There’s this cool site called Booktrack that allows you to make a movie-style soundtrack for your books. I tried it out with a sample from Seabound.
Here’s how it works:
1) I pasted the first two chapters of the book into the site. They take place during a storm, so there’s lots of potential for cool sounds.
2) I highlighted lines of text and chose from the extensive collection of tracks including sound effects (fog horns!), ambiance (stormy seas!), and music (used sparingly!). The tracks are very specific, which is nice if you need the sounds of footsteps on hard carpet, a spiral staircase, a metal catwalk, and splashing through shallow water all in the same chapter.
3) I layered in more tracks, adjusting the volume and setting the tracks to loop or fade in and out as needed. You can adjust the reading speed and synchronize the sounds to play at the exact moment a reader reaches a particular part in the text.
4) I slept on it, then went through and removed any excess/distracting sounds. No need to overdo it.
5) I filled in the description and cover info and added links to the four major retailers in case anyone wants to purchase the book after reading the sample.
6) I published the sample! The Booktrack people liked it, so it’s now appearing in a highly visible spot on three different bookshelves.
The track was easy and fun to make. I don’t know whether I’ll do a lot of my reading this way, but it’s definitely worth a try. You can even make your own track for the public domain text they have on the site.
If you want to check out Seabound on Booktrack, stick in some headphones and read along as the sounds of a stormy sea surround you!
Jordan Rivet 