Writing For Audio Books

[egads]

I write my novels with the express idea that my words will be read aloud—indeed recorded as audio books. I have recorded my own works, and found that I prefer to give friends my audio version rather than the printed words. Don’t get me wrong here, if I’m giving out my work, then I’m confident with both the printed and audio format. I love reading as much as listening. Yet I like to give whoever is interested in my work the option of one format or the other.

For many readers their first inclination is to go for the printed word, almost as if I am insulting their intelligence to suggest that they would stoop to such a lowly, childish endeavor as to “listen” to a book. Yet those that have opted to listen have phoned me up the instant the recorded book is over and howled their delight…aching for more…and indeed many who have listened to one of my recordings, or heard me read aloud at an open reading, have encouraged me to submit my recordings along with my manuscripts in my search for an agent.

Sadly, I have not followed this advice. I seem to have given into the fear that stories spoken aloud are frowned upon, and that it is the printed word alone that is important. One wishes to appear professional when submitting material…but why would sending a portion of the recording along with the printed manuscript appear unprofessional? The recordings themselves are of professional level quality. Perhaps it’s just a ridiculous rule I’ve made up in my own mind.

I know that many authors write their books with the anticipation of having the words printed by a publisher, and distributed to bookstores for people to sit and read. The idea of an audio version of the book seems to be an after thought…and yet there are thousands of audio book “readers” out there who are eagerly searching Audible.com, their local libraries, and bookstores for that next great listen.

Granted, with the wrong performance, an otherwise vivid book can seem stale and stilted; but given the right narrator (which I believe, after the text itself, is key) a book can virtually come alive. Just listen to Jim Dale’s readings of the Harry Potter books, or Frank Muller’s vocal gymnastics as he recounts the stories of Roland of Gilead in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. When a new book by an author comes out, the first thing I do is look to see if an audio version has been produced, and who the narrator is. If the two are a match, I will usually go for the listen rather than the read. Not because I am lazy—I read just as much as I listen—but because there is something magical…almost cinematic about being told a story aloud. A human voice is present, and the art of storytelling spills through in, what I believe to be, its truest form.

In ancient days, when the bulk of the civilization could not read, stories were told aloud around campfires and in dinning halls. And not so long ago, before TV, families would sit together in the living room and mother or father would read aloud Dickens or Conan Doyle. And then of course there was radio.

The meter and rhythm of the language becomes startlingly apparent with audio books, and I believe that good writing can only be enhanced by hearing it read aloud. Bad writing likewise seems almost to become worse, as if all of the awkward sentences and clichés, not to mention boring and unbelievable characters, become (literally) amplified, striped bare and made to stand naked before the room.

I see I’ve rambled on quite a bit. I think I’ll stop there and let someone else have a say.
Anyone have any thoughts about writing with audio books in mind? Good, bad, ugly?

[Matera the Mad]

Not such bad rambling. I have enjoyed hearing books read aloud, and after all, language is -- and has always been -- a spoken communication first.

[egads]

Another point on this subject is that I find “listening” to books by great authors broadens my inner ear, and my own writing begins to flow more fluidly. Though I may consciously be paying attention to the story being told, I am subconsciously picking up on the beats and transitions from sentence to sentence, word to word. The hypnotic power of words so to speak. The same can be said for reading text from the page of course, but there is something different that is transferred through the audio. Stephen King wrote that one of the reasons he likes audio books is because it forces us to slow down. Forces us to hear every word. That I believe is an invaluable tool for any writer…especially novelists, because when listening, pacing becomes audibly apparent.

Does anyone read their work aloud to hear it reverberate off the walls back at them, or, perhaps even better, have someone else read their own work to them?

[sanctuary6284]

Does anyone read their work aloud to hear it reverberate off the walls back at them, or, perhaps even better, have someone else read their own work to them?

I was just thinking about doing this. I love listening to stories. I often think good writing is nothing more than good storytelling on paper. If it sounds right spoken, it should read right on paper. At least that's my opinion.

And the narration is key! Bad narrators destroy good audio books all the time. A good one can take something hard to read and make something beautiful out of it. That's how I got through The Screwtape Letters as a kid. The narrator had all kinds of passion. It was great.

[Zelenka]

I don't read my work aloud (I know, I know, I should) because I hate the sound of my own voice and my horrible, horrible Scottish accent that I just can't get rid of, but I do love audio books and quite often have one on while I'm writing - I also think it activates the language centres of the brain somehow, but I do worry sometimes that I'll subconsciously plagiarise. I'm quite good at copying other people's writing styles and I have to be really careful that I don't started doing it accidentally (I thought that was weird until I read Neil Gaiman talking about the exact same thing).