Experiences of an Author Hired to Narrate Her Own Book

KAUA‘I STORM, Written and Narrated by Tori Eldridge

Aloha Reading ‘Ohana,

Today, I want to share a special experience afforded to very few authors. Brilliance Publishing hired me to narrate my own audiobook!

Why did I phrase it as they “hired me?” Because, unless the author is self-publishing their own audiobook, the choice of a narrator is entirely up to the publisher who has acquired that title. Authors can, and have, requested to be considered. But very few are given the chance.

My journey began when I filled out my author questionnaire.

My book publisher, Thomas & Mercer, asked if there were any special qualities or abilities a narrator might need for my audiobook. As you can imagine, there were quite a few.

Since KAUA‘I STORM integrates the Native Hawaiian language, whoever they chose would not only need to be able to pronounce Hawaiian names and words, they would need to deliver sentences in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i with believable authenticity and fluecy.

They would also need to have a nuanced understanding of Hawaiian Pidgin English because my local characters don’t speak Pidgin in the same way. They have different personalities and upbringings, which their manner of speaking reflects.

And since this story features Ranger Makalani Pahukula’s large multigenerational and multiethnic ‘ohana, the narrator would need a broad depth of vocal tones.

I knew of a couple professional narrators who could probably handle the Hawaiian fluency issues, but I still felt I would be the best choice.

I knew the voices of my characters because I had been speaking their dialogue aloud as I wrote KAUA‘I STORM.

I had also acted on-camera and off-camera for television and film.

For those who don’t know, off-camera includes audio-dubbing, voiceovers, and the “walla walla” background dialogue that an audio dubbing group records to create atmosphere and establish the location in a scene. I had worked professionally in all of these areas in addition to podcasting and recording in studios as a singer.

I had also performed countless dramatic readings of my works with full vocal and physical characterizations and multiple points of view.

As a result, I had an unusual amount of professional acting and recording experiences and skillsets for an author. That said, I had never narrated an audiobook before.

I knew enough to know there would be much more I needed to learn.

So I put myself out there for consideration, and let it go.

A year later, I received an invitation from Brilliance Publishing to audition as a narrator for my own work. I was so excited I actually squealed. LOL!

I recorded my sample narration until it felt strong, then I shared it with three of my professional narrator friends. After digesting their combined feedback, I recorded more passes until I settled on the one to submit. Once again, I was that young actress waiting with nervous excitement to see if I landed the gig!

I had to keep reminding myself that, as KAUA‘I STORM’s author, I should want whatever was best for my book.

In spite of my reasonable self-advice, this time, I screamed when my editor emailed to tell me the incredible news.

I was offered a contract and introduced to my producer, who hired a director, Jennifer Aquino, who—as luck would have it—I actually knew! We would be working together with an engineer at Digital One, a fantastic recording studio in Portland, Oregon—where I had moved the previous year.

It felt to me as if everything in my life had aligned.

That’s when my education and hard work began.

Since my Yeti Blue microphone—that I used for podcasting—was still in storage, I bought another so I could practice with a mic and hear my performance in headphones as I spoke.

In case you’ve never tried this, the experience is very different from simply recording and listening back.

Then I began recording each chapter with care.

Jennifer explained how we would be “punching in” corrections as we went and suggested I practice pausing and repeating a line or paragraph if it didn’t go well. In this way, I trained myself to stay engaged without the distraction of self-critique.

I sent her key chapters to review.

Working with Jennifer Aquino was like receiving an immersion master class in audiobook narration.

The encouragement, validation, and insightful feedback I received helped me hone in on my narration as I defined my voices, tempo, and tone. And because of Jennifer's familiarity with Hawaiian culture and Hawai‘i life, she always understood and valued the nuanced differences in the Hawaiian and Pidgin dialects of the characters I had created and the way in which I wanted them to be heard.

Truly, I cannot imagine a more perfect match for me and KAUA‘I STORM.

I dedicated ten days to rehearse for a five-day job.

By the time I finally rehearsed the final chapter of my book, my narrating skills had exponentially improved. I had also established voices for over FIFTY characters—which included five different POV narrations—and worked through any challenging words, phrases, or pronunciations that might trip me up.

As I hoped, this intense level of rehearsal produced significant results.

It was also great fun and reminded me of my past careers. After all, I was used to intense rehearsals for Broadway musicals, TV, and film. Ten full days did not come close to the exhausting six weeks of rehearsals we did for the original first company of CATS!

Recording studios are my happy place, and Digital One is the best!

I think it would be far more fun to show you my first two days than to tell.

And here is the inside of our studio—where my engineer, Josh Millman, did his wizardry—and the sound booth were I recorded my narration for KAUA‘I STORM.

Because of my rehearsal time and the feedback I received from my director, I had my tone, pacing, and characters well defined as I entered my booth. The punch-in recording method worked like a charm. We were able to hit the ground running from the start.

What I learned from narrating my book:

Unlike acting on-camera or voicing characters for a television show or a film, narrating an audiobook is an intimate affair.

The audience is often listening through earbuds or with their phone beside their head as the narrator draws them into an imaginary world. This is why practicing with a microphone and headphones was so important for me: I needed to hear the subtleties of my voice and the way the audience would hear.

The engineer has a decibel range for recording, inside which the narrator must remain.

The volume of an argument or shout needs to be conveyed primarily with the quality, tension, and energy of the voice. I’ve heard it described as “talking over something,” as if the voice was traveling up and over a hill. In this way, a character is perceived to be shouting without blasting out of the engineer’s decibel range and distorting the sound. It requires a fair amount of skill. But, oddly enough, it was much easier on my voice.

Recording in a studio is rare.

Most audiobooks are recorded by narrators in their own home studios, then submitted to the publisher. Because I am an author and not a professional narrator, my publisher booked a studio and hired an engineer and a director. In both cases, the audio recording will go to an audiobook editor, who will go through the tracks looking for incongruences between text and performance, pronunciation errors, or unwanted sounds. With three of us listening and punching in for me to correct, we’re guessing the pickup recording session will be relatively quick.

An acting class I took at Northwestern University continues to pay off.

Of all the professional acting classes I have taken in New York and Los Angeles, a class I took as a theater major at Northwestern University helped my narration the most. It was called The Art of Interpretation. In it, we learned to embody different characters while giving solo presentations of a poem or a multi-character scene.

The skills I learned allowed me to hold emotional conversations in KAUA‘I STORM between four and five characters, and with an alternate POV narrating voice!

Those are some of my favorite chapters in the book.

Assorted teas plus hot and warm water are a must.

Jennifer advised me to stay hydrated and have tea and warm water in the booth. Me being me, I brought three thermoses—hot water, warm water, and my own special concoction of lubricating tea. Once again, I think it’s more fun to watch than to read.

That afternoon caffeine hit of Darjeeling really helped as my eyes started to blur. LOL! In case you were wondering, the engineer set up an ipad on a padded music stand with the text for me to scroll.

I hope you enjoyed my narration adventures.

It would be absolutely AMAZING if you pre-ordered my audiobook for KAUA‘I STORM! (Available through Audible, Amazon, and coming soon to Chirp and Libro.fm.)

Mahalo for reading this post and watching my videos, and I hope you enjoy listening to my audiobook as well.

A hui hou!
Tori 🌺