Today we have a very interesting blog for you because we are going to talk about how to make an audiobook.

When we say how to make it, we mean how to do every preparation regarding the audiobook and how to record an audiobook and much more.

This blog or rather audiobook recording guide as well as audiobook creation guide will help you understand the nuances of audiobooks.

We will help you understand different audio recording techniques as well as narration tips that are instrumental to audiobook production.

We will also touch lightly upon recording equipment as well as things like voiceover skills and much more.

So, in order to understand audiobook recording as well as audiobook publishing, we need to understand what is an audiobook.

This is instrumental before we move want to audiobook narration as well as sound editing software and other important things like audiobook formatting.

So, let us understand what is an audiobook.

What Is Exactly an Audiobook?

When we talk about audiobooks it is very simple to understand and in fact, this explanation can be over in a single sentence.

An audiobook is a voice recording of a book and it is mostly digital but it can also be analogue in the form of records and cassettes. However, 99% of all audiobooks in the world currently are digital versions of books.

It is exactly like a normal book but instead of reading that book, you listen to the book. This means it is a regular book that is consumed through voice because someone is narrating it to you.

When we talk about audiobooks, they generally consist of audio files but they can also contain eBook files but that is rare. Sometimes eBook files are also added to the audio files so that the listeners can get different diagrams and different illustrations.

This is one of the downsides of audiobooks and it is just that people only have one medium to consume the book which is audio.

Audiobooks are usually available on different audiobook platforms such as Audible but they are also available as physical copies in the form of CDs and DVDs as well as cassettes. However, this is usually not the case in 2024.

These Are the Steps to Create an Audiobook

Now that we know what is an audiobook, it is important for us to understand the steps to create our own audiobook.

The reason why this blog is so important is because audiobook popularity is rising every day and every year and there might even come a time when audiobooks are going to be the dominant way of enjoying a book.

Step 1: Gather Everything You Need

The first and most important step is simply going to be gathering everything you need which means we are talking about the manuscript.

You might receive the manuscript as a whole or you can get different chapters based on the progression or it might just be a logistical issue.

Whatever the case may be, you need to get everything together that you are ever going to need during the recording so that each and every bit of source material is in front of you.

Review The Source Material

When you are doing that, you must make sure that the source material does not have any problems in it and it becomes even more important if you are trying to record an audiobook translation.

When it comes to translated manuscripts, it is very common to have problems with it and that is why you must also know language experts so that you can solve the problems before starting the recording.

Read The Manuscript Aloud

When you finally have the source material in front of you, the best thing you can do is to give it a reading so that you understand the flow and everything else about the story.

This will also provide you with an opportunity to practice your narration skills because if you are used to reading the story then it will save time in editing. This is because if you read it properly then it will result in fewer cuts during the recording.

Step 2: Plan The Recording

Planning never hurts because planning will help you ensure that you do not have to improvise during something as critical as an audiobook recording.

You can look at different recording strategies online or you can even formulate your own strategy if you have the experience to do it but you must make a few decisions regarding the recording.

Option 1: Record It Yourself

This is the best option we can think of because when you do not have to depend on a production agency or a professional narrator, you can be much more flexible with the schedule and planning.

It is actually easy to do audiobook recording and there are good professional software online that will help you do that.

Option 2: Hire A Professional

The second option is not really that bad if you think about it because a professional narrator will get the job done a lot faster and they will know how to do it.

Sometimes the professional narrator also comes with equipment because they carry their own equipment and their own software.

However, the only thing that you might worry about is going to be the cost but if your audiobook is successful enough then the costs will recover very fast.

Option 3: Audiobook Producer

When it comes to a professional narrator, they are not going to do everything most of the time and they might not have their own equipment or the software most of the time.

If you want professionals to do everything right from the recording to the compilation and produce a completed audiobook file for you then you need to find an audiobook producer.

It is just like getting a self-publisher that does everything for you.

Step 3: Plan The Technicalities

Now that you know who is going to narrate the audiobook, you need software and you need equipment because audiobook recording is all about the equipment you use.

One of the first things that we are going to tell you is to open YouTube and look at different professional audiobook setups. It helps to see how professionals do it.

Once you are done doing that, you can come back to this blog and decide on a few important things.

Software

If you plan on doing audiobook recording then you need to select the software. You will have a lot of choices when it comes to software and some options are free and some are paid.

You can choose a generic audio software that also lets you do audiobooks and most people actually do that.

You can quite easily utilise that kind of but there is also specialised software only for audiobooks that keeps track of chapters and other important elements and they help you to the final editing right from the point of recording.

The only thing you must make sure of is to choose a software that lets you export the files according to ACX standards. It is crucial if you want to publish them on Amazon.

Audio Equipment

Now that you have solved the problem of software, you need to think about the hardware. Lucky for you it is 2024 and you can get very high-quality audio from very affordable setups.

If your budget is very conservative then you can make do with any lav mic from Amazon and if your budget is a little better then you can choose any podcast mic.

And if you do decide to choose a podcast mic, you must also make sure that you do not skip the wind filters and pop filters as well.

There is actually no upper limit to high-quality audio equipment and if you want to spend even more then there are audio equipment worth millions of dollars as well.

Step 4: Choose The Recording Environment

When it comes to recording the actual audiobook, you need to choose the ideal location for audiobook recording.

That is why there are a few choices for you regarding the location of the audiobook recording.

Option 1: Own Location

The number one option might not be the easiest to set up but it is definitely going to give you a lot of freedom and also save you a lot of money.

We are talking about using your own location and that location can be your own room as well.  In order to get your room ready for audiobook recording, you need to remember something.

You need to have the absolute best quality noise-proofing. You can achieve that by getting some soundproofing foam online.

You can improve the situation of soundproofing by only recording at night when everything is quiet.

Option 2: Professional Studio

The second option is for someone who simply does not have their own location to record the audiobook or might not want to invest in soundproofing.

That is where we come to the option of renting a professional recording studio. This studio is going to have the absolute best kind of soundproofing.

This studio is also going to have additional audio equipment that you might need for recording such as mic stands, cables, etc.

While it is going to be cheaper than getting some soundproofing foam and doing all the work at your own location. But if you plan on doing a lot of audiobook recording then having your own place makes more sense economically in the long run.

Step 5: Preparation For Recording

The fifth step is only for people who plan on doing the audiobook recording themselves because if you have assigned someone else to do it then you do not really need to pay attention to this.

But if you are doing the narration yourself then this step is very important for you. We present you a few important tips that will help you have the best kind of voice for audiobooks.

Avoid Getting A Cold

One of the things that might ruin a voice is catching a cold and it is like having ice cream on a very hot day or it is like riding your bike in winter without any neck protection.

You must also avoid other kinds of basic things such as having cold water. These are general tips and they are just about using common sense to avoid getting a cold.

Forget You Are Recording

When you finally plan on recording, you must forget you are recording and there is a reason for that. If you think that and you have never done it before then your anxiety is going to mess up the recording and even change the tone consistency.

But if you think in terms of practice and if you think this is not going to be the final take and you simply record what you read aloud then it will have better results.

It is all about not getting nervous and just reading it in your natural tone.

Try Voice Exercises

There are a lot of voice exercises that news anchors and event anchors as well as singers try out and you should try those voice exercises.

You can get examples of these exercises on YouTube and you simply need to repeat what is being said on the screen.

Voice Modulation

When it comes to having the perfect voice modulation you must keep a few things in mind. You must make sure that your tone is the same throughout the recording.

You must also make sure that if you do the narration for more than one character then there must be a clear difference between the tones of two characters.

If you do not understand pacing then you must try and understand what it means and YouTube again is a good teacher.

You must also understand the reason why people listen to audiobooks is so that they can get a better sense of emotion and that is why you must improve your emotional range.

And finally, you must know when to breathe.

Step 6: The Recording Process

And finally, we come to the actual recording process. This step is important for you irrespective of the fact whether you are doing the recording yourself or you have hired a professional.

Before you start the recording, there are a few simple things you must keep in mind and these things will help you not run into problems during recording.

• You must make sure that all the source material is ready and in front of you so that you do not have any interruptions during the reading.
• Speaking of interruptions, you must also make sure that your phone is silent and that nobody is going to interrupt the reading process.
• If you are using a laptop for the software then you must have it plugged in and not just rely on battery power.
• Along with that, you can also have a cup of lemon tea nearby because it is good for the throat and is very refreshing especially if you are speaking for a long time.
• Before you start the recording you must definitely do test recordings to find out if the mic is on and if the recording levels are correct. You can use headphones to monitor the sound.
• It is completely up to you how you want to break up the recording based on chapters or pages or even time. But after you break it up, you must save the files in different locations. We recommend a physical location as well as cloud locations for added safety.

Step 7: The Editing Process

The editing process is going to be different for everyone and it will definitely be different for someone who is doing it for the first time compared to someone who is a professional.

But you must take your time during the editing and compilation process. This is the step where you add additional sound effects.

You can also do additional sound enhancements and tune the tonality of your voice. You can also do noise reduction but if you have good soundproofing and a clean recording the nthis is not really necessary.

You can also add music if you want but we would suggest you use it wisely.

And then comes the finalisation that includes publication and distribution. You have a few choices regarding publication with Audible being the best option. You can also choose Kobo or Apple Books. OverDrive is also a good option.

Then comes all the documentation and book registration and publishing and keywords and all that stuff.  We would need an entire blog to talk about that.

We hope this blog will help you create your own audiobook and we wish you the best of luck in your endeavour.

However, if you feel like this process is too complicated then we are here for you. We are Orange Publishers and we are the fastest-growing book publishing company in India with a complete in-house setup regarding publishing as well as every other operation like audiobook creation.

We are among the very few legacy publishing companies that offer audiobook creation services as well We work with some of the finest voice artists internationally as well as the best audio setups.

We welcome you to visit our website to check out everything we do.

Common Audiobook Creation FAQs

Why should you make an audiobook?

The reason why you should make an audiobook is quite simple and it is to do with popularity. Audiobooks are one of the most popular ways of reading a book nowadays.

Everyone is investing in audiobooks and every author is releasing an audiobook version of their books.  Big production giants are moving into the audiobook territory.

And most importantly, it is easier to publish an audiobook compared to publishing a physical book or even an eBook.

Can I make my own audiobook?

You can definitely try to make your own audiobook and this entire blog is all about that. All you need is a little bit of research.

It is just about understanding the process and creating your own process that suits your needs. You do not need expensive audio equipment or professional-grade software to create an audiobook.

All you need is the willingness to try out audiobook creation for the first time and see how it goes for you.

How much do audiobook narrators make?

It all depends on the narrator because someone like Stephen Fry might even make millions and someone who is new might not even make enough for a month’s subsistence.

It is the same with audiobooks as it is with every other industry because if you are new to the industry then your payment is not going to be good.

But if you are a popular narrator or if you are already recognisable as an actor as someone else and you are moving into audiobooks then you can expect better payments.

What is the best app for recording audiobooks?

You can try out Audacity because it is a multipurpose app that lets you not only record audiobooks but do everything related to audio.

The best part about Audacity is that it is free and open-source which means you do not have to worry about security and safety issues.

It does have a steep learning curve and you might need some time to get used to it.

Can you record an audiobook on your phone?

While we do not recommend it but you can definitely try it out because it is definitely possible to do it. It helps if you have a phone with a lot of RAM and processing power.

It might not be the most efficient way of doing it but there are apps that will let you create audiobooks right on your phone.