Roadmap for NarratorsRoadmap.com

Greetings! Thank you for your interest in NarratorsRoadmap.com, THE destination for narrators of all levels!

If you have a Members Express Pass, you can log in to access premium content here.

I want to give you a brief overview of the site starting with the Navigation.

First, when using a desktop computer, you’ll navigate using the graphic highway sign posts in the header.

NR navigation signs with Pit Stop

When using a mobile device (phone or tablet in portrait orientation), you’ll see a 3-line Menu that lists the same options as the navigational signs.

Free areas available to everyone are:

It takes a village to create an audiobook. Audiobook Village has directories of other professionals involved in audiobook production whom you could hire:

  • Coaches for help with performance or business. If you need help with Accents and Dialects, look for that heading on the Welcome Center page.
  • Directors (coming soon)
  • Editors
  • Language Experts
  • Preppers (coming soon)
  • Proofers
  • Reviewers
    • This directory originally was available only to members and is searchable by 15+ main genres, with more sub-genres. In each search result, you’ll the site name and URL, reviewer’s email address, social media links, genres reviewed, the reviewer’s policies, and a link to a sample review.
  • Subject Matter Experts

The Home page contains a tremendous list of links to articles, books, and videos to help newcomers to learn about working as an audiobook narrator, as well as a section outlining ways to connect with others in the industry.

If this is your first time exploring narration as a potential career choice, I suggest you start with Sean Pratt’s video So…You want to be an audiobook narrator and my Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz.

The Knowledge Base is a growing compilation of over 40 articles in 9 categories, with a Search button and loads of Other Resources linked on each topic.

Categories:

The article Now That You’re Here, Where Do You Start? offers a suggested path through the site based on your experience level.

The Audiobook Distributors Chart post listed under the Post Production category is free to read. However, the actual chart linked in the post which shows the comparisons of 6 popular distributors across 22 individual criteria is available only to members.

Pit Stop has the podcast episodes and transcripts where co-host Anne Flosnik and I talk with narrators who do more than narrate. Their stories are sure to inspire you!

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Videos has tabs for videos related to Business, Performance, and Production.

The Welcome Center includes 25+ categories of services and products, with even MORE links!

Premium areas exclusively available for subscribers with a Member Express Pass are:

Casting Directory no signpost

The Casting Directory lists over 50 companies and their employees who cast narrators for books!

Each listing includes languages and genres cast along with Other Resources of things like articles, interviews and podcasts with the producers, and press releases to help you learn about the companies and people.

It’s the only directory in the WORLD that pulls all of this info together in one place!

I have a long list of production companies and publishers in several countries still to add to the site. (This option is available only to 6-month and yearly subscribers.)

Events Calendar sign for newsletter

The color-coded Event Calendar tracks 9 types of industry events around the WORLD, all of which offer networking and educational opportunities for narrators. You might even pitch yourself to present at one of these events!

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Video Courses sign for newsletter

The Video Courses option has separate tabs. Each course includes specialized linked resources. Currently, you’ll find these courses:

  • My 3-module course called Create Your Own Path
    • Public Domain
      • Resources include:
        • Questions and answers from members
        • My hand-curated collections of HathiTrust Books in these categories:
          • Years
            • 1925
            • 1926
            • 1927
            • 1928
          • Subjects/Genres
            • Baseball
            • Biographies/Memoirs
            • Children’s Books
            • Diaries and Letters
            • Fiction
            • History and Crime
            • Plays
          • Authors
            • Anatole France
            • J. M. Barrie
            • James Branch Cabell
            • Wilkie Collins
            • Will Rogers
            • Theodore Roosevelt
            • Booth Tarkington
            • H. G. Wells
            • P. G. Wodehouse
    • Prospecting
      • Resources include sites and newsletters you can use to find contemporary authors and their books that aren’t in audio, as well as my author prospecting email template.
    • Publishing
      • Resources include:
        • My email template to send to an existing Amazon rights holder to request permission to pair your audiobook with their Amazon edition so you can use ACX.
        • Instructions for submitting a book to my associate who may create a Kindle edition that you could claim.
  • My 12-module course on using iAnnotate shows how I use this app for audiobook prep. Even if you’ve been using iAnnotate, I think some of these tricks will surprise and delight you! Non-members can watch the first module here.
  • My 10-module course on using Evernote in your audiobook narration business demonstrates how I use Evernote for Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
  • Short videos on various topics that I call Convos With Karen:
    • Evaluate Royalty Share
    • Exclusive vs. Non-exclusive Distribution
    • Name and Awards on Your Audiobook Cover
    • Prospecting With Authors
    • Working with Friends and Royalty Share
    • Prospecting Mindset
    • Resistance
    • Your Words Have Power / Retraining Your Mind
      • Resources include more articles on mindset, resistance, and royalty share.
  • My Antidotes for Comparison-itis and Bad Review Fever presentation
    • Resources include:
      • a Takeaways PDF
      • Articles and videos on dealing with bad reviews
      • Articles, books, physical reminders, and videos related to comparison-itis
      • Articles, audiobooks, and books about general mindset improvement
  • My members-only 1:48:21 webinar on Public Domain Audiobooks and Self-Publishing, in which I:
    • discuss how to research copyrights to determine whether a book is public domain
    • explain how and why I edit public domain texts
    • show the entire process for claiming a book as an ACX rights-holder
      • Resources are listed with timestamps from the webinar and include:
        • the transcript
        • the sites I check for copyright renewals
        • info about downloading a PDF from HathiTrust

I continue to add content to the site every week and will send members an email every other Monday (except in the last few weeks of the year) to let them know about all updates. If you’re not a member, you can get your Express Pass here.

If you aren’t a member but want to be alerted when these new features are on line, be sure you sign up for my email list for NarratorsRoadmap.com Updates.

Also, be sure to follow the site’s Twitter account! You can always click on the Twitter bird sitting atop the billboard on the home page.

In addition to NarratorsRoadmap.com, my narrator blog on KarenCommins.com has lots more free, in-depth articles of interest to audiobook narrators.

You might also consider purchasing my 3-hour webinar titled Put Yourself in the ACX Driver’s Seat on my Shop page. I was one of the original beta testers for ACX in 2011. I’ve learned sooo much since then and have steered countless narrators around common pitfalls. I’m really not trying to sell you something else, but the attendees raved so much about this unique training that I wanted to make you aware of it.

I invite your questions, comments, and suggestions for content. Send me email at Karen@NarratorsRoadmap.com.

Hope you have a great trip around the site! 😃