Tag: Audible

amazon · Audible · Emergence Ascended · Emergence Collective

Audible update: Chapter 2 and 3

Joe HallettLeave a comment

If you are new to my blog you may be wondering what is the Audible updates I keep posting. I get a fair amount of requests to have my books available on Audible. I am poor, my books do not sell enough to pay for a narrator to record them (or even a nice dinner) so as with most things I do, that I need done and lack resources to do, I learn how to do it, and do it myself. While it is not a perfect solution, it has worked out so far.

I started the “Audible project.”  I scrounged enough money to buy a decent microphone. I employed a friend to do the recording (but that did not work out) so I decided to do it myself. I started recording in my dining room, the only space available. That began a crash course in acoustics and learning to use the recording software (I am still learning but figured out enough to pass.) My first episodes were a disaster and I apologize to the brave souls who endured that.  Little by little I improved both the sound quality and my terrible narration. Narrating is a skill that does not get enough credit so give Kudos to your favorite narrators, the unsung heroes. I got used to hearing my own voice and I think my sight reading skills are improving.  

I graduated from the dining room table to a cozy closet space that has drastically improved the overall sound quality, although there is nothing I can do about the murder of crows that live in my neighborhood. I had previously recorded up to chapter 21 of Emergence Collective, but decided to start over with the improvements. I had originally planned on replacing the episodes one at a time to maintain continuity with the story, however I got heavy handed deleting drafts and organizing Anchor for Spotify and accidently deleted some of the recordings (I mentioned this in a previous post.)  That forced the decision to scrap everything and start from scratch.

I do not mourn the loss of those hours recording and editing. That time is served well by giving me practice and a learning experience.  Here I am now, Chapters 2 and 3 published yester and I am back in the saddle so to speak. My intention is to record every Sunday morning. That being said If you are reading this blog, you get to have free access to the Audio version of my books, narrated by me.  So I toss my ego aside and try not to cringe at my voice, I hope you enjoy the story. If you do, The best way to support me is to buy my books (of course) and leave a rating and review on the platform that you purchased it. I am now published world wide on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others. The reviews are very important (Not just to give me the warm feels) but it helps get me noticed and helps readers find new books to read.

Emergence Collective

Emergence Ascended

Amazon Author page

Spotify

Audible · Emergence Collective · reading

Audible update: 0 success, almost.

Joe HallettLeave a comment

It was a close one. Computers are weird and I think that they have a will of their own sometimes.  It all started with a zoom meeting with my son’s teacher. I started the meeting, but the Zoom did not detect my microphone. For the zoom meeting I just use the microphone on the laptop, so I figured there would not be an issue, but no joy.   We managed to get through it using text, but it was clumsy. Moving forward, after getting the recording studio (my closet) all situated and ready to go, blocking out the time and getting a fresh cup of coffee (not only recommended by writers all over the globe, but a requirement.) I sat in my new comfy chair and opened audacity. Opened my book (yes, I am reading from my personal print copy) and hit the record button. 0 success. That was the error code I saw. Audacity failed to recognize my Yeti microphone. Failed to detect anything.

So, I messed around, frustrated and disappointed. I had put the Audible project on hold for the holidays and finally got around to starting it again only to be thwarted but determined to not let it beat me. I did eventually get the recording done! It is now available on Spotify. 

I hope I don’t sound boring on my intro. I was trying to decide on how I wanted to go about restarting the project now that I am satisfied with the audio quality, which had been a thorn in my side. Do I re-record chapter one or keep everything the way it is and just move forward. But in my ADHD addled mind as I was organizing I decided to clean up the drafts (somehow my blogs migrated to Spotify as drafts) I got trigger-happy and ended up deleting the first episode on accident anyway, making the decision for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

30-minute shivers. · about me · Audible · Author · blogging · Emergence Ascended · Emergence Collective · Horror · Instagram · NaNoWriMo · narrators · readers · reading · science fiction

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Joe HallettLeave a comment

I have always liked that saying. I don’t know why. Maybe I enjoy duality. As I poke my head out of the cave of 2023 into the dawning of 2024 I am looking ahead for a great writing year. I have some great intentions, both long-term and short-term.

I will pause here and do my obligatory reflections of 2023. I’ll start with the fun stuff, I published another novel “Emergence Ascended.” I Wrote a novel for NaNoWriMo, which was a bucket list item. (Now I feel like I can legitimately say I am a Novelist.) I Did an interview on Youtube to promote my new novel (It didn’t help, but it was a fun experience). If you follow my social media accounts you may notice that I do not do the random selfie post as I prefer to stay in the background (Introvert stuff) but in the spirit of self-promotion I powered through.

There is probably more highlights of fun things in 2023 but sometimes I want to keep things for me. That being said there was some interesting things in 2023, just to keep it spicy. The big one is a series of events starting with a road rage incident, our vehicle got a nice bullet hole. Sent it to the bodyshop for repair, of which there was a break in and OUR vehicle was stolen to commit a crime. It was recovered a month later with a group of homeless occupying it in an alleyway. Toxicology report deemed it hazardous and it had to be ‘totaled’ by the insurance (we didn’t want to drive a Meth car anyway.) Replaced the vehicle with a new one from the insurance money. Whew. But that is not all. A month later a windstorm took out a tree, causing it to fall onto our home, and, Guess what?… The new Van. Yup. Lucky it was a glancing blow and our Insurance (again) fixed the repairs for that (No we did not take it to the same bodyshop) But wait there is more. Our upstairs bathtub cracked and flooded the garage. SO now we have a shiny new bath room remodel (that we are still paying for at the cost of 400$ a month)All in all, though it was a financially and mentally stressful year, we survived, and I still think the good outweighed the bad as far as 2023 goes.

Whats next? I have some very good intentions for the year coming up. First on my agenda is to finish “Yellow Man.” the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo. There are some good bones in the story, and I am working on fleshing out some details and adding things I missed or neglected in the first rough draft. Who knows how long this process is going to take me, but I am optimistic I can get it finished soonish.

I have several more stories I want to get down. Most are just thumbnail thoughts, and don’t have names yet. The “Bigfoot” story is next after Yellow Man. I love Cryptids and am excited to get that one rolling. I have two possible endings rolling around, I guess I will decide when I get there. Another one is the Will-o-the-wisp story. I want to get that one done before the BIG project. The Big Project is a storyline that will turn into a series (more than likely) with some vignettes here and there. There is a great setting that I thing I can create a small little world around with different adventures to play with. But this one I am going to give a lot of thought while I finish the other three stories. I want to get those out of the way because I predict that the big project will consume a few years (at the least, unless I get bored or distracted, which is probable)

Of course I will keep on keeping on with the blog. I will jot down some more short stories for your enjoyment. I am still compiling short stories for my book “30-minute Shivers.” A collection of short horror stories.

The Audible project, I intend to start recording (for realz this time) on Sunday mornings. I can enjoy my new “recording studio” and give you my least cringy narration to Emergence Collective on Spotify.

Thank you for spending your time visiting my blog; I sincerely appreciate it. I love interacting and building friendships, so feel free to comment and like. You can follow my socials and other projects by clicking the linktree. https://linktr.ee/jshallett

Audible · blogging · Emergence Ascended · Horror · NaNoWriMo · narrators · Podcasting

Im not stalling really.

Joe HallettLeave a comment
Yellow Man

I have been reviewing what I wrote during NaNoWriMo, the novel Yellow Man. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it since I wrote it so fast it felt like it would be a trainwreck. Overall, I am happy with the story. There is a lot to edit, no lie, and I missed a few crucial relationship interactions that I wanted to get in (I started a storyline between two characters but forgot about it halfway through). Since I barely met the word count goal, it’s technically not an entire novel, so I am glad that I forgot the extra content, and now I can take my time and add it in. I am also on the fence about the very, very end; I exposed maybe too much. I like to assume the reader is intelligent, so I try not to make some things obvious or point things out. so I might change it. If anyone wants to beta-read it and give me an opinion, That would be great! I am reluctantly starting the editing process (not my favorite part of writing) and I might share excerpts from it.

On the Audible update: I will resume recording Emergence Collective on Sunday and share it on Spotify. The studio is ready to go so I am going to start from the beginning, chapter one, since the sound quality has much improved since the first recordings. Would you prefer pure book content, or would you like commentary before or after the episode? I might keep it pure. I dunno.

How is the new release of the book going? Slower than the first. I don’t really know how to grow an audience, this is my broad stroke attempt (the blog), other than that I think I have only one copy sold to a stranger the rest of the six copies sold are the three I gifted and my close family. My severe introversion seems to be a roadblock. I guess when I die I will start selling books, I cant wait! just kidding, but maybe if I do get famous, after I die, you can say that you were here when it started!

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Audible · blogging · Emergence Ascended · Emergence Collective · NaNoWriMo

Audible Update: Took on too much

Joe HallettLeave a comment

As excited as I am about having my recording studio ready, I will have to wait to record. At least its not because of technical issues that are the most frustrating for me. But because this month is packed, and I don’t have enough time or mental energy to do it all.

NaNoWriMo has taken a life of its own, dominating my time. I wrote a lot in Yellow Man this weekend, but I am still a couple thousand words behind. Currently sitting on seventeen thousand words. (Which is crazy to me.) It was just bad timing to be honest. I had just finished writing Emergence Ascendedand am still working on the final edits. So to try to record Emergence Collective is too much. After NaNowriMo is over, I can cool my jets a bit and dedicate myself to that project.

Emergence Ascended · Emergence Collective · Podcasting · spotify

Audible update: New episode

Joe Hallett3 Comments
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5jF5HvOmGgt4iEVW6LbBSQ?si=38059xvbRCKAEZ4evHCmBA

If you are new and just stumbled on to my blog, you may wonder what my audible updates are… I started recording “Emergence Collective,” my first book, to release on Audible. I have received a lot of feedback about people wanting an audio version of my story; however, I am a bit too poor to afford a narrator, so like just about everything I do, I end up doing it myself. There is the fact that I have no idea what I am doing (as with most things I try). I learn as I go, grow from mistakes, and move on. What is interesting about writing, in general, is that I did not expect it to cost so much. Writing is free; I have a list of things I can not wait to get out of my head, but sharing it is a roadblock. Editors and book cover designs are expensive, something I did not anticipate when I started this journey. So I soldier on because, frankly, I can not, not write or be creative in some fashion. In the end I just hope people enjoy my stories as much as I enjoy thinking them up and writing them.

Back to the Audible thing. I have overcome some hurdles and am getting to the point where I feel that I might start producing something that will pass muster at the Audible People (ACX) and with me personally. The format is very important, and the audio quality as well; they seem to be pretty picky. As far as the narration is concerned, at least in my personal experience, not so much. I have returned audible books because I could not bear the narration. (so honestly not to worried about that, I will get better the more I do it of course.)

As far a NaNoWrimo goes, I had a busy weekend and did not keep up with my word count goal. Not all is lost, though I will try to make up some time on that. That being said, I had a successful weekend getting the recording studio (I am calling it a studio, but to be honest, that is an optimistic name) put together and getting a new episode recorded. I got some side projects in the works, like updating my etsy site. (Thanks Mom for helping with that).

Give my episode a listen, and let me know what you think. Be sure to like and comment!

about me · Author · Emergence Ascended · Emergence Collective · reading · voice acting · writing

Audible update: Bonus edition

Joe HallettLeave a comment

I decide to go ahead and do the commentary on my audiobook on Spotify. If you are interested in hearing me ramble on and attempt to share my ideas and feeling about “Emergence Collective,” there is the bonus episode now on Spotify, in addition to chapters 18 and 19.

As I look back, I can see how far I have grown as a writer in just the last year. (Ya know, when I actually started to get serious about it). Narrating the book has taught me so much more than I anticipated that it would, and to be honest, I didn’t think it would be any more than me reading aloud. But as I read, I see a lot that I can improve on, namely the overall structure. It hadn’t occurred to me when I was writing it, that my chapters are very short, (I don’t know if there are rules or anything concerning chapter length) but now I see that. The story still flows well and I am happy with the overall story. I think that “Emergence Ascended” is much more concise and smoother. the flow is better and I think I have a solid handle on the pacing. If you have read “Emergence Collective,” you should be getting excited about the sequel. I am nearing the end and I am getting excited (sort of) about the editing and final reviews. If you want to beta-read it, let me know!

In the meantime, check out the latest episodes on Spotify. Please comment/like or you can simply just say hi at Hello@hand-printsofdarkness.com Be sure to follow my Spotify page to get notified of the latest episodes!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3eu7h1p9xRSLf9VUAutnlm?si=749df4536ec045a2
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7bIJfd0Ig7dNKX6K9cBIuE?si=9faec8164f864186

Thanks for stopping by!

about me · Audible · Author · writing

Afterglow

Joe Hallett2 Comments

Glad that’s over. This blog is about my writing, so I try to not bring my work or home life into it (Boring, right?) But sometimes, it had a direct effect on my writing, so here it is. I had a very stressful week at work. I work in aerospace (Boeing, Space X, Blue Origin, etc…), and in aerospace, there are several governing agencies in place to ensure quality standards are maintained. Primarily the FAA and NADCAP. NADCAP is the National Aerospace and Defense Accreditation Program. This accreditation is very important; without it the shop would not be able to make parts. Anyway, after 3 days of diligent scrutiny, I have successfully passed the audit with barely a scratch.  It was a near-flawless outcome that entitles me to “Merit,” meaning that we are successful enough to get a six extension of our audit schedule. So I am basking in the afterglow of success!

What all this has to do with my writing is that I can now focus without the distractions of work. I am sure I am like most creatives in that if there is a lot of stress in the background, it interferes with creativity.  Other good work news is that I am rebuilding my staff to pre-pandemic levels and I do not have to take up the slack anymore. No more overtime and weekend work!  All that being said, I look forward to getting some writing in!

As far as my Audible recording project goes, there is a snag. Of course, as I mentioned before, I recorded the wrong chapter last week and had intended on recording the correct one on Sunday (chapter 13) and re-recording 14 because I had some weird sound quality stuff that I want to correct.  My son gave me his cold again. I could have recorded, but I wanted to spare the audience the sounds of my sneezing, coughing and other unfortunate vocal issues. Next week? That is my plan! Stay tuned. If you like listening to the story so far, but are eager to know what happens next, check out the book on Amazon!

amazon · Audible · Author · Emergence Ascended · readers · reading · voice acting

Audible update: Good news, bad news.

Joe HallettLeave a comment

The good news is that I recorded another chapter of Emergence Ascended, my WIP, on Sunday! The bad news is that I skipped chapter 13. I am scatterbrained; I know it. Another point in the plus column is that I was not happy with the recording of chapter 14. There was some weird interference noise that I couldn’t remove, and have yet to figure out where it is coming from. So now I have the opportunity to correct that. Next Sunday, I plan on recording chapters 13 and 14. so stay tuned for that.

If you are enjoying listening but are eager to finish the story, check out my Amazon author page to find my book. https://www.amazon.com/author/joseph_hallett. (best for international followers) Be sure to follow there and you will be notified of new books and stories as they come.

Audible · Emergence Collective · narrators · readers · science fiction · spiritualism

Audible update: A few more chapters

Joe HallettLeave a comment

Ok, today I recorded 3 chapters of Emergence Collective. My chapters are short enough that I had the time get more than one recorded. Be sure to check it out on Spotify! Hope you enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5aOh0b0QLOz5h5Jj300f9K?si=2e0f8a8550564cd8