Click on the player above to hear chapter 17 from 9 Months in Tibet, read my me.
I’ve been posting short chapters from my Tibet book onto this blog, and recently a friend suggested I post a podcast version instead.
“But I hate the sound of my own voice,” I replied, curling up in horror at the idea of hearing myself. I’d love to do an audio book of 9 Months in Tibet but I need an actor who has a slight Scottish accent, like me, but none of the nauseating tones that come out of my mouth.
Jason persisted, reminded me how easy it was and that I could download stuff to improve sound quality. My inner critics were shouting now (“It will be shit…people will hate you even more…”). But I ignored them and eventually saw it as a challenge. I became determined to do it.
And here you have it – Chapter 17 from 9 Months in Tibet in audio/podcast version.
Technically it was really easy to do – I just talked into my little recording device for about 12 minutes – and it was much more enjoyable than I had expected. And, having faced down my own inner critics, I feel a sense of satisfaction; like a kid who has stood up to the schoolyard bully.
Will I do any more podcasts? That’s up to you.
If you listen to it please leave a comment, even one word (“Great… So-so… Crap…”) Feedback is one of the things that keeps me writing. The other is an inner drive to just do it as I have so many stories to tell.
My inclination is to curl up into a ball, feel sorry for myself and imagine the day when I get approached by a production company with a flash actor to read my story. But thinking like this is pathetic and I need to be more pro-active; and do the audio book myself.
If you’re still reading this – please leave a comment under this article. Thanks.
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Great for a first try! Love the back story on how scary it was. Encouraging me to write a book too now, and read in a dodgy Ukrainian accent, just for the fun of it 🤣 but watch out for losing the rhythm and ‘sorries’ etc. A transcript would be nice too as an option, personally I’m too impatient to listen to spoken word
Thanks for this REALLY USEFUL feedback Natalie.
I’m particularly grateful for the advice about a transcript too as I have the written version already done, and so it would be easy…
You’ve given me inspiration to go on.
This is great! Your voice sounds perfectly fine, don’t let your inner critics get you down. You should totally do more 🙂
Rupert, I enjoyed listening to your podcast. It had an air of authenticity which is enhanced by the fact that you were reading it yourself. I think your voice is fine and perhaps with practice the odd stubble can be avoided. Is there a technological way of editing to remove any stumble? I have a friend who does radio and tv broadcasts for the BBC and others – he has a stutter and they managed to edit this out,
Your writing is very good and certainly leaves a clear vision of the events and surroundings in the mind of the listener. Should you do more I will listen with pleasure and will read your book.
What a fantastic chapter! Very descriptive and incredibly funny, works very well as an audiobook!
Rupert, you should stick at it, I enjoyed it a lot, and am looking forward to the next chapter. There’s nothing wrong with your voice, so don’t worry about it! How did you get the headache btw?
Interesting question about the headache, which almost certainly came about due to the high altitude I had reached. I’m sure I made the problem worse by not drinking enough water (and not knowing anything about Altitude Sickness in the first place).
Rupert, it’s superb and personal like only the author’s version. I think you are the one who does it with the right touch. Go ahead, Rupert. Can’t wait to hear more from the great Tibetan yak. Cheers from Kristian.
Rupert, that was fantastically interesting – and really funny.
What an experience you describe. For me, audio makes things really accessible – and adds the pleasure of hearing the author’s voice; it gives a really good insight into the author’s thinking – removes ambiguities and adds the other dimension of intonation into an already carefully worded account.
More of the same! You might need to do some pieces several times in the future – but errors and rustling sounds are quite OK now – maybe even in the long run as well – it is you – and the story is about you and your experiences – so I don’t see any of that as detracting. But – maybe some future audio publisher will recommend reaching for more polish – don’t worry about that now!
Thanks for encouraging me to do this podcast Jason. I’ve wanted to do one for years and now I’m on a roll, so watch this space. I can do a decent recording with my little Sony recorder, quite a low-tech device, but if it comes to an audio book with a professional producer they would almost certainly want a new recording done in a proper studio, with high-tech gear…but in the meantime I’m happy with this.