Audio Book Secrets Inside!

Notes on Love & Laundry.

Hello Love and Laundry Readers!

I have a treat for you today!

No, it's not gluten free chocolate cake. But I think it's just as yummy, so here we go :-)

I listen to a ton of audio books. So when Brilliance Audio began to cast and produce the audiobook version of Friend with Secrets, I had a wonderful opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about this format I love, and to learn how the process works.

It started when the audio book producer emailed me audition clips from different narrators.

I immediately recognized Nikki and Ainsley when I heard audition clips from narrators Andi Arndt and Sarah Naughton.

After they started working on Friends with Secrets, I had so many questions about what they do and how they do it, and they kindly agreed to answer these questions in a written interview.

So here's a fascinating look behind the curtain at audio books and the incredibly talented voice actors who create them.

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Interview with Andi Arndt and Sarah Naughton

Friends with Secrets Audio Book Narrators

Christine:

Tell us your origin story. How did you become an audio book narrator? 

Andi:

In 2009, I was teaching acting in a university theater department part time and still subbing occasionally at a public radio station where I'd been a full-time host at one time.

Acting plus microphones equals lots of potential opportunities, but I always thought of audiobook narration as the purest form of VO (voice over) work. I'm not trying to sell anything, I'm reading you a book, telling you a story.

I took some classes and learned how to network and find jobs. It took a few years but in 2011 I quit my teaching job and never looked back.

Sarah:

I actually started narrating audiobooks in high school! There is this incredible audio production company in my hometown of Syracuse, New York called Full Cast Audio. And they produce these beautiful, as the name says, fully cast audiobooks.

So I started by playing a few smaller parts. And then I finally got to narrate and voice the lead in Gail Carson Levine’s “Fairest.” There was even original music in that book that I got to sing. It was a blast.

It was also a great training ground in narration for me, even though now most of the time I narrate the entire book myself, because there was so much creative direction and input.

Christine:

How does the process work? Do you work from home or go to a studio to record?

Andi:

Some of each, but usually I record in my home studio. I prep the book, record it, the producer sends corrections, I record those and that's a wrap!

Sarah:

It depends! Though I would say 90% of the time I record from home. Usually a publisher, producer, or author will reach out to me to see if I’m available or interested in narrating a certain title.

Often I have to submit a short audition sample before I’m selected. Then once chosen, I’ll read the book and take notes about the style, characters, and do research on pronunciations of words and any accents that might appear in the book. I’ll get on the same page with any co-narrators for the project.

On Friends With Secrets I was thrilled to get to work with Andi Arndt. She’s an audiobook legend! And then I jump in the booth and record.

Usually I’m self directing. In the rare event that I do get to work with a director it’s amazing to have a collaborator who’s listening in and helping to shape the story with me.

Christine:  What kind of books are hardest to narrate? Is non-fiction easier than fiction?

Andi:  Non-fiction is WAY harder than fiction. There's not as much of an ebb and flow to the structure. I have to keep my energy up without getting punchy.

Sarah:  I find it easier to narrate fiction than non-fiction because I find I get lost in the world of the story and the scenes between the characters.

Christine:  What makes a book fun to narrate? Different accents? The story itself? The topic?

Andi:  It's a treat when an author's sensibility aligns with mine, and I feel that I'm able to get things off my chest or celebrate the joy of something I love or even have a good cathartic cry all because the author and I see the world in a similar way and I just "get it."

Accents and vocal eccentricities can be fun, especially when they contrast in a way that adds humor. Stories that take place in locales I've visited are also a treat. It's like getting to go there all over again.

Sarah:  Because my background is as an actor, I find really juicy scenes a blast to narrate. A great fight or confession of secretly harbored feelings gets my blood pumping and makes our job so fun. There are so many great scenes in Friends With Secrets. I think the dialogue is one thing that really sets this book apart!

Christine:  As a listener, it sounds like you're reading an entire 80,000-word manuscript in one long, flawless sitting. But clearly editing is involved. How does that work? And do you actually say "ah" and "um" and stumble over your words like us lesser mortals?

Andi:  I'll let my editor answer that...

Sarah: Hahaha! I personally make many mistakes! We’re all human. And we often record in what’s called a “punch and roll style” meaning we record until there’s an error and then we stop and pick back up right before the error occurred.

So even though we’re stopping and starting a lot, the end product is one continuous flawless story. And then we send that off to the editing geniuses who make sure it actually is flawless and make is sound extra pretty.

Christine:  On average, how long does it take to narrate a book? What happens if you have a cold or a sore throat, or an issue that impacts the quality and sound of your voice?

Andi:  I can usually get 2-3 finished hours recorded in a day, so if it's a 9-hour book, that's 3 or 4 days in the booth. If I get sick, I just have to rest until my voice comes back.

Really what happens though, as most narrators will tell you, is our brains get fried before our voices. That kind of concentration is all-consuming.

Sarah:  It takes me about 1.5/2 times longer than the book is to record it. So if it’s a 10-hour book, I’m in the booth for about 20 hours. But I also read the book in advance, do pronunciation research, and develop voices for the characters.

So there’s some added hours outside the booth as well. Oh man, it stinks to get a cold in the middle of a book! I try to wait a day or two to get over the worst of it and so my voice sounds mainly the same. But sometimes there isn’t time in the schedule.

So then I do everything I can to clear my sinuses and lubricate my throat so that there’s basic consistency in the sound throughout.

Christine:  This might be like asking a mother which child is her favorite but...do you have a favorite genre?

Andi:  Above all I like variety, but what I notice about all of the books I narrate, regardless of genre, is that they tend to be reality-based.

Not sure why but I've just never been drawn to the fantasy side of things (sci-fi I do like). As a kid I didn't like Dr. Who, Lord of the Rings, never read Harry Potter as an adult. I was far more fascinated by what people really did / do and why and how they get through difficult times.

I went through a "disaster" phase as a kid, reading about ships sinking, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, hurricanes, the Chicago fire...I really wanted to know what people did when confronted with life-or-death situations. Maybe that's why I love narrating memoirs and biographies.

Sarah: It’s definitely hard to choose. I’m partial to rom coms and cozy mysteries! But YA and thrillers are also my jam.

Christine: Any books you've narrated recently that you'd like to recommend to readers?

Andi:  Divola by Jennifer Thorne and Beautyland by Marie Helene Bertino definitely stood out earlier this year, and upcoming full-cast releases Pink Glass Houses by Asha Elias and The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff challenged me with new types of characters to portray.

Sarah: Other than Friends With Secrets, I narrated a spy thriller rom com called The Takedown by Carrie Walker that was a delight!

Christine:  Any other audio book narration secrets you'd like to share?

Andi:  For anyone reading this who is interested in becoming a narrator, I cannot stress enough that you have to be a self-starter, a researcher, and very, very patient because it can take 2-3 years to feel like you're finally making some headway, and the competition is steeper than ever. It really helps if you're already an actor.

Sarah: Ooo, maybe not a secret but audiobook narration is a great job that I feel lucky to get to do!

Christine:  Thank you so much for talking with me today. I have to admit that I cried when I listened to your audition clips and heard your amazing voices reading the words I'd written in Friends with Secrets for the first time.

It was one of the loveliest moments so far in this amazing journey from aspiring writer to published author. Thank you so much for what you do, and for taking the time to discuss it with us today.

Andi: Oh thank you! I very much enjoyed the book and look forward to your next one. We wish you a very successful release!

Sarah: Oh man, I bet it’s emotional to hear your words come to life like that. Well you wrote a funny, thrilling, honest book and it was an honor to get to read it. Thank you!

You can learn more about Sarah Naughton HERE.

You can learn more about Andi Arndt HERE.

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And that's all for this issue of Notes on Love and Laundry. We are in the midst of a major upheaval here at the Gunderson Ranch as we prepare to take our oldest child to COLLEGE to start his freshman year. The first baby bird is leaving the nest. As with all major life transitions, this one begins with a massive Target run.

And when that is done, maybe I will actually, finally, have time to start working on the next book.

If you have any thoughts or ideas on what The Next One should include or not include, feel free to hit reply and tell me what you're thinking. I'm open to anything, except maybe dragons? Mostly I'm just excited for life to settle down so I can focus on writing again.

Until then, thank you for reading Notes on Love and Laundry, and may you enjoy a few more good books and these last fleeting moments of summer before they are gone :-)

Take care,

Christine

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