It came time to do a test that I could send to my teacher, Derek, to see if I was on the right path. (Did you notice I didn’t say track?) I recorded (many times) a two minute section of my book, made the edits, added the effects, converted it to an MP3 and sent it off. Within a day, I received an email back from Derek saying that my recording wasn’t loud enough. I either had to turn my microphone volume up to 100 or get closer to the microphone.
Since the volume was already at 100, I now needed a bigger/longer microphone stand so that I could maneuver it to get closer while still having room for my music stand with the kindle. Amazon has been great in getting my audio equipment to me in one day.
I’m still having trouble getting my voice to be as loud as it’s supposed to be. I don’t really want to shout my book, especially when the hero and heroine and talking to each other. It’s supposed to sound romantic, smooth. So I thought perhaps I didn’t have the microphone positioned correctly in the stand. It’s supposed to be about 6 inches from my mouth, but there’s a pop filter in between, so I now have something 3 inches from my mouth. With something that close, it’s hard to look down and read from my kindle.
The good thing is, I’m getting better at editing and understanding Audacity. I think I’ll head over to YouTube to see exactly how others are setting up their mics and books to read at the correct level. Then I’ll keep practicing (in my recording closet) until I figure it out.
