A Writer's Life: Having Your Books Turned Into Audiobooks (Katie)

The day I opened the email letting me know my Enslaved trilogy would be turned into audiobooks, I thought it was a mass email being sent by my publisher to all of our authors. I thought it was an email about audiobooks in general, and that it would have nothing to do with me or my books. Little did I realize it was an email sent specifically to me, letting me know my beloved first YA series was soon to be available on audio. #swoon

Since I've been telling others about this exciting turn of events, the most common question I've received has been how I made this happen. The truth is, I had nothing to do with the decision. My publisher approached me, not the other way around.

However, I thought I'd walk you through the process. If you have your books with a publisher, it never hurts to reach out and ask about audiobooks. I'm not sure why I didn't do this on my own earlier. I guess I just never really thought about it--but I couldn't be more thrilled!

A Quick Read Through

The first thing I had to do was a quick read through of my books. I needed to note any unusual words that a narrator would have a hard time pronouncing, as well as any tones or emotions I wanted to be portrayed throughout the story.

This was a little time consuming since there are three books in the series!

Making a Pronunciation Guide

The next step was making a detailed list of names and words which needed a guide. I had to note the words along with their phonetic spellings. I also had to make a syllable emphasis guide, so the narrator would have an idea about how to emphasize unfamiliar words.

That's All!

The process on my part was fairly simple. My publisher had the say-so as far as hiring the narrator and giving final approval on the audio files. If you are a self published author, you will obviously be in charge of every step rather than only the few steps I had a hand in.

I can't wait to share with everyone a date for available purchase, once I receive it. 

You'll have to let us know, do you like audiobooks? I used to hate them, but they have grown on me over the years.