating, and keep telling the stories only you can tell. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Making Memoir Magic. I hope today's conversation inspired you to take the next step toward telling your unique story through memoir. Remember, your story matters and someone out there is waiting to read it. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. It helps others find the show. You can also connect with me on my website at carryCreisman.com, on Instagram at Carrie. You'll get more tips and inspiration on your memoir journey. And each Wednesday, I host a memoir magic writing where you get to join other writers to accomplish the often arduous task of getting words on the page. Until next time, keep writing, keep sharing, and keep making memoir magic.