DA3 Interview & Giveaway: Audiobook Narrator Karen White’s Romance Picks
Samuel Johnson observed, “A writer only begins a book. The reader finishes it.” With an audiobook, a voice is added to that mix, one that can profoundly affect the reader’s experience of the story. Audiobook narration is an art and craft that’s long fascinated me, and June Is Audiobook Month, so I’m very excited to bring you this interview with Karen White, who has been the voice for an amazing variety of best-selling authors ranging from Sue Monk Kidd to Naomi Wolf. For Dear Author readers, Karen has picked a trio of favorite contemporary romances that she’s recorded: Love Irresistibly by Julie James, A Girl’s Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister, and Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis:
Karen, tell readers what you love about these books and authors:
The thing I love about all three of these writers is 1) above all, the humor in the books and 2) relatable, flawed, but not victimized heroines. And 3) relatable, flawed, but not overbearing heroes.
For Katie’s book A Girl’s Guide to Vampires, I also loved the unique way that she combines contemporary romance with the paranormal genre. There are vampires here, but the down to earth romance takes center stage and the heroine spends far more time resisting the existence of vampires than actually dealing with them.
With Julie James’s books, the heroines, though having fabulous fashion sense, great taste and great bodies – which I can’t relate to so much – have real life struggles with balancing career and relationship. And that I find very relatable.
Jill Shalvis’s female characters are very relatable – fun and sexy and smart, but they often struggle with self-image like we all do. Although I’ve loved all of the books in her Animal Magnetism series, I think the first is my favorite. Heroine Lilah is a bit of a screwup, but only because she takes on too much, and she takes on too much because she can’t say no to an animal (or human) in need. Bad-ass seeming Brady, our delectable hero, has a tough-on-the-outside, broken-on-the-inside quality that I find so wonderful to take on as a narrator. You have to have the “low-pitched, authoritative voice that brooked no argument” that I go for in this sample:
[audio https://dearauthor.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AnimalMagnetism1.mp3 ]But you also have to find the places to let the vulnerability come through, where he doesn’t even know how hard he’s working to cover things up.
[audio https://dearauthor.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/animag70.mp3 ]But I know as a performer that the need has got to be there underneath it all, because eventually he is ready to let her in:
[audio https://dearauthor.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AnimalMag25.mp3 ][note from Alison: Don’t skip that last one! Too good!]
How did you get started in audiobooks?
I am an actor by training and I worked professionally on stage and on camera for quite a few years, but when I got married I was concerned about the demands of that work when we started a family. A friend had suggested that I look into recording audiobooks. I used our industry journal, AudioFile to find out where I might work in Los Angeles, but the pickings were slim. (The vast majority of audiobook work at that time was in New York.) Somehow I talked my way into a job editing recording sessions for Dove Audio, a Beverly Hills based company that worked primarily with celebrities recording abridged books.
Then my boss there was hired to open a Los Angeles studio for Books-on-Tape, brought me along where I started narrating as well as casting and directing. It was a great learning process! I stopped working full time when I had kids but was able to keep a hand in, doing a few books a year and proofing sessions (listening to the recording while reading the text to check for errors) which I could do from home; also a great way to learn. Now my kids are a bit bigger, so I’m working almost full time recording, mostly from a home studio.
Before I listened to many audiobooks, I suppose I thought of it as the easiest gig ever–show up and read! But it takes just one well-done audiobook to prove that can’t be true. So how do you prepare?
I do approach a manuscript pretty much the way I would a play. That is, I read to learn as much as I can about the characters and take notes on as much detail as I can for each – not just specifics on their voices, but all physical characteristics and anything else that seems to define them. This I organize into a character list, which I use to help “find” each character in my body and voice. Sometimes I’ll use a little phrase as that person’s “hook” – a little thing they say and/or a gesture that can hook me into their voice and attitude. I also make note of words that I don’t know how to pronounce and then look those up and make another list. And as I go I also underline attributives that describe how a person delivers a line ( as in “she said uncertainly”) if it comes after the line of dialogue. If it is before, I leave it alone as I’ll catch it as I go.
I work from an IPad now, which I love for the tree-saving reasons, but also because I can do a lot of underlining and highlighting on the first read. Then when I skip through to type up the notes I’ve made, I take out the notation except those underlined attributives. I find it’s distracting to have a script that is over-notated. I like to prepare as much as possible, and then read as freely and impulsively as I can, making choices by instinct that is shaped by my research.
Is it typical for a narrator and author to confer on the recording? Do you ask for the author’s input on how to portray characters?
That mostly depends on the author. Some are open to it, some not, perhaps depending on schedule – if it’s a simultaneous release of print and audio they are usually quite busy when we are preparing to record. I like to talk to an author to get input on character name and place pronunciations. Julie James always includes hot Chicago restaurants and fancy wines in her books and she’s great about telling me how to say them. I can also learn a bit about the author’s voice – hearing her literal voice is helpful in pinning down the narrative voice of the book. I usually rely on what they’ve written for character portrayals, though. When the writing is good, it’s all there.
Once you’re at the recording stage, what’s the process? How much do you read in a session, and how long will it take to finish a book?
Rule of thumb is that it takes 2 – 3 hours to record a “finished hour” (how long it is once it is edited). I work on my own mostly, and I’m very particular about having a clean read (no noises, few errors) so it takes me a bit longer than most, but I also end up having less to do in post-production (re-recording to correct errors). I like working from home because I can get life stuff done on my breaks (pick up my kids from school, ride my bike to the store, walk the dog, do laundry). So I’ll record for 1 ½ hours, then get something done for half an hour. It means for a longer work day, but it’s productive overall. And I can be active in between sessions of sitting still. And since I just read that sitting is the new smoking, that seems even more important!
What is the biggest challenge in narrating an entire novel?
Honestly, it’s much harder to read part of a novel! (I’ve directed and narrated books where it’s split by chapter, usually when the first person narrative is split between characters.) It requires some tricky collaboration to share a book that way, because generally you don’t record with the other person but you have to figure out a way to match styles so that it’s not jarring to the listener.
But I think a challenge for new narrators is to discount the narrative in favor of creating a bunch of fun characters. The latter is important, but if you neglect to find the narrative voice as well as its emotional throughline, you disconnect from the listener for what can be the majority of the book.
Speak to authors interested in seeing audio productions of their books. What advice would you give them?
Sometimes it just takes prodding an agent to get the audiobook rights sold. Because of listener demand and lower production costs, a much higher percentage of published books are being produced in audio than were even five years ago. There are self-publishing routes, but I’d highly recommend going with a professional narrator and an established audiobook publisher if possible. For one, the product will be more consistent and polished, but you’ll also have more marketing efforts behind you. It’s a great deal of work to sell self-published work and the payoff doesn’t usually match up in my experience.
Julie James had an interesting experience with one of her backlist titles. Practice Makes Perfect was her second book. Her first Just the Sexiest Man Alive, was her first audiobook, but it was published after PMP came out in print. Then, Tantor Audio picked up the rights for her FBI/US Attorney series and we’ve recorded them over the past couple of years. Julie contacted me this year to find out about self-publishing PMP, but I said, why don’t you see if Tantor is interested – they might not even know it exists. And that was the case, as soon as they found out it was out there and audiobook rights were available, they snatched them up and it came out May 27.
I’ve heard amazing narrations by unfamiliar readers, and very ordinary ones by celebrity/public figure readers. Is it annoying that the spoken-word Grammy almost inevitably goes to the famous narrator? ;)
It’s hard to make judgement across the board – not every good actor (celebrity or not) is cut out for narration work. Someone who is fantastic at animation voiceover may be terrible in audiobooks (kind of sprinter vs. marathoner) and there are celebrities (Kate Winslet comes to mind as well as Samuel L. Jackson) who are fabulous narrators. I think there is value to the audiobook industry as a whole when celebrities win Grammys in the field as it raises awareness. However, there are many many non-celebrity (what I call the middle class working actor) narrators who should be recognized in some way for the high level of their craft. And honestly, audiobooks wouldn’t exist without them, because most budgets can’t afford a celeb.
What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I know when I was 12, it was Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume. That was a life changer, and I remember that book making its way around my sixth grade class. When I was 10, it was probably the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley (as well as any other book written about an animal; I was obsessed). My girls at that age were devouring Harry Potter, of course.
Karen is giving away your choice of the audiobooks she discussed today; leave a question or comment to enter. And she also does lots of giveaways through social media, so follow her website, Twitter, and Facebook. Karen, thanks for the interview. I loved learning about the care and attention you take with your work.
This was such a good interview! As a reader, I fascinated by the difference between how I read and how I listen. I don’t listen to many ebooks, but every time I do, I think, “I should really do this more” because it’s a completely separate experience from reading (I read quickly and skim more than I should versus listening when you hear and have to think about every single word).
Thank you for the insight and the giveaway!
@Katie: Well, it is possible to zone out on an audiobook, but that’s when I know something about it isn’t working for me. But you’re right, it is different–I’ve always wondered if I can say I’ve “read” a book if I actually listened to it instead. I usually feel compelled to clarify if I’m talking to someone about the book.
This was a fascinating interview that answered a lot of questions I had about the audiobook preparation and recording process. I look forward to hearing some of Ms. White’s books.
While I’m here, I wanted to share this link–I know there are lots of Laura Kinsale fans here at DA, and this is a funny review of one of her audiobooks: http://www.sum-of-me.blogspot.com/2013_05_01_archive.html
This was fascinating – thanks so much for sharing! I’ve always loved the audiobooks of Agatha Christie’s Hercules Poirot books read by David Suchet. Really excellent! I haven’t listened to much romance, though. I’ll have to give it a shot.
The DBSA podcast got me started on the idea listening to audiobooks a couple of years ago and I haven’t looked back. I even trained for and ran my first half marathon while listening to audiobooks. I find it very engrossing and my run seems to fly by. I need to check out the FBI/US Atty audiobooks!
@Alison Atlee: That blog post was beyond awesome. I am listening to audiobooks these days because it is a great way to “read” and knit at the same time. I do rush to turn it off when one of my kids comes downstairs in case the narrative turns “purple” at an inopportune moment. And, even though it’s crazy, if I am listening in a public place when there is a particularly graphic sex scene, I wonder whether people around me can hear the narration, or whether the nature of what I am listening to is somehow written on my face! It seems much more intimate, somehow, than just reading it on the printed page.
The interview with Karen White was also great. Since I have only just started listening to books while I knit, I’ve only listened to about six or seven. It is amazing how much difference a good narrator makes and how quickly a book can be diminished by one who is not so good. It is a matter of personal taste, perhaps, since I always notice that the reviews published by audible.com have very mixed reactions to a particular narrator — some people always hate a narrator that other people absolutely love. But if there are consistently negative comments about the narration, I will often resist buying the book.
The other observation I have is that listening to a book seems to me to highlight examples of poor writing in ways that are more acute than when I read the passage in written form. I think I read printed words so quickly that I can often breeze past some clunky writing and get involved in the overall story. But if the words are being read to me, I often wince at inelegant expressions that I might not take particular note of when they are in print and there is a greater risk that I will get pulled out of the story.
Your narration on the Julie James series has been great. It is a good example of the right narrator making a good book even better.
I love audio books. It is such a different experience listening to a book vs reading. There are many books that I have both read and listened to. I find I pick up different subtleties with each.
In older audio books, there were often audible clues as to when the disk ended. Most newer books don’t do that.
Publishers do not seem to pay attention to the chapter titles and such that are encoded in most recordings. Often I will be listening to a book by one author and an different author shows up on my screen. As someone who both records and produces, is it hard to get those titles set up? If it is your software needs to be improved (as a SW engineer, I know I could make it easy).
Thanks for the interview, it was interesting to learn about audio book production.
I’m a huge fan of audiobooks and actually prefer them the majority of the time because the narrators can really bring to life characters quirks and subtle nuances that sometimes I gloss over when I’m devouring a book. Thanks for the opportunity to see a little bit of behind the scenes.
Great interview!
The Julie James FBI/US Attorney series on audio is terrific.
I loved reading this! I am so fascinated by audiobooks. I love interviews with narrators. It is so interesting to hear how they work. I have favorite narrators and will hunt down their work just so I can listen to their performances.
I am so grateful to the people who do this. I’m an avid runner & walker and spend probably 7-10 hours a week listening to audiobooks this way. Karen White is a favorite, and I was so happy to hear her reading some of my favorite authors. I love her range of voices for characters. Her voice kept me company on a half marathon one time. :)
I’ve listened to all of Julie James books so far except Love Irresistibly so I’d love to listen to this one! Karen White’s narration adds so much to the story, I’ve read them all and listened to them all so far. What surprises me is how good her take on the guys are. I laugh at loud when I’m supposed to when listening to these. I hope I win!
Great Interview! I’m new to audio books and look forward to listening to yours.
I’ve listened to Karen’s narrations of Julie James’s books and absolutely love them.
Q for Karen: What’s your average total time for recording an audiobook?
I love audiobooks. I do a lot of driving and also work a lot around the house so when I am too busy to be holding a book I love to be listening to one. I love listening to a holiday romance when I am cooking and baking around the holidays it puts some extra sweetness into my yummy cookies. Thanks for the wonderful post.
I love books but only like audio books. Nothing can replace having a book in my hands. However, it’s great fun to listen to books when you are commuting and have no hands!
Interesting info about narrating books
Yay, Karen White! It’s good to see you on DA! (Karen is a favorite over at Audiogals!)
This is a great interview. I love that you narrate two of my favorite contemporary authors, Jill Shalvis and Julie James!
thanks for the great interview! I have such a long drive to work, I’ve always considered audio books. Definitely going to have to check these out :)
I love audio books, I listen to them constantly when I’m in my car…and when I’m not, I’m pining for the book I can’t read (hear) until I have somewhere else to go!
Any of those three books would be great. Thanks so much for the giveaway.
Love Karen’s interpretation of Julie James’s books – thanks for the giveaway!
Well, reading is as fundamentable as breathing to me, but sometimes the old eyeballs are just so darned tired. I would love to try an audiobook. And then I wouldn’t have to feel so guilty about shirking the housekeeping. Uh-oh…wait a minute…ahead lies danger!
I’m a little bit afraid to listen to books — I tried once, and maybe the problem was that I had already read the book (and it’s one of my favorites) and I couldn’t stand how the male actor voiced the female characters. It drove me crazy! I was incredibly glad that I had borrowed it from the library and not spent any money on it. I’d love to try listening to a book again, and from the samples, this sounds like a good place to start!
Since audiobooks have replaced ebooks as my favorite way to “read” these days, this was an extremely interesting interview. A good narrator easily can make the difference between a one time read of an excellent book and multiple re-reads of even mediocre books accompanied by searches for additional books read by same narrator. Thanks!
This interview was very interesting to me. I am visually impaired and am unable to leisurely read in the traditional sense. I have become quite reliant on audiobooks. I have listened to many and I can tell you from experience that the narrator can make or break the overall experience for the reader. It is refreshing to know that such care and diligence is considered in creating alternative formats to some amazing stories. Thank you.
I love to listen to audio books in the car. It’s true that a good narrator makes a difference. I’ve had pretty good luck with my choices so far. (Only once did I have to stop listening b/c the narrator made the hero’s voice unbearably annoying.)
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a book narrated by White. I look forward to checking them out!
Books seem to come alive for me on audio, it’s like I am actually seeing and hearing the characters right next to me. It does make a difference who is reading the book but so far I’ve been lucky, not many have disappointed me.
This is the second or third interview I’ve read from Karen White and she always gives such informative and helpful answers. I’m seriously impressed by audiobook narrators and other voice actors. My throat gets sore just from reading several picture books to a toddler!
The interview was great, Karen is an excellent narrator and I find myself very entertained by her efforts. I find a great narrator can only enhance an author’s work, Karen is especially talented. When she’s associated with a title I know it’ll be a quality performance. But, I’m sure she enjoys working with excellent authors. What I’m always impressed with is just how distinctive a multiple role reading is, each voice you recognize, it’s consistent through out and the quality never diminishes. I have several go to narrators and I’m pleased to say you interviewed one of them here.
I love listening to audio books. Thank you for the details about them. Please enter me in contest. [email protected]
Thanks for the wonderful interview! I haven’t listened to any of the Julie James books yet, but have them on my buy list this month. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to Karen narrate Jill Shalvis’ Animal Magnetism series.
I listened to a few samples and I love your voice! You srsly have the coolest job ever!
I don’t think I like audiobooks, but you might have sold me with the last clip. :)
As others have said, I also have been listening to more books lately, and the narrator can definitely make or break my enjoyment of the story.
There’s one who drives me crazy because she’ll act out things that are stated in the narration (like, “she cleared her throat”, then she makes the *ahem* sound). You just *told* me she cleared her throat…it’s repetitive to then make the sound.
Then there are others who read book series and I couldn’t imagine anyone else ever reading those characters (I really like the narrator of the JD Robb books!)
Personally, I find that I generally enjoy the book best if I read it first, then use the audiobook for “re-reads”. That’s not always true, but often.
The very first audiobook I listened to was borrowed from the library. If I remember correctly, it was the first “Nursery Crimes” novel by Jasper Fforde. I put it in while driving 2.5 hours to visit the folks, and I giggled and laughed all the way home. I’m so glad my first audiobook was one with such a fun narrator, otherwise, I might have never listened to another (I can think of two audiobooks that would have made me think “never again!” if they’d been my first.)
@Rebe: Thanks for the recommendation, Rebe. When a book has multiple recordings, it’s helpful to know what others have enjoyed.
@Erin K.: I’m sure Jane and Sarah will be glad to hear that. Inspiring, Erin!
@JacquiC: I can’t listen to audiobooks unless I have something physical to do–driving, housework. Knitting seems like it would work well.
As for the “purple” passages, I wonder if Karen ever blushes when she reads! Or has to do a re-take because a scene made her cry or laugh…
The first time I read reviews at Audible, I was in awe: narrators have groupies! I understand what you mean about hearing versus reading awkward wording, but for me, it’s violence that tends to be harder for me to listen to than to read. No skimming, I guess! I could not make it through a Joyce Carol Oats novel about a serial killer, and have been gun shy of serial killer stories ever since.
@KarenT: I usually listen to downloads rather than CDs these days. The “chapters” on the playlist rarely correspond with the book chapters, or have any helpful titling. Annoying when you’re looking for a specific section.
@Shirene_DFT:
@leslie: Glad you enjoyed, Shirene and Leslie.
@Allie: Wow, you get through a lot of books that way. Might be an effective motivator for readers who hate exercise. I’m envisioning a book club/fitness support group that discusses the book and how many miles you walked. :)
@Patti P: Love that idea!
@Carrie G: Oh, thanks for mentioning AudioGals–I did not know about you! Very excited about spending some time there.
@Dee: Wanting to continue with a great book has kept me going at some mundane task more than once. And even to take the long way somewhere and drive a little more slowly!
@Heather.S: Yes, that struck me, too. So much thought and creativity behind it.
@Sue: It was interesting to hear how Karen keeps that consistency for the characters. “The Poisonwood Bible” was the most incredible recording I’ve experienced in this regard. Granted, most of that is Kingsolver’s genius, but the same voice artist did the entire book, and I rarely needed more than a few words to know there’d been a POV shift, and which character was speaking.
@MikiS: I wonder if audiobook voice artists get typecast. I noticed “The Night Circus” used the same narrator as the Harry Potter series…
@Tiffany: Ha! Told you it was good. :)
I’ll come back with a winner Saturday. Feel free to enter till then.
I love audiobooks and really enjoyed this interview; I’ve always wondered how the process works. In my imagination you go to a studio and read for 8 hours. The reality is much more interesting :)
I do a lot of driving, so I listen to audiobooks while I’m driving. I usually listen to books I’ve already read so I don’t get too distracted, but I always catch something new that I missed in the original read.
I used to listen to audiobooks all the time on my long commute. Then I moved closer to work. I fully believe that the narrator can make or break a book for me. It’s such a different experience from reading it in your head. But I do love them!
This was a super interesting article! Thanks for doing the interview and for the giveaway.
Very interesting article. I find that I have a hard time listening to audio books when I’m so used to reading, but I’d like to try again sometime.
Great interview. Love Karen White’s voice, especially when she’s reading one of my books out loud. :) Thanks for the mention.
Great interview! I love audio books–they help me survive my commute in my car! It was great to hear more about how they are made.
This is such an interesting interview. I love a well narrated audio book and am in awe when the narrator makes me see each character as a unique person. Thanks for a great interview.
Insightful interview! I enjoyed Karen’s reading of Love Irresistibly very much. I purchased it from Audible having never listened to her work before and feeling ambivalent after listening to a sample. I shouldn’t have worried because the humor and sexiness were conveyed perfectly.
Audiobooks are something new for me but I’ve already started stockpiling them. Have audible.com membership and scan it frequently for sales. Not sure when I’m going to listen to everything but I know I’ll get to them one day.
great interview! Love Karen White’s narrations of Julie James’ novels. She’s got the timing and characters’ snark down!
@Rebe: I’m so sorry for the delayed announcement, but Rebe, you won the giveaway! I’ve sent you and Karen an email so you can get in touch. Thanks for the audiobook, Karen. I’m sure you’ll enjoy, Rebe.
This is a topic that is close to my heart… Cheers! Exactly
where are your contact details though?