(An ask I deleted by accident TT_TT I’m sorry!)
Wow, 700k is such an incredible goal!
Since it is a series, how long is the first installment? I’d start from there, celebrating each finished story separately.
That way if you ever find yourself in a situation you can’t or don’t want to continue, it is perfectly fine; the fandom will be a lot richer due to your work!
Before you start (after you got the author’s permission of course😎) find a place you can record under mostly the same conditions every time (a closet, a recording room, a portable speaker booth, whatever). Make sure you have enough room to move a little (like hand gestures, sitting down or standing up). Are you happy with your microphone?
Then there is the story itself. Since nobody reads a 700k series once and goes “Yeah, I want to spend like 800 hours to produce an 80 hours podfic because it is kinda good” I’m sure you are familiar with it. But there is a huge difference between reading silently and reading aloud.
I once recorded a lovely fic I’d read several times. The humor and characters were great but upon recording, I realized I had to fight with almost every other paragraph; I finished but I’m not really happy with how it turned out. Since then I always do several test recordings of different scenes to make sure the writing “fits into my mouth”.
I recommend warming up your voice, keep uncarbonated water handy, and stop before your voice suffers. The voice is a muscle and gets stronger and more durable over time.
How long can you read before you notice a drop in concentration/quality? For most of us habitual podficcers a session over 90 minutes is too much.
I prefer ending a session at the end of a chapter because it is less noticeable when the next one starts with a slight change in voice.
As for editing: I usually edit between sessions but don’t start posting before I recorded the last chapter. This is kinda an insurance for myself to really finish a fic, even if the response to it is tiny or non-existent: I can edit without enthusiasm but not record. Other people like to record, edit and post a chapter as soon as it is done; that’s fine too. You’ll find what works best for you😊
Soooo… what a wall of text😅 Anyway, apart from the above you’re always welcome to ask any questions: send them to my inbox, ask the author (e.g. for additional character thoughts in key scenes -> if they are willing) or under the Podfic tag here on Tumblr.
The podficcer community also enjoys posts about how you are doing and what “adventures in podficcing” you encountered😄
I hope I was able to help you a little. I wish you tons of fun and enlighting moments perusing this art form😀