Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1 | Page 38

voice necessary to a fine utterance, will
avail themselves of the services of hired
actors or singers to warehouse their
work”.
It was not until the 1930s that the
National Institute for the Blind (now the
RNIB) began producing book-length
narrations
on
shellac
discs,
predominantly for soldiers who were
blinded during the first world war. From
its inception, the talking book faced a lot
of the same questions over its
relationship to text that audiobooks do
today. Does listening to a book count as
reading it? How should narration best
serve the written word? Is it
documentation,
recitation,
or
performance? “Back in the 30s and 40s,
stylistically you’ll find that it’s a really dry
read,” says Daryl Chapman, the RNIB
studio manager. “There’s very little
characterization from the narrator.”
W HAT A BOUT THE F INANCIAL A SPECT ?
Audiobooks
may
constitute
a
publishing revolution, but they remain a
low-margin product, with a large chunk of
the profits going to Audible. “People do
slag them off, including me,” says
McQuaid. “But without them this wouldn’t
have happened.” On top of its profit share,
Audible
is
increasingly
securing
audiobook rights directly from authors
(as it has done with Bill Bryson’s
audiobook outside the US), and producing
its own recordings.
U SING C ELEBRITY N ARRATORS
One of the major trends is the casting
of big names, even multiple big names, to
read fiction. The audiobook of George
W INTER 2020
Saunders’ Lincoln In The Bardo has a star-
studded cast of 166 voices, including Ben
Stiller, Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore
and the author himself. Audible is now
pairing stars with popular classics –
Andrew Scott reading Beatrix Potter,
Rosamund Pike doing Pride And Prejudice
– and publishers are following suit.
“If you’re casting them for the right
reasons, then a big name is brilliant,” says
Barrett, who got Kenneth Branagh to
narrate Murder On The Orient Express. “He
was the new Poirot. He was director of
the film. Those were good reasons and he
did a fantastic job.” But a celebrity
narrator can present as many challenges
as a first-time author. “I have had other
experiences,” says Barrett, “where wiser
heads such as mine did not prevail, and
we went with a starrier casting.” She will
not be drawn further. “You have to live
with your recording for a long time,” is all
she says.
V OICING AN A UDIOBOOK IS EXHAUSTING
Above all, a celebrity may not be
prepared for what an exhausting
experience recording is. Williams says,
until you’ve voiced an audiobook, you
can’t understand “how utterly poleaxed
you feel by the end of the day. Your throat
hurts. Your back hurts. Your legs hurt.
Your brain hurts.” Everyone I speak to
agrees that it’s also a lonely business,
listening to your own voice all day, with
only the occasional interruption from
someone telling you you’ve made a
mistake. Everyone, that is, except Bryson.
B ILL B RYSON ’ S TAKE ON RECORDING A BOOK
P AGE 33
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE