By Stacy Lee Kong

Audiobooks are becoming more and more popular; last year saw the 10th straight year of double-digit growth in audiobook revenue (in the U.S., the format generated $1.6 billion in revenue), despite fears that the pandemic would lead to a decline, since fewer people were commuting. Instead, the opposite happened—readers turned to audiobooks to reduce their screentime, and as a source of immersive escapism, which helps explain why romance was one of the most popular and fastest-growing genres alongside self-help and science fiction. And of course, the industry has taken notice of this trend, with both traditional publishing houses and independent audiobook publishers commissioning audio-first titles. Just ask Toronto author Lily Chu, whose new Audible Original Audiobook, The Comeback, dropped last week. Chu chatted with Friday Things about how you even write an audiobook, escapism under late-stage capitalism and K-pop fandom.

What attracts you to audiobooks, both as a listener and a writer?

As a listener, there are many things I appreciate about audiobooks especially since I’ve been having difficulty concentrating on print books. But I still love reading, so with audiobooks, I can do something with my hands, like knit or do a puzzle, and let the rest of my mind focus on the audio story. I also listen when I’m running, which makes the time go by much faster. I’m not a great runner—it’s more like a slow and endless trot—so the distraction is welcome.

As a writer, I love being able to reach a wider audience. We don’t begin our lives reading, but by hearing stories. There are lots of people who enjoy books, but don’t like or have difficulties reading, or don’t have hours to sit down and focus on a book while life goes on around them. Audio is a great way to share a book with these listeners.

Why do you think romance is experiencing so much growth in this sector? What makes this genre so well-suited to this medium?

I believe romance is expanding because audio in general is more accessible. There are more books people want to listen to, and platforms they can find audiobooks, rather than having to be satisfied with a staticky cassette recording of Pride and Prejudice.

More than that, romance itself is ideal for audio. It’s a genre that’s centred around the establishment and growth of relationships, which requires emotional vulnerability from the characters. The intimacy provide by audio can heighten the experience of the listener and immerse them more fully in the story because we can resonate with the emotional range of the voice actors. There’s also the guaranteed happy ending of people falling in love, which provides feel-good content and escape. (This applies to all romance not only audio.)

And, of course, there’s convenience and the inescapable need to be productive at all times under late-stage capitalism. Many romance readers are women leading busy lives caring, working and keeping track of who is doing what when (and providing the snacks). If any of them are like me, sitting down with a book sometimes seems like a ridiculous indulgence when there are floors to vacuum, maybe kids to feed, and emails to send. But when you’re listening to an audiobook in the car or during chores or commuting? That’s multi-tasking and there’s no guilt involved. I’d love to be wrong on this, though. We should be able to close our eyes and listen to a book if we want.

What is it like to write an audio-first book? Does it impact the way you approach the plot, dialogue, structure of book, or even your writing process?

For me, there’s almost no difference in writing for audio-first. No matter what format you write in, the plot needs to advance, the characters need to be engaging, the dialogue tight, and the structure appropriate to the genre. That might be different if I was audio-only, but I have a dual publishing deal so my books come out in audio first and then in print a few months later. The story needs to work well in both formats.

I do put more of an emphasis on listening to my drafts now. Before I would read out loud in a very rushed and mumbly way, but now I do at least two listens through Word’s Read Aloud feature, and always with the Samantha voice. It helps me check the flow of the story, but also mark word choices that look fine on the page but are awkward to hear, or to check how a visual pun or formatting choice will translate to audio.

Once you've written an audio-first book and it goes through the editing process, what happens next? I'm so curious about the production process, and how involved you are as an author.

Even before production, there’s an extra step in the editing, with an audio draft. Because the narrator will be performing the text, we can remove a lot of the dialogue tags (he said, she shouted, for instance) as well as some actions. There’s no need to have a narrator say, “she sighed” when they can simply sigh. I say we, but this is almost entirely done by my wonderful editor, who does a first go before sending it to me for my thoughts. These changes are not applied to my print edits.

I also go through the manuscript and note any extra directions to be taken into account, such as the level of emotion I envision or emphasis on a word or phrase. In The Stand-In, there’s a scene where a character is fighting a panic attack and I wanted that urgency to come through. I also do a sheet outlining accents and how names and sometimes words are pronounced, and accompany that with online clips or voice recordings.

After that, my role is done! It goes to the production team, who is in charge of all the technical aspects of making it sound incredible with the narrator. Different authors will have different levels of involvement with their audiobooks, though, and I know others test out narrators or have sections re-taped.

[That's why] there’s a lot of trust that goes into handing over an audiobook. When it’s print, I know there’s only one layer of interpretation to the text, that of the reader. With audio, there’s several—the performer’s version of the text, and then listener’s interpretation of the performer’s version as well as their own of the content itself. That adds potential for misinterpretation when a phrase or word is given a different colour than I want, which can shift the meaning of the scene.

This is the second time Hamilton star Phillipa Soo will voice a book of yours. How much say do you get in casting voice actors? And what are the qualities you care about in a voice actor?

What I want is a voice actor who can emotionally connect with the story and characters, and then use that connection to engage a listener despite the many distractions competing for their attention. I’ve listened to a few audiobooks where the narrator was simply reading rather than narrating or performing the book and they generally leave me cold. A great voice actor brings an entirely new layer of nuance and brightness to the story.

Then there’s the basic question of, do I want this person’s voice in my ears for ten hours. That’s very personal and idiosyncratic. There are just some voices or even specific sounds that will have me nope out instantly.

For my own books, I had input into the casting but the final decision was up to the Audible team—because it’s a team who works on this—and I couldn’t have been happier. I think Phillipa understands the characters and their motivations, which adds to the authenticity.

Where did you get the idea for The Comeback?

I started getting into K-pop a few years ago and I was astounded by how much I didn’t know. There was this huge industry that I was completely ignorant about. Fans would go mob airports for idols who I could have passed on the street without blinking an eye. It gave me the idea of a woman who had no interest in K-pop and would have no idea when an idol came into her life. What would happen when she found out? How would the idol feel about being accepted for who he was, rather than the public version of him? It was a huge amount of fun to research and write.

Both The Comeback and your first book, The Stand-In, touch on fame and the nature of celebrity. Are you a big pop culture person?

Strangely, I’m not really into pop culture. I rarely see movies or watch series, I don’t know many big influencers, and I couldn’t tell you what season of the Bachelor we’re on. But I love the idea of pop culture and celebrity and glamour and looking at how we define certain job roles as more admirable and worthy of our time, attention and money, and the people who are involved in them as somehow superior and more deserving. There’s an inverse relationship to the social value of the job and its necessity. I mean, who’s going to have an easier time cutting in line to get their license renewed, Jennifer Lopez or a nurse? And then what’s it like when the nurse suddenly gets Jennifer Lopez-level access?

The rise of social media and reality shows have added to this idea that we can truly know the person behind the celebrity and that we have a relationship with them. I like exploring how that affects the celebrity and what’s taken from them even among all the benefits and privileges they can take advantage of.

You're very clear that your books are about strong Asian characters in Toronto. I love that on several levels—the racial diversity aspect is obviously so important, but I also love when Toronto is Toronto in pop culture instead of standing in for somewhere else. What inspired (or maybe empowered) you to be so unequivocal in your storytelling priorities?

I love when Toronto appears as Toronto, too! I’ll also be the one to excitedly stage-whisper “That’s the Annex!” when I see it as Brooklyn on screen. It didn’t really occur to me to not set it in Toronto. I like books where the setting takes on elements of character. It’s easier to do that in a city you’re familiar with because of the specificity you can add with sights, sounds and smells. Not to mention, I like Toronto. I’ll make fun of it for sure, but in the end, this is my home, and I want to share it with readers.

What do you think it says about book publishing in Canada that these kinds of stories are now (finally) considered publishable and therefore good business bets?

I’m not sure what it says about book publishing in Canada, as my publishers are both American, and neither has breathed a word to suggest my books be moved to another city. I think we all agree that a Toronto setting adds to the story I’m telling as readers can explore the city as the characters do. Ten years ago, or with other publishers, that might have been a different story, but now, Toronto has become more of a spot on the pop culture map and, with that, a more intriguing place for people to read about.

There are some amazing romance writers who also write about Toronto, including (but not limited to) Jackie Lau, Farah Heron and Uzma Jalaluddin.

I know you're already working on your next book. Can you tell me anything about what audiences can expect from this one? And, what's next for you in general?

My third book is about a diversity consultant and is set in the fashion world. It also takes place in Toronto and is planned to come out audio-first in summer 2023. It’s due in 11 days, which means in 13 days, I'll be starting work on a book about an ancient line of magical Chinese perfumers who can change emotions through their fragrances. I love perfume, so I’m ready to dive into the research.

What’s next for me depends! I’ll keep writing if people keep reading, and then probably even if they stop. I have an airtable where I list story ideas and inspirations, and I have over 200 entries. I’d love to write all of them.

Listen to The Comeback on Audible.ca, and follow Lily on Twitter and Instagram.

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