The old saying that you don’t appreciate something until it’s gone hit home last week. In my case, it’s one of those things that underlies almost everything I do, so it’s been, let’s say, an interesting week! Also, I’m learning more and more about the audiobook tools I’m using, including some pleasant surprises. I can tell you that I appreciated some positive news! I also may or may not have some progress to report on Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure. Before diving into those topics, let’s look at the key performance indicators!
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
Wait a second. Did the percentage complete for “Revision, Point of Extraction” actually creep upward?
Since I finished the first audio pass for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning, I was able to turn my attention to incorporating alpha reader feedback into Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure. This week, I focused on Moritz Lehner’s arc.
Wow. I knew that one of the alpha readers, Jonah H from Fiverr, was right when he said I botched Lehner’s resolution. But working on it now, I was still amazed at just how much I’d screwed it up. I had to go against my own outline to do it, too!
I have tried to adjust my processes to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen again. At least not for the same reason. I’m sure I’ll find some new and exciting way to screw things up. You know, I wish my story-telling would rise to the same level of creativity as my screw-upping (as a writer, I think I should probably be able to come up with a better word, but that kinda fits).
Anyway, at least that’s moving forward again. It’s going to take another couple of weeks, but once it’s done, I’ll send Point of Departure to my beta reader. At the same time, I’ll begin rippling any necessary changes through Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement. I think it’s in decent shape, but I want to be sure. Then it’ll go to the alpha readers.
And then, finally, I’ll start writing Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation.
Appreciate What You Have
From time to time, some part of my right leg decides it hates me and wants to vent. My heel would randomly swell up and hurt like crazy until I cut way back on alcohol. Who knew that a couple beers a day could be a problem? Well, my heel knew. When my toe got involved and the doctor pronounced it gout (and blamed my alcohol consumption), I figured it was time for a change.
It’s been a year since I had any problems at all. But last week, my hip decided that it, too, hated me, and made that hatred known. I can still get around, and the doctor was perplexed. But I can’t lie down comfortably. So, sleeping is a major challenge.
Gotta say that I miss it! The lack affects everything I try to do. The doctor’s supposed to refer me to a physical therapist, but he forgot, so I had to remind him on Friday. Have I mentioned what I think of the USA’s for-profit health care system? Probably not — and this is polite company, so I’ll just say that I would like to try a system that puts the patient first. You know, for a change. Because I think that might be cool.
It’s hard to write when my brain is sleep deprived. As a father, you’d think I would have developed that skill at some point! Or maybe being a grandfather means I ceded that skill to my kids. Anyway, I’ll continue to follow up with the doctor until I can get this resolved. I enjoy sleep too much to give up. It’s also so danged refreshing!
Upcoming Release of the Audiobook Version of The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning
Summer Foovay, the narrator for Red Flag Warning, has finished the punch list. I’ve incorporated all of her edits. I have to say that I suspect my workflow for doing that needs work. In Adobe Audition, there’s a way to edit in multitrack mode, then perform a mix-down to get everything back into a single track. My approach works, and it’s not completely inconsistent with the tutorials. But it seems to have more steps than I expected.
Still, I’ve finished that step. Now I’m feeding the files one by one into Adobe Podcast, which levels out the sound and removes echoes. I’m down to the last handful of files. Adobe Podcast has a daily limit, and I’ve reached it. I should be able to wrap it up soon.
Miblart only charges $30 to convert the cover they made for Red Flag Warning to the audiobook format. It should be ready next week. That leaves giving the audio files their final names. ACX’s guidelines spell it out, but I like having an example. Fortunately, since I supported Johnny B. Truant’s Kickstarter program for Artisan Author (affiliate link) at the level which included an ebook, I got the raw files.
Now I know how to name the files!
One of the pleasant surprises is the Adobe Podcast removed the sound of static in some of the files. That kind of thing is hard to track down. For example, in some of the rooms in my house, I have to unplug the laptop to record. Otherwise, I get a weird background hum. Having something like Podcast just strip that out cuts down on re-recording time. That was a pleasant surprise.
Progress Against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I did against last week’s goals:
- Continue researching audiobook distribution options. In Progress! I’m searching Facebook’s 50BooksTo20K to understand writers’ experiences with the big players like INaudio, Author’s Republic, and PublishDrive. I’ve more or less decided not to go exclusive with ACX.
- Work on the next gift for my newsletter recipients. In Progress! I had planned on a short story, but it might actually turn into an entire novel! Now I’m wondering if I should make it free or focus on something else like another guide to the colonies for my newsletter readers. At least I know what I’m writing after Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation.
- Begin revising Moritz Lehner’s arc in Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure. In Progress!
- Take another stab at asking Discover Sci-Fi about their program. Done! I have a promotion date with them in early December. I’m really curious to see how well it performs.
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2025 Week 45
Here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
- Finish processing the audio files for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning.
- Finalize research around audiobook distributors. Select between INaudio, Author’s Republic, and PublishDrive (or others).
- Continue working on the gift for my newsletter recipients.
- Finish revising Moritz Lehner’s arc in Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure.
- Begin revising Owen Payne’s arc in the same book.
What Do You Think?
Do you record/process your own audiobooks? If so, what tools do you use? Adobe Audition, Apple Logic Pro, Audacity, or something else? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
