I wanted to share a quick update as to what’s been keeping me occupied during the run up to the release of the new book.
The past few weeks have been pretty busy and full of surprises. We have been designing a dedicated website for the How Not to Invest book, and working with the team at Off Menu has been much more fun than I expected.
But the biggest surprise has been the book’sAudible version.
Harriman House asked me to record the audio version of the book. Like an idiot, I said, “Sure, why not? How hard can it be?”
Really, really hard.
Previously, I labored under the false impression that I knew how to both read and speak. As it turns out, I was wrong. The combination of the two is its own skill set. I drop the letter “S” at the end of words, I slur syllables, I put emphasis on the wrong words in a sentence, and I transpose adjacent words on an all too regular basis.
Then there is the modulation. I am not aware of my gain or volume. I speak too loudly, projecting to the back of the room (Wrong approach). To say nothing of my speed, which as a New Yawker is too fast (S L O W D O W N).
Another surprise? They LIKE my awful NY accent (“its authentic”)
You sit in a 6 X 6 glass booth in front of a hypersensitive mic that picks up everything. Shifting your weight in the chair ruins a sentence. Moving your feet, touching your clothes, rolling up a sleeve, touching the glass tablet a smidge too hard — all killers.
This is before we get to the myriad of sounds the body produces beyond your control. I had no idea about the lip smacks, tongue clicks, the throat gurgles and burps that phlegms with noise that affect the quality of sound. The milk in your coffee makes your mouth sticky. And the stomach! Even if you eat, it makes a panoply of noises, growls, whines, and complaints of which I was wholly unaware.
To say nothing about pronunciation: Proper names and cities are one issue, but even worse are the words that I read or write all the time but don’t necessarily speak aloud. I imagined I knew how to pronounce them: capitalization, iterative, capricious, conscientious, and so on. It’s really quite embarrassing to realize that I cannot properly pronounce half of my vocabulary.
Surprisingly, you cannot just grind away at this. Even with regular breaks, lots of hot tea, and water, you have at most 5 hours before your voice gives out, and your brain can no longer identify words on the page. It is immensely harder than I expected.
I am about 80% through the recording, which took four separate sessions, and I finally feel like I am getting the hang of it. I’d like to go back and rerecord all the prior chapters, but the director at MacMillan said it was great. (Never believe anything anyone with the title of “director” says.)
It’s been 15 years since I last wrote a book. I forgot all the work that happens when the writing process is over.
Hopefully, the website will be live this week. I am beginning to schedule all of the podcasts and Q&As to promote it. Reach out to Tina (tina.joell at harriman-house dot com) or Lucy (lucy.vincent at harriman-house dot com) at Harriman House if you want to learn more.
Oh, and 60 days left to publication… please, pre-order a copy today! (kindle edition, too)
hownottoinvestbook.com. (will redirect back to The Big Picture until the site is live)
Previously:
Coming March 18: “How Not To Invest” (November 18, 2024)
Nobody Knows Anything, The Beatles edition (September 26, 2024)
If you want to learn more about how the book was made, any related media appearances or background, get unique bonus material, or just ask a question, you can sign up here: HNTI -at-RitholtzWealth.com.
