Upwork is the leading online workplace, home to thousands of toprated audiobook narrators. For more resources on becoming an audiobook narrator, please visit the audio publishers association website at. If you already have an unabridged audio version of your book, upload it here to get it into top retail channels. Go behind the mic with the author and narrator of this debut audiobook, set under the dazzling lights of late 1950s broadway. Barbara is a unique audio book talent, a creative genius who is always at the top of her game. On this site you will have opportunities to connect with authors seeking voice over artists to audition for their ebooks and audiobooks.
Ive captured and detailed every step involved from converting your book to auditioning and working with the best narrator for the job. As audiobooks increase in popularity, keppeler is seeing more audiobook work appear on upwork. We offer professional voice actors for audio books, ebooks, narrations that play on kindle, nook, iphone, ipad and other mp3 players. The narration of audio books is an art form requiring talents that are far more than just having a pleasant sounding voice. Auditions and luck and selfpromotion and good timing, and somewhere in there i hope, some talent. You and the narrator reach an agreement on how much they will get paid for each finished hour of the audiobook. Our client needed voice audio for a web series of childrens books. However, there are three more industryspecific websites for finding audiobook narration work, such as. Do buy this book if you want an intimate, insiders look at how the industrys most acclaimed narrator approaches her craftalong with tips for anyone who records audio books. This seems like the simplest, most timeefficient way to go, but its not. As of right now, we have close to 180 books waiting to be cast, 70 or so in production and over 40 already completed.
Its simple to post your job and get personalized bids, or browse upwork for amazing talent ready to work on your audioediting project today. Sample of fiction with a narrator, and 1 female and 1 male character exchanging dialogue. A successful narrator has a small business as a voice talent independent contractor, and the work requires stamina, organization, communication, professionalism, and selfmanagement. Hiring a professional voice actor to narrate your book can greatly improve the quality of your audiobook and help increase sales. Casting a male or female voice to narrate a promo video for an upcoming tv show. Ahab is penguin random house audios online talent database.
They encourage new audiobook narrators to take the time to spend 67 hours per day reading a book out loud and record their voice to ensure the performance shows acting talent, professional delivery, clear diction, positive energy, and consistency from beginning to end. There is no cost to join acx, but youll have to do the work to establish a proper profile. You can estimate the audio length of your book by dividing the total word count by 9,300. Sep 27, 2014 as for books, barbara rosenblat is an industry superstar.
Voice over actors or artists are used in radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, video games, ebook and audio narration and other presentations. Audiobooks are audio recordings of published texts performed by professional narrators. Our voices are experienced in audio books, esl and elearning projects. When you read for publishers, the pay is better and you often dont do the audio engineering. Edge studio voice over production for audiobook voice over. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading audiobook narrator. I was always taught that a narrator should be able to perform all parts, male and female. Luke daniels audible hall of famer reflects on his evolution from instudio narrator to home studio producer. Jan 15, 2017 it will go over steps for finding and recording the narrator best suited to your book. Pro audio voices audiobook production, marketing, recording. Oct 09, 2011 7 reasons why your book is not getting auditions on acx jeffrey kafer voice blog june 2nd, 2012 at 4. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Through acx, you can find an unlimited number of potential acting gigs, and the.
An audiobook narrator is the voice talent who reads an audiobook. I started working from home as a freelance audiobook narrator on a couple of years ago. As for books, barbara rosenblat is an industry superstar. Scott brick pt1 audio book narrator the process of voicing audio books. Our self service website only lists the best talent at the best voice over rates.
It is designed to get samples of your best audiobook performances into the hands of the preeminent producer team in. How to get started as an audible narrator through acx. Edge studio voice over practice script library english. You must have a killer audio book demo to get paying work in this field especially from publishers. Your audition is the gateway to great work and new connections, but how can. Audiobooks are a special part of the voice over industry that only a select few can master. Acx is the online interface between audio book narrators and book rightsholders. How to become an audiobook narrator and work at home. It is a specific skill set that audio book narrators should have. As they clicked to indicate a page turn, the narrator would read the following page.
Oct 29, 2018 you must have a killer audio book demo to get paying work in this field especially from publishers. There may be narrators out there who are under salary with a particular company, but id say the lions share of narrators are working as independent contractors. Via voiceover agent auditions, persistence in reaching out with demos via direct contact and auditions with publishers. Post a casting notice now and have samples back within an hour.
Youve got your audio booth all set up, you got your equipment set up perfectly for your place and your voice, now you just need to book a job. Once you land a few gigs, use those as samples to land clients elsewhere. Narrowing down the field of potential narrators was a bit like an eye exam, where i listened to the first audition and then the. Post your audiobook job for free and connect directly with an experienced audiobook voice actor. Formerly recorded exclusively under the aftra sound recordings code, today there are more than 40 separate sagaftra agreements with audiobook publishers and producers. Before you spend months auditioning to land your first gig, we have some tips to help you get started. Producing the best in fiction and nonfiction audiobooks. It is a specific skill set that audio book narrators should.
Freelancers, she says, tend to be better for general voiceover gigs, but not. How to work from home parttime as an audiobook narrator. Auditioning march 11, 2015 melora kordos youve got your audio booth all set up, you got your equipment set up perfectly for your place and your voice, now you just need to book a job. However, those who wish to create an audio drama experience with multiple voice actors may also choose this approach too. Noahs advice will help you learn how to become an audiobook narrator. Through acx, you can find an unlimited number of potential acting gigs, and the audiobooks you produce will be available on audible, amazon, and itunes. You find a narrator sometimes called producer by listening to their auditions. Get free auditions from top narrators in every genre. Acx is owned by amazon and audible and helps match narrators with authorsbook publishers by allowing anyone to submit auditions for open audiobook projects.
By picking the right books, submitting highquality auditions, and preparing for the time and effort it will take to complete an audiobook project, even inexperienced voice actors can find. Professional story tellers with years of experience in audio book narration are available to record your next project. Not only is my primary job as an audiobook narrator and producer, but i also work with crossroad press in casting and doing the post production on the audiobooks they produce through acx. Brilliance publishing, audiobook narrators audition. Typically, most audiobook publishers want one narrator who can do character voices. They encourage new audiobook narrators to take the time to spend 67 hours per day reading a book out loud and record their voice to ensure the performance shows acting talent, professional delivery, clear diction, positive energy, and consistency from beginning. Sep 21, 2017 i had the privilege of interviewing audiewinning narrator noah michael levine. Learn how to become an audiobook narrator with these. Audition a voice for free right now with our automated system. Pro audio voices is a company based in the san francisco bay area and serving clients internationally as a goto place for exceptional audiobook production and marketing, including complex and unusual projects that may involve multiple voices andor music andor sound effects. In recent years, the amount of work for members has increased steadily with the advent of.
You can search the acx website for the perfect narratorproducer, or wait for acx narratorsproducers to audition for your audiobook project. In this post, ill walk you through the whole process of how to make an audio book using acx. Freelancers, she says, tend to be better for general voiceover gigs, but not audiobook narration. Visit acx university to learn how to produce, publish, and market greatsounding audiobooks. In developing techniques for particular genres, a great reference book is robert blumenfields acting with the voice. Aug 11, 2016 i crafted a pitch for a narrator explaining a bit about my book and uploaded the first chapter so they could read it as their audition.
To get started as an audiobook narrator, heres what you need. The idea of the project was to allow children to follow along as they are read a book online. I crafted a pitch for a narrator explaining a bit about my book and uploaded the first chapter so they could read it as their audition. I gleaned some very juicy nuggets of knowledge from this course regarding being not only an audio book narrator, but also, the most current, modern, experienced view of the acx audio book universe from true experts. Can you define the different types of audiobook narration. You then select the actor whose read you like best and hire her. Most, if not all, audio book production companies are going to want to hear that on a narrators demo, i. Sign up today and start auditioning for audiobook voice over jobs. Keppelers top tip for anyone getting into voiceover work is to invest in a good microphone and headphones. Its a pleasure to recommend her book audiobook narrator. Jan 17, 2020 practice your narrating and editing skills through auditions, and improve from author feedback.
Do you want to give your book the james earle jones treatment or is a quirky, more conversational voice better suited as narrator of. Practice your narrating and editing skills through auditions, and improve from author feedback. There is a right way to do it and a not so right way and david and dan have got the right on right on how to git er done. Ive now read via audio several scalzi novels, and ive loved every one of them. Perfinishedhour one flat rate payment for the entire book royalty share you split royalties 5050 with the author or rights holder royalty share plus a combination of royalty share and pfh.
Jul 12, 2016 hes a stellar narrator, and if it hadnt been for him, i dont know if i ever would have gotten around to reading john scalzi. Once youve got a book that youre auditioning for youll be sent a section of the book or a chapter, or, on rare occasions the entire manuscript these are the sides. I would admit to being probably a little slower in my production output than maybe some other narrators. The audio book business has been booming, as has actors interests in working as narrators in this field. May 11, 2020 voice over actors or artists are used in radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, video games, ebook and audio narration and other presentations. How much can you make recording audiobooks from home. Kevin clay discusses some advice specifically for people just starting out in audio book narration and some great resources.
Audio is one of the fastest growing segments of the book industry and audiobooks are easier than ever to download and listen to on the go. Your own perfinishedhour rate, paid upon successful completion of the audiobook. Jun 19, 2009 the audio book business has been booming, as has actors interests in working as narrators in this field. You can search the acx website for the perfect narrator producer, or wait for acx narratorsproducers to audition for your audiobook project. By the end of reading this you will be well on your way to reaping the benefits of a whole new market. Certain parallels between an audiobook narrator and a film actor can be drawn. Acx audiobook narrators training for recording at home.
On acx there are 3 ways that you can get paid for work as a narrator. Narration work for audiobooks is on par with other voiceover jobs in terms of compensation. We have 2,369 titles open for auditions, 164,971 producers to choose from, and 190,854 audiobooks on sale at audible, amazon, and itunes. You can find me on facebook at sean pratt presents.
In developing techniques for particular genres, a great reference book is robert blumenfields acting with. How i chose a narrator for my audiobook josh steimle. Penguin random house audio producing the best in fiction. Hes a stellar narrator, and if it hadnt been for him, i dont know if i ever would have gotten around to reading john scalzi. The voice actor or artist requires special skills to be successful. Hold tight audio book sample click the link below for the audio version of hold tight, chapter one, as read by scott brick, who also read the the woods for the audio release. Then try this simple test to see if audiobook narration will be the right fit for you. The skills every voice actor needs to get into audiobooks. Blackstone audio, one of the nations largest independent audiobook publishers, is currently holding open auditions for. The art of recording audio books kindle edition by rosenblat, barbara, oday, dan.
You also must separate jobs you do on your own in your home studio from voicing for publishers, often in their studios. Acx also helps both authors and narrators promote themselves on social media and offline as well. Sep 18, 2014 by picking the right books, submitting highquality auditions, and preparing for the time and effort it will take to complete an audiobook project, even inexperienced voice actors can find. You may get some auditions from newer narrators with far less experience, but your choice of talent will likely be limited at this level. If youre a reader, you love language, and you have both acting skills and small business skills, then audiobook narration is for you. Apr 21, 2016 kevin clay discusses some advice specifically for people just starting out in audio book narration and some great resources. When i heard that wheaton narrated red shirts, i decided to go for it. Narrating an audiobook requires you to be doing hours and hours of reading. I chose what rate i was willing to pay, measured per finished hour pfh, and then waited to receive auditions.
Through his eyes, you can get a glimpse into that secret life. In a nutshell, aspiring audiobook narrators need to have the following skills. Seeking narrators for brilliance audio, a publisher of audiobooks. The narrator will record and upload the audiobook, which you will then approve. I recently spoke with voiceover greats pat fraley and marc cashman, who shared their.