The Voice of the Audiobook

An excerpt from the audiobook for Please Report Your Bug Here and an interview with voice actor Torian Brackett

In the months leading up to the publication of my novel, Please Report Your Bug Here, a lot of people asked if I was reading the audiobook. While I wouldn’t rule out narrating one of my own novels someday, voicing multiple characters across the span of 288 pages is just not a task I’m up for yet. But, luckily for me, the brilliant Torian Brackett was! Torian is a voice actor who narrated, most recently, Jonathan Escoffery’s national-bestseller If I Survive You. Have a listen to Torian reading the opening pages of Please Report Your Bug Here:

I was curious what it was like to read the audiobook, and Torian was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

How long did it take you to record the audiobook, and how do you read a whole novel out loud without losing your voice?!

It was about a two-and-a-half day process. 10am-4pm with an hour lunch in between. Audiobooks are definitely a marathon, so sleep, pacing, and good vocal prep beforehand help me last the day!

Is there any special technology or software that helps you when you’re reading?

Tech has always been a crucial part of the industry. With iPads, we can quickly scroll jump to specific pages and be kind to trees at the same time which is nice. There’s an app called iAnnotate that I’ve been using a lot recently; it allows for a lot of notation features on the manuscript as I’m reading, most notably the voice memo. I can record a voice for a character that I can later click on during the recording process just to remind myself what I did, which is VERY helpful when approaching larger casts of characters.

Did you have a favorite character to voice in Please Report Your Bug Here?

I had a lot of fun with some of the people who are more on board with the Corporation and the lifestyle it allows. So the Founder, of course, as well as the guide that shows them around in Vegas. The CEO of the other company too [Soren], that our main girl is dating. Vocally it always started with some version of the most annoying people I could think of. The writing then reveals layers, which allows me to add some depth to who these people are below the surface, the Founder especially. So I have to thank you for letting these people be more than Office Space caricatures, haha!

What’s the most fun part about reading audiobooks or voice acting in general?

I come from a musical theatre background, so I always tell people audiobooks are like doing a 1-man show; it’s a lot of fun! Voice acting as a whole is one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things I’ve gotten paid to do.

You can click here to pre-order the audiobook, which comes out the same day as the hardcover: January 17. Thanks so much to Torian for sharing insight into his process and what it’s like to record an audiobook!

And thank you for reading and subscribing to this newsletter. I hope to see some of you at my events in San Francisco and New York in the next few weeks!

Josh