The Podiobook Entry
I'd be lying if I said I was completely satisfied with last night's bout into productivity. I'd also be lying if I said I was disappointed.
After my two episodes of Chuck, which did rock yea verily in case you wanted to know, the upstairs neighbor wasn't clomping around... so I recorded Chapter 2 of my podiobook project. I know I'm only starting this thing, but I don't have high hopes for it. Of my podcasting projects, this is the one I'm most likely to drop at the first sign of necessity.
I like the concept of the project. Reading a book to someone can be great fun. However, I don't have a "recording studio" in even a cursory sense of the word. (When I win the Lotto, I'm sure the house I build will have a nice padded room... wait. I mean the sound insulating kind of padding...) I'm at the mercy of the upstairs neighbor or the people who have to have cell phone conversations outside (because frankly cell reception inside the apartments is crap) or any other number of noises that the walls of my apartment just doesn't block.
This was illustrated to me one night when editing a recent episode of Spoiler Alert. I could hear a siren underneath something lazy-t was saying. If that were to happen on the podiobook recording, sure I could re-record the offending sentence... but there may be a differential in the sound quality. (There's a reason I'm recording full chapters at a time, kids!)
The other thing I can also already tell is that I don't have distinctive enough voices for all of the characters of the book. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it is a factor in my not having great hope for the project. It will suck. But I'm actually okay with that. It's a learning experience. Once I have a full book recorded, I will be able to say that I narrated a book.
This will also tell me what I need to know in the event that I completely lose my mind and decide to edit and podcast one of my books. Namely, don't do it. (I kid.) Seriously, it will give me an idea of the work involved in creating a podiobook and I'll be able to assess whether or not it's worth the time and trouble. So far, it might be more worth it if this was one of mine instead of a novel in the public domain.
Tonight I will be attending a live podcast, so I'm planning to take a nap when I get home. I do expect to get a page of show notes done during the podcast, so I'm not going to write tonight off entirely (like I will tomorrow night if the Evil Twin comes over -- it's still pretty cold, and she might wimp out on me again).
Perhaps this weekend I can actually plant my butt in the editing chair for at least six hours? Hope springs eternal, as they say.
I'll see you tomorrow, Dear Journal.