Audiobook Narration Was A Wild Trip, Y'all [#8]
What a thrilling experience, getting to say out loud the ideas that had previously only lived inside my head. Plus, a book trailer!
Annyeonghaseyo!
We’re at the two-month countdown to FLAWLESS’ release date and I am spent! I think I tire easily? Or maybe it’s because I just finished three days of marathon audio recording sessions in a Santa Monica studio, reading the book from start to finish. I can’t emphasize how much fun it was. I was aware the whole time this may be the only time I get to do this, EVER, because I can’t imagine (at least not right now) wringing out another book in my lifetime. Knowing this made the experience super meaningful.
Units of earl grey tea consumed: 10 cups, over three days
Green apples consumed: 5, because they’re supposed to help your voice sound less phlegmy
Engineers: 2
Director: 1
Total number of Korean words listed for possible pronunciation help: 233
Total number of Chinese, Japanese, French and proper nouns listed for pronunciation help: 103
Words I had trouble saying: “Particularly,” “de rigeur,” and some tongue twisty word pairings and phrases that I now can’t remember
Word I used too much in the book but am noticing too late: Crucially
Updates
We are finalizing the tour dates and events so I’ll have an update on all that in the coming weeks. But the RSVP page for the Los Angeles launch is up, and please come! You can get a ticket for ZERO dollars, or, you can throw in some money if you want to buy a book+ticket combo from our bookstore partner, the locally-owned North Figueroa Books. I’ll be signing them at the event after my friend and the excellent NPR host Ailsa Chang asks me tough questions, as she does.
The book trailer is here! (Watch on Instagram or TikTok). It wasn’t until recently that I learned books even have trailers, like the movies do. But this was a project that I was super psyched to take on (and volunteered to make, let’s be honest) because video is my strongest medium! I know next to nothing about publishing books, but I can video it up anytime. I wanted to keep a trailer to one minute, and it wound up 1:24, so I busted time a bit. But I still feel proud to have a tight, personal introduction to who I am, and the questions animating the book, packaged with nostalgia from my time abroad. Those clips of Luna as a little bebe … GAAAAH was she ever so little?
Finally, in true TikTok tradition, I had to make a #skincare video, but a parody one. Hope the algorithm picks it up and shares it in random people’s feeds as if it is really earnest. I love a little mischief.
The book is available for pre-order and I assume most of you all already have smashed that button. But if not, it’s not too late to get in an early order, since those numbers are a helpful measurement of excitement. You can also just help spread the word without spending a cent! Tell your people about the book and where to find it, or forward this free newsletter. Please know how grateful I am that you are part of this #flawlessthebook community and that we’re bringing this book baby into the world as a squad.
With gratitude,
Elise
