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These days it’s as difficult as it is daft for writers to ignore the benefits of using audio applications. Whether you wish to dictate articles or book chapters with your phone, or proofread your scribblings by listening to them, or reach a wider audience by podcasting, audio is something to be reckoned with.
The question is, though, where to start? Fortunately, Joanna Penn’s book is, in effect, a one-stop shop. It covers audiobooks, podcasting, speech-to-text, text-to-speech and much else.
Some of the applications mentioned in the book are a little on the expensive side if you’re only just starting to explore the world of audio, but others are cheap or even free.
As with any book of this nature, there are new applications, and new versions of old applications, appearing all the time. Nevertheless, this book is a brilliant starting point.
The list of writing-related podcasts towards the back of the book is also very good, although I found one or two of them somewhat annoying. If a podcaster spends more than five minutes talking about themselves and their achievements I find that rather tedious. Still, at least you can fast forward if you have as little patience as I do!
Another useful part of the book is the question list, which is meant to help you think about using audio in your work, whether in terms of shifting your mindset or considering rights issues. This, along with a few other resources, is available online. There is even a Word version so that you can insert your answers into the sheet and, if you wish, customise the list to your own set of circumstances.
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