About this piece:
Writers and audiobook producers Susan Rogers and John Roosen team up with audiobook reviewer and judge Ellen Quint to describe the three towering peaks to scale in producing audiobooks.
Summit One: Write Compelling Stories
Almost four years ago we, Susan Rogers and John Roosen, knew little about producing a quality audiobook — one that could keep a listener awake all night, eager for more.
It’s almost impossible to define what drove us to start this new and complex project. We’re passionate — read that as addicted — to writing.
Our children and friends complain that we don’t answer the phone or respond to emails. “Time choices,” we tell them. Our real obsession is telling a good story … but it must be wrapped in the finest art of storytelling. Creating an audiobook and producing it? Well, that’s an entirely different story.
Write Without Murdering Each Other
We walk a fine line in writing our murder mystery series
while avoiding murdering each other.
We are two completely different personalities. We met in Officers Candidate School in the US military. Our last names start with ‘R-O’…, so we stood beside each other. Destiny — ‘At Attention’.
On most topics, we see things differently, and our ways of expression are a stark contrast. We walk a fine line in writing our murder mystery series while avoiding murdering each other.
Our books must sound like they were written by one person. At the same time, the audiobook must showcase the multitude of characters we create for each story. We thrive on impossible missions.
Stories Based in Reality
People are fascinated by the human skull we once found on one of our work sites.
Across our wide-ranging occupations and projects, we’ve unearthed buried human remains, as well as drug labs. We’ve sunk entire ships and flown on separate C-130 aircraft to Alaska (Susan) and Antarctica (John). And together crossed the empty desert quarters in the Middle East.
Susan ran extensive weapons training programs and boarded ships in stormy seas, wrenching a Presidential yacht from its watery grave, and once arrested John in a sting operation.
John is a biologist turned hazardous materials expert with superhuman skills. He’s dismantled drug labs, responded to chemical plant explosions, and chased pirates in the South Pacific.
Our backgrounds are packed with adrenaline, danger, and real-world experiences. We aim for stories that are thrilling and authentic. The fictional stories in our series are heavily laced with reality.
Summit Two
A Do-It-Yourself Audiobook?
Laughing at our many bloopers, we knocked
over one of the cabinets in the closet.
“This isn’t working,” John concluded.
“Let’s hire a narrator,” Susan replied.
You know all those experts who say, “Doing It Yourself’ is soooo easy”? We now wonder if that’s AI speaking. We did try to create an audiobook ourselves. There’s a stash of articles, videos, podcasts, and influencers, all trying to influence authors and publishers.
We plunged into the muddy sea of audiobook information and bought equipment from a local electronics store.
“Ever done this before?” the salesperson with the crew cut asked.
“No, we haven’t,” we enthusiastically replied.
“It’s non-refundable,” he reminded us.
We transformed our closet into a sound stage, hoping our clothes would absorb the noise, and hung a wool blanket to dampen echoes.
Sitting in our bedroom closet, our sound equipment perched on John’s sports socks with the mike dangling from a wooden hanger, we could still hear the street traffic. Extra blankets were borrowed from a neighbor, who asked: “What are you doing with all those blankets?”
Duct tape sealed the door jam. The door chimes were disabled.
A thousand dogs seemed to have recently moved into the neighborhood. It became a never-ending mission of negotiating their silence with dog treats.
With extra camping mattresses and five sleeping bags over the windows, our soundstage was ready. It felt like we were in a small igloo in Antarctica.
We listened to the playback. John’s voice was scratchy. Susan sounded like a sultry 1930’s movie star with a heavy-breath delivery. (We considered other possible uses for her voice.)
Laughing at our many bloopers, we knocked over one of the cabinets in the closet.
“This isn’t working,” John concluded.
“Let’s hire a narrator,” Susan replied.
The World of Narration
To try to get some sleep, our psychologist neighbor advised us:
“Put pillows over your heads and hope that the voices go away.”
Narrators are also called: readers, voice performers, voice actors, golden voices,
storytellers … and relators.
Our real estate agent was the first to give us a sample of his voice-performing talents. He wanted to change careers and avoid the ups and downs of real estate.
We finally admitted to him, “Stick to real estate — you’re a great agent, and the market is clearly picking up.”
Daily, we subjected ourselves to twenty digital voice demos from all corners of the planet. We were hearing voices all the time, even when we weren’t listening.
To try to get some sleep, our psychologist neighbor advised us: “Put pillows over your heads and hope that the voices go away.”
AI Enters the Marketplace
When Artificial Intelligence started making a bigger splash, we listened to gigabytes of AI-generated voices. AI could mimic humans, but it lacked the warmth and human expression that real narrators infuse in their performances.
It was like our car saying “Good Morning” when we start it up, and about as engaging. The worst part is AI doesn’t know how to deliver a line the way we envisioned it.
“It’s doing, but not feeling,” John said.
“Duh,” Susan replied. “It’s not feeling anything and never will.”
Many Characters – Many Voices
The truth is, each of our stories has a smorgasbord of characters —from every age, every demographic, and every personality.
The challenge is to make each character seem authentic and multi-faceted, including those with quirky traits, so the listeners can easily visualize them. It’s a partnership first between us and our readers, and then our audiobook listeners.
Our stories also include killers, psychopaths, sociopaths, and even a serial killer or two. In the plotlines, there are romantic scenes, seconds sprinkled with gripping tension, suspense, and thrilling moments that we squeeze onto any given page.
We wondered how any narrator would act this all out. Little did we know that our fate, kismet, or karma had already zeroed in on Rupert Degas. Rupert is an actor and award-winning international voice actor with an uncanny ability to create, craft, and deliver an infinite range of voices. He was a phone call away.
The Voice
We were living in Sydney, Australia at the time. The last day of our narrator search began with an ominous thunderstorm, and the power was sporadic. It was the perfect backdrop for trying to connect with the last handful of potential narrators who could bring our books to life.
When the internet failed during the storm, John leaned out the window, holding the Wi-Fi device as the older power strip flickered.
“When we sat together to listen to our first
audiobook, Dead Man’s Pose … it was
magic …”
“Don’t worry, Susan. I’m heavily insured, and there’s always that military burial,” he joked.
Rupert Degas picked up on that last call. This extraordinary voice performer only works with you if he ‘likes your stuff’. We sent him a copy of the first book, and he stayed up all night — read the entire thing — and loved it.
Rupert asked for our “Christmas List of Voices”. We gave him a detailed biography for each character. We knew these characters well. John claimed that Ric, one of our main protagonists, was using his straight razor and leaving it foaming on the bathroom sink!
In our list, we also suggested the quirky qualities that best exemplified each character. Rupert was nonplussed by our details. The elasticity of his vocal range is characterized as “akin to that of Jim Carrey’s face”. Read that as: a very wide range of vocal talent. “Just make the list,” he encouraged the newly minted audiobook producers.
When we sat together to listen to our first audiobook, Dead Man’s Pose … it was
magic: “The Voice — At First Listen.”
Rupert has now tackled Cobra Pose, Tree Pose, and recently Warrior Pose, having
performed over 44 characters per story. And he has his favorites. “Don’t kill the Serial Killer off,’ he asked, and we agreed … at least for Book 4.
We had navigated the second peak of our audiobook adventure.
Summit Three
Enter the Listener and Reviewer
“The perfect recipe begins with one essential
– Ellen Quint
ingredient: strong writing. Everything begins
with the written word …”
The listener and reviewer form the third pinnacle that must be scaled to bring the
audiobook to a broader audience. Ellen Quint brings a deep love of audiobooks and a wide span of knowledge of the many genres and presentation skillsets. She is an audiobook reviewer, mystery
writer, and an Audies judge. The Audies are the ‘Oscars’ of the audiobook world.
The annual award is sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association.
Ellen provides sage advice to audiobook producers. “In my roles as reviewer and judge, I will listen to part or all of over one hundred audiobooks a year. This has given me tinnitus and a very discerning ear
for what makes for a truly successful audiobook. The perfect recipe begins with one essential ingredient: strong writing. Everything begins with the written word. A skilled narrator can elevate a mediocre book, but even the most talented performance can’t transform poor writing into a worthwhile listen.”
“The next crucial ingredient is matching the right narrator — or narrators — to the characters, genre, and setting, while still providing voices that are easy on the ears. For example, a story set in Brooklyn with a street-smart, Brooklyn-born protagonist might suggest a thick, authentic accent. But listeners may not want that in their ears for eleven straight hours. (As a lifetime Brooklynite, I have earned the right to say this.) A talented narrator can convey the character without leaning heavily on the accent.”
“A masterful narrator can differentiate male and female characters, shift convincingly between ages and backgrounds, and portray characters from different countries with nuance and consistency.
It’s no wonder that Susan and John spent hours and hours reviewing potential narrators before finding their perfect match for the Yoga Mat Mysteries in Rupert Degas.”
“There’s also the important decision of how many narrators the story needs to come alive for the listener. Options include a single narrator; dual narration (two narrators alternating chapters, usually reflecting different points of view); duet narration (two narrators performing assigned characters throughout and
interacting in dialogue); multi-narrator productions; or a full cast, which creates a true ‘movie in your ears.'”
“Finally — and certainly not the least important ingredient — is the production quality. Listeners deserve flawless audio with no distracting background noise, thoughtful and well-placed sound effects, and music that enhances rather than disrupts the narrative.”
“While there is much controversy about AI’s role in creating artificial voice narration, there is no question that technology has truly advanced the art of recording to include soundscapes that create an amazing, immersive experience.”
Ellen’s many years of experience give her a distinct edge as a trekking guide for the mountainous pathway of audiobooks.
Great Creations Take Time
Audiobook creation is less a finish line than a continuous unfolding — a miraculous power of story, voice, pacing, and perception. It transmutes something common, a digital recording, into something precious.
The creation requires the slow savour of a sentence until every breath, every pause, and every shimmer of tone reveals the story’s true shape.
Collaboration thus becomes a living instrument. Writers, narrators, editors, listeners, reviewers, and judges are all tuning together until the storyline within the audiobook sings out loud. The time spent listening is not measured in minutes, but with the truth of feeling and the glow of authenticity. At its best, the listener wants to spend time with these characters and will follow the tale wherever it leads.
And when a final chapter reveals the last jigsaw puzzle piece, there is a fulfillment that the story has become Real, and the creation has earned its resonance. As writers and audiobook producers, we then feel we’ve built something lasting, which is enjoyed by listening — one moment at a time.
– Susan Rogers & John Roosen & Ellen Quint
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