• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Audiobook Village
  • Casting Directory
  • Events Calendar
  • Knowledge Base
  • Pit Stop Shows
  • Video Courses
  • Videos
  • Welcome Center
substack link

Narrators Roadmap

Home

Videos

Video Courses

Events Calendar

Welcome Center

Casting Directory



KNOWLEDGEBASE

Auditions/Career

Advice About Expanding Beyond Narration

Auditions/Career

I invite audiobook narrators who have vocations beyond narration to be interviewed on Pit Stop. Before the episode ends, I ask most guests a variation of this question:

What advice could you share with others
who want to expand their horizon beyond narration?

This article contains comments from the narrators who spoke during Season 1. For more inspiration, be sure to check out the shows!


Daniela Acitelli

My advice is work from the inside out, not the outside in. You’re making the choices for what you want deep down, not what you think you have to do to be a successful person in the industry. The outside world wants you to do more of something or do things their way or change this. I rejected it and ignored the outside world and including social media. I just ignored and I kept doing what I wanted to do with it. We have the power to just let the noise stay outside of us. You’re still doing it for the love of it and just being smart about business. You can marry the two, but I think that the love comes first.


Jennifer Jill Araya

I think there are two things that you can think about. The first is what is the purpose behind what you’re doing? I find that my why really helps drive me into figuring out what is right for me. When you see opportunities come to you, how do you know whether that’s the right opportunity for you or whether it’s something that’s going to take you off course? Running a small business is really hard work. If you don’t have your reason for doing that, like really settled in your soul, it’s going to be very difficult to keep doing it when the going gets tough, when you hit a problem or a roadblock. Then, make sure you’ve got a support network that’s going to help you as you’re pursuing that other thing.


Andi Arndt

[I didn’t ask Andi the question at the top of this page. However, she shared a golden tip that narrators can implement immediately.]

I use an app called Calendly, and it’s great because it looks for the next available spot. It books you in that spot. It asks you a couple of questions about what are the things that you want to talk about, either performance things or business things, and it collects payment right there. It puts [the appointment] automatically on my calendar, so it eliminates the back and forth.

One way that narrators can put that to really good use is to set up 15-minute free consultations. If an author asks to meet with you about a potential project and they want to know how to do that, you can send them your calendar link. That way, you can make sure that people only ask for your time when it’s available. You can protect your recording time by not making it show up on the calendar.


Travis Baldree

I’m like a serial hobbyist. I love trying things out and getting expertise and learning about things. So just doing that in general and cultivating that it as a habit is, I think, great if you’ve got something you enjoy doing and. Then then just do it. And any information you can treat it as a as a learned skill where you’re constantly learning more about how to do it and how to do it well. And the industry that it’s in, if there is one. And then maybe at some point it develops into a thing that you want to pursue. It’s like watching a fruit grow, you know, like tend it. And if it gets big enough, like, oh, maybe I want to pick this…or not.


Erin Bennett

I would say learning to trust your gut. I’m working at it every day. I find that it’s times that I’ve had an instinct and trusted it that have led me to a good a good opportunity rather than just thinking of something from the top down and working it out logically. There’s a place for all this to go. I just wish everyone a smooth journey as possible. It’s never smooth, and it’s never easy. But it’s worthwhile.


Chris Ciulla

Whatever you choose to do, remember, we have to have a skill set behind it. Once you build the skill set, you’ve got to have a presentation that allows you to tell other people that, okay, I am doing this thing now. Knowing that for every new thing that we’re doing, there’s there’s no impossibilities. Everything is possible. It is remembering that each individual category that we are trying to become, to add to our repertoire, has a skill set that you need to educate yourself on. You can’t wing it and expect to have great results. You’ve got to educate yourself the right way.


Tanya Eby

I think one of the things that I realized pretty early on as a freelancer is that I didn’t need to ask permission. So if there are things that you want to do or try, you don’t have to ask anybody. You can just do it and try it. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re learning. You’re stretching yourself. It’s awesome!


Joe Hempel

Find something that’s missing in the genre that you are passionate about or in the industry that you are passionate about and attack it like that portion will go away tomorrow if you don’t act. Not only do you get the sense that you’re doing something good for the industry, you will not be putting all your eggs in one basket.


Alison Larkin

[I didn’t ask Alison the question on this page. At the end of our conversation, she shared the following advice which can help you in all circumstances.]

I said to [a friend who was dying], if you could give three pieces of advice to the people who are left behind, what would they be?

Love is the only thing that matters.

Remember that most people are doing the best they can with who they are, and connect because it is only in connection that love can find expression.

Finally, Desmond Tutu’s quote, which has helped me tremendously and always will, I think, is remember, you can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it.


Jorjeana Marie

What in narration did you enjoy the most? And can that be turned into something? So just as an example, if in narrating audiobooks you found that you really like to play very mysterious characters and create a sense of mystery, then what could you also do with that? Does that lead you to wanting to write something around a character that you’d like to film or play on stage, or does that take you to actually taking a course to become an actual detective? That’s the thing — there’s no limits with it. We can talk about just in the parameters of entertainment, but also sometimes doing these things well outside of it.

We forget about these things. I feel like I picked up these habits from other actors along the way of like “If you’re not like eating, breathing, sleeping, getting your next gig, somebody else is going to get the gig.” That’s worthless information. It’s a worthless attitude because it only lasts for so long. It just becomes not worth it, especially if the gig isn’t fulfilling.

Reverse engineering what we want and already finding those things in life. They’re already within us and some of us either know them and can rattle them off, or we have yet to explore and find those things. That finding is so much fun! It’s such an adventure, and the “Artist’s Date” can be the entryway into it.

And for anybody who hasn’t read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, she talks about going taking yourself on an Artist Date. You can check out her book to to see how she explains it exactly. It’s so great because your artist date could be depending on your interests. It could be going to the junkyard and picking out something for a weird art sculpture. Or it could be going to a museum. Start exploring [by] going on an artist date and [doing] something that supports that thing that you’re interested in exploring outside of narration.


Rich Miller

First, just do some personal brainstorming if you’re really not sure what you want to do. So if you don’t know that you want to do a podcast, but you want to do something else, just brainstorm and be crazy. Come up with crazy ideas [like] I want to talk to somebody about audiobooks but don’t like the podcast format. Come up with everything you can think of. Give a talk at a local library; give a talk on a street corner, Go into a bar once a week and just pick somebody at random and see if they’ll listen to you. Allow yourself the ability to just think of anything, then narrow it down.

Once you have a couple of good ideas, I’m a big fan of doing a substantial amount of research before you actually start something. Finding out who else is doing this kind of thing. How are they doing it? If I was going to start doing that thing, whatever it is, how would I do the first steps?


Melissa Moran

You don’t have to turn everything into a career that could be a hobby. Not everything has to be monetized. Just because you enjoy something doesn’t mean you should turn it into a business.

These are the things I have to constantly remind myself. The things that are truly meant for you, you will want you have a deep desire to continue doing it until you don’t. There’s just so much beauty in the world. Why would you keep yourself from doing those things?

Now you also have to keep your family and your loved ones in mind. You can do whatever you want, but I personally want to give my time and attention to them first and foremost. So I think anything that satisfies me creatively while also maintaining balance in my home, is what I really value in life. It’s knowing where to pull back and when to pull back. That’s the challenge.


Sarah Puckett

Do it! One of the biggest things for me when it comes to business is to diversify and find multiple streams of income. Because especially in narration, it’s hard. I mean, this is a hard business to make a career out of. So just do it. If you find a skill that you are really good at something, you know a lot about, something you can educate people on and just go for it, give it a shot, see how it goes, learn as you go. Don’t wait.


Ann Richardson

Do it, especially if it scares you. Do it. I would also say research it thoroughly before you look for customers. You know, it’s not fair to experiment with a business relationship. If you’re thinking about narration, it’s not fair to your author to experiment and learn on their baby. So whatever you’re planning on doing, whether it’s extracurricular or focused on your profession, make sure you research it before you do it. You only have one chance to make a first impression. It’s not a good look to make a bumbling first impression with things that you could have easily discovered on your own before you made contact.


Gina Rogers

Jennifer Jill Araya made a point of saying that most full time narrators have something else that they do. I feel like at one point in my career, I was just a full time narrator, and it took a little bit of the joy away. So I encourage everybody to find the other things that bring you the joy.

[Khristine Hvam’s and PJ Ochlan’s “Play” workshop taught] how important it is that we see narration as our time to play. It lit this little spark. Yes, it’s a freelance job, and it’s flexible, and I can make it work around my schedule so that I can do the other things that spark joy and make me. So if there’s anything you like, I say, go for it.


Amy Rubinate

The whole reason that I made this transition is because there were things that were missing or broken in the industry, and I saw this possibility. It came out of my passions and enthusiasm and the particular perspective that I brought to this world. So I’d say to people: really dig in and explore yourself and follow the tickle, the little glimmer of something that’s calling out to you. Think about the things that are dissatisfying to you. Do you have the ability to fix them? How could you fix them? How could you contribute?

You can give back. You can solve problems You can close gaps that you’re worried about, and those things could turn into a vocation or an avocation or just simply be something that you do to add value.


Teri Schnaubelt

What are you curious about, and what interests you? It doesn’t matter if it needs to be something that’s going to make you money necessarily, unless you really need something that you know can help you make ends meet. But if you’re lucky enough to have the ability to pursue something regardless of whether it pays you or not, what would that be? I think just taking a walk and getting lost in your own thoughts is helpful. I’m actually advocating don’t listen to an audiobook. Just come with your thoughts.


Andrew Tell

If you’re augmenting, I think it’s totally a common thing. It becomes magical when it aligns with your particular skills and abilities. If you have another set of skills that runs in parallel or augments the narration in particular and can work in harmony, definitely don’t hesitate. You’ve got something special to offer. You do have to take a little bit of a leap, because whatever you’re going to set up, it’s another investment of your time. But if you have some particular little special thing that’s a little different than everybody else, go for it.

 

Other resources on this topic:

  • These articles may help you reflect on your interests and passions and explore new possibilities for avocations:
    • Commit to Creativity Workshop
    • Every passion does not lead to a career choice
    • How I Use My Journal
    • Things I’ve Learned About Adding New Entries to My Journals
  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    A Mini-Masterclass from an Experienced Narrator

    Auditions/Career

    Thanks to narrator Travis Baldree for his permission to republish this essay that he originally posted on Facebook.

     

    Hey, so I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and I have some notes that, if you are new, you may find useful.

    1) Be nice to everyone.

    2) Learn and internalize the best practices before you break or ignore them. The time may COME to break or ignore them, but you’ll know when that is, and it won’t be in your first couple of books. If you think the time is right to do so in your first few months, you’re wrong. You have to know the rules well before you can subvert them.

    3) Coaching is not a one-stop shop. You are accruing information. Coach widely. Early on, a lot of this will be best practices that you just need to internalize, but eventually it will start to trend more to individual coaches’ opinions. They will not always agree. That is fine. That doesn’t mean they are wrong. You are gathering this up for your mental mulch pile. As you pass the threshold of competency and start to become skilled, you will start synthesizing this information to accentuate what makes you a singular performer. The ideas will ferment, and they will be of a benefit entirely unique to you. Let it happen naturally.

    4) Learn all the parts of the business. That doesn’t mean you have to be proficient. It doesn’t mean you need to be an engineer or a proofer. But know how those things work. Understand the fundamentals of how audio files work. Understand the terms, and the tools. Be cognizant of everything. This will make you not a pain in the ass to work with and will lead to good things. It’s not beneath you, and beyond a certain point, it isn’t a distraction, as it will directly impact the quality of the work you deliver. If you DO decide to become proficient, it will come in handy though. Trust me.

    5) Let go of the expectation that there is a specific set of steps or people or publishers that you must interact with to be successful. It’ll happen in a way you don’t expect. Just do excellent work, and continuously improve. And be nice. Always be nice.

    6) Be selective of your projects. Be sure you want your name on them. A bad project isn’t worth the stain on your portfolio if you can help it. Stay away from scammy garbage books. If it’s less than 3 hours, royalty share, and has a blank red cover with white text – don’t waste your time on it. If you need to practice to become basically competent, record yourself, and then throw it away. Besides, reading poorly Google-translated text for someone whose motives for publishing the book are inexplicable will not build skills you want to build.

    7) Quality is everything. You can overwork anything, but don’t let simple mistakes go out the door with the expectation that someone else will catch them. Be your own best critic first. Other people don’t have time to fix lazy mistakes, which means they’re more likely to make it out into the world. (with your name on them)

    8) Listen to other people’s work, especially people you like. You will internalize important lessons that will become a part of your own particular delivery. The more excellent narrators you listen to, the more invisible lessons you will teach yourself, especially if you are paying attention. And you should pay attention. Why does that delivery work? Why is that funny? What about this made me tear up? How are they using their voice to accomplish this? Can I try it? Does it work for me? Why or why not?

    9) Vocal practice is important. You want to develop the ability to put your voice where you want it repeatedly. If you can do something repeatedly with similar intonation and quality, then you can do it on demand — which means it can become instinctual. You must build instinct to have an effortless and natural read. Make sure you’re building the right instincts.

    10) Identify ‘your people’ as you work with them and cultivate those relationships. People that you like and like to work with. I don’t mean that you should do this in a mercenary fashion — it’s just good for you! But also, these relationships are the invisible underpinning of your career. Don’t stress about it, but find the people you get along with and specifically feed and water those relationships. You will be happier, they will be happier, and good things will come out of it.

    11) Learn to cold-read effectively. Practice it. It’s a combination of reading ahead and understanding the rhythm of speech and ‘predicting’ what an author will write before you read it (again on an instinctual level) so that you can intuit where the phrase is going to go. It’s also understanding the musicality of speech, and understanding how to avoid repetitive intonation and musicality while still respecting what the author is trying to do, and keeping it feeling natural. If you enjoy writing and like language, this is a lot easier to do. The better you can cold read, the better your delivery will be (and the faster you will produce work). I cannot overstate how useful this is. Also, it will pay dividends in breathing as well, as you will improve your ability to learn where to place breaths to sound most natural.

    If you find yourself reading and discovering that you misunderstood what an author was attempting with a sentence only AFTER you get to the end, try to figure out the signposts in that sentence that would clue you in. This is hard to articulate in a paragraph here, but it’s worth thinking on. Also, it should go without saying, but if you misjudged the intent of a sentence and your take on it doesn’t support the intent, go back and fix it!

    12) Learn to compare your work in a useful way. Being a good self critic means being truthful in your assessment without being cruel to yourself. It’s just part of the process, don’t let it hurt you. It’s always good when you can find something to improve and you understand why — that’s wonderful information! If you don’t understand why, or can’t even tell if something is not good, that’s where you get stuck. (And why you need a coach!) If you know something is lacking, then you are forearmed with critical information that will allow you to improve. Work on it, improve it, and move on to the next thing. It’s like sanding down rough wood. Eventually you will be working away at smaller imperfections that other people won’t notice.

    13) You are a partner with the author. Understand what they are trying to do, and serve it. Get out and push when you can to make sure that their intent gets across to the listener. All authors fail to achieve their goals sometimes, just as we do. You can be a helping hand when you can recognize the cracks that you can help paper over. Note, that does NOT mean rewriting their work or altering their intent — that means using your performance ability to give a little boost where needed.

    14) Learn to effectively tell an author’s jokes. Recognize when they’re being funny, and make sure you get the humor across. This is a great thing to practice over and over to wring out just the right amount of humor and to illustrate to yourself how your performance can really work hand-in-hand with their words. If an author laughs when they hear their own joke, you win.

    15) Don’t tell yourself you can’t do something. “I can’t do the other gender’s voices. I can’t do this accent.”

    Yeah, you can. It’s just going to take some work.

    Don’t settle. You may not ever be done, but you can absolutely improve. Coach. Practice.

    16) Don’t let yourself tear down your authors. It’s your job to get on board with the book, to learn to love what you can about it. Find those things and get behind them. If you snark all over a book you are doing, you will begin to fail the author. They won’t all be beautifully written, but delight in the fact that you can elevate them with some hard work.

    17) The hardest books will be the worst-written books. That’s OK. They are exercise. They’re whetstones. You are sharpening yourself so that when the amazing books fall into your lap you will be well prepared to absolutely rock them. Bonus: Fewer people listen to the poorly written ones, usually, so you can work slightly out of the spotlight while still getting paid. Challenge yourself to make these books sing to the best of your ability. It can be very satisfying.

    18) Some of the books you like least are the ones everyone else seems to love. Again, don’t let yourself fall into the trap of flaking out on things that aren’t your favorite. They may become what you are known best for, so make sure you put forth your best.

    19) I hesitate to say this for fear it’ll be taken wrong, but mimicry is a useful learning technique. Listening to performers you admire and mimicking their diction and delivery is (I think) very powerful. You don’t want to do that on a book. But it’s like learning to play an instrument. It’s exercise and, again, putting your voice where you want it. Internalizing lessons about diction, emphasis, emotion. If you do this, do this broadly so that you are adding a variety of ingredients. You’re not trying to channel Jim Dale for your own read, you want to absorb a variety of influences and then adopt little lessons here and there that work for you, while improving your ability to precisely do with your voice what you intend. Most artists copied favorite artists as a child — they don’t draw like those artists now, but they learned important lessons that were incorporated into their own personal style. The same goes for musicians. I think it holds true here as well.

    20) When voicing dialogue, I think it is useful to have a mental movie image of what is going on. Where are the characters relative to one another when they are speaking? What are they doing? If one character is coming down the stairs while one awaits them, or they are leaning close across a table toward one another, they might speak the same lines, but they will sound very different. The clearer this image is, and the better it fits the action that the author has described, the richer and more ‘live’ your dialogue delivery will become.

    21) If you can’t emote properly with a character voice, don’t do it. If the character can’t sing and tell a joke, you are straining too hard, and you can’t act. If you’re altering your voice, it needs to be comfortable and near effortless or the character will become wooden.

    22) Be nice. (again)

     

    Other resources on this topic:

    • Vetted coaches are linked in Audiobook Village.

     

  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    Award Competition Info

    Auditions/Career

    Awards are political, and everybody has an agenda.
    If you spend your life chasing them, you’ll drive yourself nuts.

    — Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) to Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler)
    Parks and Recreation TV show, season 2 episode 17 — “Woman of the Year”

     

    While the quote above came from a TV show, it does have some truth to it. Any awards program generates stiff competition from an increasing number of entrants. Realize that most of the outcome hinges on luck, timing, and other considerations that are out of the narrator’s control.

    Also remember that if your title doesn’t receive nominations and awards, it is not a measure of your talent or competence. I believe that the best reward is continuing to do work I love!

    This extensive list of audiobook award competitions will help you learn when, where, and how to submit your work for consideration. Please note:

    • Some contests require entrance fees.
    • A particular competition may not be open to narrators for submissions.
    • You may want to sign up for an organization’s newsletters to be alerted about their opening and deadline dates.
    • You can certainly self-publish your audiobooks, including Public Domain titles, and receive consideration in most competitions. Narrators have submitted and earned nominations and even the awards!

    I’ve used italics when quoting from the award websites. Each header is linked to the organization presenting the award.

    American Library Association (ALA)

    The American Library Association offers several audiobook awards that aren’t open to narrator submissions:

    • Listen List: Outstanding Narration Award, an annual list of the twelve most outstanding audiobooks published each year as judged by the quality of their narration. Each one is annotated with “Listen-Alikes”. Per the linked page: The Council announces the winning titles at the CODES Book and Media Awards Reception, held the Sunday of each ALA Midwinter Meeting.
      • The Submission Guidelines page states: Publishers should be aware that the Council listens to hundreds of titles each year, and while individual members do indeed listen and make formal requests for non-solicited titles to be added to the consideration list, this is not a typical occurrence….Authors and narrators should speak to their publishers if they wish their titles to be sent to the members of the Council.
    • Odyssey Award, which recognizes the best audiobook production for youth in a given year.
      • The Policies page states:
        • The ALSC/Booklist/YALSA Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production shall be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults.
        • The committee will consider and vote on titles published within their assigned calendar year, January 1 to October 31, in addition to those published between November 1 and December 31 of the previous year.
        • Publishers, authors, or editors may not suggest or nominate their own titles.

    You can watch the BookList webinar And the Award Goes to: The People and Process Behind ALA’s Audiobook Awards and check out the webinar Resources list.

    Anna Ats Deadline Awards

    Not much information is available about these awards. Per this Instagram video, narrator André Santana is one of the co-founders, and the awards started in 2024.

    Two are offered with submission deadlines of 30 November 2025:

    • The Pathfinder Award aims to celebrate a newer underrepresented narrator with 1-10 titles who has shown great potential for their future audiobook work. The winner of the Pathfinder Award will receive a $1000 prize, a trophy, and a year of marketing support.
      • 2025 Submission Form
    • The Innovator Award aims to celebrate performances that show the vivid artistry of audiobooks. We will award one narrator who delivers landmark performances, shows innovative commitment to the craft, and remind us of the power of storytelling. The winner of the Innovator Award will receive a $1000 prize and a trophy.
      • 2025 Submission Form

    AudiobookReviewer.com

    • Annual awards are based on the audiobooks reviewed in the year. Books submitted beginning November 1st are considered for the next year’s awards. Winners are announced on December 1st.
    • Reviews require payment.
      • They are only available in certain genres to those who can supply a US download code on Audible.com.
      • Authors, Publishers, and Narrators may submit a book for review. They review in most categories but do not accept Self-Help books of any kind.
      • Several options are offered and explained on this page.
    • The Reviewers Choice Award is presented to the author of the book whose book is believed to deserve higher than the standard 5 Star Rating. 

    AudioFile Magazine

    The magazine states that its monthly Earphones Awards are given by AudioFile to truly exceptional titles that excel in narrative voice and style, characterizations, suitability to audio, and enhancement of the text. The Earphones Awards stem from the reviews at the heart of the magazine.

    • You can see the current month’s list at this link.
    • AudioFile does not charge for its reviews.
    • You can submit a title for review consideration with this form. Be aware that AudioFile receives 1000s of requests and couldn’t possibly review every title. You might stand a better chance of being selected if you pitch a title for a certain issue. You can see the magazine’s Editorial Calendar in their Media Kit linked on this page.
    • I compiled the tweets from a 10/29/14 Twitter chat where people asked questions about the audiobook review process.

    Audio Publishers Association (APA)

    On its Audie Awards page, the APA describes these awards as the premier awards program in the United States recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment. Publishers and rights holders enter titles in various categories for recognition of achievement. Finalists are selected, and then one winner is awarded in each category at the Audies Gala.

    • Entries are open in 2 “waves” from June-September of each year for titles published in the business year running from 1 November through 31 October. The competition is open to non-members of the APA, but their entry fee is greater than the one for members. The APA announces the exact date for submission periods each year.
      • Titles published 1 November through 31 July should be submitted in June or early July.
      • Titles published 1 August through 31 October should be submitted between August and early October.
    • Narrators may enter self-published work. If entering a title from a publisher or indie author, the narrator may enter the book with rights holder approval.
    • Each entry has a registration fee. In 2024, APA members paid $110 per entry.
    • Awards are announced each year in March at the Audies Gala.
    • This page explains the Judging Process and Criteria.

    Golden Crown Literary Awards 

    • Entry dates are in 4 tiers based on publication date. Refer to the chart on the Audiobook Narrator Awards FAQs page.
    • The 2025 audiobook entry fee is $45.
    • Select criteria:
      • Any genre—fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, etc.—is eligible as long as it includes significant themes, characters, situations, or other content about women or sapphically aligned nonbinary people who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to women or sapphically aligned nonbinary people.
      • Nominated audiobooks must be narrated by humans to be eligible for an Audiobook Narrator Award. Audiobooks voiced by AI technologies are not eligible.
      • Anyone can nominate a book, including publishers, authors, and readers. 
      • We welcome nominations of self-published books.
      • Audiobook Narrator Award – source material a minimum of 40,000 words
      • If submitting an audiobook, if the audiobook being nominated is available in the US marketplace of Audible, please indicate that on the nomination form and no file is required. If it is not available on Audible, you will need to upload a DRM free .mp3/ .mp4 file of the full audiobook.
      • For Audiobook Narrator Award, copies must be submitted in a single mp3 or mp4 file inclusive of the entire work. For works released by Tantor or Audible Studios, files will be obtained directly from the audiobook publisher.
      • Audiobooks, books, and covers created by generative artificial intelligence (AI) are ineligible for a Goldie Award. AI-assisted books and covers are eligible.

    Grammys®

    • This page explains the Recording Academy Grammy® Awards Process.
    • Recording Academy members and record companies enter recordings and music videos released during the eligibility year which they consider worthy of recognition in the GRAMMY Awards process.
    • Membership types and requirements are listed on this page. This page lists the steps to apply for membership. Note: The Recording Academy steadfastly refers to its members as “musicians.” Audiobook narrators are still recording artists. You and the 2 people who refer you are not required to be musicians!
    • Narrators who are Recording Academy members may submit their audiobooks for Grammy® consideration with no fee.
    • Entries are submitted each year in July/August.
      • First round voting occurs in September/October.
      • Nominations are announced in November.
      • The membership votes on the nominees in each category in December.
      • Awards are announced in February. The Best Audio Book category is not announced on TV but in the Premiere Ceremony in the afternoon of the television broadcast.
    • This article discusses the celebrities voicing audiobooks and winning Grammys® for them.

    Hugo Awards

    The annual Hugo Awards are science fiction’s most prestigious award. The Hugo Awards are voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), which is also responsible for administering them.

    • While audiobooks aren’t specifically listed as an entry option, the eligibility requirements don’t exclude them, either:

    Works published electronically rather than on paper have always been accepted as nominees. A decision of the 2009 WSFS Business Meeting formally acknowledged this by ratifying a Constitutional Amendment that added the words “or the equivalent in other media” to various category definitions. There is no requirement that a work be published on paper (for written/graphic fiction and non fiction), on film or video tape (for dramatic presentations), or that it be distributed through any traditional methods such as bookstores, movie theatres, etc…Aside from the fundamental distinctions between written, graphic, and dramatic works, medium of distribution has nothing to do with a work’s eligibility.

    • They have no formal submission process.
    • Members of the current and previous Worldcons find, nominate, and vote on the entries.
    • The only way to be a member of WSFS is to join the current World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). There is no way to join WSFS without becoming a member of the current Worldcon.
    • You can make recommendations on Third-Party Recommending Sites listed on this page.
    • You have to join the World Science Fiction Society and pay membership dues to WSFS in order to vote.
    • The nomination process starts in January, so you need to become a member
    • More information is on the FAQ page.

    Independent Book Publisher Association Award

    Formerly known as the IPBA Ben Franklin Award, the organization offers the IPBA Book Award.

    • IBPA Book Award entrants must be current members of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).
    • They have 3 audiobook categories:
      • Fiction
      • Non-fiction
      • Children’s/Young Adult
    • For audiobooks, a single copy of the completed Entry Label must be submitted along with three Audible gift codes – that’s one code for each judge. If your audiobook is not available on Audible, contact Terry Nathan at terry@ibpa-online.org for additional options before entering the competition.
    • This page shows the judging form for audiobooks.

    Independent Press Awards

    In all honesty, this awards competition looks like a money grab to me. The rules offer no information about the judging process and instead talk about how they will promote those who are selected for awards. I think they may be banking (pun intended) on name confusion with the good reputation of the Independent Book Publisher Association Awards above.

    • Open to mid-size and small press; self-published; independent publishers & authors
    • Initial entry costs $125. The cost is $75 for each additional category.
    • Audiobook categories are fiction, non-fiction, and children’s.
    • If your book wins, you can go to the awards dinner at IPA BookCamp for an additional fee.

    Independent Publisher Book Awards

    The IPPY Awards shine a spotlight on the exceptional work being done by independent, university, and self-published authors. 

    • They define “independent” as:
      • Independently owned and operated publishers 
      • Publishers operated by foundations or universities
      • Long-established independent publishers now part of conglomerates but still operating autonomously and producing fewer than 100 titles per year
    • They have 4 audiobook categories:
      • Fiction
      • Mystery/Thriller
      • Non-fiction – Personal
      • Non-fiction – Informational
    • This page has eligibility and entry guidelines. Fees ranged from $79-99 in 2024.

    International Thriller Writers Awards

    They have an award for Best Audiobook Thriller of the Year. Submission deadlines between 31 August and 30 November are staggered based on publication dates. All publication dates must fall in the current year.

    The application form is at the bottom of this page. These awards have no submission fees.

    Finalists are announced in February, and winners are announced during an awards banquet held at Thrillerfest in May or June.

    Criteria:

    • In order for a novel, short story, or audiobook to be eligible for the 2026 Thriller Awards, the author must be an Active ITW member. If they are not an Active member, they may apply for membership. If the author does not qualify for Active status, then the publisher must be an ITW-recognized publisher.
    • All audiobooks first published in English by an ITW Recognized Publisher or from an ITW Active Member, which have not been submitted to the Thriller Awards in any other format (print or e-book) in a previous year.
    • Self-published novels, short stories, and audiobooks are eligible for the 2026 Thriller Awards provided the author is an ITW Active member.
    • An audiobook is eligible for the 2026 Thriller Awards even if the print book and/or e-book was released in a previous year, provided the audiobook meets all the eligibility requirements. However, if an earlier version of that book was submitted to the Thriller Awards in any format in a previous year, then the audiobook version is not eligible.
    • Audiobooks must be submitted via Audible link only.

    One Voice Conference

    • Gravy for the Brain holds 2 sessions of this conference each year: May in the UK, and August in the US. J. Michael Collins co-sponsors the US event.
    • Each country’s conference offers 2 audiobook awards: Best Performance Factual, and Best Performance Fiction.
    • Narrators may self-enter at no cost.

    Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA)

    You must be a PANA member to be considered for the yearly Narrator of Distinction Award..

    The linked page below contains the full information about the award.

    Narrator of Distinction

    • Free annual program that will highlight PANA members who demonstrate the power of human vocal artistry, advance the craft of narration, and represent some of the strongest audiobook performances each year encompassing vast ranges of style and talent-based criteria.
    • Performances will be judged by a panel of jurors affiliated with the audiobook industry.
    • The audiobook submitted must be available for purchase on an industry standard retail platform (i.e. Audible, Libro.fm, etc.) during the time specified for the current award cycle.
    • Minimum audiobook length of 3 hours.
    • Only single narrator audiobooks at this time. No multicast, full cast, duel, or duet projects will be eligible.
    • Limited to 1 entry per year.
    • Members will receive an email from PANA when the submission window is open for the current award cycle.
      • For the 2025 cycle:
        • May 1st Submissions open for the NODs.
        • May 22nd: Deadline to submit for the NODs.
        • Audiobooks are judged by jurors from June through September to determine winners.
        • Winners will be announced at the annual PANA meeting in October!

    While not an award, narrators may submit themselves to be highlighted in PANA’s monthly Narrator Spotlight:

    The Narrator Spotlight is a program for celebrating narrators.

    Every month, 1 active PANA member is chosen to be recognized for their work in the audiobook industry.

    Selected members will have a graphic created including a short writeup about their work and accomplishments.

    The goal is to use our organization’s platform to highlight a variety of members and provide new media to promote their work. We’ve partnered with over 50 producers and casting directors, and every quarter we’ll be sending them our NSLs to highlight new faces and information about PANA narrators!

    You are eligible to be highlighted once every 3 years.

    Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards

    The Nebula Awards® are voted on and presented by full, senior, and associate members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. The eligibility rules state:

    • Works such as audiobooks, podcasts, and similar type works shall be placed in an existing category as deemed appropriate by the Nebula Awards® Commissioner, based on their word or page count and other qualities as determined by the Commissioner.
    • Performance works such as dramatic podcasts may, in the judgment of the Commissioner, be placed in the Bradbury category rather than text categories.
    • All works that are published and available to the public in a calendar year will be taken as eligible for that calendar year for purposes of the Nebula awards, regardless of the issue date on the cover or other label.

    Society of Voice Arts and Sciences (SOVAS)

    SOVAS offers audiobook awards in 18 categories.

    • Entrants may submit an unedited segment of the audiobook up to but not exceeding 5 MINUTES in duration. (ENGLISH LANGUAGE ONLY)
    • Per the Rules and Fees page:

    Work entered for the 2026 award season, must have been completed between January 1, 2023 through October 9, 2025
    The work entered into the Voice Arts® Awards contest for 2026, must have been aired, broadcast, published, or otherwise made available to the public or B2B (business to business) constituents within the “Eligibility Period.”

    • Categories may be entered by an independent artist, (non-company) or by a company (Corporation, LLC, etc.). Entries are accepted from anywhere in the world as long as it is submitted in the designated language categories.
    • Any media work created using the human voice as a primary element for communicating the intent, purpose, engagement, and experience to be derived from the work.
    • You may make entries from mid-May through mid-October with an escalating scale of fees from “Super Early Bird” to “Regular Price.”

    The Speakies (British Audio Awards)

    • This award is new in 2025 and offered in 16 audiobook categories.
    • Awards are dedicated to celebrating excellence in audiobooks and audio drama, brought to you by The Bookseller and The Stage.
    • Narrators may submit.
    • Submitters do not need to be based in the UK and Ireland, but the audio must have been made available to listeners in the UK and Ireland during the period. Audiobooks need to have been published in the UK and Ireland during the year July 2024 to end June 2025.
    • In this age of AI and the non-human, we plan to double-down on the human – from the writing to the adaption to the proof-listening to the narration. This is the story about audio that we want to tell, and it’ll be the range and quality of the shortlists through which we will tell it.
    • The submission window opened in May and closed 7 July. Finalists were announced in mid-September, and winners will be announced in late November.

    Sultry Listeners Awards

    These awards are described as the original and only audiobook awards for 1.) the romance genre and 2.) nominated and voted by listeners. 

    • The Categories page shows they’re available in 16 sub-categories of the romance genre and 3 narrator categories.
    • Submissions are open for the month of August. They are reviewed for adherence to the requirements and removal of duplicate submissions.
    • Voting occurs during the first 2 weeks of October.
    • Apparently narrators may submit their work.
    • I saw no mention of fees.

     

    Since I started this page with a TV character’s quote about awards, I’ll end it with another one, this time from Frasier, season 1 episode 18, “And The Whimper Is”, which I happened to re-watch while working on this article.

    Character Fletcher Grey (John McMartin) offers sound advice (pun intended) to everyone who doesn’t win the award.

    http://www.narratorsroadmap.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Frazier-S1-E18-And-The-Whimper-Is-character-Fletcher-Grey-on-losing-award.mp3

     

    Other resources on this topic:

    • Narrator and casting director Tanya Eby wrote 2 articles:
      • Do Audiobook Awards Matter
      • What Makes an Audiobook An Award Winner
      • Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.
    • I judged in the Voice Arts Awards for 6 years. I listened not only to the narrator’s interpretation and acting but to the background and overall sound quality. Did I hear a hiss or bump? Did I hear a lot of mouth noise? You might find this list of my observations as a juror to be helpful.
    • The APA shares these 2 articles with its Audies judges as guidance for their task:
      • Sounds Good to Me: Listening to Audiobooks with a Critical Ear
      • It’s Time To Slow Down Your Audiobook Speed
    • You may also think about entering your audiobook, usually for a fee, in festivals. For instance, the Tribeca Festival curates an Audio Storytelling competition to recognize audio storytelling with an emphasis on discovering, highlighting, and celebrating independent work. 
    • Pay attention to awards given to the print books. If you narrate a book that wins, you can join the publisher’s and author’s celebrations and promote the fact that you narrated the audiobook! Some examples not listed above:
      • ALA Youth Media Award are given to books written for youth and include the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Book Awards.
      • Global Book Awards are for Kindle editions in English or Spanish. One competition is for self-publishers, and the other combines traditional and self-publishers.
      • Lambda Literary Awards celebrate the outstanding LGBTQ+ storytelling from a given year, [but] do not accept audiobooks at this time.
      • Pen America Literary Awards PEN America Literary Awards have honored outstanding voices in translation, fiction, poetry, science writing, essay, sports writing, biography, children’s literature, and drama. With the help of our partners, PEN America confers more than 20 distinct awards, fellowships, grants and prizes each year, awarding nearly $350,000 to writers and translators annually. 
      • Pulitzer Prizes Each spring, Columbia University awards Pulitzer Prizes in eight Books, Drama and Music categories. The winners are chosen by the Pulitzer Prize Board, which seeks to recognize excellence by eligible American writers, playwrights and composers.
      • You’ll find more award competitions listed in BookBub’s article 32 Book Awards You Should Know About (Trad & Self-Pub!). As the article states:

    Note that this isn’t a comprehensive list — these are only awards an author, publisher, or agent can nominate their own titles for, and there are many more genre-specific contests you can enter. You should research to find the best-fit awards for your book and review full submission guidelines carefully.

     

  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    Demos/Samples and Your Web Site

    Auditions/Career

    Every narrator needs a web site. Web sites have replaced résumés for narrators. Your site needs to include demos/samples of your narration, as well as a way to contact you. If you use a pseudonym, consider creating a site for that pseudonym or indicating the name on your main site.

    My email address appears on every page of my site. I have a contact form, but I personally hate filling in site forms and always prefer to send messages directly to an email address. You may want to set up an address specifically for your site that is different from your main address.

    Domain Name

    You may want to skip having your own site and simply host your demos on sites like SoundCloud or point people to your ACX profile or even a Pay-to-Play profile like Voices.com. However, you would be sending people who might be interested in hiring you to a site with 1000s of other voices. It would be too easy for your prospect to jump to another profile and completely forget you.

    It’s much more powerful and professional to send people to your own site.

    I suggest that you purchase your own name (if available) as your domain name and host your demos on your site. If any part of your name is frequently misspelled, I recommend that you buy the domains that match the misspellings.

    For instance, I purchased most of the domains for the common misspellings of my last name and pointed them all to my site. One misspelling is in use, but I check every year to see if the owner renewed it. If they ever don’t renew it, I’ll snatch it up! As a result, I own these domains, and they all send people to my site KarenCommins.com:

    • KarenComming.com
    • KarenCommings.com
    • KarenCommons.com
    • KarenCummings.com
    • KarenCummins.com

    This article explains why I decided my name needs to be my brand name. I still have other domains like AVOICEAboveTheCrowd.com (my first domain) and KarenVoices.com. Anything I linked to those domains in the past still works because they are redirected to KarenCommins.com.

    Include your domain URL in the signature of your emails.

    Your Bio

    Every word of your bio is precious real estate that should sell you to the prospective market. You’ll want to think like a journalist and write the most important facts about you at the beginning of the bio. The idea is to curate and control your bio and all the information on your site to highlight you at your best advantage.

    You won’t want to include generic things that are true of any narrator, like “I love to read.” Instead, write about your specialized training. Also, indicate your life experiences that could aid a casting person in hiring you.

    You may find it easier to write your bio in 3rd person. Ask your narrator friends and coaches how they perceive your marketable skills, knowledge, and experiences.

    Points in your bio can become the foundations for your Quick Pitches and ongoing reach-outs with casting people.

    Pictures

    The best way to be cast is to form relationships with those who could hire you. At least 1 current picture of your face therefore becomes an important addition on your site.

    Demos

    People use the words Demos and Samples interchangeably. First, let’s talk about selection of material.

    Text Selection

    A demo does not necessarily showcase what you have DONE. It is a professional tool to demonstrate what you are CAPABLE of doing.

    Assuming that you are not selling the demo recording or profiting from it, you MAY LEGALLY USE AN EXCERPT of copyrighted material for a demo without permission. The Fair Use doctrine of US copyright law is used as a defense in these types of copyright infringement cases.

    In fact, this court case ruled on this very point. The judge found that the demo met the Fair Use standard because it was transformative, used a limited portion of the original, and did not harm the market for the original work. Thanks to narrator Emily Lawrence for the link.

    I wrote more about copyright basics and the Fair Use standard in this article. The US Copyright Office explains Fair Use on this page, which includes their Index where you can search for relevant cases.

    I want to point out here that Section 4(3)of the ACX Book Posting agreement explicitly grants us the right to use our ACX auditions as samples on our ACX profile. Note that it does not state that you could post the audition on your site or share it in other ways.

    From a practical standpoint, a copyright owner who finds your demo and doesn’t like you using their words will simply ask you to take down the demo. If you refuse to do so, they could initiate legal action, which could cost a significant amount of money. While the Fair Use standard is a very subjective matter, it’s doubtful to me that a court would find in favor of the copyright owner. It might even refuse to hear the case.

    I would caution you to choose any copyrighted excerpt carefully so that you don’t give away the key point in a book. NO SPOILERS! Otherwise, you could damage the copyright owner’s potential market and future ability to make money from the book, which would cause you to fail the Fair Use test. The copyright owner could successfully win a suit against you.

    You are free to edit your excerpts! You can re-write, remove, and add sentences and phrases and change characters/genders to create a perfect little scene that serves your purpose. If any part of your text doesn’t help you demonstrate the skill, makes your sample too long, etc., don’t be afraid to kill the darling! Your editing is only limited by your imagination!

    You might use Kindle Unlimited to research current books. Of course, you could read anything you wanted from a Public Domain text without concern. However, be aware that a Public Domain book might not reflect a contemporary writing style.

    Finally, you have the option of writing your own script.

    Think of the work you’ve done and the genres where you want to work. In all your demos, you want to catch the listener’s attention with the first line. You could have a small bit of dialogue and something that moves the story along before concluding with a final line that leaves the listener wanting to hear more.

    Recordings

    Samples should be one of the first things a person sees on your site. You want a producer to be able to hear your voice with no more than 2 clicks. Ideally, these recordings are linked on your home page so that a producer can go right to the one she wants to hear.

    Opinions vary on the number of samples you should present. I would list at least 5 and no more than 10. For what it’s worth, I have 8 samples on my home page and a separate Demos page that includes 4 additional recordings.

    You can post a mix of genres, points of view (POVs), and skills. Organize them in a way that makes sense, like grouping fiction and non-fiction samples together.

    Here a few more key points to keep in mind about your demos:

    • Samples are short and specific — 1-2 minutes in length of a single selection is typical. Individual samples should demonstrate a specific skill and answer a specific casting question. Producers can tell within the first 10 seconds (sometimes even earlier) whether you are right for a book. They do not have the time to wade through a long recording with multiple clips. Make their job easier with samples that highlight 1 thing you do well.
    • Your audiobook demos are different from your voiceover demos. Your audiobook landing page on your site is different from your landing page for voiceover, writing, etc.
    • Demos should be downloadable so that a casting person can send a clip to an author and/or other people on their team.
    • Do not slate the sample.
    • If you didn’t narrate a particular current/popular/bestselling book, don’t record a sample from it. You don’t want to give a false impression that you have done work you haven’t done. Plus, casting people could know the narrator who performed the audiobook and unfavorably compare you to that person.
    • Label the demo with the genre, POV, and skill you want to showcase. Be sure that skill is heard early in the sample. For example, if you speak French, you’ll want to include a demo of you speaking French. Your label might be 1stPOV-French-Romance.

     

    Other resources on this topic:

    • The ACX blog article Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Samples (But Were Afraid to Ask) offers pointers that apply to samples on your site in addition to those in your ACX profile.
    • Award-winning narrator Tanya Eby has written several articles about web site components. Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.
      • Best Practices for Narration Demos On Websites This one covers many of the same points here but in more detail.
      • Choosing Audiobook Samples And Demos
      • Writing an Audiobook Bio
    • Audiobook narrator and coach Dawn Harvey wrote a 2-part series for VoiceOverXtra about choosing demo material:
      • How To Pick Your Audiobook Demo Materials … And Some Other Good Demo Stuff, Too
      • More Tips For Creating Great Audiobook Demos: No XXX, Read The Book, Showcase Your Best!
    • Edge Studio posted 2 articles in which attorneys responded about using copyrighted material in your demos. They are referring more to commercials and industrial narrations, but the considerations would apply to audiobooks:
      • Can you use copyrighted material in your demo? It’s not a simple case of yes or no. Part 1 and Part 2
    • This VoiceOverXtra article states in item 4 that the pre-merge AFTRA legal department stated it is “No problem at all.” to use copyrighted materials in your demo.
    • Recommended web site designers are listed in the Welcome Center.

     

  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    How long does it take to get work from publishers?

    Auditions/Career

    You’ve probably heard that audiobook narration is a marathon, not a sprint.

    That phrase not only describes the type of work, but it also conveys the amount of time you may need to reach the level of success that you desire.

    Like any business, audiobook narration has start-up costs, and it may take a while before you begin to see a profit.

    Like any field in the performing arts, audiobook narration is an EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE field. Each job has exacting requirements the narrator must fulfill.

    Before you even THINK of submitting yourself for publisher work, assess whether you:

    1. Have a home studio with sound quality comparable to audiobooks produced by major publishers
    2. Have completed more than 1 audiobook without asking the producer a lot of questions
    3. Can do punch and roll when recording
    4. Can differentiate characters
    5. Do your own research about pronunciations
    6. Are able to complete narration of an 8-hour book in a single week

    Each person follows a different path. Some people do a handful of books on ACX and soon get cast by audiobook publishers like Blackstone and Tantor.

    For others, the climb may take years. People who are viewed as “overnight successes” usually have been working diligently for 5-10 years.

    You need to build a relationship with people in a position to hire you. An audio publisher might have invested $20k in a title they are going to produce. They don’t cast books on the basis of 1 random email from a narrator.

    They don’t have the time or staff to train you. They have to know they can trust you — first, as a person who understands the industry expectations, and second, with the particular project — before they will cast you. If you are cast in a project, you must prove that the producer’s trust in you was warranted.

    Unfortunately, narrators can break that trust after being cast in many ways, such as:

    • agreeing to a rate for the contract and then saying they needed a higher rate
    • accepting an audiobook project and then bailing on it because they had never recorded a book and didn’t know how hard it was
    • delivering audiobook files late because they took a VO job
    • communicating in a disrespectful manner, for instance responding with frustration when you aren’t cast

    In addition, producers are working with and being contacted by 100s of other narrators. You need to distinguish what you bring to the table that they don’t already have.

    You must continue doing your best work and marketing yourself to those who can hire you for as long as it takes.

    Therefore, you must patiently persist and persevere by setting goals which include:

    • setting up and treating your recording space
    • obtaining coaching to answer your questions and improve your performance
    • creating compelling demos with a coach’s guidance
    • developing a web site
    • auditioning for quality titles you’re suited for on ACX, even if they are only available for a royalty share contract
    • completing a strong portfolio of audiobooks that demonstrate your strengths. If you aren’t getting cast to narrate an audiobook, look at producing your own work, perhaps with Public Domain texts or by licensing the audio rights.
    • Receiving favorable listener and professional reviews
    • researching publishers and contacting them AFTER your skills are at the level of the narrators they cast. You only have one chance to make a good first impression!
    • attending industry events to meet people and build relationships
    • sending regular emails to update casting people whom you’ve met about new skills, awards, and other areas that may help them cast you
    • believing in yourself
    • enjoying your life

    The last 2 bullet points are important because it’s easy to feel frustrated, disappointed, etc. when it seems that it’s taking a long time to gain traction.

    Remember, if it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

    Some of the points in this article are based on this public Facebook post written by narrator/producer Tanya Eby.

     

    Other resources on this topic:

    • Award-winning narrator and Deyan Audio Casting Director Tanya Eby has written a number of articles related to this topic. Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.
      • Choosing Audiobook Samples and Demos
      • Differences between Narrating for ACX and Narrating for a Publisher or Production House
      • Getting on Audiobook Rosters
      • How Casting Works in Audiobooks
      • Tweaking Those Email Reach Outs
      • We’ll Keep You in Mind, which includes a list of factors that affect a narrator’s chances of being cast.
      • What Casting Directors and Producers Can Do Better
      • What to Choose For Meet The Producers, an event offered to members of the Audio Publishers Association
      • What Narrators Can Do Better
      • You’re On a Roster! Now What?
    • Common Mode CEO Jess Escalona offers info and advice in this Twitter thread.
    • Award-winning narrator and coach Joel Froomkin offers advice about:
      • your readiness to submit to publishers in this video
      • building both author relationships and your portfolio could lead to breaking in with a publisher in this video
    • Narrator Thérèse Plummer describes the casting process in this Backstage article.
    • This Tuesday Tip offers advice for composing succinct emails.
    • When contacting prospects by email, follow these 5 pieces of email marketing advice.
    • Contact one of the coaches listed in Audiobook Village.
  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    How to research publishers

    Auditions/Career

    Establishing and maintaining a relationship is the key to gaining work with any producer or publisher.

    You’ll want to research people and companies before you contact them. It’s important to learn and follow each producer’s preferences for communications.

    If you have a 6-month or yearly membership, you’ll find I’ve done much of the research for you! I created company listings loaded with producer names and lots of valuable info like producer interviews in the exclusive Casting Directory.

    This article offers some additional tips and links to help you discover publishers and producers so you can make and build connections.

    Please know that most producers will want to see a body of work before they are willing to take a chance on you. Refer to this article and learn about how narrators earn or abuse the trust of publishers.

    AudioFile Magazine is the premier publication of the audiobook industry and lists publisher info in the Advertiser Directory found at the back of each issue.

    You can search by company or service (check Independent Producers) in AudioFile’s Talent & Industry Guide.

    Look at a genre you’re interested in on Audible.com and make a list of the publisher names producing work in that genre.

    Once you know the company that produces the kind of audiobooks you want to narrate, you can search for producer names in LinkedIn or the APA directory below.

    • The Google Site: search in this Tuesday Tip shows how to search LinkedIn for a name.
    • Once you have a name with the company, this Tuesday Tip has 3 tactics for discovering a person’s email address.

    If you’re a member of the Audio Publishers Association (APA), you can search the member database for producers’ email addresses. As with the AudioFile guide, most publishers don’t list a particular casting person and may not even designate someone as a producer. That’s another reason why researching LinkedIn can be so helpful.

    APA members will find several “Ask a Casting Director” webcasts under Resources, then Webinars after logging in to the APA site. These videos enable you to learn all sorts of good stuff straight from the casting directors, including how and when to contact them. Many casting people give their email address.

    You can follow my Twitter list of audiobook publishers. The link and instructions are in this article.

    Industry Resources

    I subscribe to a number of sites and newsletters to stay current about publishers and the publishing industry. I have found the following 4 resources to be particularly useful:

    TheBookseller.com

    This British magazine covers British publishing news. They also host conferences and award programs. I don’t subscribe to the magazine, but I do receive their daily newsletter.

    Edelweiss.plus

    This site contains the catalogs for 100s of publishers. You can see what they are planning to publish in the coming months, as well as their backlist books. I sometimes have written to an audio publisher to ask for consideration on a title I saw in their catalog that didn’t have a narrator’s name attached to it.

    In 2015, I created a free account on Edelweiss as an independent/freelancer. Over the years, I have requested — and often received — publisher Digital Review Copies (DRCs).

    My profile includes my social media links and states:

    Greetings! I’m an audiobook narrator, producer, publisher, blogger, and a leading curator of information about the audiobook industry.
    I use Edelweiss to learn about books that may be made into audiobooks. I request DRCs to determine whether to negotiate for the book’s audio rights or aid my auditions for the audiobooks of these titles. As a result, I do not write reviews of the books I receive through the DRC program.

    You can see my audiobooks on my site or on Audible at the links below.
    https://www.KarenCommins.com/all-titles
    https://www.Audible.com/KarenCommins

    I receive a number of their newsletters:

    • Promotions
    • Reviewer & Media
    • US Weekly Greeting
    • Community newsletters in Bio/Memoir and Editors’ Picks. You can select the newsletters you want based on your interests.

    PublishersMarketplace.com

    At $25/month, this site is invaluable for the information it offers every day about publishing news, deals and dealmakers.

    You can sign up here for a free version of the daily Publishers Lunch newsletter. A paid subscription gives you the Deluxe Lunch newsletter and a daily email about deals. You can search their articles and database of deals and deal makers.

    Publishers Weekly Magazine

    This long-standing magazine covers the international publishing industry. You may be able to read this magazine through your library.

    You can sign up for a number of newsletters.

    Not only do I benefit from the current news, but I can search PW’s archives, which extend back to 1872. I use the archives when creating the artwork, writing blurbs, and finding critics’ comments for my Public Domain books.

     

    Other resources on this topic:

    • On a related topic, you may want to research indie authors. Site members will find lots of info about prospecting for authors in the Create Your Own Path Video Course.
    • Narrator Hannibal Hills has written this article which explains many tactics for finding an author’s contact info.
    • In addition, I’ve written a couple of articles about finding rights holders:
      • Links to Help Narrators Research Rights Holders to Books
      • When the Author is 6 Feet Under
  • Login/Register
  • Filed Under: Auditions/Career

    • Page 1
    • Page 2
    • Go to Next Page »

    Primary Sidebar

    Search website

    (excludes Members-only content)
    All Articles

    Knowledge Base Categories


    Sign up

    "*" indicates required fields

    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Subscribe to Karen’s articles and/or site updates

    Blog Articles


    Narrators Roadmap

    Bi - monthly Newsletter

    Email Format












    ©2019-2025 Karen Commins

    Site by Voice Actor Websites

    Terms of Service      Privacy Policy

    Roadmap for Narrators Roadmap

    Karen@NarratorsRoadmap.com