Books On Tape Both An Art And A Business

Behind the glass in Studio B, Joe Mantegna is giving a bravura performance no one will ever see: He’s recording the audio version of “The Fan,” a taut thriller by Peter Abrahams.

With his usually expressive eyes trained on a loose-leaf script, Mantegna switches deftly among voices - the title character, an unemployed baseball fanatic; the egotistical home-run hitter who becomes his obsession; a female sportswriter who plays crucial roles in both men’s lives, and several others.

What scenes must be cut from a 350-page novel so that it will fit the common audio format of two 90-minute cassettes? What characters should be dropped? Who has the ideal voice and sensibilities to match the material? And is it the author or a celebrity reader? Male or female?

But the end result of these tiny decisions is big business. According to the Audio Publishers Association, sales totaled $1.4 billion in 1994. What’s more, the audio category of publishing has demonstrated phenomenal growth throughout the ‘90s: a 37 percent increase in 1992, 40 percent in 1993, and 18 percent in 1994.

“The industry has shown very solid growth, even though the last number for ‘94 looks like a decrease,” says George Hodkins, president of the 150-member industry association. “To me, it’s an impressive number, especially when you consider the film industry was down in ‘94. We’re happy to be up that much.”

Despite their growing popularity, audio or spoken books are relatively new, and they haven’t caught on with everyone.

“I’ve never heard one,” says Abrahams, the author of “The Fan.” “I’m a reader. I like to read; that’s where I get my books from. In the car, I listen to music.”

The difficult task of reducing Abraham’s 338-page novel to a 120-page double-spaced script fell to Geoff Schackert of Publishing Mills.

The dark tone and subject matter of “The Fan” - it traces the psychological breakdown of a Boston Red Sox fan - presented unique challenges, he says.

“I think this is a pretty brutal novel. I didn’t want it to come across as a slasher book. I wanted the reasons or motivations as to ‘why?’ to come through,” he says.

In most cases, the authors have a voice in the editing. They’re often sent a copy of the script for approval.

“Usually, they’ll suggest a couple of changes,” Schackert says. “It’s their baby. We try to accommodate that as long as it doesn’t lengthen it.”

Abrahams seems resigned that an abridgement of his novel is just that, a shortened version.

“You’re definitely going to lose something,” he says. “As a writer, I already try to cut to the bone. Everything you cut after that is going to be a loss. But you can’t make tapes 10 hours long.”

Much of the drama of an audio book is provided by the reader. Like most companies, Publishing Mills hires professional actors or engages the authors to read.

Publishing Mills President Jessica Kaye says both groups bring special qualities into the studio.

“What an author brings when narrating a work of fiction is a certain heat and a certain heart, because it’s their child. And when it’s an exceptional book, there is something unique in having the author read it. No, it’s not polished, but it’s very beautiful in its own way.”

Celebrity readers also are in demand. Pairings of books and stars include Whoopi Goldberg reading “There Are No Children Here,” Blair Brown and “The Client,” Ben Kingsley and “Schindler’s List,” Paul Scofield and “Hard Times,” Joanne Woodward and “Little Women,” and F. Murray Abraham and “Interview With the Vampire.”

Actors not only bring their talent into the studio, they mean star power in the bookstore. “The first threshold is the buyer at bookstore chains, and if that buyer is familiar with a name, it’s easier to make the sale. And it’s the same from that point forward,” Kaye says.

Readers earn $1,000 to $10,000 for a one- or two-day recording session. And as Mantegna points out, it’s a chance to flex acting muscles and play all the parts.