Recording and Saving your Audiobook

Software

Before you start

Recording and editing

Processing the audio

Compression

Normalizing

Saving and sharing

Software

1. Download and install Audacity
   
2. Download and install the LAME MP3 encoder for Audacity
   
3. Download the ReplayGain plugin in and install Audacity’s plugins folder (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Audacity\Plug-Ins).

Before you start

Check clipping

Before you begin recording your book, open Audacity. Press ‘R’ to record a test and speak at the same volume you plan to use for recording the book. Check the recording monitor:



If a small section at the very end of the red bar is also red, as in this example, your audio is clipping. Click the monitor bar to clear it. You will need to turn the mic volume down just enough so that the red box is no longer highlighted:

Recording and editing

Record to a single mono track.

If you have never used Audacity before, it is recommended that you watch some introductory tutorials for an overview of how to use the basic functions.

• Audacity: Complete Tutorial Guide to Audacity for Beginners

Notes on Narration

• Clarity is essential. Speak as clearly as possible.
• Pacing is also extremely important. When reading physical books, we take time to process the information. You should give your listeners the same opportunity, and speak more slowly than you would in conversation.
• Pause after titles and in between paragraphs to demarcate sections.

Processing the audio

Compression

Compression improves overall sound quality, removes sudden increases in volume and reduces unwanted “pop” sounds (caused by plosives). There are some parameters we’ll need to find in order to apply the compressor (write these down)

Threshold

Click the black arrow at the start of the audio track



Select Waveform (dB) from the dropdown menu

Any sudden spikes in the waveform represent a sudden increase in volume or an unwanted ‘pop’ sound. Make a note of the average decibel level. In this example, anything above the red line (average amplitude) is unwanted. The threshold in this example is approximately -30 dB.

Noise floor

Click and drag to select a section with no speech, only background noise:

Go to Effect > ReplayGain > Analyze (dropdown) > OK. You will see a dialogue box similar to this:

The Noise Floor in this example is +55.4 dB

Ratio

You may need to experiment to find the best level of compression. For poorer microphones, set at 8:1 or higher.

Attack time

Keep on the lowest setting

Release time

Keep on the lowest setting

To apply the compressor, select the whole track (by clicking anywhere in the gray space in front of the track). Then go to Effect > Compressor, and enter the parameters you have collected. Make your Noise Floor slightly higher than the number you have recorded.

Normalizing

Select the whole audio track (again by clicking anywhere in the gray box in front of the track) and go to Effects > ReplayGain > Normalize (dropdown) > OK.

This normalizes the whole track at 89 dB and ensures consistency across all of the audiobooks we produce.

Saving and sharing

You will need to export the audio in MP3 (64kbps) format.

You may also wish to export the audio as an OGG file and keep this high-quality version yourself.

Export MP3

Go to File > Export audio > Save as type: MP3 (dropdown) > [filename] > Options > Quality (dropdown): 64 kbps > OK.

Format the filename: [authorsurname]-[title]-[chapter#]-[HH-MM-SS].mp3

        e.g. lenin-stateandrevolution-5-00-30-07.mp3

• Books: add all of the MP3 files to a ZIP folder, following the steps in How to Contribute
• Essays: Upload the finished single MP3 file to your chosen filesharing site, following the steps in How to Contribute

Updated 09/29/16