Auditions/Career

Should I slate my audition?

Auditions/Career

“Slating an audition” refers to saying your name at the beginning of the recording.

Unlike theater or commercial VO auditions that require actors to slate their name and possibly role, audiobook auditions don’t need slates unless the audition instructions specifically ask for one.

The reverse is also true: In those infrequent occasions where the instructions tell you to add a slate, be sure to say only your first and last name. You would not say the name of the book or author or offer any other information that was not requested.

Remember, the audition is the job interview.

Let the first thing they hear be what they want to hear — the actual audition.

In addition to showcasing how you would interpret the text, your recording also demonstrates 2 other key points:

  1. You know how to follow instructions.
  2. You have respect for the person who is listening to the auditions. You don’t waste their time with an unnecessary slate.

Depending on the number of auditions they’re hearing, time spent listening to slates can really add up. The slated files can cause confusion and frustration when the casting person has narrowed the choices and wants to hear the text but instead hears the actor’s name.

Slating at the end of the recording doesn’t help. Casting people don’t necessarily listen to the end of the file. Plus, doing something non-standard in the industry can make the listener wonder whether you understand the work and what is expected.

In addition, producers working with production companies or publishers often share the audition files with the author. They cut off the slates before sending the audition to their client.

By not slating, you have reduced the casting person’s time.

Be sure you label the file with your name. Even on ACX, the rights holders may download the audition files rather than listening to them inside the ACX system. If they like your take on the material, they need to know who you are so they can contact you.

The audition text may give you a file naming convention, which you should follow.

If no convention is present, I name my audition files using this format:

KarenCommins-BookTitle-Aud-DDMMYY

The filename informs me and the listener exactly what to expect. I would later know it’s an audition file and when it was recorded. I could easily decide whether to use it for a sample or delete it.

If you want your audition to be listed at the top of an alphabetically sorted list, label it this way as the leading underscore should sort first:

_Aud-BookTitle-FirstNameLastName

 

Other resources on this topic:

Watch Out For Scams

Auditions/Career

An increasing number of narrators report that they are receiving messages in their personal email and ACX inboxes from scammers hoping to steal their time, money, and potentially even their identity. I’m grateful to the audiobook narrators named in green throughout this article who gave me permission to republish comments they wrote on Facebook so that more narrators could be alerted to these schemes.

Scam Examples

In addition to the usual emails involving a large bequest from an unknown foreign national, this audiobook-specific message is making the rounds with slight variations, particularly with the name of the person:

My name is Donald Paul, and I’m a Casting Coordinator at Third Millenium Library, a verified audiobook production company based in the United States.

https://thirdmilleniumlibrary.com

We recently came across your portfolio on Instagram, and were genuinely impressed by your profile.

We’re currently casting for several upcoming audiobook and podcast projects launching this quarter, and we’d love to consider you for a freelance role. These are paid, remote-based contracts with clear scope, timelines, and deliverables.

If you’re open to learning more kindly let me know so that we can proceed.

We value professionalism, fair compensation, and clear communication. Please feel free to request client references or ask any questions.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards,
Donald Paul
Casting Coordinator

I immediately was on high alert when I read they claim to be a verified audiobook production company. I wondered who or what entity “verified” them. I know about most of the audiobook production companies and publishers, yet I had never heard of this organization.

I knew it was a scam with the next sentence:

We recently came across your portfolio on Instagram, and were genuinely impressed by your profile.

Reader, my Instagram portfolio only has my videos of me playing the harp!

My response, as it is with all such messages, was to immediately delete the email.

 

I also received this message purportedly from Emily Gomes from the very official email address emilygomes.official34@gmail.com:

Subject: Audiobook Narration Opportunity

Hello [Voice Talent],

I hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out to explore your availability for a potential audiobook narration project.

If you’re interested, I’d be glad to provide more details along with a sample script.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Operations Manager

 

I was so touched and warmed by the eloquent personal salutation! NOT! They’re so busy trying to swindle me that they don’t even have time to fill in the mail merge field with my name, much less give me a company name to go with the fancy “Operations Manager” title!

Legitimate audiobook producers are overrun with submissions from narrators. They would have no need to search for a narrator on ACX or send a direct email unless they were looking for a rare skill like an uncommon language or had an author specifically request you. In either case, they would be much more specific about their reason for contacting you. 

How the Scam Works

Roberto Scarlato shared his unfortunate experience:

I was contacted by a Maya Graham claiming to work for Transperfect.com. She requested if I would be available to record an audiobook for $4,800. I said I was available and she provided the contract. I read through the contract thoroughly and found nothing wrong and signed. I proceeded to record the work and sent the audio to the client and it was approved. I was then told that the audio had been approved and that I needed to contact a Britta Aagaard on WhatsApp using number 1-716-374-9253 as she was the financial manager responsible for processing payments.

I was then instructed to set up an account with Superior Bank Union. I had provided my Driver’s License and my social security number to activate the account. They said that the money had been dispersed and that I could access it as soon as I paid $150 to a David Real on PayPal to activate my account and then they would release the funds. They told me I had ten minutes to pay. When I informed Britta that this seemed suspicious and that I was never told that I would have to pay anything until the last minute, she chastised me, called me a time waster. When I told her this sounded like a scam, she verbally berated me again and told me I was being paranoid.

I severed the communication. While I did not give them money, this has put me two weeks behind schedule for all of my other projects and I fear I will be the victim of identity theft since they have my name, address, email, driver’s license and Social Security number. I do not want what happened to me to happen to anyone ever again.

Just to be clear, it’s not Transperfect doing the scamming. The scam is from someone posing as a person who works for the company.

 

How to Protect Yourself

It’s vitally important to vet any message sender to determine their authenticity BEFORE you interact with them. Note that authors may legitimately contact you and write something that seems vague and/or suspicious, especially if they are new to audiobook production.

DO NOT CLICK any links in messages from unknown senders!

Erin Moon wrote 5 quick “tips for spotting scams from the IT dept”:

  • An email address that is not the company’s, i.e. from a Gmail account (Karen adds: Fake email address names often don’t match the name used in the message. Legitimate addresses of honest people are routinely spoofed by dishonest people. Also, note the extension of the domain. This page lists country domains frequently used by scammers.)
  • quick turn around
  • company not a .com domain (some do have .com domains, so you can see not all rules work)
  • found you “out of the blue” or “through social media”, etc.
  • gooood money

Kathy Hung Li tested an image purportedly of an author who contacted her:

I received an offer to audition from someone who was looking to produce an audiobook (and potentially a series). I could not find any info about the author. On a whim, I decided to plop her Amazon author headshot into an AI image checker, and lo and behold, the checker determined that the image was 99% AI generated! I then uploaded other (real) headshots to check and they were determined to be 99% real.


E. Kojo Andrews discussed payment terms.

1. Never accept a flat rate; audiobooks are always priced according to the actual duration of the finished audiobook. Someone offering a flat rate is a key indicator that either they’re trying to rip you off by getting more work for less money, or it’s actually a scam. (Karen adds: Audiobook narrators are paid per finished hour, not per studio hour. You can see the time breakdown under Finished Time in the Glossary of audiobook-related terms.)

2. Always request a deposit for new clients. It’s very easy for even authentic authors to simply walk away from projects if they think they won’t recoup their costs, let alone bad actors looking simply to scam you out of *your* money. (Karen adds: I don’t ask for a deposit when working for a large publisher or well-known audiobook production company. When I start working with an author, I send them a link to my Rights Holder Information page, which clearly sets out expectations for payment and the entire production process. I ask for a 50% deposit after the first 15 minutes are approved.)


Linda Jones offered a long list of potential red flags for your vetting process:

They use real company names (Transperfect, LanguageLine, etc.) to make themselves sound legit. They actually have nothing to do with these companies. (Karen adds: Some messages drop the name of the reputable audiobook publisher Spoken Realms, as though someone at Spoken Realms referred the sender to you. However, audiobook narrators’ sites are linked on Spoken Realms’s site, making it easy for a scammer to harvest contact information.)

Here are some things to look out for. Most of these things aren’t huge red flags by themselves, but taken together, you can see that the emails are suspect:

  • The email address they’re writing from is not from a legit company but instead something generic, like Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, etc. The email address alone is not a huge red flag because lots of freelancers use Gmail. It’s something to factor in with other things.
  • The sender doesn’t use your name in their greeting. This comes and goes – some of them use your name, some don’t.
  • They expect a super fast turnaround, like 5-7 days. Yes, it can be done, but a legit company wouldn’t ask for this.
  • The sender has little to no online presence. Google them — their name, their email, etc. and nothing comes up, not even a LinkedIn page; freelancers want to be FOUND. No online presence is pretty weird for a ‘freelancer.’
  • They might include a physical address that doesn’t exist in their signature, You can check it with Google Maps.
  • They say they found your ‘samples’ on social media, when you don’t have samples on social media. (Karen adds: See my example above.)
  • They write they are “impressed” by your samples without specifying which samples or what they like about your specific voice and how it might work for their project.
  • If money is mentioned, it is *almost* too good to be true. (Karen adds: Remember the old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.)
  • And this big one: the fact that ALL of us, when reaching out to a stranger, are likely to say something like:
    • “we’re connected through xxx” or “xxx referred me to you” or “I loved your work on this book [or campaign or whatever]”
    • AND “this is me,” “you can find more about me and my work here,” “here’s what I’ve worked on,” and “here are the people I’ve worked with.”
    • The most telling thing about these emails is that they offer NOTHING. And that’s just not normal. When we connect with strangers — whether reaching out to a casting director to introduce ourselves, or reaching out to an editor, proofer, cover designer, or researcher — we *always* seek to make ourselves known or familiar in some way. To establish a connection. It’s the start of a working relationship. These scammers get around this by saying something vaguely flattering first. It’s super creepy.

Linda continued by posting an extended email conversation she had with a sender about their suspicious “opportunity”. Follow her example and ask ALL the questions!

Just for reference, here’s the email exchange I had with “Malcolm” a few months back. It’s long and I’ve posted it before, but in case you’re curious. It was the standard “came across your profile… I’m an Operations Director currently seeking a v/o, $3K for 41,000 words, etc., etc., etc.”:
*****
me: Thanks Malcolm. Operations Manager of what company?
*****
him: Thanks for the message! Just to clarify, I’m not owned by any company — I operate independently, but I do collaborate with companies on a particular project.
*****
me: Thanks Malcolm. For whom are you managing the operations? Who is this project for?
*****
him: The audiobook is for a private tuition class of 20 students pursuing their law career.
*****
me: Thanks Malcolm. Who is publishing the book?
*****
him: It’ll not be published, the usage has already been given above.
*****
me: Thanks Malcolm! I understand the usage—who the listeners will be. That’s very helpful. It sounds like it will only be for these 20 students, that the book won’t be used beyond that? That is also helpful to know.
It also sounds like you are working independently with these 20 students. What is your experience producing audiobooks, have you done this before?
Any information you can provide is helpful in determining my approach to the project.
*****
him: Yes Linda, it is for the 20 students alone, and I won’t be lecturing them, they have their private lecturer, I’m just doing my job securing a voice over artist that can record the audiobook professionally.
This isn’t my first project.
*****
me: Thanks Malcolm! Did they hire you as a group to get this audio, did you devise the project on your own, or are you working for a third party?
Who would I be contracted to?
*****
Yes Linda, I devise the project alone, and the contract will be tied to you and me.
*****
me: Ah wonderful, that’s what I needed to know!
And thanks too for letting me know this isn’t your first audiobook, that’s reassuring. Please let me know some other projects that you’ve worked on, with samples if they’re available.
Thanks again!
*****
him: These are the books, but unfortunately I do not have their samples because it was a private project.
(attached to the email was a picture of six paperback books – all major big 5 titles, some quite recent; a Google search of the image finds it on someone else’s Instagram and Facebook. The books are: The Art of Laziness; Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before; Set Boundaries, Find Peace; The Psychology of Money; Atomic Habits; Don’t Believe Everything You Think)
*****
me: Wow, this is wonderful! Several of these audiobooks were author-narrated, I’ve got a couple of them! You’ve worked with some wonderful companies—these were produced by colleagues at PRH, Harper Collins and Simon & Schuster. I know some of the people who worked on them. The samples are all available online. Did you have other alternate recordings of these, or should I just listen to the available Audible samples?
I’ll reach out to my colleagues for a reference. Is there someone in particular you’d like me to talk to? Just let me know.
I look forward to working with you!
*****
him: Thank you so much — I really appreciate your kind words! It’s always great to hear that you’ve worked with some of the same wonderful companies and colleagues.
Just to clarify, the recordings I was referring to aren’t the ones available on Audible or other public platforms. They were all private projects and not released for public distribution, so unfortunately the samples online wouldn’t reflect those specific works.
As for references, I’m afraid I can’t point you to a specific recommendation at the moment, but I truly appreciate you offering to reach out to your colleagues — that means a lot.

 

Reading Roberto’s account about the payment scenario, a few things jumped out at me as the mark of scammer:

1. He was told to set up an account at a certain bank and to provide his Social Security Number (SSN) and driver’s license number.

Real audiobook publishers and producers do NOT give instructions like this!

Be extremely cautious when asked to provide your SSN or birthday to anyone as those are 2 critical pieces of information needed to steal your identity.

Investigate any person or organization who requests any type of account information before you give it to them. Ask them, “Why do you need to know this info?” Most entities do NOT have an actual need to know! If they want to use your SSN as some sort of identifying number in their records, that is not a need-to-know situation. Do not send this kind of sensitive, personal info in regular, unencrypted email. Be sure that any web form shows a secure lock icon by the URL.

When a non-official web site asks for my birthday, I enter a fake date. I don’t have my birthday on Facebook or any other social media platform. You do need to enter your correct birthdate on secure sites for the US government, your health care, your financial institutions, and airlines.

I also would not supply my driver’s license or passport numbers, photos of these records, or other personal information. Always question anyone who asks for this type of information about their need and planned usage for it.

If you’re an American taxpayer, I encourage you to apply with the IRS for a free Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your business. You’ll use your EIN instead of your SSN as your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

Note that I linked directly to the official IRS.gov site. Always verify links in your emails before you click on them by right-clicking the link to see the actual URL. You can also copy and paste a link to your browser and/or Google the company name for its URL.

Before a company pays you, they normally request that you submit IRS Form W-9 so that the company can report your earnings for taxes.

If you were hired for a SAG/AFTRA union job, a verifiable paymaster distributes the payment to you. Examples are Skywire and Eljin.

Some publishers and distributors send payments via PayPal or Wise. You might also be given the choice to receive a check or an Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit, which is an electronic, direct deposit into your account. Whether the job was union or non-union, YOU make the decision about the institution where your funds should be deposited.

 

2. Roberto was directed to pay $150 so his PayPal account could be activated.

You will never be asked to pay anyone to do anything related to sending you the money owed to you.

 

3. The person pressured Roberto to act within 10 minutes.

When a person or company owes you money for the work you’ve done, they will not pressure you to act quickly. In fact, legitimate companies typically might be slow to pay you. Their terms state they will process payments Net 30 or even Net 60, meaning they have 30-60 days AFTER receiving your invoice to send the money to you.

 

If you do fall victim to one of these schemes or have any fear that your identity has been stolen, immediately freeze your credit at all 3 credit bureaus: Equifax, Transunion, and Experian.

Also, obtain credit reports from all 3 credit bureaus from AnnualCreditReport.com, which I found linked on Equifax.com.

 

What can I do to win more auditions?

Auditions/Career

The number one thing you need to do is FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. I can’t tell you how many comments I’ve read over the years from casting directors who state they immediately reject auditions where the talent has not followed the instructions given.

For instance, if the audition file should be named and/or formatted a certain way, you should name and format your file EXACTLY as specified. Your ability to follow instructions is a test. If you can’t pass this test on an audition, how can the casting director trust you to correctly submit an actual project? Attention to details MATTERS.

Other Tips

Never submit your VO demo for an audiobook audition! Don’t even submit an audiobook sample from the same genre unless the instructions explicitly state this action is acceptable. Anyone casting an audiobook wants to hear how you interpret and perform the actual words from the book.

If the audition specifies the rate, for instance royalty share, do not audition if you are not willing to work for that rate.

Many auditions specify a particular accent for the role. If you can’t do the accent well, don’t audition. Also, you won’t be scoring any points if you upload an accent that is different than the one requested.

Auditions calling for one gender should not be submitted by a person of a different gender.

Pronunciation research is needed even for auditions. Don’t let a mispronounced word knock you out of the competition!

Most right holders provide an audition script; it’s a requirement on ACX. Some rights holders will upload the whole book. You are not expected to read the entire book for the audition. However, you should at least search it for any material you would find objectionable.

If you decide you’re right for the book and were given the book instead of a script, you would choose dialogue of the 2-3 main characters in fiction, as well as some of the narrative. The RH needs to hear how you will tell the story. Auditions on ACX should not last longer than 5 minutes.

Only audition when you are right for the book. Otherwise, you’re wasting your and the rights holder’s time.

_________________________________________________________________

Thanks to project manager/director Tina Dietz for her permission to republish this information that she originally posted on Facebook.

From the Director/Project Manager’s Desk: 10 ways to get yourself cut from the running for an audiobook narration job

  1. Sound like you’re in a fishbowl, tunnel, or cavern
  2. Have the first sound you make be a mouth noise (still twitching)
  3. Don’t read first words on the audition page (even if it’s “Chapter 15”)
  4. Be nasal
  5. Manage to sound both acid and flat at the same time (like a day and a half old cup of coffee)
  6. Send an audition reel or set of samples instead of the actual audition script
  7. Email the rights holder/project manager over and over again asking for updates
  8. Narrate at the speed of being chased by a pack of wild dogs
  9. Submit an audition that’s clearly the first time you’re reading the copy out loud

_________________________________________________________________

Author Josh Steimle wrote the article How I Chose A Narrator for My Audiobook. Thanks to narrator Paul Heitsch for his permission to republish below his analysis of that article which he originally posted on Facebook.

The salient points for me were –

“In some cases I could tell within five seconds there was no way I was choosing a certain narrator.”

Takeaway – if the audition script is longer than 5 minutes, pare it down to sections that reflect what’s most likely to matter to the RH’s decision (see below). They won’t have time or the inclination to listen to dozens of 20-minute auditions looking for that nugget of wonderfulness that only you can create.

“Some of the voices were fine, even great, but the technology they used put them at a disadvantage…. I felt bad for these folks, because my rejection had nothing to do with their talent, and everything to do with them not using the right equipment.”

Takeaway – Does anyone still think that doing their physical space and signal path on the cheap is a clever strategy?

“There were other narrators who were “eliminated” because they never auditioned. They sent me questions through the ACX system but I didn’t have time to answer them so I never received their auditions.”

Takeaway – Never wait to audition when you see a title you think you’d be good for, and that meets your other criteria. If you have questions you can follow up later, but get that audition in their hands ASAP.

“I did not reject anyone due to price or gender. The winner was actually the most expensive…”

Takeaway – Don’t worry about being underbid. Bid what you’re worth. If the client disagrees, they’re not who you want to be working with.

“The winning narrator came close to making me feel as though I were there with Seth Farbman and the other CMOs, hearing their real responses. It felt natural, friendly, authentic.”

Takeaway – Read the audition script, and tease out which aspects are likely to be most important to the RH. And commit to performing *everything* as authentically as you can.

 

Other resources on this topic:

What rate should a newcomer charge?

Auditions/Career

The audiobook industry doesn’t have a “beginner” rate. The ACX union minimum, which is a professional rate, is $250 PFH to produce a retail-ready product. If you don’t feel your skills are at a level where you are comfortable charging that rate, you will want to get more training and do more volunteer and royalty share projects to gain experience.

If the book runs less than 1 hour, bill for one hour. Otherwise, invoice for the exact time. Enter the audiobook’s finished length in this time to decimal calculator. Multiply the resulting decimal number by your PFH rate to determine the cost.

_________________________________________________________________

Thanks to sound engineer Amanda Rose Smith for her permission to re-publish the following information that she originally posted on Facebook.

Let’s talk rates, people.

So, for context, for any new people who don’t know me, I’m not a narrator. I’m the head of a small pub’s audio department, and hire narrators on a regular basis.

Here’s the deal.

No one worth working for is going to be offering you $75 PFH. That’s not a thing. No successful business that you want to be associated with, or who will have any projects that you’d want people to see in your portfolio, is going to pay you that little.

Around $200 PFH is the BOTTOM of what you should be asking for, for clean, punch-recorded audio.

This does not include:

  • mastering or editing (beyond the clean, punched audio)
  • a proof listen against the script to catch errors

If you need to deliver final audio, you should be aiming for $250-300 PFH, at LEAST.

And just to pre-empt some questions and excuses that always come up —

1) “But I’m just starting out, and need experience!”
If you aren’t ready to do pro work, you’re not ready to be taking on ANY projects. There’s no “bad work” discount. If you’re doing bad work, you shouldn’t be doing paid work. Practice. Volunteer to read for blind people. Get coaching. Don’t put bad work out into the world for cheap.

2) “But no clients will pay that!”
Yes, they will. I am living proof of that. If you can’t find clients to pay those rates, you’re looking in the wrong place for work. A lot of successful ACX narrators bring their own authors onto the platform. Look into that. Or get some business coaching. Marketing yourself and networking are separate skills from narrating

3) “Mind your own business. If you don’t want to work for the rates I work for, charge higher, and let me charge what I want!”
Oh, alas, if only we all worked in a vacuum. But we don’t. Every time you take less than a living wage, you’re telling your client that’s okay, and that’s what they should pay everyone. You’re hurting your colleagues just as much as you’re hurting yourself.

4) “Well, at least it’s better than working for free with RS!”
RS isnt supposed to be free. If you’re not getting paid for any of your RS titles, you’re doing that wrong, too. It’s not free work, and it’s not a total gamble. You shouldn’t be taking RS titles that you don’t have some reason to believe will make your standard PFH rate, at minimum, over time.

Look — If you come at a career from a place of scarcity, you’ll always lose. No one values people who don’t value themselves — and why should they?

You know yourself best. If you think you’re worth less, I’m going to believe you.

Joining this field doesn’t come easy, and it doesn’t come quickly. It’s ok to spend a few months or more, just training and learning, before going all in.

And if you do it right, you’ll be up and running within a year. I’ve seen it happen over and over and over again.

It’s not magic or rocket science or luck. It’s just starting a business thoughtfully.

 

Other resources on this topic:

  • This article and its comments provide additional explanation about the formula for estimating finished time, the work involved in producing a finished hour, and considerations for your rate calculations.
  • Royalty share contracts are a deferred payment for the cost of production, which is paid through the royalties earned on the audiobook. While some of the info in this article and its comments are dated, you can learn some ways to improve your chances of earning your fee over time through RS contracts.
  • You’ll find several more useful articles about RS in the Payment Options and Narrators Views About Royalty Share Projects section of my AudioForAuthors.com page.
  • Narrator and casting director Tanya Eby discusses rates in these 2 articles. Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.
  • You may want to look into some business coaching from one of the pros listed in the Coaches Directory in Audiobook Village.