Writing for Audio

By: Katie O’Connor

Narrated by: Samantha Allen, Lara Blackman, Lauren Blakely, Steve Feldberg, Dennis Mahoney, Katie O'Connor, Ben Winters

Length: 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Audible editor Katie O’Connor explores the craft of writing for the audio format with Audible Originals authors Samantha Allen, Lauren Blakely, Dennis Mahoney, and Ben H. Winters. Listen in as the authors discuss how they changed their approach to their work with audio in mind. You’ll also hear from two Audible Originals editors - Lara Blackman and Steve Feldberg - about how they collaborate with their authors and where they think the future of audio is going. 

©2020 Audible Originals, LLC. (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

So pleased there’s also a text version!

A quite useful idea & well done organised around key topics, but ironically it has too much info for audio only!
So good that Katie included a transcript, but the topics need sub heads!
It’s a case study in the relative benefits of each.

Nice and Simple

Loved this, as a person starting out this made since and was entertaining. we need more like this I think, definitely.

Price was right

Example passages took me out of the lessond.
More relevant, or well-known example passages would have helped. Too short to be useful. Rewriting and lengthening-with better examples, might help.

Really personal

Thank you for the education. I really enjoyed the multiple personalities teaching me their personal peaves.

Short, but relevant and rich with possibilities

Start writing your story as a one that will be heard audibly. Exciting opportunities to use ambient background noise, the revving of an engine, inflections in dialogue. Listen.

Very great resource…

I enjoyed the audiobook a lot. It was very helpful to hear her points. I enjoyed that it was short and simple that even a layman could understand it. I’m sure it will help me in the future.

Good list!

Good overall strategies to improve writing for audio. Some of those interviewed were not clear in their meaning.

A,small taste of information

It is a small taste of what the differences are in writing and audio writing.

Interesting tips and suggestions

This is an interesting audio book by Katie O'Connor providing useful tips and suggestions on writing for audible or other audio platforms. Some of the tips feel quite useful. I have had the opportunity to listen to audio books that were audible originals as well as classics (written in 18th and 19th centuries) narrated as is in the audible.

While some audible originals used the tips and suggestions as narrated in this audio book and were fine to listen, listening to the classics still felt timeless and perfect to me despite being ancient and despite the fact they were plain archaic. While improvisations do hold their own importance, probably nothing comes close to an author's insightful creativity, imagination and ability to write well.

Very Helpful for An Aspiring Audio First Author

As a writer who is aiming at writing for the audiobook format first. This little audio “pamphlet” was a must-listen. I will likely listen to it many times as I am working towards being published.

It has one politically correct section that feels gratuitous, what I like to call “and now a word from our sponsor” to make sure that inclusion and representation check boxes are checkers but it didn’t take too much away from the book. It’s a mere distraction.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in writing and/or performing for audio.