One of the more interesting parts of my indie author journey has been producing a middle grade audiobook. It’s been a lot of fun. After prepping everything and setting up my account with Findaway Voices, I entered some of the book’s metadata and described the type of voice I would like to hear.
For a middle grade audiobook, the voice needs to be really engaging to keep the attention of kids ages 6-10, or thereabouts. I imagined a voice like Kristen Bell’s and did my best to communicate that. Findaway would then go seek out 10 or so narrators, and I could narrow it down from there. They told me it would be about a week.
I decided to not post my cover on social media yesterday. For a few reasons. First, let’s be clear. It would have been ego-driven. Sure, I want to post the cover of my book, I want to get people excited about it, but the real reason I wanted to post my cover yesterday was because She and the girls went away to visit family, and I wanted to hijack a piece of the conversation when she got there. That’s the gist of it. When she arrived, I wanted her family to say, “Hey, I saw that Matt’s publishing a book,” and I wanted her to have to admit she didn’t know anything about it while the girls raved about it. I wanted it to be all about me. How sophomoric. These morning pages, or at least yesterday’s entry, helped me to realize that.
The second reason I didn’t want to post is more business-minded. Right now if someone went to Amazon, he or she would see my book available for preorder on Kindle and nothing else. I want the book to be available in as many formats as possible. So I’ve decided I’ll post the cover to social media on October 1. That will be one month before launch, so it’ll seem planned that way. Also, it won’t seem as terribly indie-publisher. Posting a picture of the cover file with no real context feels amateurish. I would rather people see the picture, go to Amazon, and preorder the paperback and/or hardcover.
Which leads me to my cover artist. He still has not gotten back to me. I’ve had enough of the waiting game. If I don’t hear from him by Monday, I am going to download Photoshop and do the work myself. I should probably just do that anyway. Self publishing has always been about maintaining control, and this is one thing that is frustratingly out of my control. It would be nice to have illustrations, but that will have to wait for the second edition.
It was around noon when I finally heard back from Findaway Voices, though the email might have come earlier than that. Yesterday was the student council speeches at my daughters’ school, so I drove them up there. L gave her speech for treasurer, and she did great. I recorded her and her friends and sent the video to all the moms. I think I scored some ego points there. After the treasurers were finished giving their speeches I gave L a thousand kisses and told her I was so proud of her and said goodbye. Then I walked over to B’s classroom and said goodbye to her. She wanted to make sure she got a hug before I left campus. She is a professional hugger, and she’s only 8. Then I headed for the beach.
I stopped at a Starbucks on Pico and Lincoln. I figured I could just jump on Pico and head down to my two hour parking lot. This Starbucks might be one of the busiest in Los Angeles. I got an iced coffee and a parfait thing. I figured I’d get hungry but I didn’t want a greasy sandwich or anything. I got to the beach and started reading The Old Man and the Sea. It’s not very long, a novella, and I got through about 40 pages. It’s incredibly well written. Hemmingway is great with descriptions. He finds ways to stimulate all five senses. That’s something I can take away. While I was on the beach I saw the email from Findaway Voices. My voice talent selections were ready.
I stopped at Trader Joe’s on my way home and picked up some items for a picnic for the trip to Joshua Tree. I have been generally stressed the last day or so. I assumed it had to do with publishing and posting my cover, but it might have more to do with this trip. I don’t know exactly why I am so stressed. It’s meant to be a vacation.
I listened to all ten voiceover artists. I don’t know what else to call them. Actors? They’re not all actors. Voice talent? Sure. There was a range of experience and rates, but I don’t really care about the rate. I’m looking for the best fit. At first glance, it looked like not all had narrated a middle grade audiobook before.
The first voice I listened to, Carrie, I really liked. But then again, she was the first voice I listened to. It turned out she was the only one that had a middle grade audiobook sample. The others had done YA, romance, general fiction. She had done some of that as well but had more experience with children’s literature. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The sample I liked best of hers was a YA story in which two males were talking. There were four I definitely wanted to audition, plus one that had a lower rate, so I gave her the opportunity as well. I was told to submit a 700-word sample, so I chose the “This is based on a true story” blurb and the beginning of the George chapter. I assume it’ll be a week before I get those auditions back. If I go with my gut, it’ll be Carrie. She’s the least expensive, too.
It took me all day, but I eventually got around to working on The Swedish Fish. I am not loving what I am writing, but it’s a start. When I go back and work on individual sections, I can refine and improve. I also don’t think I should write at night. Morning is when I am the freshest. So I am going to try to work a little on the book after this and before I get picked up for Joshua Tree. We’ll see how it goes.
