Ep. 126: Behind the Scenes of Producing Audiobooks (with Karen Dziekonski of Penguin Random House Audio) + Audiobook Recommendations

<p><strong>In Episode 126, audiobook producer Karen Dziekonski from Penguin Random House Audio joins me for today’s deep-dive discussion. Karen takes us behind the scenes from the growth of audiobooks in the industry to the ins and outs of how audiobooks are produced. Plus, Karen shares her audiobook recommendations!</strong></p> <p><span id="more-6001777"></span></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2><strong>Highlights</strong></h2> <ul> <li>What it means to be an audiobook producer and Karen’s career progression.</li> <li>How the landscape has changed for audiobooks over the past 20 years.</li> <li>The days of abridged audiobooks and the process of editing down a print book.</li> <li>The types of books today that make it to the audiobook format.</li> <li>The process of auditioning an audiobook narrator, including deciding on celebrities or full-cast recordings.</li> <li>How much the author’s relationship has grown to incorporate production input — especially for books in translation or featuring foreign language text.</li> <li>The decisions behind when the author narrates their own audiobook — fiction vs nonfiction.</li> <li>How producers court celebrities to narrate audiobooks.</li> <li>A bit about post-production editing of audiobook performances and checking for errors.</li> <li>How much the audiobook segment has grown over the past decade and the anticipated continued trajectory.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Karen’s Audiobook Recommendations</strong> <a class= "spp-timestamp">[38:12]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Audiobooks She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3gyL5xD">Beautiful Ruins</a> by Jess Walter, narrated by Edoardo Ballerini</strong> | <a href= "https://amzn.to/3gyL5xD">Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9780061928178">Bookshop.org</a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B01BD1SSO4" alt="" width="1" height="1" bor