This week I embarked on a new adventure in Doing It Yourself that I'd never tried before. Being an indie author is all about trying out new stuff, and seeing if you have a talent/aptitude for it. So ...
I set up my own in-home recording studio and began narrating my first audiobook! :)
It wasn't exactly simple, but using advice from ACX (who produces audiobooks for Audible), I mustered up my courage and went for it!
First ... where, in a typical home would you install a recording studio? Somewhere that's small, contained, low "noise floor" -- ACX recommends a walk in closet. The clothes hanging around serves to absorb the sound and it's the closest thing the typical residence has to mimic an isolation booth. So ... I have a walk-in closet. But it was filled with junk. My first step was cleaning it out to make it usable! Six garbage bags full!
With all that stuff removed, we had the basics of a space:
Next thing to tackle: the hardware required. ACX had advised me on what to purchase. But I had no idea how to set it all up so I could get it to work together. So I called in reinforcements! My friend Julie who teaches Digital Media Arts at school! She invested about three hours of her summer break to helping me and we got all the pieces together and working!
A laptop dedicated to the audio recording software, an interface box, a microphone and boom shield on a stand, and all the appropriate cords! I spent a half day or so practicing with it sitting on my dining room table, listening to audiobooks to get a feel for it, and then ... I was ready to move everything up to my studio!
After shifting around a few pieces of furniture, and enhancing the closet with extra light ... I was ready. Slightly, claustrophic... but ready!
I've now completed 5 chapters of my first book, Roadtrip to Redemption, and my plan is to now hire an audiobook editor/producer to listen to my work and make sure the files are usable. Then, I'll continue on! It would be awesome if I could narrate all six of my Pawleys Island Paradise books into audio!
Stay tuned.