4 Things You Need To Budget for When Hiring an Audio Book Narrator

The Written Word

Literacy is one of those special gifts that we possess as members of the human family.

It is a joyous pastime, a tool for learning, and the pages of a book unlock doors to great adventures in periods and locations we could only dream about visiting.

With the richness of a tapestry, the written word is one of the most cherished and time honored traditions that we have in our day preserved for us by previous generations and developed by ancient civilizations spanning thousands of years.

Enter Audio Books

In recent years, the popularity of and subsequent demand for talking books has skyrocketed, thrusting publishers into the new arena of digital publishing and a newfound need for audio book narration.

A Picture Paints a Thousand Words (and Books Have More Than That!)

Think about your favorite books, now think about how many pages there are in those books… think about how long it takes you to read them.

Usually when we think about books and how long they are we only consider page count because it is obvious visually, documented and tangible, but this is where the potential to be lead astray occurs when it comes to having the voice over recorded and budgeted for…

1. Page Count VS Word Count

Gloria T. Delamar, author and creative writing instructor, says that knowing the number of pages is not enough to give a clear picture of the length of a manuscript, revealing that it depends on how many characters-per-inch (cpi) it was printed at.

Example:

If printed at 10 cpi, there will be about 250 words per page, making the manuscript about 12,500 words; if printed at 12 cpi, there will be about 300 words per page, making the manuscript 15,000 words. A heftier manuscript of 250 pages can mean the difference between 62,500 and 75,000 words.

The average paperback novel consisting of 140-320 pages (double spaced) has a word count spread that ranges from 35,000 - 80,000 words.

2. Preparation

a) Just like anything else, a voice talent will need to review the manuscript for words and names they are unfamiliar with which inevitably involves some research.

b) Voice talent also need to develop the voice of the narrator and characters to best reflect the tone of the book, the author’s intention and also bring their own unique interpretation to each one. If you’ve heard books narrated with multiple character voices, it’s not an easy feat to shape each character and then record the different voices while maintaining their integrity as individual characters consistently over the course of the novel.

3. Recordings Need to Be Edited

Reading aloud without stumbling and in character is a challenge for most but the editing really takes the cake in the labour intensive department.

Once the voice over is recorded, a painstaking process begins where each sentence is listened to and edited if need be, a process that takes nearly 3 times as long as the voice over recording to complete.

4. Distribution of the Audio Book

How the audio will be used is an important factor. Let your voice over talent know how the audio will be distributed as it may affect the final price.

Examples of distribution are:

a) Independent distribution
b) National distribution through audio book publishers
c) International distribution / Online distribution via Audible.com or similar services

Sounds Good But What About Rates?

Many voice talent have a rate sheet that they use for long form narration and quote on a per word basis.

Although each professional reserves the right to charge their own fees, you can expect that an audio book narration will cost thousands of dollars to produce depending on the length, amount of editing required and the distribution of the audio.

Naturally, if the manuscript is quite short, for instance a children’s book, fees will reflect the amount of work required combined with how the audio is being used.

Have You Ever Hired a Voice Talent to Narrate an Audio Book?

Let me know the title of the audio book and where we can find it!

Cheers,

Stephanie

Storytelling in the Digital Age

Talking Books

Whenever a new book hits the stores, its audio counterpart isn’t far behind, in fact, the current trend is to release the audio version at the same time as the printed publication. You can find audio books just about everywhere from your local bookstore, to the library to online hubs such as Audible.com and independent retailers.

What’s the Market Like?

There are currently 4000 audio books being recorded each year. According to the president of Blackstone Audio, Craig Black, this figure will balloon to 24,000 over the next four years. Why? Because of the success of downloadable audio books on the Internet! With virtual inventory, publishers save a considerable amount of money that would have been spent in publishing, and this is a very attractive solution for publishers with very little risk.

How Do Publishers Find Voices?

With the rise of technology and opportunities via the world wide web it is easier now than ever for audio book publishers to find voice over talent to narrate their audio books. Finding the perfect voice is as quick as a simple keyword search via your favorite search engine, and just like that, professional narrators are only a click away.

Trends in Audio Book Narration

Publishers are looking for every voice type and voice age

The work is nearly evenly distributed between men and women

Celebrity narrators are becoming more common, for example, Jeremy Irons narrating The Alchemist

Have you listened to any audio books? Which ones?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Stephanie

How To Hire a Narrator for Your Audio Book

1. Browsing the Website

We’ve made it easy for you to locate narrators who bring the pages of your book to life. There are two ways you can go about finding a voice talent, and you can do so directly from our home page.

You’ll notice the tabs in the navigation bar called “Female Narrators” and “Male Narrators“. Depending on the gender of voice talent you’re looking for, click on the appropriate tab to see a listing of professionals available at this website.

Alternatively, you can also search by keyword. Just as you would do a keyword search at Google or Yahoo!, you can type in words that describe what you are looking for by using the website search box. Try typing in a keyword, language, gender or location to view matching narrator.

You can find the search bar at the top of every page on this website.

2. Listen to Audio Samples

Start the hiring process by listening to professional narrators. Each narrator has a profile where you can learn about their experience, areas of expertise, special skills and services offered. You can also listen to a sample of their voice by playing their voice-over demo.

When playing the voice-over demos, listen for:

• Clarity
• Pacing
• Production Value
• Overall Quality

3. Contact a Narrator

Once you’ve found a professional that you’re interested in working with, contact them by sending them an email and remember to include some specifics so that the narrator can reply with a quote and turn around time for your project.

Be sure to mention:

• Script (can you send a sample of the script?)
• Length (what’s the page count or word count of your script?)
• Artistic Direction (what style of performance do you want?)
• Deadline (when do you need the recording done by?)
• Budget (how much can you invest in this voice over recording?)

4. Send Payment & Download Your Files

What happens next? When the narrator receives your email, they will reply to you with a final quote for the project. Some narrators may request a 50% deposit by PayPal while others may use the industry’s escrow service called SurePay.

Once your deposit is made, the narrator will record your script in their professional recording studio. When the work has been completed the voice talent will send you instructions on how to download your finished audio files.

5. Congratulations, You’re Done!

You’ve successfully hired a professional narrator for your audio book and experienced working with some of the best voice talent in the world.

If you need help at anytime, you can contact us toll-free at 1-888-359-3472.

The website for audio book publishers

Thank you for choosing Audio Book Voice Talent, home to some of the best professional narrators on the Internet. The narrators listed on this site, both male and female, represent voice actors who have won awards for their voice over work, including Audies, Golden Earphone awards and Voicey awards.

Collaborate with some of the most sought after voices of our time on audio books that will entertain, educate and inspire. By putting our narrators’ experience to use you’ll see tangible results and have the confidence that you’re working with the perfect voice for your audio book project.

The Audio Book Voice Talent website is created specifically for audio book publishers, authors, and agents who need to find and hire a narrator to breathe life into the written words, whether it be the narration of a beloved classic or a publication hot off the press.

Use this website to locate the best narrator for your audio book by:

• Searching
• Listening to audio samples
• Contacting the narrator directly for a quote

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