Back when the Macintosh computer was only four years old, I was hired to work as a computer sound technician. My job was to edit digitized sound bits for a computer program. I enjoyed the job a lot and, truth be told, I think I was pretty good at it.
Unfortunately, the program didn't sell and the company shut down, but I've always remembered that job. Decades have passed and I haven't had the opportunity to edit many things, at least, as far as audio files go.
That changed last month when I was given an assignment to edit an audiobook for my publisher. I was given the audio file and a deadline. I thought it would be tough, but I also thought I could complete the assignment in no time.
Turns out, it's been a lot tougher than I thought it would be. Today I spent several hours editing several chapters of the book. I worked on it off-and-on all day. I'm beat.
I've wondered why it's been so hard. I'm basically doing the same work I did years ago. Then it hit me--back then, I was editing sentences. The entire program maybe had only hundreds of sentences that needed cleaning. With this audiobook, I'm responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of sentences, words, phrases, paragraphs, and chapters.
It's a tad daunting.
But it's also a lot of fun. I love zooming in on a word or phrase and zapping that "click" or "pop" out of existence.
I've got a ways to go yet. Little by little, chapter by chapter, I'm getting it done. There's something wonderful that happens when you listen to an engaging story written by an amazing author and read by a talented voice performer. I'm glad I can be part of that magic.
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