Once the book was in great shape, in galley form, and comprehensively copyedited and proofed (all covered in my last post), it was time to record the audiobook.

When I decided to sell the book to Hachette Balance, it was very important to me that they have a plan to record an audiobook. I “read” about 60% of all my books through audio and 100% of my nonfiction books that way. It feels easier to stay involved. I can get steps or long drives in. I do dishes and laundry with audiobooks. I know you do, too. Luckily, there was no issue in getting this assurance. This was the plan. Great.

While we were moving through the editing phases, I began thinking about who would be the best person to narrate the audiobook. I have favorite audiobook readers, like anyone who listens to a ton of books. Now that this issue was on my radar, I started listening for readers on Audible, The New Yorker, and New York Times audio app. I knew that audio performance was a profession, and I thought I might be able to find someone great. The publisher had shared that if I did find someone I liked, they would make an effort to hire that person.

If I was going to have a professional narrator on the project, I wanted a woman. It made no sense for me to have a man read my words.

I listened to the book Cue the Sun by Emily Nussbaum. It’s a nonfiction book on the invention of reality TV. It was read by a real talent, a woman who sounded clear, direct, and funny. That narrator was Gabra Zackman, and my research uncovered that she is a very seasoned actress and narrator. I had the thought that she would be ideal to narrate Never Ask, but when I heard her a few months later narrating a piece for “The Sunday Read” on the NYT “The Daily” podcast, I assumed she was out of my league.

I’ve shared many times how cooperative Hachette Balance was throughout this process, and they did not disappoint here. I asked if they would be willing to hire Gabra (whom I had never met) to read the book. Days later, I got an enthusiastic yes. Seriously? Yep.

Then I had a long, intimate IRL talk with a few of my best friends about whether Gabra or I should read my book. I asked them to stay open to either option. I played them minutes of me reading a portion of the text and then Gabra reading from Cue the Sun. I shared my misgivings about the quality of my voice and the fact that age is apparent in the vocal quality of a voice. Maybe I and my voice were too old to narrate a book I wanted to be very current. I shared that when you shop for voice talent on a digital marketplace there are filters for age, and the older voices sound…older! After a good talk, a lot of facing my fears (and my age), they clearly advised me to read my own book. They rightly said that the book was very personal to me and that it would be a better audio experience if I read it.

So we had decided on our preference, and I needed to go to Hachette. They were funding the project, including the audiobook, and they had approval rights over the reader. Gabra was a yes, but me? Who knew? I asked. I shared a couple examples of my audio. And, as had been the trend, they said sure!

Leading up to the reading, we needed to find a recording studio. I had worked with Coupe Studios in Boulder on my prior project and had a great experience. It’s also a joy to support local companies. So I asked Hachette if Coupe would be a fit. Two weeks later, another yes.

In advance of doing the reading, which was scheduled over four full days back-to-back, I again read most of the book aloud to myself so I would have greater familiarity. I did not go through the PDF and make notes of places where I wanted to add emphasis. I heard advice about this, but it just sounded like too much work to do digitally (there is no paper page turning in a recording studio).

So I went in for my recording week with hot tea, tons of cough drops, and a good attitude. The process is daunting, starting at page 1 of 260. You have to read slowly, far more slowly than I talk, so it takes real time and, at least for me, a ton of patience. I felt an incredible urge to get it done, and that is the wrong objective. You also have to stay fresh, energetic, and lively. I was reading a book about selling; I couldn’t be flat! Last, it’s important to save your voice during the reading days. I stayed quiet for the rest of the days to optimize voice quality and minimize the sometimes painful vocal strain.

Fortunately, I had the help of a terrific director, Cary LoGrande, and a Coupe engineer, Aaron Garrison. I didn’t have the benefit of a director when I recorded the Leader Coach audiobook. The experience was amazing! Cary gave me so much feedback. He was on top of every detail, caught every miss between my narration and the manuscript. But most importantly, he noticed places where my energy was flat, where I placed emphasis on a syllable or phrase that wasn’t optimal, or when something sounded “read” instead of genuinely experienced. I never thought of this. Audiobooks don’t sound as though they’re being read. They sound like stories you are hearing—and the narrator is telling—for the first time. Amazing.

Reading Never Ask for audio was fun, exciting, and also vulnerable. Two talented people are listening to your voice for days, they’re hearing words you wrote with a discerning ear, and…frighteningly…they’re listening to every sound your stomach makes for the week. Lovely. Just lovely.

I got another great surprise around the audiobook. Brad Feld, who had recently come out of “hibernation” for the June release of his new book, Give First, agreed to read the foreword. This was one more generous act after so many others.

I mentioned that reading aloud is a great way to find errors you missed in reading silently. When narrating Leader Coach, I found 20 errors in the text that we were able to correct. In reading Never Ask, we found one word that could be improved. One word. We were still able to change it. Cary said “I always say, the best, cleanest version of any book is the audiobook!” 

Ready to hear it for yourself? Listen to a sample here. And if you’re a fellow audiobook lover, go ahead and buy Never Ask for the Sale in audio now.

The next step moved me from a small, quiet, and contained recording studio to the wide, loud, and messy environment of book marketing. Up Next: Marketing My Book: If a Tree Falls in the Forest, Hear It

Any thoughts, feelings, or blurts? Share them here.