A number of articles in this Knowledge Base fall in the category of Best Practices. The info in each article is not just my opinion. Instead, I’m sharing hard-won knowledge gained through being in the audiobook industry for 20 years, listening to hundreds of audiobooks, attending continuous training and conferences, judging in the Voice Arts […]

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 […]

Thanks to narrator James Anderson Foster for his permission to republish this information that he originally posted on Facebook. The ACX Narrator/Producer’s Commandments Thou shalt not put thyself forward as a professional audiobook narrator, without actually being qualified and equipped to perform the job to a professional standard. Thou shalt not accept a project under […]

First, realize that you should have experience BEFORE you represent yourself as a professional narrator who can complete the job. About half of the general population has never listened to an audiobook. If their first experience is bad, they may never come back to the medium. If you need more experience, volunteer for an organization […]

The most frequent question I see from narrators and rights holders, especially indie authors, is some variation of: Which audiobook distributor is the best? The answer is: It depends. Authors and other rights holders need to research distributor options and make decisions based on their goals. Narrators are included in that group because they want […]

If you’ve been hired by an author, their rep, or a small print publisher, you’ll find it helpful to send an information packet at the outset that establishes expectations for both sides. When working directly with the author, you can request that the author provide you with character descriptions and pronunciations of any made-up words, […]

It’s a very good idea for someone other than you to proof listen to your work for these reasons: 1) If you say a word incorrectly during the recording session, you’re likely to miss it again during proofing. Some people who hire a proofer even misspeak during pickups because your brain and mouth have been […]

The short answer is “no”. Copyright protection covers both the musical composition — the melody and lyrics that make the song — and the sound recording. Different people probably hold each of those copyrights. The songwriter or her music publishing company generally own the song copyright, and the performer’s record label usually owns the sound […]

Sometimes, the rights holder of an audiobook created under an ACX Royalty Share or Royalty Share Plus contract will want to dissolve the contract after the audiobook is on sale. In many cases, the sales have been better than the RH expected, and they would like to receive all royalties rather than split them with […]

Thanks to sound engineer Amanda Rose Smith for her permission to republish this information that she originally posted on Facebook. 1. Don’t give your post person *your* deadline! Give them their own deadline, and pad in time from yours, preferably 48hrs. Things happen. People get sick. Also, there are turn around times. When I get […]

The people listed below have language or subject matter expertise and may be able to help you with pronunciations related to their field. Accent and foreign language experts can help a narrator properly pronounce another language with the correct inflection needed for contextual meaning. Industry professionals can decode the lingo and acronyms used by people […]

Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color (BIPOC) people have struggled against systemic racism and discrimination throughout history. As a result, these groups of people have been underrepresented as both characters in published books and narrators of audiobooks. The publishing industry as a whole is predominantly full of white people, although steps are being taken to […]

This page includes most of the acronyms, initialisms, and terms the narrator might see in auditions and internet forums about audiobook production. Thanks to the narrators in the Facebook Indie Audiobook Producers and Narrators group for suggesting many of these entries.   AA Adobe Audition, audio editing software AAP Audible Approved Producer, a designation bestowed […]

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 […]

Incorrect pronunciations immediately take the audiobook listener out of the story. As you can see in the results from this Google search and this one of Audible.com reviews, listeners frequently leave very negative comments discussing the narrator’s mispronunciations. Numerous threads about mispronunciations on Reddit and Goodreads further emphasize this point. Pronunciation research is part of our […]

I include my name in the file name of all electronic documents I send to a client or potential client, including invoices and articles. I use this naming convention for my auditions: KarenCommins-BookTitleAudMMDDYY    where MMDDYY is the 6-digit date I like having my name first so it shows up even in smaller windows. Once […]

The listener knows the gender of the narrator and is not expecting him/her to sound like the other gender. Female narrators shouldn’t necessarily use lower pitch for male characters, nor should male narrators instinctively use a higher pitch to voice female characters. Each character’s voice will be derived from their personality, which you discover through […]

You must read the entire book before stepping into the booth. This point is a non-negotiable standard in the industry. If you don’t know where the story is headed, how can you possibly tell it well? In her book Audiobook Narrator: The Art of Recording Audio Books, legendary award-winning narrator Barbara Rosenblat, whom AudioFile Magazine […]

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 […]

Thanks to narrator Kyle Tait for his permission to reprint the explanations he originally wrote on Facebook. If the text is overflowing with mathematical expressions that would make the audiobook difficult to follow, you may suggest to the rights holder that they move the math examples to a companion PDF and re-word the recording manuscript […]

Military Ranks When a rank is abbreviated such as SSG or GYSGT, the reader is almost always supposed to pronounce the entire rank instead of reading the individual letters in the abbreviation. Refer to this page to see charts with the ranks and abbreviations for the US armed forces. This PDF lists the abbreviations with […]

Suppose your book includes a web address like: “http://www.KarenCommins.com/othermedia/GraphicRomance.mp4” You don’t need to say http:// or www. at the beginning of the URL for 2 reasons: 1. The general population has used computers and the Internet. 2. Computer servers almost always will connect to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) even when you don’t type the […]

When you start out, you may be tempted to record each character separately and edit them together. Avoid this temptation. You should read the book straight through and switch your voice as needed for each character as s/he appears. However, when doing dialogue between characters with a wide variety in accents, you may find that you […]

Music playing under the opening and closing credits is acceptable as it may help set the mood for the book. In the past, almost every audiobook included music during the credits. These days, the trend is to not include any music in the intro or outro of the audiobook. A music bed should not be […]

If you are producing the audiobook in addition to narrating it, you should NOT hold the view that “the customer is always right.” Many authors have not listened to audiobooks and are not aware of industry norms. When working with an author, it’s up to you to guide them correctly. You should listen to many, […]

Breath is life. New narrators — and particularly new rights holders — who haven’t listened to many (or any) audiobooks often think that breaths should be removed from the recording. Breaths are routinely removed in other voice work such as animation and commercial voiceover. Commercials must run within a pre-set, rigid time of 15, 30, […]

An ACX rights holder might be a publisher or agent instead of the author. In these cases, the RH may ask the narrator to submit files to the author outside the ACX system for review. However, such a request falls outside of the contracted obligations for both parties and should be denied. Section 6 of […]

“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 […]

Audiobooks usually do not include sound effects. However, you may have heard effects in some audiobooks and know their usage is growing in popularity. You may want to add them to your book. Your rights holder may insist you include effects. Don’t do it. Audiobooks are not a radio or TV show, movie, podcast, stage […]

Here are long-time Audible standards for the seconds of pasted room tone to use in each file: .5 at beginning of file 2.5 after chapter announcement At least 2 and no more than 3.5 for mid-chapter section breaks designated by ####, ****, ———, or blank space in the text. Even when the text does not […]

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 […]

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 […]

I haven’t written or posted anything specific about soundproofing here on NarratorsRoadmap.com. It’s too broad a topic, and everybody has different problems to address in their space. These articles on my blog offer some introductory info: Soundproofing vs. sound absorption A Demonstration of My Soundproof Studio I replaced all of the windows in the house […]

Do not upgrade your software in the middle of a book if you can possibly avoid it. Set your system preferences for manual updates of your operating system. If you are a Pro Tools user, be sure that your version of PT is compatible with any new operating system BEFORE you upgrade it. Look at […]

Fiction books often feature characters with a wide variety of accents. It’s important to do your due diligence to determine if your capabilities are in best service of the text. The book’s location(s) will dictate the type of accents needed, if any. The characters who live in the same place wouldn’t hear their accent differently, […]

Thanks to audiobook narrator and coach Chris Ciulla who gave me permission to re-publish this information and chart he created and originally shared on Facebook. Chris surveyed a group of professional narrators about their choice of microphone, interface, and pre-amp. _________________ I was taking a poll to see what the most popular choices were for […]