Like to download books to your iPad? Ever wonder how those books get there? Many authors find the idea of creating an audio book appealing, but how to make it happen? Here’s my adventure:
First, I found, auditioned and hired a professional narrator. Months later, I screened the completed narration to ensure what’s said exactly matches what’s written. This typically requires several listening-and-comparing sessions, each lasting the length of the book (or in my case 12 hours per screening). The finished product is uploaded to ACX (Audible’s production department), one chapter at a time, along with a PR blurb and book cover picture. Fulfilling ACX’s upload specifications proves challenging. Once you comply with every detail, ACX takes 14 more days to “validate” your submission. Then, voila: your book is available on itunes and Audibles.com. My audio project took a year to complete.
If producing an audio book interests you, may I introduce my narrator, Debbie Stromberg, a voice-over artist currently living in Fredericksburg, VA. She’s been narrating and telling stories for over ten years working locally from her home studio as well as in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Some of her clients include the FBI, Audibles, Weston Woods, Oasis Audio and the National Park Service. She was also the voice of Hallie Flannigan in “Who Killed the Federal Theater: An Investigation” for PBS. Most recently, she voiced the Kiplinger Exhibit, which is currently showing at the Historical Society of Washington, DC, and collaborated with me on my novel audio version of “Garage Sale Stalker.”
As an actresss, Deborah has appeared at Ford’s Theater as well as the Kennedy Center, playing a swashbuckling pirate in the children’s musical “Dick Whittingham and His Cat.” Locally, she performed the role of Mrs. Meers in the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” at Riverside Center Dinner Theater. She holds a B.F.A. in Theater from Virginia Commonwealth University. For more information, Contact Debbie Stromberg at (540) 972-7954.