Sample Audio Book Fail

So I’m trying to compile a sample audio book of The Healing Pool to post on the interwebs, but I’ve run into an interesting problem: I sound so bored!

Let me explain: I do not believe my book is boring. I do not believe reading is boring. I think the process of reading my book for the 1000th time while noticing the little grammar errors I missed is throwing me off! Also, the idea that I need a recording that is free from messed up words/sounds/etc. makes for several start-overs and reading again. And again. and again….

I wish that an audio book could have a “live” version, kinda like how some musicians have live recordings of their songs on CDs and such. I wish there were kids oohing and aahhing in the background or something to give it that extra punch. I don’t think it works that way though…

Any tips for recording an audio book to make it sound as awesome as I want it to be? My recording equipment is not stellar, but then this is a sample audio book. I’m not trying to sell this or anything, I just want people to get interested and excited! Any advice on how to sound interested or excited while reading would be great to hear please.

Draft # 3 DONE!

I just finished the third draft of Book #2! It feels so good to have gone through it again. I wish that this process could go faster, but right now since I’m in school my priorities are all out of order for now. Nevertheless, the third draft is done. Time to start thinking forward.

I have some more friends who are interested in reading the first 20 pages of the book which will give me an idea of what else I can do to make the book clearer. For this book I decided to mainly focus on dialogue and intentionally not describing the physical attributes of the characters. I know the lack of description might be frustrating for some readers, but I’m hoping that they begin to see the person they imagine being in the situations my characters are in. I’ll hopefully get more feedback on if my plan is working or if my readers want to know every detail of what the characters look like!

Now is also the time when I begin to think about querying agents. I really want this book to get some attention. The genre I think falls under New Adult fiction (between YA and adult) but I do not know if it’s proper to put that as a genre. It leans towards adult fiction because of issues of violence, sex, and language, but it reads easily like a YA. There’s always a gray area and that frustrates me, but hopefully that won’t be the biggest deal. Does anyone have experience with NA fiction? Any querying advice?

I am so excited to get started on the publishing process for Book #2. I’m eager to start working on the query letter and picking agents. It’s so nerve-wracking, but it will be fine. At this point I don’t think I can afford to self-publish Book #2 so if agents don’t work it will likely take a while to get it published. I’m optimistic that the angle this book is taking will at least get some attention and suggestions even if I don’t snag an agent right now. Fingers crossed!