This has helped me in recording my audiobooks more than anything else! Thank you so much!!

Good video. But one point, Rob, after you cut out the loud breaths, you should replace them with "room noise". It can be jarring to the listener to hear absolute silence between the words. To get "room noise", just turn the microphone and recording software on and leave the room for a few minutes. Then you can copy and paste half a second or whatever of that track you need to into the gaps.

Just finished recording my audiobook thanks to you!

Your voice sounds so great on that microphone! I like how you touch on the fact that garageband and programs like that are simple to use, don't cost a lot, and work really well. Thanks for sharing!

I’m just about to begin recording my uncles books to audio book and I’m gathering equipment and ideas and this was a very resourceful watch. I’ve got everything I need now.

Thank you for your generous tutorial on recording audiobooks. I found your presentation clear and precise.

Rob -- long time author here. People have been telling me for years that I have a great voice and that I should record my books. I just ordered a Blue Snowball USB mic and pop filter. It'll be here tomorrow. (I already have a MacBook Pro and Garage Band.) So looking forward to this, thanks to your help!

Oh,great! So I now just have to write a book...

I don't normally subscribe. But when anyone delivers something that contains so much value. That the least I can do! Thank you!!

omg thank you ! I will try this. My book is published but would love to have an audible. You totally made me have confidence that I can do this. I have a Mac book pro, we'll see how it goes.

This is a marvelous overview of the audiobook self-recording process for the indie author/publisher. Clear, concise, and helpful. Thank you, Rob!

Thank you very much for sharing this. I just published my first children's' book and was wondering how to do this. This is going to be very helpful!

thanks, Rob. Just found this video in 2024. A lot more "can do" than the one other video I just watched; where the lady in the video basically said, "It's too hard, hire a producer!" Thanks - MIKE

Great stuff. I am really keen to create Audio books for my existing books and also my current book. This shows it’s very achievable

Thank you so much! I have no equitment and just started as a Librivox volunteer reader. I had the idea to do so a couple of weeks ago when my grandfather (who is in heart failure) fell suddenly and broke several bones and broke his nose. He listens to Librivox daily and loves long phone calls to hear my voice. since we live so far apart and because of quarantine I can’t make trips out to see him and read to him so I decided to start recording and posting my recordings to his favorite audio book platform. I will start recording ASAP!

You are a Teacher - TY - a gifted teacher - I get it at my unexperienced level - I do appreciate this summation - I have been looking two days to grasp an overview and you brought me peace in that search, the Hope I can do this and detailed budget options to strive for.

@Rob Dircks I’m seeing this 5 years later and it has been very valuable information. I needed this. Thank you.

Wow! Thank you SO much for this! I'm using a recording studio for my first audio book but I know there will be more! Can't thank you enough for this guidance!! You rock!!!

Very simple instructions. Very elegant. It will come in handy as I explore my audio book options for my first novel "British Raj Thillana- the finale"

Thank you very much for making this video. I'm still in the writing phase for my novel, but I'm already doing research for when its finished. Most of the videos that I've watched on creating audio books have been fairly useless with the vloggers realizing during their own videos that they didn't know how to do things. Though I'm not completely sure I'm secure enough with reading my own book for recording, especially dialogue with male/female banter, my husband and I watched your video with great interest. He's a musician, so he already has a bunch of audio equipment, and I can tell he's seeing this as a good reason to buy more... self serving, but it works. We also went over to Amazon and listened to a clip of your book. Now, I think we're both intrigued with your book. ... I think you had us at the words "Nikola Tesla."

A thorough and thoughtful explanation. Thanks for taking the time out to make this video and informing people (us included).

This is exactly what I was looking for! Just published my first book and I was looking to record my own audiobook. Can't wait to try to do it. Thank again! J. R.

Hey Rob, Thank you so much for sharing this. I am recording the audiobook to my first book, "The Ink of My Soul and the Fire In My Bones" and it sounds so crisp because of your template!

starting my first Audio Book recording and i have found your video perfect to get started. Thank you very much!!

Thanks so much for a great tutorial. Can't wait to get started recording my book!

Excellent guide. Downloaded GarageBand to my MacBook Pro, set it up as you suggested and really benefitted from all the shortcuts you gave. Many thanks.

Thanks for this! Today I started my profile and am eager to get started and try this but the whole idea of a studio and editing was getting me a bit discouraged before even starting so I thank you for showing me that this is possible from home. I have never used Garageband at all! I thought I'd have to pay $200 and more just to get started. I know this wasn't a full tutorial but this really helped. great vid! liked and subscribed, cheers! =)

Thanks, Rob you kept it very simple here and I applaud you for that!

Thank you so much. This is exactly the information I was looking for. So kind of you to share!

Thanks for this video…great starting point and I feel confident enough to attempt it on my own.

Wonderful Piece of Work Rob, thanks for this!

Thank you so much for this, Rob!!! I'm both a voiceover artist (when gigs happen! LOL) and a writer. So, this is perfect for me. I have done a few audiobooks in the past (on ACX/Audible), but sure wish I'd watched this video first. I see now how much I overcomplicated things. Thank so much, again! Cheers!

I'm interested in producing an audio book and thought I'd look for some 'how to' on youtube - was pleasantly surprised when my first hit was Rob Dircks! Loved his reading of Where the Hell is Tesla - very well done! Thanks for the tips!

Thank you for this. So helpful and you are articulate: plain and simple!

Simple, pure, yet very impressive. Hats off sir.

My "producer" hasn't been very diligent in trying to produce my book. As a former opera singer with a supposedly "good voice," I'm playing with the idea of doing the audio for my book. I found this how-to video extremely useful. Now I just wish I had a MAC instead of a PC to make things a little easier. Thanks for posting, Rob!

What a great “find” you are, Rob. THANK YOU

I appreciate the video Others I've looked at have been too large, complex, and daunting. I'm really considering this.

Thank you for prsenting the info in a clear and to the point manner. Very , very helpful.

Thank you so much for this. It'll be a big help later this week when I start recording my book! Gulp!

Thanks for an awesome video! I have been wanting to create an audiobook for some time, but the cost of it put me off. Hopefully, with some practice, I can do it this way.

Thank you so much! Will start recording my book tomorrow.

Thank you. You are a tremendous amount of help for me. You made all this seem less overwhelming and very much doable.

Rob, this is brilliantly helpful - thank you so much!

Well done! Direct and to the point. Thanks for sharing.

This is an amazing voice on overview. Thank you

I'm really thinking about trying this out so thank you!

Thanks Rob. Great rundown.

Just found this today. Learning how to do this as we speak

I have a PC, (I use audacity -its free- and it has a noise cutting option) but I also have Magix music maker and I have the iRig mic studio with a thick foam box. works awesome!

Just published a business book, so this is the right video at the right time! Two novels already published too ... so l long time for n the studio ahead. Many thanks for this clear guide

Thank you very much Rob; This is very useful advice for me and will end up saving me a lot of time and money!

Thanks for the great tutorial Rob.

Very helpful stuff here. Much appreciated!

Hi Rob, Thanks for taking the time to do this. I truly appreciate it as well as the resources you provided. I'll go grab a copy of your book as a thank you! Best of luck with everything! (My disclaimer, I had no idea who the heck Rob was until I found this. But the 'Where the Hell is Tesla' book looks interesting!) A quick edit, I also read a great tip that I needed to follow. Keep your laptop power cord away from your mic cord. I was hearing a low humming noise in my recording and found this tip and it fixed my problem.

Thank you so much for this video! One of my goals this year is to create an audio of my book! You might hear from me as I get started! :)

Thank yo ufor this video! I just published my first book and have been gearing up for my recordings. Very helpful!

This is really really helpful! Thank you so much!!!

This was a good video! I’m a self-published author and I desire to record audio books for all of my books. I just recently got an IPad Pro 12.9. So I am going to see if the recording will work on it. I’m excited to try! I will email you if I have questions trust me haha! Thank you!

Thank you, Rob! I like your voice to start with. I use a MacBook (and iPhone)on which I use iMovie to edit and upload my KZfaqs. I don't have a book of my own (yet?) but have uploaded a couple of short stories (out of copyright DH Lawrence) to one of my channels. My laptop is a 2014 Retina and I can't see Garageband on it. Maybe I can get it as a free download for Macs. I'll check. Anyhow, I've been reading another out-of-copyright (RL Stevenson's 'Travels With A Donkey In The Cevennes') into my Zoom H100 recording microphone. During lockdown at night is a perfect time since the vehicles passing are extremely few. I use a Lavalier clip-on microphone plugged into the Zoom. Seems to work a treat. I get exactly what you mean about editing out gaps and the like. Several ties I have had to cut the odd swear word after I have fluffed my lines! I read aloud through each chapter once to make sense of it so I can put the emphasis in the correct places, prepare any accent needed and practise my French. But, and here's the tricky part, I have imported the chapters so far (I'm more than half-way) into iMovie. Was that a big mistake? iMovie enables me to cut out gaps that are too long and drop the volume but that hasn't been an issue since I was careful setting up the Zoom's input volume. What I had in mind, using KZfaq, was perhaps having a relevant few images appear as the person listens, perhaps even a rippling stream, or crackling campfire, sound in the background to make a production of it. I dread to think how long it will take uploading 3 hours to KZfaq - I may have to hit 'Publish' then go on holiday for a week! Thanks for your advice and demonstration of Garageband. I'll have a look for it. Best wishes (from Scotland) for your success.

Thank you very much for all the help!

Great and simple explanation! thank you!

Thanks for the video, I'm learning but have a long way to go.

He talk good for an audiobook . Come back please 💯

Thank you sir. Great tutorial!

I appreciate this information. Thank you!

Hey man, thanks for this! Been go through all the how to vids and info and your name kept popping up. I listening to your book and was laughing the whole time! Great performance, well written, just all around fun story. Then I found this video! Perfect! I was gonna go to a studio but then Covid hit and the world shut down.. I will be recording at home now. This video made me feel confident it's the right move. Best of luck to you homey!

Excellent. I found your video very useful to get started. Keep it up!

This is a great guide, thanks Rob!

/very informative but simple, Thanks a lot .. This has helped me more than anything else . please make more like this

This video was very helpful, thank you!

Thanks Rob! This is really helpful and very well explained. You have a nice voice for this type of thing too. I would like to record my audiobook since I know what inflections etc I'd like but I do have a bit of a lisp. It's not super noticeable in person, but definitely more pronounced when I do any audio recordings. Any tips to do this with a lisp? Or should I just hire someone without any speech impediments? I don't want my voice to be distracting to listeners.

Thank you for the great video. Just for your PC viewers. I have a PC and audacity is free and has a lot of great plugins to be a free software. Very user friendly because I was nervous lol

Thank you for such a fantastic video!

Excellent video. Thank you!

Thanks for the video, recording mine today

Awesome - Thanks Rob! Guess I'm gonna have to go pick up WTHIT, now! :)

Thank you, Rob, so much. One of the best videos available on the subject! How can I check my range of -23dB's to -18dB's as required by ACX?

superb. very helpful.thank you

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

extremely helpful - thank you

Thanks very much from the Epic Adventures Of Mr FlannelFoot in the UK now soon to be an audible 😍

Thanks for the vid, man. i write screenplays and ive started a channel where i want to read the script. and thank you

Not sure if you're aware, but COMMAND + J will join clips on a track into one contiguous track. makes it easier for export.

Awesome information, thank you very much!

Hi Rob! Really enjoyed your video- it was so helpful! I do have a question-- maybe a dumb one. Did you set those smart controls for things like limiter and noise gate *before* recording or apply them to the file after recording? Thanks for your help!

Rob, you helped me so much. I'm now almost ready to hit the closet! Wondering if I can do ACX AND Findaway Voices. I like the 40% but not the exclusivity. Can I do both or gotta be one or the other?

Thanks for the information! BTW You have a very nice voice! Perfect for audio!

Thank you for your AMAZING video on Garageband narration. I'm following your instructions but I have a problem with "solo the track and export." Garageband will export the track but will add time to the end of the track for the duration of the longest track/chapter. So if chapter 19 is 28 minutes long, all exported tracks (chapters 1-19) export also as 28 minutes each. How did you export each track so it was only the duration of that track/chapter?

Thank you, very helpful even today six years later! Please can you advise on 'RMS', as in the ACX RMS requirement range of -18dB and -23dB RMS? Thank you.

Thank you, feeling ready to start my recording. What do you think of a car as a studio, in a quiet space?

Awesom. Thanks so much.

This tutorial is absolutely the best. I use it for Audacity. I had trouble finding where the noisegate and gain is on Audacity, but I think it's right in front of me bc I've seen these numbers.lol. If anyone knows exactly where these 2 are lmk. Thx

Awesome video! So helpful. A few questions: What text do you need to say before and after the book? Do you need to say "Chapter 1" in the audio before chapter one? Do you need to add any other sounds?

Thanks for sharing this!

Great video, I am publishing soon and I will come back to this! ❤️

awesome info

Thank you so much. As an author and actor, I was inspired to record my own books. I have had a challenge connecting with Amazon from an older account - is there a link to contact for sellers.

great informative video, thank you. Do you have any tips on how to get rid of that darn hissing 's' sound we tend to make sometimes? do you have to enunciate differently or will the software help phase it out?

Thank you so much