18 Jun Kevin Beausoleil

Kevin Beausoleil and I weren’t close in school. He lived up the street from me,   but we hardly ever talked. I recognize his name but I couldn’t tell you if we had any classes together. We lost touch after high school and connected on Facebook years later. He was one of those Facebook friends who you know but you don’t interact with very much.

From Kevin’s perspective, he would say that we were always on the edge of each other’s lives. “I think you were in Mrs. Ferris’ fifth grade class with me, but I don’t know if we shared any other classes together,” he writes. “I knew you were friends with Ari (I thought he was pretty cool too, but we never were friends) and I remember your outfit at our Junior Prom.  But I had no idea you rode horses, went camping, were in scouts, or had a girlfriend in high school!”

Why am I writing about this now?

Well,  I really wanted my latest book, My Name is Tait, produced as an audiobook. The market is booming and a big part of my audience would benefit from listening to the book. I had two friends from childhood in mind for potential readers , but I came to find out that one of them was unionized. I couldn’t afford to pay him to be me reader.

My other friend, Scott, had an acting background. I thought he might do a good job. He thought about it for a few days but decided he didn’t have the experience that my book deserved. I appreciated that Scott wanted my audiobook to be the best it could be.

Instead, Scott suggested Kevin Beausoleil. I had no idea that he did voiceover work but there was no reason to ask him, right? I messaged Kevin, and he was interested. He had been doing voice over work for about a year but hadn’t attempted an audiobook. I sent him the manuscript to read over and he sent me some samples of his work.

Both of us were pleased with what we saw from each other’s work, and Kevin developed a contact and a schedule for the project. We looked at Amazon’s audiobook production arm, ACX, and was happy with what it had to offer.  I opened up a project for the book and offered it to Kevin. He officially accepted the project and we were set.

Kevin went above and beyond anything I ever expected for the audiobook. He read each chapter with passion paying attention to each scene and word. He wanted it right. I tend to rush through projects wanting that final project, but Kevin slowed me down reminding me that we had to get it right. He even re-recorded some chapters because he got better as he recorded.

In the middle of recording, I realized I had forgotten to write a chapter for the book. I asked Kevin if he thought we could add a bonus chapter. He thought it was a terrific idea, and I quickly wrote My Name is Tait and I’m Independent, stories about how I learned to be independent. Kevin helped me edit the piece and recorded the chapter.

As we were coming to the end of recording, things started to pick up pace. I was approving chapters and Kevin recorded the details like the credits. We were speaking almost daily, and before we knew it, it was done. We had created an Audiobook! Kevin uploaded it to the website, and I pressed the approve button. Our baby was grown up and out of our hands.

The website said to expect up to thirty days for it to be available on Amazon, Audible, and other platforms.  Okay, I thought, that would put it available to the public on July first. I checked my email about two weeks later, and my book was released already! That fast. Now the fun could begin…MARKETING!

I can’t thank Kevin enough for doing this project with me. I couldn’t have a better guy to read my book. He was my voice and made my words come alive more than ever before. They are now available not only on paper but as the spoken word for readers and listeners for generations to come.

As for Kevin, he couldn’t have been more gracious with his time and talent. “I’m glad you asked me to help you with the audiobook,” he writes. “I had fun doing it and I’m building a lot of skills to improve my craft.  I hope you enjoy the final product.”

Pick up your copy today here!