Audio Content Requirements

Remember that you are (or will be) creating serialized content. That means that your audio book will be delivered in a sequence of audio files rather than a single downloadable file. An individual short story or a very short book that is contained within a single audio file is, by definition, not able to beserialized. Only material that can be divided into multiple files can be serialized.

We call these discrete, multiple files episodes, and multiple episodes make up the entire serialized audio book. There can be many different ways to prepare the audio files for these episodes, but some general accepted practices have evolved over time.

Length of Episodes

How many episodes are required? How long should each episode be? Both are valid questions. Yet neither have a firm answer. Books need to be as long as books need to be, which naturally leads to the conclusion that… episodes need to be as long as episodes need to be.

But in general, the “sweet spot” for episode length is 20 to 40 minutes. Not surprisingly, this closely mirrors the average commute time for many. Also, people tend to prefer serialized content where the episodes are of a consistent length. You don’t have to re-write chapters of your book to make them longer or shorter, however. An episode does not have to contain a single chapter. Many authors combine chapters to achieve a more consistent length. Others split chapters across multiple episodes rather than create a single two-hour long audio file.

Can They Hear You Now?

I cannot stress enough the importance of producing episodes with consistent volume levels. I speak of consistency within an episode, across all episodes of the book, and across other media files that play through someone’s speakers or in their headphones.

Please make sure you are maximizing your sound. You do not want to run the risk of being drowned out by the sounds of traffic, or forcing your listener to scramble for the volume control when your all-too-quiet file ends and their next audio in queue starts playing – at ear splitting levels. Earlier in this guide, I made strong recommendations for tools like Hindenburg and Auphonic. These tools will give you the correct volume level. Always. And that is very, very important.

What’s In An Episode

Assuming you’ve listened to some of the more popular books on our site, you probably noticed three distinct “parts” of a single audio file that makes up an episode:

1. Beginning (intro)
2. Story content (the “meat”)
3. Ending (outro)

Intro and outro sections are most often canned. In other words, they are exactly the same across all episodes, with the possible exception of a different “all finished” outro on the last episode of a book. Content and production varies widely across titles, but here are some general rules of what intros and outros should contain:

• Intro: Name of the book, author, narrator and episode number
• Outro: Special attribution (music, publisher, etc.), web address, Creative Commons statement, and thanking the listener

Intros tend to be well under a minute in length. The shorter, the better. Say what you need to say, and then get on with the story. Your listeners are going to hear this 10 or more times before they complete your book. Keep that in mind. And be sure to have your bed music fade out before you give the episode descriptor. It’ll leave you more options later. Trust me.

Outros can be longer, but only if necessary. Resist the temptation to have a “credit roll” at the end of the file, or to play the entire track of the music you used for your bed. Remember that people have more files than just yours in their listening queue. Be respectful of their time.

Both the intro and outro should have appropriate bed music under your narration. It helps set the mood if you will, and acts as an aural clue for those who don’t listen to your entire book all in one sitting.

The primary content area should be all story. You can – and probably should – use some sort of audio cue to denote chapter and/or scene changes within a file. You can also use appropriate sound effects. Note the word appropriate. Some authors score their entire production with music, effects, and sound environments. I posit this is very time consuming and a true art form. When considering adding effects of this kind, treat them as if they cost you money. And you are on a tight budget.

A note on music and sound effects

The music and sound effects you select can impact what else you can do with this audiobook you’re creating. For example, most of the books on our site use Creative Commons licensed music that expressly forbids any commercial use. That’s fine for Podiobooks.com, as we make the books available to listeners for free. But there are other sites, like Scribl, that allow our authors to actually sell, in a single download, all of the files that make up a podiobook. If you’ve used Creative Commons licensed music or effects, you’ll have to strip those out before letting Scribl distribute your book to paying marketplaces. A better option might be royalty free sounds, or getting the express permission from the rights holder (usually for a modest fee) to use their work in your fee-based audiobook. As I’ve said before: choose wisely.