Podfic Tutorial

Everybody is different, and those guides will help you find the most comfortable way for you to do this.

Requirements:

Sometimes, I print off the story I want to read, so that when I need to pause for a break or after a flub, I don’t have to switch applications (Word or a web page and Audacity). However, the the crackling of the paper might distract you or be recorded, or the story might be too long to print off. Try them both to see which you prefer. Otherwise, I just erase any extra silence it took to get between programs.

General steps:

Once you’re in a comfortable and quiet place, with your story printed off or application opened and microphone set up, you might read the story through aloud once, or in your head, to get a better feel for it if you haven’t done so already (I highly recommend reading it as many times as possible). I find it works best when I’m familiar with the story. Now, there is no one way to do these next steps, but here are a few.

Start recording. I usually pause after about 5-7 lines or when I feel I need a break. I play it back, and if I find anything I don’t like, I do the segment over. Then, I press stop and press record again. This creates a new track for you to record the next segment on. Keep repeating this until the story is finished.

Another way to fix mistakes, besides doing the whole segment over, is to tap the mic or leave a few seconds of silence right after you mess up, and then repeat the sentence. After the segment is done, go back and delete out the sentence right before the silence/noise spike from mic.

If you messed up a word, listen from a few seconds before and after it, and then highlight that (make sure not to highlight stuff you don’t want to redo) and press Delete. Make sure its set on Stop and not Pause.

Press record and speak the word you messed up, and make sure you don’t make it louder than the rest of the segment. Now highlight the word you just made, press Ctrl + C and paste it where you deleted the word in the track above. Now delete the second track and replay the above track. Your fix up should be there. If there are any unnatural sounds, find where they are with Zoom In and delete them. If there’s too much silence, highlight and delete until you’re satisfied. If there’s not enough silence, go to Generate > Silence and enter in “1”. If it generates too much, just delete what you don’t need. Or you can just delete the sentence and redo it, it’s simpler. :p

Note: Most people find it easier just to redo the whole sentence instead of trying to fix up one word.

Another method is just to record on one long track. I find this less complicated then the above method. I pause occasionally to take a break and go back to fix things, though can wait until the end so you can be on your groove until the end. ;)

Reading tips:

Speak slowly. I can’t stress this enough. I compared an older audiofic I did to my latest where I spoke slowly, and it was ten times better. Don't speak like your falling asleep and can barely get a word out though!
Enunciate. Speaking slowly will help with this. Don’t slur or leave out letters.
Know your words. As you read through it in your head or aloud, notice any words you’re unsure about, and look them up. ‘vigilante’ is ‘vij-ul-anty’ not ‘vij-ul-unt’, ‘undulate’ is ‘unj-ul-ate’ and not ‘und-ul-ate”, etc. If you notice a word you have trouble saying, make sure to practice it.
Take care of your throat. This is absolutely important, or your throat will start bothering you halfway through and you’ll have to stop for a while. It also makes you sound raspy. So make sure you have some water with you to sip on your breaks.

How to fix mess-ups:

Immediately after making a mistake, tap your mic, or leave a few seconds of silence. Pause if you need to, to get your bearings, sip water or relax. Press the Pause button again and repeat the sentence/word and continue on. When you’re ready to fix it, go back and listen to the piece. Highlight the silence/mic noise and the messed up sentence/word before it, and press delete. Listen to make sure there is no tail end of the words left over, or any odd noises that need to be zoomed in on and deleted.

About reading Anime/Manga podfics:

Know how to pronounce names, places and things in the language. If you have trouble with names like ‘Naruto’, ‘Kankurou’, ‘Renji’ etc, try different ways of saying it aloud. I find I have trouble with my r’s. But I’d rather roll them then say “nar oo toe”, so. Just practice saying it until you feel comfortable with it.

Other names:

I’ve found that some names are awkward on my tongue, such as Bart, Dick, Kon and foreign names. The best way to get used to that is practice reading the fic with the names in it out loud, and look up proper pronunciations. Same with curse words. If you’re not used to cursing allowed a lot, or reading sex scenes, practice, practice, practice. You will get comfortable with it.