umms and aahs

I imagine I'm not alone in wincing at the sound of my own voice when I hear it on my answerphone message - thank heavens for the automated one that giffgaff supplies (though it's recently changed to a gruff sounding bloke with a Mancunian accent, which I imagine callers could conceivably believe is actually me). So, why the Dickens, would I consider recording myself reading extracts of my own writing, you may wonder, as, indeed, I wonder myself?

Writers reading their own work to an audience is a time honoured tradition, of course, Dickens (since I've already invoked his name) famously toured all over the country, and America too for that matter, giving wildly popular live performances. I'm sure there are other examples too but he's the earliest example that I can think of. I've been to hear/watch a few authors read from their latest books; Matt Haig, Jake Arnott, A. N. Wilson, Cathy Rentzenbrink, Kate Mosse, Markus Zusak to mention just a few, and I've been both thoroughly entertained, and impressed by their professional ability to engage with an audience, and not simply weep in terror at the prospect of public speaking - which as we all know is one of life's major stressors (along with death, divorce and visits to the dentist).

Authors that I know, on Twitter, have posted videos of themselves reading extracts of their work, and I admire them immensely for doing this, but long ago decided it's something I'm never going to be able to do. Hard enough, I think, to read aloud with expression, enthusiasm, and regional dialects (delete as appropriate) whilst not tripping over tongue-twisting sentences, or ummming and ahhhing frequently, and all this without also having to worry wether your lighting set-up isn't cruelly ageing you, questioning why on earth you thought the left side of your face was your best side, and retrospectively deciding that a more neutral tone of sweater might have been kinder than the emerald green one you chose. Minefield.

So, videos of me reading are out of the question, and even though I don't like the sound of my own voice, the notion of reading my work aloud continues to intrigue and appeal to me. I have even had a tentative practice run. It went ok, but it was far from stellar. Really I need to find some editing software (so I can get rid of those uums and ahhs) and then a host site (Soundcloud?) where I can park the files. Watch this space, or, rather, listen for updates.