As I was listening to this, I realized I had connected with Haldane on the now defunct Writer's Asylum site. I remember seeing his book cover there, and I may be misremembering this, but I think he participated in a writing contest the admin of the site had sponsored.
I remember the last time he was on the podcast and had meant to buy his book then. Situation remedied, I picked up the paperback compendium of all 4 novellas.
Haldane (Dr. Simonsen) , if you're reading this, I think the time you took making your covers so distinct was well spent. They are poster-worthy works of art, and do a great job of conveying the genre and making me stop and want to look inside.
As for the autopsy, I wish I was as fastidious about all the resources I've poured into my writing and more recently my podcast. Although my audience is puny by Joe Rogan standards, it is growing as I reach out to more listeners. I recently signed up for "monetization" offered by my podcast hoster which comes out to about $0.002 per ad impression. $0.41 so far, well below the money I've invested in hardware and software.
Look forward to hearing more of Haldane's journey!
What I enjoy so much about his approach is the lack of emotion. Shane is exceptionally thoughtful and cerebral about his approach. I am the foil that kind of approach. Emotion on steroids! Glad you enjoyed his this conversation.
I would agree that I'm not a fan of AI narration, but I'm not opposed to it for some situations. So far, I've never found AI narration that actually seems good enough to engage with.
It always seems obvious to me that it's AI, even the ones that proclaim to be the best. There's an artificial cadence that makes it unpleasant to my ears.
It might be a nice option as a free add-on for eBooks where a human narration is not available. Like you, I'm a big consumer of audiobooks, and I hate putting books I want to read at the bottom of my stack because there's no eBook available. Kindle used to do this. Do you remember? They had a read-aloud feature. I agree, it's cutting into earnings where there is a produced audiobook, but for novels where there aren't the resources to make an audio version, a "read to me" feature could be helpful, but never preferred--and should be free if you purchase the eBook.
Let me go a step further and admit that I no longer read books with only my eyes. I can always find an ebook if there is no audiobook, and i will use my iPhone's programed AI voices. It's what I've done with Heather's and what I'm doing with Will Gray's right now—which by the way—if you haven't read Will, THE MAN BEHIND THE DOOR is a masterpiece.
But a narrator like Xe Sands just absolutely obliterates the AI and most human competition. She has the ability to make value judgements about my character's intentions. She reads between the lines, and so her voice can capture the humor that AI will never, never, never be able to capture.
Let me shout her out for her work reading Chuck Wendig's books as another example. And as far as male narrators go, well, I sure think you do a fine job with your books and podcast. Very understated and subtle. Always a treat listening to your podcast and your free audiobooks on YouTube.
Absolutely agree. In fact, I prefer a mediocre human reader to the best AI I've heard. I've heard AI impersonators, that can capture a reader's timbre and cadence to a degree, but it still won't be able to bring characters to life the way a person does.
I'll have to see what the best option to read eBooks aloud on my Android are... I am behind.
I didn't get time to mention I did start recording chapters of the first novella narrated in my own voice. I was enjoying the process, but decided the amount of time/energy/resources I would need to invest into the idea wasn't right at that moment. If the books start getting more attention and there is some demand for a human audiobook version then I will definitely revisit the idea. I remember you Rich from writers asylum too and it is great seeing you continuing to make progress. You are working so consistently at your writing and podcasts and building your own audience, so great seeing it working out.
I did also make contact with a female voice actor from New Zealand who suited the MC in the first novella and was planning on recording the first few chapters to release free on youtube as a kind of teaser, but it would have consumed a third of my total budget for the project. Again, if the book takes off I would love an opportunity to make a professional level audiobook, but I think the timing has to be right.
You are in an interesting situation, since the structure of your novellas with different POVs would demand different narrators, but that shouldn't stop you from doing it yourself. It's a great exercise, and I think it makes me a better writer. And I have to say, hearing you on Jody's podcast, I would definitely listen
I also thought to mention I had great fun combing voice actor profiles to find a handful perfect for each of the different characters in the series. Pie in the sky until the money and attention is there to justify it. But I am serious about recording the first book myself sooner or later. Audible doesnt allow AI narrators, and is the largest distributor. In the long run I want to get into self fulfillment on ebooks and audiobooks but figured that was a challenge best left for the next novel.
That is really encouraging. I've had a few people also nudge me in that direction. I suspect writing a completely different novel first will give me enough distance to narrate Our Vitreous Womb one day without wanting to tweak every second sentence. I'll put it firmly on my to-do list. Thanks!
This was a fantastic episode. I've been so far behind on my TRBM listening, and I wish I hadn't missed this when it was first released.
I find Haldane very interesting, and loved the process discussion. I have some different opinions on AI, cover design, life/death philosophy and the like, but the episode was long (in a good way) and fun and even informative. These types of episodes are always my favorite. Loved-loved-loved this episode.
Interesting breakdown of process there. Thanks for sharing the data, that's precious. It's a good thing we write for the love of writing, otherwise we should give up!
As I was listening to this, I realized I had connected with Haldane on the now defunct Writer's Asylum site. I remember seeing his book cover there, and I may be misremembering this, but I think he participated in a writing contest the admin of the site had sponsored.
I remember the last time he was on the podcast and had meant to buy his book then. Situation remedied, I picked up the paperback compendium of all 4 novellas.
Haldane (Dr. Simonsen) , if you're reading this, I think the time you took making your covers so distinct was well spent. They are poster-worthy works of art, and do a great job of conveying the genre and making me stop and want to look inside.
As for the autopsy, I wish I was as fastidious about all the resources I've poured into my writing and more recently my podcast. Although my audience is puny by Joe Rogan standards, it is growing as I reach out to more listeners. I recently signed up for "monetization" offered by my podcast hoster which comes out to about $0.002 per ad impression. $0.41 so far, well below the money I've invested in hardware and software.
Look forward to hearing more of Haldane's journey!
What I enjoy so much about his approach is the lack of emotion. Shane is exceptionally thoughtful and cerebral about his approach. I am the foil that kind of approach. Emotion on steroids! Glad you enjoyed his this conversation.
It certainly made me want to read his book.
Though of course I'm sad to hear of his embrace of AI for narration. I think he would do a very good job on his own, if he gave it a shot.
I would agree that I'm not a fan of AI narration, but I'm not opposed to it for some situations. So far, I've never found AI narration that actually seems good enough to engage with.
It always seems obvious to me that it's AI, even the ones that proclaim to be the best. There's an artificial cadence that makes it unpleasant to my ears.
It might be a nice option as a free add-on for eBooks where a human narration is not available. Like you, I'm a big consumer of audiobooks, and I hate putting books I want to read at the bottom of my stack because there's no eBook available. Kindle used to do this. Do you remember? They had a read-aloud feature. I agree, it's cutting into earnings where there is a produced audiobook, but for novels where there aren't the resources to make an audio version, a "read to me" feature could be helpful, but never preferred--and should be free if you purchase the eBook.
Let me go a step further and admit that I no longer read books with only my eyes. I can always find an ebook if there is no audiobook, and i will use my iPhone's programed AI voices. It's what I've done with Heather's and what I'm doing with Will Gray's right now—which by the way—if you haven't read Will, THE MAN BEHIND THE DOOR is a masterpiece.
But a narrator like Xe Sands just absolutely obliterates the AI and most human competition. She has the ability to make value judgements about my character's intentions. She reads between the lines, and so her voice can capture the humor that AI will never, never, never be able to capture.
Let me shout her out for her work reading Chuck Wendig's books as another example. And as far as male narrators go, well, I sure think you do a fine job with your books and podcast. Very understated and subtle. Always a treat listening to your podcast and your free audiobooks on YouTube.
Absolutely agree. In fact, I prefer a mediocre human reader to the best AI I've heard. I've heard AI impersonators, that can capture a reader's timbre and cadence to a degree, but it still won't be able to bring characters to life the way a person does.
I'll have to see what the best option to read eBooks aloud on my Android are... I am behind.
I didn't get time to mention I did start recording chapters of the first novella narrated in my own voice. I was enjoying the process, but decided the amount of time/energy/resources I would need to invest into the idea wasn't right at that moment. If the books start getting more attention and there is some demand for a human audiobook version then I will definitely revisit the idea. I remember you Rich from writers asylum too and it is great seeing you continuing to make progress. You are working so consistently at your writing and podcasts and building your own audience, so great seeing it working out.
I did also make contact with a female voice actor from New Zealand who suited the MC in the first novella and was planning on recording the first few chapters to release free on youtube as a kind of teaser, but it would have consumed a third of my total budget for the project. Again, if the book takes off I would love an opportunity to make a professional level audiobook, but I think the timing has to be right.
You are in an interesting situation, since the structure of your novellas with different POVs would demand different narrators, but that shouldn't stop you from doing it yourself. It's a great exercise, and I think it makes me a better writer. And I have to say, hearing you on Jody's podcast, I would definitely listen
to an eBook narrated by you.
I also thought to mention I had great fun combing voice actor profiles to find a handful perfect for each of the different characters in the series. Pie in the sky until the money and attention is there to justify it. But I am serious about recording the first book myself sooner or later. Audible doesnt allow AI narrators, and is the largest distributor. In the long run I want to get into self fulfillment on ebooks and audiobooks but figured that was a challenge best left for the next novel.
You do have a strong voice for audio.
That is really encouraging. I've had a few people also nudge me in that direction. I suspect writing a completely different novel first will give me enough distance to narrate Our Vitreous Womb one day without wanting to tweak every second sentence. I'll put it firmly on my to-do list. Thanks!
This was a fantastic episode. I've been so far behind on my TRBM listening, and I wish I hadn't missed this when it was first released.
I find Haldane very interesting, and loved the process discussion. I have some different opinions on AI, cover design, life/death philosophy and the like, but the episode was long (in a good way) and fun and even informative. These types of episodes are always my favorite. Loved-loved-loved this episode.
Interesting breakdown of process there. Thanks for sharing the data, that's precious. It's a good thing we write for the love of writing, otherwise we should give up!
I'm really grateful for Dr. Simonsen. His breakdown is absolutely amazing.