Do You Write Read-Aloud Books? Take Note

I was alerted to today's tidbit courtesy of fellow author Barb Techel (BTW, if you like daschunds, you'll want to check out her mission in life www.joyfulpaws.com)

The info she passed along via Facebook is about a new type of e-book reader program called Ripple that's geared for kids. Here's how it works in a nutshell: authors can make their read-aloud books available through the service, an adult purchases the ebook version, and then record themselves reading it via their own computer speaker. They then tell the child their book is ready for them, the child logs on and can hear the story being read to them by the person who purchased the book. The grownup involved might be a grandparent living in another city or potentially a parent working or serving outside the country.

There's a short video clip that describes it in a little more detail .

I agree with the gentleman who posted the video, even if it's not quite here yet, it's something to keep an eye on. In the meantime, if you sell this kind of book, why not recommend/suggest what is available now to potential buyers? Using Skype to read a book live via the net or recording even a short video and emailing a link or uploading it is easier and easier to do, but not everyone will think of doing it, even if they're aware of the technology. Have them try it out with your book!


Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Can You Record Your Own Audio Book?

It's no secret that many people are reading less these days. Life gets in the way and sometimes the time needed to curl up with a book is a luxury. However, some people do get around that by listening to their books. Audio books aren't new, books on tape/CD have been around for a long time, but their popularity may increase because of all the new technologies for phones, ipods etc. that afford even more listening options.

Generally, audio products are created in professional studios at a fair amount of expense, but once again technology is making it easier for non-pros to record some pretty decent stuff too. For example, many Internet marketers use fairly simple tools to create MP3 files of classes, speeches and seminars for those who cannot attend in person. They are not masterpieces in audio mixing, but they're normally fine for the average listener and serve the purpose of effectively delivering information to the user.

While I've been aware of the above process for quite some time, I really haven't read much about recording books that way. However, today I came across a very useful post by Marc Warnke where he explains how he did read and record his own book at home without a lot of technical knowledge.

Will his process work for everyone? No, and fiction will certainly be more difficult than non-fiction. But for those with the time, some equipment, dedication, patience and attention to detail, it is within the realm of possibility to go DIY and I think that's very encouraging.

If you try it, tweak the process in anyway, I do hope you'll share your experiences.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett