Ask the Author: Derrick McClain
Answered Questions (1)
Derrick McClain
Thanks for the question!
As an audio proofer, I would sit down with the audiobook recording before it went to retail, and follow along with the text, checking for:
*Missed lines
*Extraneous sounds (a cough, hitting mic stand, etc)
*Disruptive word changes
*Mispronunciations
I would then mark down the timestamp and correlating page of text at which the issue occurred, a short note about what was said and what should have been said instead, and that would be sent to the narrator/producer who would then re-record those sections before final submission.
I would not be critiquing performance, accents, or other creative aspects of the narration. I compare this to the final edit check of a written work before it goes to print - at this point, the editor is no longer looking for plot holes or other weaknesses/opportunities, but rather just any remaining embarrassing typos, grammatical/spelling mistakes, etc.
And these mistakes always happen. In one of my most recent recordings, I initially said "holded" instead of "molded", "fanning" instead of "fanned", and I mispronounced "Bavarian" THREE times. Luckily, they were caught.
To again draw the comparison with print/ebook, some mistakes will sometimes slip by. And the more independent the production (indie author working with indie narrator/producer), generally the less likely the work will go through a professional proofer.
So -- long answer, I know, but hopefully it addresses your curiosity!
P.S. I'm planning a series of blog articles on the people "behind the curtain" in the creation of books and audiobooks. Included in this will be an interview with an audio proofer :)
As an audio proofer, I would sit down with the audiobook recording before it went to retail, and follow along with the text, checking for:
*Missed lines
*Extraneous sounds (a cough, hitting mic stand, etc)
*Disruptive word changes
*Mispronunciations
I would then mark down the timestamp and correlating page of text at which the issue occurred, a short note about what was said and what should have been said instead, and that would be sent to the narrator/producer who would then re-record those sections before final submission.
I would not be critiquing performance, accents, or other creative aspects of the narration. I compare this to the final edit check of a written work before it goes to print - at this point, the editor is no longer looking for plot holes or other weaknesses/opportunities, but rather just any remaining embarrassing typos, grammatical/spelling mistakes, etc.
And these mistakes always happen. In one of my most recent recordings, I initially said "holded" instead of "molded", "fanning" instead of "fanned", and I mispronounced "Bavarian" THREE times. Luckily, they were caught.
To again draw the comparison with print/ebook, some mistakes will sometimes slip by. And the more independent the production (indie author working with indie narrator/producer), generally the less likely the work will go through a professional proofer.
So -- long answer, I know, but hopefully it addresses your curiosity!
P.S. I'm planning a series of blog articles on the people "behind the curtain" in the creation of books and audiobooks. Included in this will be an interview with an audio proofer :)
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