Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Following



I stumbled upon a new adventure. Some readers have been after me to produce audiobooks. I myself was never a fan of audiobooks until my sister and I went to Chincoteague, and during the long drive, we listened to Misty of Chincoteague. Audiobooks do have a valuable place.

I talked with my writer support group about how one can produce audio books, and they told me about a profit sharing production company. It would cost me nothing! My book had to be accepted by interested narrators first. I had to "sell" myself, and convince them of the likelihood that they would make money for all their work. Since my new book, Joe - The Horse Nobody Loved is still doing really well (still #1 in horse books on Amazon...sometimes dips but seems to keep scooting back to #1), I decided that was the one I would put out as an audiobook first. I sent the sample to the company, and waited to see if anyone was interested.

Right away I heard from someone who quickly sent me their audition tape of my first chapter. I loved it! Now it is true, I have no experience with audiobooks, but the feeling the narrator put into her reading was perfect. I told her I wanted to hire her. I didn't even need to hear any one else. The next step was to send her the whole book. If she didn't like it, she would turn down the gig. It turned out to be a husband and wife team. Here is the letter they sent me after reading the whole book:

 Hi Vicky,

Dorothy and I read through your book this morning and we love your writing very much! This just might be the best book we've agreed to produce! I love your wit and Dorothy has been going through some Kleenex while reading it as she has a very soft heart. (We both do! ….okay, I admit it! I teared up a bit, too! LOL!)

A little about us: Dorothy and I fell in love on the internet over 3 years ago (no one was more shocked about that than us!) I lived in Lynchburg, Va, she here in Ennis, Texas. 2 years ago we became engaged and I moved to Ennis to be with her. After much praying about how the Lord would have us use our talents, we began exploring audiobook production. I had been a home recording enthusiast, she, an actress on TV, in movies, and in theater. So, this seems to be the perfect combination and we both LOVE doing it.  I am her audio engineer, and she is the featured narrator, although I have narrated a couple of books also. Our goal is to bring glory to God through family-friendly, faith-based audiobooks, and educational books.


And then, a day later another letter:

I asked Dorothy, "Would you give the book a 10?" She said, "..higher if I could!" I've never seen her cry this much after reading something. It will be a challenge to keep from breaking down during production.   OH GREAT! Dorothy just read the last paragraph to me and now I CAN'T SEE to type! Gosh, what an ending, Vicky!!!! We're so glad we get to do this book!!! Thank you again for this great opportunity!!!

God is always speaking, and His miracles should not astound me...but they do every time. Remember, the narrators in this company read all genre, and it is not a Christian company.What were the chances of strong believers being the ones who decided to audition for my book? And a movie/TV actress on top of it! I looked her up. She was in several well known movies. And they love my book.

Who knows where this all may lead? 

God. 

Yes, God does, and I am following Him right now with my mouth hanging open, eyes wide in wonderment.

**********

Proverbs 3:5-6


Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.
  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.