Proofing and Mastering

Proofing and mastering audio files is a profession all on it’s own, and many narrators farm this duty out to a third party.  For authors on a limited budget, I will provide this myself instead of adding the overhead to farm this task out.  Proofing consists of:

Reviewing the raw narrated tracks for errors and correcting spacing.  This step in the editing process is mostly non-destructive to the audio track and involves a method to mark errors and other anomalies introduced during narration. 

Mastering an audio track is the application of filters to enhance the audio track, remove unwanted background noises, and get the track in conformance with specifications and requirements of the publishing house.  Normally this includes:

  • Standardizing the room tone at the head and tail of each chapter
  • Application of filters and equalization to remove unwanted noises
  • Raise the level of soft sounds
  • Lower the level of loud sounds
  • Soften “plosives” and “sibilants” (P’s, B’s, T’s, C’s, S’s, Z’s)
  • Reduce breath sounds
  • Generation of ready-for-retail files

These two processes take approximately two to three times as long as the actual narration.  At the end of the process, each chapter or track will sound professional and will be ready for retail.  At the top of this page are my produced audio books and samples.  All of these have undergone this process and are considered finalized audio tracks.