3 Things I Learned from Editing My Own AudioBook

If this is your first time seeing one of my live videos, my name is Zaakirah, and I am a brand cultivating strategist, an author, and a cancer survivor, as well as a photographer and a podcaster. So I'm a woman, I'm a jade of all trades. And I wanted to come in today and talk about what I learned about releasing my first audiobook. Now, I'll also talk about what I learned about my first book, Briefly because it's all related and aligned. So my book is called Seeing Life Through a Different Lens. It's a survivor's memoir on overcoming adversity with resilience. And I self-published, and that's really how I was able to get the audiobook out technically within a month. Well, maybe make that about 2 months because it's a 3 or so step process because You have to find narrators, then edit it, make sure it fits the requirements of editing because they are kind of sort of strict, especially if you go through the most popular platform called ACX. And then last but not least is uploading it. Thank goodness for the Women of Color Podcasters group. I was able to find those who were doing voiceover before they joined their own podcast or would do a narration or story-style podcast and have never done a book, right? So definitely, definitely find a level of professionalism. Definitely find an audiobook person that you can connect with. Now for us, because it's a memoir, I wanted to find voices because it's my mom and I co-writing in the book. I wanted to find voices that Both my mom and I have those powerful, powerfully deep woman voices, and I wanted to find narrators who also have the same thing. So of course we had a bit of phone conversations. I had them listen to my own podcast so they can have an idea of my personality and mimic it, right? Audiobook, it's voiceover, basically voice acting. So definitely find someone who knows what they're doing. And that made the process so much easier for me. So the first step was outsourcing narrators. Of course, you got to send them the book, the book process. And then step number 2 was basically editing. Now, I was going to outsource to someone who literally used to work for Amazon, but this was before the virus hit, the recession and the virus hit, so I literally had to Learn how to do it myself. But for me, it was kind of easy, kind of easy, because I am a photographer first, and then I also learned how to be a videographer. And then of course I'm also a podcaster. The difference between podcasting and videography is no video, just audio. The difference between audiobook and podcasting is a little bit more technical specs that you have to pay close attention to. So I naturally am an Apple or MacBook user. So the program that I use is the same one I use for my podcast, GarageBand, already installed on my computer. Those are the only ones that I can guide you with. Those are the only links that I can include in the comments if you want to, you know, make your own audiobook and edit it yourself, to learn what websites and YouTube videos I literally had to review to teach myself this new skill. I'm so proud of myself for editing this audiobook on my own. So there are just a few technical specs such as making sure that the volume, like the high pitch or the excitement pitch, does not get too high, up to a certain decibel. And you have to make sure of that and learn the specs of your editing program to make sure that goes well. So I was like holding my breath to making sure that I did that correctly. So it was so exciting when about almost exactly 30 days later the ACX said, Your audiobook is not for sale, your audiobook is not approved. So ACX is good. Definitely also choose a platform where you want to host your audiobook. ACX is great because everybody uses Amazon. And it also is sent to Apple Books, Apple iBooks as well. So some people, you know, who love to listen to your podcast can also then search for you and find your audiobook as well. That's just how I did it on my own. And the most important thing is to definitely be patient because it's not an easy process. There's some moments where I got frustrated because for me, I got the— I had 2 different narrators first and foremost. Like, that itself was like, ugh, 2 different tech specs. But also The good thing about Narrator, depending on who you get, either they will edit their ahs and ums and retake themselves, or they send you the unedited. It really just depends. So it really depends on your expertise. It really depends on how comfortable you are. So definitely do what you can, because editing audiobooks is not for everyone, but I already have that expertise as a video editor, videographer, producer. But a book is definitely a great way to repurpose your podcast. Audiobook, book, is definitely a great way to repurpose your podcast. So it's a great thing. Most people, especially moms, love them because they can still feel like they can indulge in a book without literally having to sit down and read word for word. And especially if a kid or a spouse or a family member distracts them and then they lose their page and then something else may be going on mentally that they can't get back to it. You know, mine is 2 hours or so. I'm definitely saving and backing up my file because I can outsource it or reuse it, you know, for promo, you know, having a book trailer, things of that sort. So there are many uses to it. People tend to actually find audiobooks on YouTube now as well. So yeah, those are my few tips. I hope you learned a lot. If you have any more questions, I currently do not offer audiobook services, but I think it's coming soon. I have a media group that I think we're going to cater to those who are doing podcasts and audiobooks because we need more women of color doing it. So let me know if you have any other questions. Find me on social media @illuminousone, I-L-L-U-M-I-N-O-U-S-O-N-E, or go to my website, my first and my middle name, zaakirahnayar.com. Thank you.