Year-End Update!

Year-End Update!

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Location: Punta Gorda, Florida

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Y’ALL.

A REMINDER FOR YOU: To celebrate a successful year of writing, publishing, and living, I offer you a 50% discount on all of my eBooks. Crazy, right? Click below.

Between now and year-end, you can purchase any of my eBooks at a 50% discount. Just click HERE.

In this issue:

  1. Debut Audiobook Madness
  2. Reflecting on the year 2022
  3. Year-End Sale: 50% Discount!

1. Debut Audiobook Madness

Old schtick: a man wanders around Lower Manhattan. This all-too-obvious tourist asks a savvy-looking native for directions. “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me how I get to Carnegie Hall?” The Wall Streeter smirks and says, “Practice!”

– Anonymous, at least to me.

Like I said, an old schtick. And yes, I know Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium is in Midtown.

Right now, I’m driven by this burning desire to do a few things well. Like, really well.

I read, and I write. A lot. Practice. I play my guitar, just a handful of songs and riffs. Not well, but better with each iteration. Practice. I paint in watercolor, and draw with pencil and charcoal. Not for a while, now. I will, again. Though not critically acclaimed, some of my hundreds of paintings and drawings are quite good. Most are not. Practice.

My problem? I lack a fear of failure. I need that character defect. It nourishes me.

I couldn’t draw, but I wanted to. So I practiced. This is one of my favorites. I call it “Caveman.” Maybe I’ve shown this to you before.

Someone shoved this crazy idea in my face. Now that I’ve written what folks tell me is a damn good book (Voodoo Vendetta is lucky number thirteen), they said I should transform it into an immersive audio experience.

I picture someone who is visually handicapped enjoying my book by listening to it. Or an over-the-road trucker who is too exhausted at the end of a long day of driving to read, but welcomes an entertaining diversion while she is driving. Or someone who doesn’t read well, but enjoys great stories. If I don’t do this….

It’s dark at 4:30AM, but quiet. The small brass desk light illuminating my mixing board and my computer’s lighted keyboard and screen provide all the illumination I need. I read my book aloud. Correction: I perform my book, tickling the volume knob and a few sliders, keeping my mouth eight inches or so from the pop shield between my face and the microphone. I lean in closer when whispering, and back, maybe to the side, when yelling.

On behalf of my characters, I laugh, prod, cajole, and plot. I smile and smell as I look for clues, or wave my arms to tell a bad joke, admiring her incredible auburn hair, the woman who has come into my main character’s life after “we’d” both suffered unimaginable personal tragedies. I read aloud. I perform. It’s painful, and a joy.

Then… I listen to how awful my own recorded voice sounds to me. I’m no voice actor! But I am the author of this story. I know this story. I’ve lived it, inside and out. For months. Still am. Like an undercover assignment where I got in too deep, not yet ready to come out.

So, who better to perform this tale of tragedy and joy for you? And when better than when it’s still hot off the presses? I record more. Listen more. Do it again, damn it. Just one more take.

I really want to bring this story to your ears. Maybe while you’re walking, or working out, or focusing on the road.

So, I practice. Until “The End.” Until it’s right. And compelling. At least that’s the theory. Yeah, I can do this. Can’t I?

Full disclosure: I’m about to geek out on you for a minute. But I can’t do this alone. I need your encouragement.

So, what now? Well, I’m already deep into the preliminary research necessary to record and produce my very first audiobook–my debut, as they say. Not to mention, a few recent purchases to pull this project off. 

Someone asked me last night, “Research? A few purchases?” Yup. There’s a lot to learn, and a bit to buy. If you only knew. Or maybe you do. Check this out:

  1. Audiobook (“AB”) platform requirements: Each platform (Audible, Audiobooks.com, Spotify, etc) requires slightly different formats and sizes of audio files, length and composition of intros and outros, room noise requirements, dynamic range…), covers (see below), as well as different royalty structures–how the author gets paid–and how much.
    • None of this seems as complex as ebooks or paperbacks, so I’m confident I can navigate this stuff.
    • Plus, I plan to enlist help from an aggregator to simplify the task of distributing my AB to various marketing channels (also, see below).
    • I hope to upload my audio files for Voodoo Vendetta early 2023.
  2. Choice of AB aggregators (distributors): Similar to the process for “going wide” with ebooks and paperbacks, I plan to offer my AB(s) for sale by as many online AB retailers as possible, while minimizing my own efforts to do so (I’m not getting any younger, and I need to get back to writing).
    • ABs have their own unique channels, although some are affiliated with ebook and paperback channels.
    • For example, a popular aggregator like Audible (owned by Amazon), distributes ABs to Amazon and Apple.
    • Spotify just started selling ABs. Their main gig is music, and really isn’t an aggregator, but I mention it because it’s a big deal in the audio world.
    • Findaway Voices distributes to forty different AB channels worldwide (including Audible and Spotify). That’s right, forty–worldwide. And they offer authors a better royalty payment with Apple than Amazon!
      • Plus, they have a deal with my non-Amazon ebook aggregator, Draft2Digital, to enable adding ABs to my portfolio as slick as ice on a Minnesota sidewalk in January.
      • They even offer professional narrator interviews, should one be necessary. Cool beans.
      • And they convert my AB to different formats for me as required by their various channel partners prior to distribution.
      • The best part? They ask for no money upfront. They do take a cut of my royalties on every sale, but I continue to hold the rights to my work.
      • The marketplace coverage is worth it. Or so it seems. Decision made. Findaway Voices it is.
  3. Production software education: This part is a lot of fun for me. I was a recording engineer once upon a time. BUT that was fifty years ago (gulp). A few things might have changed (wink). The baseline principle and “feel” of producing, mixing and mastering have not. Yeah, I’m feeling cautiously cocky.
    • I’ll be using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), a piece of sophisticated software that is already installed on my MacBook Pro (no additional cost). It’s called GarageBand. While not strictly a professional-caliber DAW, it’s darn close, and produces a professional product. But there’s definitely a learning curve.
    • GarageBand includes countless controls, sound effects, music loops and more tools to produce an AB than I will ever need. Ready to rock, kids.
  4. Voice performance education: A segment of AB listeners (a serious growth market, by the way) prefer books narrated by their authors. My voice doesn’t sound like that of James Earl Jones, but it is good enough for this (I’m biased).
    • While I was never the “talent” in the recording booth back in the day (except for a few 30-second commercials), I worked the other side of the glass–on the control board.
    • One of my dear friends is a well-known Midwestern voice-over artist. But alas, osmosis won’t cut it. I’m on my own.
    • So I’m taking a couple of masterclasses on Voice Performance, along with the proper care and feeding of my vocal chords. Am I ever learning a lot!
    • Narrating my AB myself, instead of hiring a voice-over professional (narrator) will save me thousands for each AB I produce myself. Hopefully, this will be the first of many.
    • Just another side hustle. Now if they’ll just sell for me, right?
  5. Already on-hand:
    • I have an awesome large diaphragm condenser microphone and a 10-channel mixing board that controls inputs of analog audio sources (voice, acoustic guitar, my flutes). This “interface” converts those signals to digital audio (computer) format. All the places that sell ABs require digitally recorded, compressed and formatted files. No problem. I’ve got this.
    • And my MacBook Pro is silent as a deep-space night. That’s important in a recording environment with a microphone (a.k.a. “mic”) so sensitive, I can hear through my headphones a clock ticking on the far side of the room (my “studio,” our spare bedroom). Kay sits next to that clock over there, twelve feet from the mic, and she can’t hear it ticking. Mighty Mic can.
  6. Purchases: Then there’s a few bits of merchandise to acquire. I await their arrival while I study, learn, record raw and listen. It’s like radio acting. Within the next few days, I should receive:
    • A portable anechoic chamber: This configurable box will surround (most of) my microphone and pop shield with anti-echo foam baffles.
      • Should keep most external sounds from reaching it.
      • Otherwise, ambient room sounds will produce undesirable—even unacceptable—background noise in my voice track(s).
      • I’m also collecting other sound-absorbing material to further minimize noise (other than my voice) that might drive an aggregator to reject my AB files. They are very specific.
    • Desktop microphone mount: A superior anti-vibration suspension mount for my Behringer condenser microphone should be here in the next day or two. This will prevent minute vibrations from being transmitted to the mic.
      • Merry Christmas, Geno!
Draft artwork for my debut audiobook (yet to be recorded – I’m projecting availability 1Q2023). This 3,000×3,000-pixel design follows very specific hosting requirements for format, size, and consistency with other editions of this book, etc.

Maybe you know this if you’re an AB consumer. But one important difference in cover art: for an AB, the cover must be square, not rectangular. So, I’ve redesigned Voodoo Vendetta’s cover to these AB requirements.

Fortunately, my graphics design skills are adequate. So, I don’t need to pay a professional designer hundreds of dollars for each cover. It’s less about being cheap, and more about being a control freak.

By comparison, my final eBook cover art for this title. Consistent, right?

2. Reflecting on the Year 2022

Wholly enchilada! I recently realized I published FOUR books this year:

That’s a heck of a year for any author, especially while living on the road in our bus for almost half of this year in the Midwest, teaching writing and publishing seminars, and researching “Vendetta” in Louisiana this Fall. Hell, yeah!

I made this 4-books-in-a-year observation on Facebook last week, as if it just occurred to me. It had. Why did I just realize this? Because 2022 raced past me in a blur.

To be fair, I started Black Blizzard with a concept early in 2021 and my book Poetic Detective is a culmination of over forty years of ideas. Nevertheless, I’m now celebrating a productive publishing year. I think I can afford to offer a deep-discount year-end sale (see below). Pick up any of my books for a buck or three. Keep reading….

3. Year-end Sale: 50% Off All My Books!

Don’t forget! Last reminder (I promise).

You’re still just in time for the year-end holidays, click here between now and New Years Day 2022 to snag these great deals on one or more of my books. Or click on the image below:

I’d give ’em away, but my wife won’t let me (line stolen from a local used car salesman here in SW Florida)

I announced this sale in a recent newsletter, am reiterating here just in case you missed that.

Yup, I’m offering a 50% discount on the eBook edition of all my books–even the newest one that released just days ago. If I had an agent, she’d tell me this is nuts.

If you’re not familiar, Smashwords is a popular Amazon alternative. You also can search this link for “Jurrens” to find my books.

I hope you take advantage of this sale, read one or more of my books, and that you will let me know what you thought. As I’ve said before, authors live or die by reviews. Even a bad review is better than no review. Thanks in advance!

That’s all for now. So, until next year… and wherever you and I are, my friend…

Happiest of holidays to you and yours!

Gene

In the “studio” bluetoothin’ away….
Isaac Azimove: one of the most inspired writers of the twentieth century.
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