Summer is right around the corner, and the book world's unofficial kick-off is here!
It's June is Audiobook Month (#JIAM), so prepare to trade chapters for tracks and let's get listening. Whether it's on a road trip or while you're cleaning house, audiobooks are the perfect way to keep reading even when you aren't in a position to pick up a book.
Sarah Lieberman, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and Director of Marketing for Simon & Schuster Audio, is here today to share her insights on audiobooks andShe began her career in the audiobook industry in May of 2000 and has loved every minute of it.
What determines if an audiobook gets a physical format as well as a digital one?
As I mentioned last year – with retail space continuing to shrink deciding what to publish on CD has become a more selective process. All of our titles are published digitally and are available on CD in the library space. It’s worth noting that publishing a title digital only is not a measure of the quality of a title but instead where we believe the opportunity and audience exist. Our goal is always to give each title the best chance of success and some of the considerations involved in deciding whether to publish physically, digitally or both include the genre of the title, the length and therefor the potentialcost of a CD edition.
Audio offers the opportunity to let readers hear directly from the author, but how do you select which books get bonus features? We love to offer bonus content to tie-in with our audiobooks and that includes going behind the scenes at our recording sessions with both the authors and the narrators to get interviews, photos and video content. Sometimes that content ends up on the audiobook itself, other times it is used as part of the marketing and publicity push that takes place leading up to and at on sale. Often we share this content on author platforms, social media and with bloggers as well as major media outlets. We make every effort to interview and photograph all authors and narrators that come through our studios, sometimes we aren’t able to get content for a variety of reasons but we are actively engaged in creating original content that fans can enjoy to make the audio experience unique.
When it comes to audio samples, how do select a snippet that will entice readers?
It depends on what we are trying to accomplish. Sometimes the snippets come from the first portion of a program to avoid any spoilers or to engage fans the way reading the first few pages of a book would. Other times there might be a scene that is particularly dramatic or racy or exciting so we will choose that. Authors sometimes have strong feelings about what excerpt they want to share and we take that into account. Publicity opportunities like tying in with online serials also play a part so you can see there is no one answer!
What should readers be on the lookout for from Simon & Schuster Audio?
It’s really hard to choose – we have so much great content coming up in the next few months. There a few big names in audio narration that I am dying to share but I have to keep mum on them for now! I can tell you that just last week we announced that Grammy Award-winner Lyle Lovett will be narrating Kathi Appelt’s True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swampwhich is a fun pairing and also Lovette’s first turn as an audiobook narrator. In addition, we have cast a wonderful and beloved reader for Susan Cooper’s Ghost Hawk so stay tuned for that announcement! Next month will be huge with lots of terrific releases. Some of my favorites are Light of the World by James Lee Burke read by his longtime narrator Will Patton, Christina Lauren’s Beautiful Bitch which is fantastic fun, Hidden Order, the newest Scot Harvath thriller from Brad Thor and MacRieve by Kresley Cole (speaking of bonus features fans can get their own Kresley Cole audio widget here: http://kresleycole.com/kcaudiobooks/ ) As we head into fall I think listeners will be really excited for The White Princess by Philippa Gregory which will be available right around the time of the new Starz series The White Queen. For fans of nonfiction we will have The Bully Pulpit, the first presidential history from Doris Kearns Goodwin since Lincoln, the film adaptation of her book Team ofRivals. It will be read by the always stellar Edward Herrmann so that is one I’m really looking forward to. We are also very pleased to be publishing Wilson – a biography from Scott Berg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lindbergh. And last but certainly not least, we have a brand new Stephen King recording – called Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. It’s not cast yet but if you want a sneak peak you can download The Wind Through the Keyhole audiobook to hear King himself narrating the first chapter.
Clearly listeners have a lot to be excited about and I’m looking forward to getting the word out about these and our other great productions in 2013.
In her 14 years in the audiobook industry, Melissa Coates has been involved in every aspect of audiobook production. She has been a proofer, recording engineer, post production engineer and director on hundreds of audiobooks in every genre, and is currently a producer and audio proofing supervisor at Brilliance Audio.
What is your favorite thing about audiobooks?
Like most people today, I am constantly on the go. Audiobooks are a great way for me to catch up on the reading that I don’t have time for. Audiobooks are also a great way to experience a book as a group, by listening together. You can discuss the plot and character's motives in real time.
What are some of your favorite books to experience on audio? What do you feel the audio adds to the story?
Two of my favorite audiobooks are the Audie Award winner The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf and The Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker. The Watch That Ends the Night is a collection of poems about the sinking of the Titanic. The production of the audiobook draws the listener even farther into the emotion of each poem through a variety of narrators and sound effects. In one scene, you can hear the people screaming for help in the background, making you feel like you are actually there. In The Luck of the Buttons by Anne Ylvisaker, I found that narrator Laura Hamilton's performance made the characters really come to life off the page. With the number of characters in this book, Laura did a wonderful job interpreting the numerous quirky characters and the dynamics of both the Buttons family and townsfolk, giving them individuality through character voices. A good narrator performance can make a great story even greater.
Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series and all around superstar, is here today to celebrate audiobooks with us. Of course her books are amazing, but the audio is even more engaging. She has had some amazing luck when it comes to narrators! She's here to share her thoughts about the audio versions of her books and express her love for all things audiobook.
1. They're great for
when I'm too tired to actually pick up a book and read.
2. They're the best thing for long car/plane rides. Five hours on a plane zips right by when
you're immersed in an audio book. It can
even drown out the screaming infant sitting behind you.
3. If the narrator is James Marsters or Neil Gaiman, you get
to listen to their (sexy) voice for the duration of the book.
Lol, okay okay. So
this isn't the most logical list ever. Except maybe the screaming infant
thing. Regardless, I love audio
books. Maybe it goes back to my own mom
reading me a story when I was a kid. I
think that's where my love of reading began. And if the narrator is fabulous--as all of mine were--you get to hear
the characters come to life in completely new and awesome ways.
For the audio versions of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden
series, I've had exactly five narrators.
One for Meghan, Puck, Ash, Ethan, and Allie. I've listened to them all, and I honestly
can't say which I've enjoyed more. All
the narrators were extraordinary and fascinating in their own way. And for the record, hearing your own book
read back to you is an odd experience; it's almost like you're listening to a
different story. I must commend all of my
narrators for what I know had to be several very emotional scenes. (The last
chapter of The Eternity Cure comes to mind, and Therese Plummer nailed
it.)
I guess what I'm trying to say with this post
is: if you haven't listened to an audio book yet, definitely try it out. Especially if you're going on a long car or
plane trip. It really is a different
experience. And grab a book read by Neil
Gaiman or James Marsters. You'll thank
me later. ;)
Listen up people! June's here and that means audiobooks are taking center stage, so it's time sound off and share the love.
We're partnering with Page Turners Blog and several publishers to celebrate June is Audiobook Month. For the rest of the month we'll be highlighting everything we love about audiobooks, sharing summer listening lists and interviewing authors, and industry professionals about what goes into creating the audio we adore.
I wasn't always a fan of audiobooks. I know, shocking but true. Who doesn't like having a good story read to them? It took a long time but a few good narrators paired with some awesome books and I eventually came around.
When they're good, audiobooks can achieve the height of reader engagement. They add a whole new dimension to to books that you can't get when you're doing the page turning yourself.
Be sure to check both blogs each week for new posts about everything audio. If you're anxious to get a jump on things, take a look back at last years JIAM posts.
Stay tuned for all the information, giveaways, reviews, and festivity, and don't hesitate to join in on the fun!
Sarah Lieberman, director of marketing for Simon & Schuster Audio, is stopping by to shed some light on some of the decisions made during audiobook production and how the finished product gets marketed.
Sarah Lieberman
What goes into selecting a narrator for a novel being turned into an audiobook?
A lot goes into selecting the narrator for an audiobook . . . the voice makes or breaks the production.
We get a manuscript very early on in the production process & immediately begin a wish-list for the reader. Is the narrator male or female? Young or old? From a particular geographical region? Required to read dialogue, or present complex ideas, or be funny? All the demands are weighed & we then try to cast the right voice for the book and make the best-possible marriage. Often, too, the writer is involved in the casting decision. No one better knows the tone & personality of a book than its author. When David McCullough does not record his books himself, he almost always requests Edward Herrmann. Herrmann, a devoted reader of McCullough, seems to be one with the writing, and perfectly matches his delivery to McCullough’s beautiful storytelling.
How do you determine what format an audiobook with be produced on (CD, MP3 CD, Digital, etc.)?
Everything we publish will be available digitally, and will be available on CD for libraries. We still publish the majority of our list on CD for the retail market, but as the available retail space shrinks for CD, we are getting more selective. In some cases, particularly for authors early in their career, it’s better to hold off on a CD publication rather than put out very few copies that are hard to find, which creates a poor perception in the eyes of our accounts. MP3 CD is a format that holds some promise, and we continue to experiment with it.
How do you keep up with what readers like and dislike about the audiobook experience?
We are always trying to stay in touch with the listening audience and certainly over the last few years social media has developed into a terrific way to do so. Facebook and Twitter in particular have become a great way to learn more about narrators that people particularly enjoy, where and when people are listening to audiobooks, and of course sales figures give us a sense of what titles stand out at retail. We are always looking to make the best consumer experience and to get new listeners to give audiobooks a try. I have always found that once someone tries one audiobook they’re hooked, but sometimes it’s a hurdle to get readers to try that first listening experience. Encouraging people to do that is really one of the biggest challenges we face and also our biggest opportunity.
How is promoting an audio title different from promoting a print title? How is the market different from that of a hardcover or paperback?
Most of the titles we publish are based on a book that has a full marketing and publicity plan behind it. So, the first thing we do is to make sure the audiobook is incorporated into those plans as much as possible. Then our task is to focus on spreading the word about what’s special about the audio. Online tools like bloggers, reviewers, targeted advertising, and of course social media have become great vehicles for promoting audiobooks. One thing we’re trying to highlight is the connection between authors and narrators. We love to do video and audio interviews with the authors and narrators and to post that material online along with excerpts from the actual programs. We also use that content as bonus material on the audio programs themselves. Just recently we had a huge response from fans thrilled to hear Stephen King narrating his Dark Tower audiobook The Wind Through the Keyhole, and as a bonus we included an excerpt of Steve reading from Doctor Sleep, his forthcoming sequel to The Shining. Similarly, we just shot a fantastic video of Brad Thor and his longtime narrator, actor Armand Schultz. We’ll be using excerpts from the video promotionally online and the full audio interview with the pair will be included on the July release, Black List.
What do audiobooks mean to people? Recorded Books wants to know! They are inviting audiobook lovers, librarians, and educators to record a short video (one-minute max) to share their favorite audiobook moment or talk about what audiobooks mean to them. Videos can be submitted to Recorded Books at facebook.com/recordedbooks, twitter.com/recordedbooks, or email (kjennah[plus]JIAM[at]recordedbooks[dot]com). At the end of the month, two winners will get a personalized voicemail message for their library read by AudioFile Golden Voices George Guidall or Barbara Rosenblat.
Favorite moments. The Recorded Books Blog will be featuring favorite moments in audio from narrators including Simon Vance, Robin Miles, Barbara Rosenblat, Christina Moore, Jenny Sterlin, Andrew Garman, Robert Ian Mackenzie, George Guidall, Carol Monda, Johnny Heller, Mark Turetsky, and many more.
Paul Gagne, director of production for Scholastic Audio and Weston Woods Studios, has worked on nearly 300 audiobooks to date, including some pretty outstanding titles such as Beauty Queens, the Ghost Buddy series, The Eleventh Plague, The Scorpio Races, and The Raven Boys. He's here today to help us celebrate June is Audiobook Month, tell all about what it takes to produce an audio book, and give away some audiobooks.
Explain the role of an audiobook producer in the production process.
The role of producer can vary a lot from one company to another. As Executive Producer for Scholastic Audio, I am responsible for budgeting new titles, assigning titles to producer/directors, coordinating casting decisions taking into account input from the producer/director, the author, and on occasion the author’s editor, keeping up to date on the production process overall to make sure we’re staying on schedule and within budget, and on occasion taking a more hands-on role by attending recording sessions, co-directing talent and working with composers to create the intro/outro music used in our productions. I have also directed several productions.
For Weston Woods I have been much more involved in a hands-on capacity, directing most of our recording sessions, working with composers, and sometimes doing some of the editing, mixing and mastering. I started as a sound editor at Weston Woods in 1978, so I’ve had an extensive background in audio production.
What elements have to come together in pre-production to make the recording of an audiobook possible? What has to be done prior to entering the studio?
I think the most important single element in pre-production is finding the right voice for the story, someone who not only has the right sound and range of talent for whatever character voices might be required, but who can relate to and “get inside” the story, conveying its emotional nuances. For both Weston Woods and Scholastic Audio, we usually consult with our authors for their input on the kind of “inner voice” they may have had in mind while writing the story, what they’d like to hear in the audiobook, and we try very hard to cast accordingly. In an ideal situation, I think that half the job of directing a project is really casting the right voice, and with the right producer/director for a project — ideally, someone who can also relate to the book -- coaching the best possible performance out of the reader is something that just naturally falls into place. Prior to entering the studio, both the director and narrator should have read the entire text. Not only should they both have a sense of the overall arc of the story, but they should have done their homework in terms of knowing all of the characters’ personalities and what they require in terms of different character voices, and researched any unusual names or words for pronunciation. The sessions go a lot smoother if everyone is well-prepared.
This summer I'm planning to take on the entire Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. It's a daunting task, and I may never leave the car but I'm excited! I've heard amazing things about the audio for this series and can't wait to get started.
Author: Cassandra Clare
Readers: Ed Westwick, Natalie Moore, and Molly C. Quinn
Description (City of Bones): When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . .
And thanks to Simon & Schuster I can share my summer listening books with you!
To celebrate "June is Audiobook Month" we've joined together with some awesome blogs to bring you this JIAM Giveaway Hop hosted by Reading Teen! Each blog will be giving away at least one amazing audiobook, so make sure you check them all out! This blog hop ends June 15th at midnight.
In celebration of June is Audiobook Month, Jackson Pearce is stopping by to tell all about recording the audiobook for her novel Purity (April 2012). Purity, Jackson's fourth novel, is her first contemporary and is decribe in the tagline as "a novel about love, loss, and sex - but not necessarily in that order."
Photo by Vania Stoyanova
Jackson Pearce is twenty-six years old and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with a slightly cross-eyed cat and a lot of secondhand furniture. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English and a minor in Philosophy. She auditioned for the circus once, but didn’t make it; other jobs she’s had include obituaries writer, biker bar waitress, and receptionist.
Jackson began writing when she got angry that the school librarian couldn’t tell her of a book that contained a smart girl, horses, baby animals, and magic. Her solution was to write the book herself when she was twelve. Her parents thought it was cute at first, but have grown steadily more concerned for her ever since.
How did you wind up reading the audio of Purity? I'd mentioned it on twitter, of all places, to a woman at Hachette Audio. I wasn't sure if I'd get to do it or not-- I just wanted her to know I was interested! I'm really grateful she remembered and made it happen.
What did you do to prepare prior to recording?
I read the book through twice, and tried to figure out a voice for each character. To memorize voices I either thought of them as impressions of other characters, or memorized what part of my throat I used to do the voice. Jonas's voice, for example, I sort of did from the side of my mouth, and Shelby's mother's voice was in the front of my throat, a lot like I'd always imagined Rosie's from Sisters Red.
Describe your experience recording Purity.
It took a lot less time than I anticipated, actually. I went to a local audiobook studio at around 10 in the morning on a Tuesday, and recorded till about 3 with a short break for lunch. It was pretty much exactly what you'd expect-- sound proof room with lots of foam on the walls next to a room full of computers where the sound engineer listened and marked up the nine million takes it took me to read each line (he deserves some sort of trophy for patience). If I messed up a line, I usually just started over at the beginning of the sentence.
It took two days, total, even though I'd blocked off the whole week! I then went back in a few weeks later to rerecord a few lines that were wrong or had background noise.
What was the biggest challenge? Biggest surprise?
The biggest challenge was reading very, very slowly and switching from voice to voice in scenes with a lot of different characters talking. The biggest surprise was how much bigger and more dramatic I had to do things in order to make it come through correctly! It's amazing how much is lost when you can't see someone's facial expressions/body language.
Some of your audiobooks have been recorded by narrators, and you've now recorded one yourself. What are the benefits of each? Sisters Red is my only other audiobook; it was recorded by two narrators. The nice thing about that is I don't have to worry about it-- no one is going to get angry with me if they don't like the narrators (though the SR narrators are pretty awesome! The plus side of narrating the book myself, though, is that I know exactly what I want it to sound like when read. The emphasis, the pause, the voices, the whole nine yards, are exactly how I heard them in my head.
What was it like listening to the finished product for the first time? Is there anything you'd change?
I've actually only heard the sample, not the full recording! I'm not sure if there's anything I'd change or not-- I'm a pretty picky person, so I'm sure I'll find something to worry over once I hear the whole thing.
Given the chance, would you take on another recording project?
Absolutely. I LOVED doing it.
Keep up with all the June is Audiobook Month action by visiting all the participating blogs.
In case you didn't guess by the banner, June is Audiobook Month (#JIAM)! It's a chance to celebrate audiobooks, recognize the narrators and the producers who make them great, and of course share our love of them with our readers. We'll be celebrating all month long!
I must confess, I haven't always been a fan of audio. Wait, don't make that face yet. You see, I was first exposed to audio during the era of "books on tape" and with that came monotone narration and lackluster production quality. (There was the rare exception, of course.) My past experience made me hesitant to try audio as an adult. I mean, you get burned once and you don't want to get near the stove again.
Last year, I got brave. I tried one audiobook then another and that led to a third, and before I realized it I was excited about audiobooks. It's come such a long way! Now, I take every opportunity to listen and even see how the audiobook measures up. There are even a few audiobooks I'm kind of an evangelist for.
Starting today, Wastepaper Prose will be participating in a month long celebration of audiobooks in partnership with three other fantastic blogs. We'll be featuring interviews with audiobook publishers and authors who've taken on narrating their own books on audio, audiobook reviews, our summer listening picks, news about how others are showing their love for audio and much, much more. There's even a feature at Emily's Reading Room where narrators will spill about their experience recording audiobooks. And of course there will be giveaways thanks to the generosity of several amazing publishers.
In fact, let's kick this whole thing off with a giveaway RIGHT NOW!
What are some of your favorite books to experience on audio? What do you feel the audio adds to the story?
Julie Kagawa, New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series and all around superstar, is here today to celebrate audiobooks with us. Of course her books are amazing, but the audio is even more engaging. She has had some amazing luck when it comes to narrators! She's here to share her thoughts about the audio versions of her books and express her love for all things audiobook.
Things I love about audiobooks:
The role of producer can vary a lot from one company to another. As Executive Producer for Scholastic Audio, I am responsible for budgeting new titles, assigning titles to producer/directors, coordinating casting decisions taking into account input from the producer/director, the author, and on occasion the author’s editor, keeping up to date on the production process overall to make sure we’re staying on schedule and within budget, and on occasion taking a more hands-on role by attending recording sessions, co-directing talent and working with composers to create the intro/outro music used in our productions. I have also directed several productions.
How did you wind up reading the audio of Purity? 
