The audiobook has been with us a long, long time. From the very early days of radio, we have enjoyed sitting back and listening as the words wash over us. But there is a huge difference between a well read presentation and one that lifts you to a new plain.
I am getting very close now to starting the job of recording series one of Dirt.
I have built my voice booth and will start sound testing in the next couple of days. If I am happy with the results, I will make myself comfortable, take a big glug of water, and go for it.
There are plenty of articles teaching you how to record your audiobook from what equipment to buy to how to use it. So, what I have done here is to take my years of experience to just give you some tips that might make your book just that bit better.
I thought I would put together a random selection of tips for those of you recording and editing your own audiobooks.
This is not a tutorial, but a pile of quickies that might be useful.
This is a look at how I am currently using RX 7 Standard with Cubase Pro when working on my audiobook recordings. This is not a review as such and may well grow over time as I learn more.
In advance of the forthcoming audiobook version, I have released a re-edited version of Dirt book one. You can update your copy at Amazon and other retailers.
Check out audiobooks recorded by CC Hogan - from Dirt to Dickens!
I am just starting out on a long-term venture to record the most famous books by Charles Dickens in my London Accent.
This is a big departure from the normal RP British presentation, but I think it brings the stories to life in a new, wonderful way.
From time to time, the subject of breaths in recording comes up - should they stay or should they go?
The answer is, of course, quite simple - they should stay. But let me breath a little life into this debate and explain why.
If you are going to record your own books into audiobook form, you must do it properly. Despite some people saying you can simply record on your phone, this will produce an inferior product that annoys and infuriates listeners who are used to professionally recorded books.
I am not going through all possible buying choices here, you will need to do your own research, but this will hopefully give you a good starting point.
The Jack Calder series of books are written by Seumas Gallacher and are a fast-paced, hard-edged series of seven books following a group of former SAS commandos in their work for an international security company.
I am turning them into audiobooks for your delight!
Listen to the incredible world of Johnson Farthing, the dragons. the magician Weasel and all the other characters from Dirt on the new audiobook series. Start with book one, Dirt. Get it free with an audiobook trial.
A brilliant comedy sci-fi series bought to idiotic life by CC Hogan. This has been fun, not just work!
A wonderful, honest, and moving memoir from Garett Wilson as he tells the story of his first year working as an assistant language teacher in a Japanese junior high school.
For the sound engineer, there is one stand out difference between an amateur voice-over and a professional. The professional doesn't need so much compression when processing the recording.
The reason is simple - voice control.
The Aldair Series by Neal Barrett Jnr was a brilliant sci-fi journey written in the 1970s.
Set on a future earth where humans seem to have become extinct, it follows the story of Aldair, a man with the features of a pig, as he discovers the terrible truth about the world and how the creatures came to be.
Annie Oakley was thrilling the audiences of London with her wonderful sharp-shooting skills. But meanwhile, Jack was taking another victim. A wonderful speculative story on audiobook
Is this Heaven or is this Hell? Wherever this is, the recently deceased Sam has only one thing on his mind: To find his dead twin. But first he must beat the Great Cremator.
