Top tips for writing audiobooks

I was raised on audiobooks but I began my writing in comics, possibly the most different form. When I came to novels, I had print in mind. It was only when my romantasy series, The Eynhallow Saga, was bought by Audible that I changed how I thought about my book, my writing and my practice. 

Create Soundscapes

For my first book, Deathbound, I didn’t make any changes with audio in mind – I was too busy learning how to write a novel. Audible’s production team, however, took every opportunity for music, sinister whispers and the occasional atmospheric animal sound. Listening back made it obvious that I could write with a new collaborative practice, like laying out offerings for the production team’s imagination. When it came to the second book in the series, Bloodbound, I wrote thinking not just of the reader but the narrators’ voices and in ways I hope would excite the sound designers at Audible.

Pay attention to that narrator's voice

The Eynhallow Saga has an incredible cast of actors, all of whom have a distinct voice and accent. They were all chosen to suit the characters I wrote, but now I am writing later parts of the series, I often read with their voices in my mind, making sure the sounds of the words I am writing will work when read.

A number of characters in my most recent book use the Scots language and I knew asking my English narrator to add a different Scottish accent and dialect to their performance would be a challenge. In this way, voice and production can affect the plot and pacing. Scots speakers appear more often in chapters read by my Scottish narrators, which is both a reflection of the series’ class landscape, and a fine balancing act from me.

Avoid tongue twisters

A lot of writers advocate for reading work aloud to ensure it flows well. This is even more important for audio-first publishing. I’ve revisited a few sentences which I loved, but, when spoken aloud made for a difficult challenge. We’re a team, and I don’t want to risk making my narrator falter, hesitate and break flow when there might be a way to make just as pretty a sentence in another way.

While writers for print ensure the names of their characters don’t look too similar, audio writers should also consider how they sound read aloud – Ceilin and Allan look different but are easily mistaken sounds.

Think about dialogue design

From my earliest writing, I have been a dialogue-first drafter. Usually, I don’t plot very thoroughly at all, but spend my time getting to know the characters by how they talk to one another (yes, that’s me talking to myself out loud, worrying the cat). In audiobooks, dialogue becomes all the more crucial. Any unnatural elements in written speech might be obscured in print, but there is nowhere to hide in audio.

We love to listen into a conversation and sometimes my drafts start to look a little like a radio play. That’s not an issue in itself, but it is crucial to remember that each character’s speech is read by the same actor who is working hard to make distinct voices – and often to match another narrator as closely as possible. Dialogue markers become crucial touchstones for the listener in those conversations, but perhaps aren’t quite as necessary as they might be for someone reading prose from a page. It’s a tricky balance, finding a place for a speech marker which reassures the reader (and the narrator) but does not distract from the action.

Thank you for listening

There is no right way to write a book. No one can teach you how you write, you must discover it yourself. But, like every form of writing, listening is the beginning. In audio, it just happens to also be the middle and the end. So, keep an ear on your work and find places to have fun.

The second book in The Eynhallow Saga, Bloodbound, is out now.

Discover the series on Audible(this link will open in a new window).