How We Work
How We Work
In the words of Montell Jordan,
“this is how we do”.
If you ask us, too many audiobooks are being churned out by bulk volume producers with zero concern for the ultimate quality of the actual end result. The NAP team always strives to be better than we were yesterday, in our relentless pursuit of delivering simply the best sounding audiobooks on the planet. It’s difficult for us to share a specific workflow for how we operate because we do whatever your project needs and we’re always tweaking and improving, BUT… when you choose NAP you can expect the process to go a little something like this. Lights please.. and action:
Pre-Production
Together, we’ll prep you for the studio if you’re reading your book, or decide who the perfect narrator will be to bring your work to life. We’ll figure out who should read any additional contributions like a foreword or Q&A section, and whether or not you need music or sound effects. We’ll talk about including a pdf for visual elements like charts, illustrations or photos, and we’ll bring all our experience to bear on setting your manuscript up to be a great listening experience. Does the term “distribution platform” make you want to panic? Don’t worry: we’re here to help you find the perfect platform to get the finished product out to the waiting world.
Pre-production is also where we determine how quickly we need to work, where we’ll be recording, etcetera etcetera. While pre-pro can seem enough to bring that eye-twitch back, trust us – fixing it in post (one of the phrases we dread the most in our industry) is a lot more frustrating than getting your ducks in a row before they start hatching.
Eggs aside, all of this will be wrapped up with a transparent budget for you to approve before we book studio time and get the audio ball rolling.” “…we can get these ducks a-quacking. We mean, recording. What?
Pronunciation Lookup
There’s nothing quite as embarrassing as a mispronounced word in your own audiobook. Listeners are brutal when it comes to catching mistakes, so don’t spoon-feed them blunders to bluster about in their online review. We’ll help you ensure flawless pronunciation from the first word to the final chapter, leaving zero room for error.
Recording
Ah, it’s finally here – the day we’ve all been waiting for. With all the gruelling pre-pro out of the way, the narrator (or you!) and the producer/engineer can work their magic and bring your book to life.
And even though our gear is ridiculously over-qualified and our recording booth is where Taylor Swift recorded all of her vocals for “Fearless,” what is REALLY our greatest strength is the interplay between the reader and the producer. Most audiobooks today are recorded by a lone narrator with no guidance, no help, no perspective, and very little fun. That could be you, but with NAP this most crucial step of the process will happen with all the richness and dynamism of interaction, feedback, humor, support, coaching, and sometimes that 30-minute coffee break because, you know, caffeine.
Initial Editing
The lion’s share of work has been done. The book is recorded! Now it’s time to clean that recording up, ensure breathing room between segments, and get draft audio ready for review. Oh we’re not done yet…
Proofing
We told you we’re obsessed, and we meant it (#SendHelp). Now’s the time for our rigorously trained error-catchers to swoop in and seize any mistakes that may have slipped through the cracks.
Final Edits and Mastering
Something slipped through the cracks? Our proofers caught it, and our engineers will get it fixed. We’ll bring the narrator in to record fixes if needed, and when it’s all said and done we have a final round of checks to make sure the files we send you are ready to upload, meeting all those specs like RMS and head length and METADATA *shudder*. When you choose NAP you choose a partner who’s with you to the end. If files get kicked back for any reason, we’re here to jump on it and make any adjustments needed. You’ll get your audiobook out, and help is just a phone call away.
Pre-Production
Together, we’ll prep you for the studio if you’re reading your book, or decide who the perfect narrator will be to bring your work to life. We’ll figure out who should read any additional contributions like a foreword or Q&A section, and whether or not you need music or sound effects. We’ll talk about including a pdf for visual elements like charts, illustrations or photos, and we’ll bring all our experience to bear on setting your manuscript up to be a great listening experience. Does the term “distribution platform” make you want to panic? Don’t worry: we’re here to help you find the perfect platform to get the finished product out to the waiting world.
Pre-production is also where we determine how quickly we need to work, where we’ll be recording, etcetera etcetera. While pre-pro can seem enough to bring that eye-twitch back, trust us – fixing it in post (one of the phrases we dread the most in our industry) is a lot more frustrating than getting your ducks in a row before they start hatching.
Eggs aside, all of this will be wrapped up with a transparent budget for you to approve before we book studio time and get the audio ball rolling.” “…we can get these ducks a-quacking. We mean, recording. What?
Pronunciation Lookup
There’s nothing quite as embarrassing as a mispronounced word in your own audiobook. Listeners are brutal when it comes to catching mistakes, so don’t spoon-feed them blunders to bluster about in their online review. We’ll help you ensure flawless pronunciation from the first word to the final chapter, leaving zero room for error.
Recording
Ah, it’s finally here – the day we’ve all been waiting for. With all the gruelling pre-pro out of the way, the narrator (or you!) and the producer/engineer can work their magic and bring your book to life.
And even though our gear is ridiculously over-qualified and our recording booth is where Taylor Swift recorded all of her vocals for “Fearless,” what is REALLY our greatest strength is the interplay between the reader and the producer. Most audiobooks today are recorded by a lone narrator with no guidance, no help, no perspective, and very little fun. That could be you, but with NAP this most crucial step of the process will happen with all the richness and dynamism of interaction, feedback, humor, support, coaching, and sometimes that 30-minute coffee break because, you know, caffeine.
Initial Editing
The lion’s share of work has been done. The book is recorded! Now it’s time to clean that recording up, ensure breathing room between segments, and get draft audio ready for review. Oh we’re not done yet…
Proofing
We told you we’re obsessed, and we meant it (#SendHelp). Now’s the time for our rigorously trained error-catchers to swoop in and seize any mistakes that may have slipped through the cracks.
Final Edits and Mastering
Something slipped through the cracks? Our proofers caught it, and our engineers will get it fixed. We’ll bring the narrator in to record fixes if needed, and when it’s all said and done we have a final round of checks to make sure the files we send you are ready to upload, meeting all those specs like RMS and head length and METADATA *shudder*. When you choose NAP you choose a partner who’s with you to the end. If files get kicked back for any reason, we’re here to jump on it and make any adjustments needed. You’ll get your audiobook out, and help is just a phone call away.
