The audiobook for Enemies of Doves is releasing tomorrow! To say I’m excited to hear it would be a huge understatement. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.
I love audiobooks. I listen to them on long drives and when I’m cooking. (It’s honestly the only thing that makes cooking bearable.) Studies have shown that listening to audiobooks improves reading fluency as well as focus and attention span. Personally, I love how great narrators can make me lose myself in a book. Through articulation, voice inflection, varied cadence, and delivery with the perfect hint of humor or mystery, they bring a story to life.
When I signed with my publisher, the contract included audio rights, but I also knew that didn’t guarantee my book would be picked up for an audio version. My publisher utilizes an amazing agent, Stephanie Hansen with Metamorphosis Literary Agency, to pitch to audio producers, film producers, and foreign publishers. She let me know that my book had been pitched to Dreamscape, but said to let her know when my book received 50 Amazon reviews or won awards as that would help its chances. I wasn’t close to either of those at the time, so I didn’t hold out much hope. Not to mention, I looked through their catalog and saw they had deals with Marvel and Hallmark Publishing. I felt a little out of my league. However, the next day we got an offer!
Although this deal started in early April, we couldn’t announce it until the contract was final last month. The wait was hard, but then everything moved very quickly. I couldn’t believe the release date was so soon!
I’ve been asked a lot if I got to select the narrator. I didn’t, but am so pleased with Dreamscape’s choice of Michael Brusasco.
Mr. Brusasco is an actor, director, and voice teacher based in California. I was able to listen to many audiobook samples from his website and was very impressed with his talent. I have only heard him read 5 minutes of Enemies of Doves, but wow! He did a phenomenal job.
I’ve never given it much thought before, but I assume audio narrators have to read the entire book before they begin, just like actors have to read a script. Or at the very least, someone with the production company has to. Because what if they are doing a character’s voice as deep then ten chapters in the author writes, “he said in his unusually high and whiny voice?”
Something else interesting to note, on Kindle it says my book is generally read in 6 and a half hours. Yet the audio version is 13 hours. I looked at other books and found this was a very common result. The average audiobook is read at 150-160 words per minute whereas an average reader reads 300 words per minute. Makes sense considering that audiobooks are a production and read dramatically. Not to mention, most readers tend to skim when reading silently. I know a lot of people who speed up the audio narration when they listen to books, but I rarely do.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for all 13 hours of Enemies of Doves! If you want to order here are a few places you can:
Audible
Barnes and Noble
Bookshop.org (This is a great way to support indie bookstores!)
Google Play
Kobo
A few notes on Audible…. If you’ve already bought the book on Kindle, you can buy the audiobook for less than 8 dollars. This is a great deal! You can also choose to use a credit or sign up for a month long free Audible trial and listen to Enemies of Doves for free. Audible will even send you a reminder before they charge you so you can cancel if audiobooks aren’t for you.
I’m excited for new readers to discover Enemies of Doves and for readers who have already enjoyed it once to hear it in a new way. Happy listening!
Shanessa Gluhm 