Hands up, baby

I have been recording the audio version of my book this week, for Audible.com, the company I used to work for. I never would have imagined how grueling it is to record an entire audio book. I am sequestered each day for 5 hours in a tiny, airless closet, sipping mint tea with honey in an attempt to keep the frog in my throat at bay. I have to read and try not to let it sound like I am reading. I have to get the tone and intonation right, project, stop when my stomach gurgles or when a truck passes outside or a plane flies overhead. I have to remember to stop before the last sentence on each page, so I can turn the page between sentences. I have even found myself singing in the book. Twice. And let me be very clear: I don't sing. Today I sang the Club Med theme song and Silent Night. The amazing thing is that it will take about 30 hours to record a book that will wind up being 10 hours long. It will then require another 30 hours of editing. An amazing process for something I really hadn't thought much about before. Hopefully it won't put anyone to sleep, and no one will laugh at my singing. Hands up, baby, hands up...