Still early in setting things up, but it looks like I may be playing some official part in the archive's new endevour.
There's a lot of stuff to sort out, but I'd like to get the ball rolling.
Soon, the archive will put up a form (or something of the sort) for authors to grant permission to have their works read. Or, depending on how you look at it, to submit their stories to the pool of fic to be read.
We're going to need readers to do the actual work.
It's pretty simple, really. Here's the checklist of what you need:
1. The ability to read. If you understand this message, you have that. Congratulations!
2. A voice. If you're mute or sick or something, that's not going to work. But, if you can speak and be understood, you're good to go. It doesn't have to be a great voice. Some are better than others, sure. And they improve with practice. But as long as you can speak clearly, you'll do fine.
3. Interest. In the story, the project, the archive... Contributing something to the fandom. If you're still reading, you've probably got that.
4. A computer, particularly one which is able to access the internet. Again, if you can see this, odds are you're set.
5. A microphone. A USB headset, like you'd use for Skype, is best, but there are plenty of options. And they're cheap enough to pick up at pretty much any electronics store.
6. An audio recording program. I like
Audacity . It's free, has the features you need, works fairly well, and (if you install the "LAME encoder," can create MP3s.
That's it. Really.
For more advice on recording, check out the
LibriVox Wiki . Among other things, they have a guide for new readers, a guide on how to use Audacity (and other similar programs), a page entitled "Help, what if I suck," and a bunch of helpful links.
There's also
this thread on their forums.
If you want, I set up a quickie
Guide to Recording AudioFic .
Otherwise, you can head on over to the
coordination thread and/or the
complete project list .
If you need anything else, contact me however you'd like - post in any of the audiofic threads, PM me, email me... whatever works.
Paul
