Abby Schmidt asked Barack Obama:

I really enjoy listening to your audiobook performances. How does that recording process compare to the actual writing process for you? Do you get to have any creative control of those performances?

Barack Obama I appreciate that, Abby. It’s a lot easier than the writing process – it’s certainly faster. It is a long book, which made for a long recording schedule. But many of my speeches over the years have clocked in at an hour long, so I can handle a lot of talking. As long as I’ve got my tea, I can keep going. I will say, though, there were times during the writing process when I rejected cuts from my editor and speechwriter, and almost regretted it while reading out loud for such a long time. That was probably the hardest part of the recording process – not being able to edit myself. I’ll always take another go at editing a speech, sometimes right before taking the stage. I made a lot of revisions to my own manuscript; I went over it multiple times. Nothing’s ever perfect. But with an audiobook, you can’t do that. You have to stick to what you’ve written. So sometimes, I’d catch something I wish I’d written slightly differently, and I’d just have to swallow that and keep recording. That was the only frustration about the process.

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Cheri Arthur I am very excited to listen to your own words in your voice. A treasure for sure! I am so happy to see Joe Biden as our next president and all the won ...more
Dec 23, 2020 10:18PM · flag

Lois I have listened to the audio already and now I want the book in print also. It is like reading a history book. I miss the decency that you brought to ...more
Dec 31, 2020 07:00AM · flag