Progress Report 2025 Week 32

I’m learning a lot about audiobook production, and one lesson stands above all others. Also, I’ve picked a new title for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1, and I think it works. I’ll be interested in hearing what you think! Finally, I may or may not have started work on Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. But before we talk about any of that, let’s look at the key performance indicators!

Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers

From a KPI perspective, a new book’s first couple of weeks look awfully weak!

Let’s start with Wayland’s Hammer Book 1. I wanted to use the title Extraction Point, but several other books had that title. I know that one can’t copyright a title, but I wanted to avoid confusion. Several of the titles were in the thriller genre, and sometimes I refer to what I was as science fiction/political thriller. I want to avoid any chance of confusing my readers — or any other writer’s readers as well!

I settled on the title Point of Extraction. Not quite as hard-hitting as Extraction Point, but it gets the point across. The manuscript is now in the hands of two alpha readers and will likely be in the hands of a third soon. I usually hire two alpha readers, but since this is the start of a new trilogy, I wanted an additional perspective.

I also started the Scrivener project for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. After copying the relevant material from Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement into the new project, I started working on the character starting points. Basically, I want to get into the heads of the main characters at the beginning of the book before I start plotting. Those character will be:

• Moritz Lehner
• Owen Payne
• Gerhard Wimmer

Using Plottr, I’ve started sketching the three main arcs. The story has already taken a turn or two that I didn’t expect, which I think it a good sign. I’ve also discovered that my books fully obey the Law of Unintended Consequences. It makes the stories less simplistic and more realistic. Still, it makes me a little sad. I’m not sure why! I should probably think about that.

A Lesson in Audiobook Production

It All Adds Up

I’m getting the hang of Adobe Audition. I have learned some of its most important keyboard shortcuts. I’ve also learned that it works really well with the Apple Magic Trackpad connected to my Mac Studio. By learning those things, I’ve gotten rid of the technical impediments to editing the audio file that the voice actor provided for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning.

That means I can more clearly see what’s between me and uploading to ACX. Notice I didn’t say publication. I have no idea if what I produce will be acceptable to ACX or not. That’s a whole other realm that I need to explore. Before I can even get to that point, I need to:

• Ensure that pauses within the narration are consistent
• The audio is clear and free of background noises
• There are no breath sounds

I’m getting better at it, but a few basic things, like finding the optimal zoom for the timeline, remain a work in progress.

I want to make one thing 100% clear: the voice actor did a great job. I’m excited to bring this to market. But I’m experiencing things I only had book learning about. Namely, there’s a reason professional voice actors have dedicated studio space. There’s a reason they drop buckets of cash on equipment. All those things tend to remove background noise, normalize sound levels, and in general decrease the amount of post-production time needed.

If I were to try to record the books myself, I’d have exactly and precisely the same issues. And like I said, I have no idea if ACX will even accept it.

Virtual Voice, By Contrast…

I’m working on the Amazon Virtual Voice version of Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon. Virtual Voice has no background noise at all. All its spacing is machine perfect (which I think is an issue itself, but it is what it is). When I hit the publish button, Virtual Voice will send the audio files, formatted perfectly for ACX, right to ACX. Before that, I don’t have to do anything except listen to the playback, correct an occasional pronunciation, and hit publish.

Everything I’m doing in Adobe Audition? It’s not needed. None of it.

I’m going to continue working on Red Flag Warning, because I think the voice actor’s work is solid and I want to get it in front of my readers. Simultaneously, I’m going to work on the Virtual Voice version of Special Recon, because I’ve had some folks contact me to say they’d love to read it, but they only listen to audio books now due to their job situation. I published Dreams of Deucalion just two weeks ago, and I want to give that series every chance to connect with readers.

So much to do. So little time in which to do it! That’s the lesson I learned: post-production is a time-consuming process, no matter who does the voice recording! I need to maximize my time.

Progress against Last Week’s Goals

Here’s how I did against last week’s goals:

1. Finish ProWritingAid pass for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: <Whatever the new title is>: Done! I picked Point of Extraction as the title.
2. Create the Scrivener project stub for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. Done!
3. Begin pre-production work for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. I have some ideas I want to play with, and I want to come up with a new featured set/location. I find I’ve enjoyed creating a new one, or visiting new aspects of an old set, for each book. Keeps it fresh for me and the readers! Done! Pre-production work is under way.
4. Continue working on the audiobook for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning OR Dreams of Deucalion Book 1: Special Recon. Or maybe “and.” Done! It’s “and.” I’m going to set specific chapter count goals starting next week.

Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2025 Week 32

Here’s what I hope to achieve this week:

1. Continue plotting Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. Cast new characters and build new sets.
2. Finish preparing two more chapters for Red Flag Warning’s audiobook.
3. Finish preparing two more chapters for Special Recon’s audiobook.
4. Monitor the stacked promotion for Dreams of Deucalion.
5. Evaluate other titles to add to the Amazon ad for Dreams of Deucalion.

What Do You Think?

I’m using Adobe Audition to edit Red Flag Warning’s audiobook. What tools do you use? How long does it take you to perform post-production for an audiobook? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!