I’m a midlife career changer who transitioned from finance to narrating audiobooks. Success didn’t come overnight—it took a few years before I could truly say I loved what I did. All I knew was that I didn’t want to do anything else.
With more than 100 books behind me, I still remember the very first one. Yet nothing compares to the feeling I get each and every time I’m selected to narrate a new audiobook.
My best memory as a narrator isn’t from speaking at conferences or coaching other narrators and authors in the art and business of audiobook narration. Instead, it’s from attending a gathering of sapphic authors in Bristol, several years ago, where I was welcomed with open arms. I made friends that day that I’ll cherish for a very long time, and I finally understood my place within the industry.
One particular author followed up with me afterward and asked me to narrate her book. We’ve since worked together many times, but that first collaboration still holds a special place in my heart.
As audiobook narrators, when we prep a book for recording, we’re not reading for pleasure but as an investigation. We’re searching for the clues and information the author has woven throughout, using these discoveries to guide our interpretation. Each narrator has their own personal and particular way of preparing, but we are all hunting for nuances and inferred meaning alongside the declarative details.
When I began reading that first sapphic novel, something unexpected happened. About halfway through, I realised I was completely engrossed in the book—not as a narrator, but as a reader. I was enjoying the story and thrilling to the suspense of what might unfold. I had to stop, start over, and approach it properly, taking notes and with professional attention. After all, this was my job! But the book had spoken to me on so many levels, and within sapphic fiction, I felt as though I had come home.
Sapphic fiction still thrills me to this day. Having an author trust me with their words remains one of the most heartwarming feelings I experience. As a writer myself with two unfinished books, I’m in awe of the work required and the dedication to the craft. I understand both the trepidation with which authors hand over their precious work and the thrill they feel hearing their words spoken aloud for the world.
I believe audiobooks are an incredibly expressive and powerful tool in any author’s arsenal, opening up their work to new markets and new readers as listeners. My hope is for every author to find their perfect ‘voice’, and that every project becomes a matchmaker’s dream come true.
Connect with Ana Clements here.
ana clements, book events, lesbian writers, lesfic, lgbtq, lgbtq book festival, literary festival, nottingham, queer the shelves
