Tag: Audiobooks

That Week Between

We had a wonderful Christmas! Hubby and I bought a new mattress, the old one was OLD! It had dips no matter which side you turned it on. Now we are getting used to a mattress with no dips. I like the bed, but it is taking some getting used to. They make them so many different ways these days. This one arrived rolled up in a box. Hubby had a hard time getting his head around the fact your bed was in that small box. It was heavy which convinced him.

I enjoyed setting up a table and my books at two local craft bazaars during December. I like being able to visit with the readers and make a connection with them.

As always, my favorite part of the whole season is going out in the woods and walking in snow to find the perfect Christmas tree. I love the hiking, the fresh air, and the fun attitude of nearly everyone involved. For some reason husbands think we should cut down the first tree that catches our eyes. My daughter and I have the opinion we need to see more than one to make a decision. And sometimes we do end up going back to the first one. 😉

Getting the sleds out to ride up to the trees.

The whole adventure wouldn’t be any fun if you exited your vehicle walked a short distance into the trees and picked one. It’s the hunt for the perfect one that makes the event thrilling and fun. Also, the sledding or sliding down an incline and the hot chocolate and cookies afterwards.

This week in between Christmas and New Years is a hurry up and finish projects and get things ready for the coming year. I have a book I’m trying to finish but it won’t be done by the time the ball drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It will take the first week into January 2024 to get it ready to go off to critique partners and beta readers. 

I have my writing and personal goals all mapped out.

2024 goals

Professional

Publish The Pinch (book 5 in Spotted Pony Casino Mystery) write and publish Book #6 

Write and publish Gabriel Hawke books #12 & #13

Write short story for Windtree Press anthology – 3,000-8,000 words

Get the last Shandra Higheagle book, Vanishing Dreams, in audiobook

Get Hawke books into audiobook box sets.

Put audiobooks up direct to Kobo. Add more books to my bookfunnel account to do more cross-promotions with other audiobook authors.

Put up YouTube videos of me reading short stories and audio of my books with photo galleries.

Personal

Continue walking 5 days a week

Watch my carb and fat intake

Traveling

Keep up my personal blog

Do more horseback riding

I don’t make resolutions I make goals. That way I can tick them off the list as I accomplish them. And resolutions are more a change of lifestyle which isn’t a challenge so much as a mindset where I am a bit competitive and prefer to accomplish a specific goal.

Are you a resolutions maker or a goal maker? And why?

Audiobooks are Work

I have 9 audiobooks out in the Shandra Higheagle mystery series. They didn’t seem to take as much time to go through after they were narrated and sent to me. Even though that narrator made a few more mistakes than the one reading my Gabriel Hawke books.

But I also write better now, thinking about how the sentence will sound when it is read, and I have to change things less in stories too.

However, I have trouble listening to the chapters on the audiobook manager’s site and have to download, which is a job. My internet is so iffy, that I have to get up at 5 am and download chapters until they start getting slow, then I stop and get up early another day to download some more.

Then I spend the hours listening to the chapters to make sure the narrator read the book correctly, used the right inflection, and in some instances the correct voice. Because he does try to change up the voices of the various characters. He doesn’t change them up as much as my narrator for the Shandra books, but he does enough you know it is another character talking.

Once I get all the chapters checked off as sounding correct, then the process of it being put together and submitted to all the various places Findaway Voices submits the finished product.

After that, there is a 30 day wait to see where it is available and then I can start promoting the audio book. It’s a whole other process I deal with while trying to write a new book. I would say a serious writer needs to be good a multi-tasking!

Do you like to listen to audio books? I have found I can “read” more if I listen to audio books when I walk.

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