Audiobook Update (What’s Taken So Long)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

A while back I wrote about some of the “firsts” in my life, which have been a bit of a surprise at my age – I’d thought at 70 I’d pretty much be coasting to the finish line, but clearly God has other plans. One of those plans was to get my books into audio form, since audiobooks have been gaining popularity.

Another “First” from 2022 – Expanding My Reach

On to Book Two!

At first, recording Vision, the second book of my trilogy, went a lot faster than the first book, ironically because I didn’t rush so much. Jeff, my recording technician and coach, had trained me well and got me to stop reading as though running a 50-yard dash. When I had finally “got the hang of it,” we did very little rerecording. Before we knew it, I was reading the epilogue, and that was that.

Or so it seemed.

Listening to the finished product, I thought it sounded … well, unfinished.

In one of the final chapters the story reaches a climax against a backdrop of a Christmas Eve performance of Handel’s Messiah. (Some of you may remember it as a Christmas story when I posted it in seven parts last December.) Listening to the crescendo unfold without the accompanying music sounded incomplete. (The kids would call it “lame.”)

I wanted to add the Hallelujah Chorus, the song that was being sung while God performed His miracle. When I posted the story in December, I had attached links to videos of the songs, so my blog readers could listen to the “soundtrack” of the story. But I learned I couldn’t legally use videos off YouTube in an audiobook, for copyright reasons.

Copyright laws can complicate things. I know that from my attempts merely to put song lyric quotes in my first book. One copyright owner of an old Broadway musical gave me permission to quote a couple of lines from one of the songs … if I would pay them half my royalties for the book! Needless to say, I wrote around the lyrics instead of quoting them directly.

Works that are hundreds of years old are usually “public domain.” Still, as old as Messiah is, recordings of choirs singing it are not public domain – unless they are more than 100 years old.

I remembered the church I attended as a child had a tradition of a Christmas Eve service that featured songs from Messiah, so I called them and asked the choir director if they still did that, and if so, do they ever record the singing? I didn’t get to the next step, asking permission to use their recording. I was informed that they don’t have any recordings, and they don’t do Messiah anymore. (What’s wrong with these people?!)

I checked with our choir director at my present church and asked if they had ever recorded their annual “Messiah singalong,” and if not, could they record it this year, and may I use the recording for … ? But I was told there was so much else going on, they wouldn’t be doing the event this year.

Next came a mad search for recordings that were over 100 years old. I found a few that were being sold online for hundreds of dollars, but I was reluctant to spend that much for something without knowing the condition or whether I could even use it.

Finally, I found a record with the Hallelujah Chorus for a reasonable price, so I took a chance and ordered it. When it arrived, it appeared in like-new condition, which is saying a lot, since it was recorded in 1918!

Now for the next challenge – finding a way to play it. Record players that play 78rpm speed are rarer than I thought. Jeff had a phonograph in the basement of the studio, and my son-in-law had one, but both of them played only 33 rpms and 45 rpms.

I emailed my church, a fellowship of believers that help each other out with pretty much everything, and asked if anyone had a phonograph that played at 78 rpms. Within 24 hours, two people responded, and I borrowed the equipment from one of them.

(I love my church. ❤ )

Since I already had recorded the narration, Jeff didn’t need me there, so rather than hanging around getting underfoot, I left the record and the phonograph at the studio, where he spent many hours working with volume levels and timing, all the while dealing with a bit of static, just by virtue of its being such an old record. There was also the matter of the sound of the phonograph motor, since there was no way to connect such an old device directly to modern recording equipment.

By this time, I was back in Michigan, but I received recordings via email which I listened to and suggested “tweaks.” Jeff was very patient with my nitpicking. He, too, was aiming for excellence, bless him.

I’m writing this today, because I just received the final recording, and I love it! Is it perfect? Probably not (especially with my voice). But considering what we had to work with, the completed work is, to me, miraculous.

I’m excited that, barring a disaster or the Second Coming, Vision should be available in audio form by Christmastime. I’ll keep you posted. 🙂

Prayer: Lord, thank You for inspiring Vision and for all who have been my support system in getting it published in hard copy, and now in audio! Thank You for Pam’s help with publishing, for Jeff’s recording expertise, and for the brother who trusted us with the antique phonograph. Please use Vision to bless readers and listeners with the story of an ordinary woman with an extraordinary God and use it to bring them closer to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.