Am I Really Going to Make an Audiobook?

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I’m thinking about turning Legacy of the Lie into an audiobook.

“That’s great,” I hear you say.

Well… maybe. 😂

The idea of having Agatha Carroway and Inspector George Hargrove available for people to listen to while they’re driving, walking, gardening, cooking dinner, or simply sitting with their feet up is rather appealing.

The actual process of getting them there is another matter.

It’s a mammoth task.

Fortunately, I already have some idea of what recording an entire book feels like because I do it during the final editing stage of my novels. Before a manuscript goes to the proofreader, I record myself reading the whole story aloud.

And I don’t simply read it.

There are pauses, changes of pace, emphasis, emotion and, yes, the occasional attempt at a different voice. Nothing too theatrical — I don’t think anybody needs to hear my one-woman repertory company — but enough to make the dialogue sound like people rather than words sitting neatly on a page.

Reading the book aloud is an incredibly useful editing tool. Awkward sentences that looked perfectly innocent on the computer suddenly trip you up. Dialogue that seemed natural when written can sound horribly wooden when spoken. Repeated words become glaringly obvious. And sometimes you discover that a sentence requires approximately three lungs to get through it.

Those tend to get edited.

It also gives me some idea of how the story flows for the reader. Where does it slow down? Where does the tension build? Does the dialogue sound convincing? Does the chapter end make me want to continue?

So when I started thinking seriously about an audiobook for Legacy of the Lie, my first thought was: I already record my books. How difficult can it be?

You can probably hear the ominous music starting in the background.

Recording Is Only the Beginning!

There is a big difference between recording a book so I can listen to it myself and producing something another person is going to pay to hear. For a proper audiobook, every chapter or section needs its own audio file. You also need to record opening and closing credits, along with a sample for potential listeners.

Then there is the quality of the recording itself. The volume needs to remain consistent. Background noise has to disappear. Coughs, mistakes, chair squeaks, strange little mouth noises and the motorbike that chooses precisely the wrong moment to roar past outside all have to be dealt with.

And once everything has been recorded, it still has to be edited and prepared to meet the technical standards required by audiobook distributors. Author’s Republic, for example, requires individual chapter or section files, consistent audio settings, opening and closing credits and a sample track, as well as specific standards for volume, background noise and file format.

In other words, reaching THE END is not actually the end.

How very familiar.

So Why Bother? That was the next question I asked myself. After all, Legacy of the Lie already exists as a paperback. Maybe I should create the eBook first 🤔 or is adding another format really worth all those hours sitting in front of a microphone?

Possibly.

Audiobooks have become a substantial part of publishing. According to the Audio Publishers Association, US audiobook revenue reached $2.43 billion in 2025, up 9 per cent from the previous year. Mystery, thriller and suspense titles are also among the leading audiobook genres.

But the numbers aren’t really the part that interests me most.

It’s how people use audiobooks.

People can listen while travelling, exercising, doing housework, working in the garden or simply resting their eyes. The Audio Publishers Association’s latest survey found that being able to multitask and listen while on the go were two of the biggest attractions. That means an audiobook doesn’t necessarily compete with the paperback or ebook. It can reach someone who might never have sat down to read the book in the first place.

And I rather like that idea.

There’s something else rather lovely about hearing a story rather than reading it. Storytelling was an oral tradition long before anyone thought of putting words onto paper. A good narrator can add atmosphere, emotion and personality without changing a single word.

For a mystery such as Legacy of the Lie, that could be particularly interesting. There are secrets, clues, conversations, quiet observations and moments when what isn’t said matters every bit as much as what is. Then, of course, there is Agatha. I already know exactly how she sounds in my head. Whether everyone else will agree with me is another matter entirely. 😂

The Experiment Begins

So I’m doing my research. I’m looking at microphones, recording techniques, editing, mastering, audiobook distribution and all the other things I didn’t know I needed to know until I wandered down this particular rabbit hole.

There is also the question of stamina. Reading a chapter beautifully once is one thing. Reading it beautifully, discovering a mistake, going back, doing it again and then realising ten minutes later that you’ve been speaking with a slightly different voice is quite another.

I suspect there will be coffee involved. Quite a lot of coffee.

But I’m tempted. Not because I expect an audiobook suddenly to transform Legacy of the Lie into an international sensation — although I shall certainly not object if it does — but because it would give the story another way of finding readers.

Or, more accurately, listeners. And I rather like the thought of Agatha and George accompanying someone on a long drive, a morning walk or a quiet afternoon at home.

So will there be an audiobook of Legacy of the Lie? I think there probably will. I just need to get acquainted with my microphone first.

And Meanwhile…

There is another Agatha Carroway mystery on the way.

7 Little Marks has reached that rather exciting stage where it is heading off to the proofreader. I’m hoping — assuming the red pen isn’t wielded with quite as much enthusiasm as one of my murder weapons — that it may be ready for publication around mid to late September.

I’m not going to tell you much more about it here. That deserves a blog post all of its own. But Agatha and George have another mystery waiting for them. And this one has been waiting a very long time to be solved.