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- Why Audio Editing Takes You Too Long
Sometimes, even fixing simple mistakes requires expert knowledge—or at least knowing where the problem originates. Recently, my website, Master Editor, went down due to an error from my hosting company.
When I contacted their support team, they gave me generic advice that I knew wouldn’t fix the issue. Frustrated, I told them, “Look, I’m a software engineer. I know how this works. Please contact your development team—the problem is in their database.”
I couldn’t help but wonder: if I hadn’t pointed them in the right direction, how long would it have taken for them to figure it out?
How This Relates to Audio Editing
In my audio consulting work, I see many clients struggle with small but avoidable issues—ones that require the right knowledge to fix.
You don’t need advanced audio engineering skills, just a clear understanding of the process.
Take audiobook narration, for example. In two recent consulting sessions, both clients—who are professional voice actors—shared the same frustration: They avoid long narration projects because they dislike the editing process. This problem affects anyone who narrates their own books.
The Audiobook Workflow
Audiobook narration involves three main steps:
Recording – Reading into the microphone.
Editing & Processing – Cleaning up mistakes and preparing the final audio.
Listening Back – Reviewing the final product.
Steps 1 and 3 are unavoidable—you can’t speed up how long it takes to record or listen back. But step 2, editing and processing, is where most people struggle.
How long do you think it should take to edit a 30-minute recording?
If your answer is 4-5 hours, you’re at an intermediate level.
If it takes you a full day, your workflow is inefficient.
With the right expertise, cleaning up and processing a 30-minute recording should take no more than 5 minutes. In fact, an hour-long recording can be processed in just 5 minutes, too.
What Editing & Processing Really Mean
Editing: Removing mistakes, pauses, and unnecessary noise.
Processing: Applying effects to ensure the audio meets professional quality standards.
To work at peak efficiency, you need to adjust your recording process so editing becomes effortless. When your recordings are consistent, editing can be done almost blindly—but it doesn’t happen automatically.
Streamlining Your Workflow
With the right approach and practice, you can significantly optimize your editing time. To help with that, I’ve created audiobook narration assignments designed to improve your workflow.
✅ Complete the assignments at your own pace.
✅ Receive my personalized feedback.
✅ Use Audacity or Adobe Audition to complete them.
Have questions? Just reply to this email.
If you’re a voice-over artist, I also have a similar assignment program: Voice-Over Assignments.
A Funny Coincidence...
Just as I started writing this email, I got a notification of a new purchase. Guess what was sold? The Audiobook Assignments!
Here’s a screenshot of the purchase:
