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Sections to record
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, MANY titles produced by big audiobook publishers to hear and learn standard practices for all phases of production. A good place to start your education is with the titles reviewed in AudioFile Magazine. For instance, I have heard ending credits that mention the director, producer, and sometimes even recording studio for the production. Certain publishers will include their web site. However, I have never heard ending credits include the author’s bio or other books.
You may ask producers and publishers if they have a style guide, which may include information about sections to record as well as specifics that the publisher uses for consistency across titles. For instance, a publisher may dictate whether you should say the word “Chapter” when the text only indicates a number or name for the chapter heading.
However, major audio publishers don’t always specify the sections they expect to be in the finished audiobook. If no style guide is available and you’re self-directing, use this chart and the notes below it to determine the parts of the book that you should record.
A PDF document for screen readers is available at this link.
Always | Usually | Sometimes | Rarely | Never | |
Opening Credits (AKA Intro) | ✔ | ||||
Praise for book or author | ✔ | ||||
Table of Contents | ✔ | ||||
Glossary | ✔ | ||||
Cast of characters | ✔ | ||||
Dedication | ✔ | ||||
Acknowledgements | ✔ | ||||
Preface/Introduction | ✔ | ||||
Foreword | ✔ | ||||
Author’s Note | ✔ | ||||
Prologue | ✔ | ||||
Epigraph | ✔ | ||||
Text word-for-word | ✔ | ||||
Dialogue attributions (he said, she said) |
✔ | ||||
Reference material (charts, graphs, appendices. etc.) |
✔ | ||||
Epilogue | ✔ | ||||
Footnotes | ✔ | ||||
Endnotes | ✔ | ||||
Bibliography | ✔ | ||||
Index | ✔ | ||||
Author’s Bio | ✔ | ||||
Book Endorsements | ✔ | ||||
Closing Credits (AKA Outro) | ✔ |
Notes:
These guidelines apply to retail products. If you are narrating for an organization that produces recordings that are fully accessible for the visually-impaired, you may be instructed to read the bibliography and other sections that are not normally included.
The opening and closing credits are supplied by the rights holder.
On a multicast recording, you would say all of the narrators’ names in both the opening and closing credits. You wouldn’t say the parts they played. That information is sometimes listed in the audiobook’s description as shown in this example.
In the end credits, you can also say “Original music by Whomever”, “Engineered by SoAndSo” along with the author and narrator. It’s entirely proper to add these people to the credits.
If the rights holder wants the dedication included, it would be recorded at the head of the file after the opening credits, which is typically chapter one in fiction books. You would not re-write the dedication but simply read the words as written.
When the Foreword, Preface, or Introduction morph into Acknowledgements, the entire section may be omitted in the audiobook. The practice is to read all or none of these sections.
If the epigraph or any part of the book contains lyrics to a copyrighted song, you should review Can I sing the lyrics printed in the book? before including those lyrics in the audiobook.
The narrator is not the editor! The rights holder should provide a finished manuscript that is ready to be recorded. In some non-fiction books, the narrator may be asked to extemporaneously describe charts and graphs that appear as reference material. Doing so requires extra skill and time. You may be able to negotiate a higher rater depending on the amount of description that you must supply.
While glossaries usually are not read, the narrator may need to include them in sci-fi or other books where the author made up terms.
You could suggest to the rights holder that they should create a PDF of the reference material that accompanies the audiobook. You then would say things like “See chart E on page 22 of the reference PDF.” Ideally, the rights holder would include a script of these deviations from a word-for-word reading of the text. You could refer rights holders to this guide that shows how to create the companion PDF and this info from ACX/Audible about submitting it.
Footnotes and endnotes also are rarely recorded. As the director, you can choose to include one or more that contain an interesting fact, but you would not be obligated to say all of them. To aid listener comprehension, you would read them in or after the line with the citation, indicating that the info came from the foot/endnote.
Previews of the next book should not be recorded for 2 reasons:
- You may not be the narrator of the next book.
- More importantly, as author Isobel Starling noted in a FB discussion (quoted with her permission):
Listeners don’t like sneak peeks in audiobooks. They choose audio based on the length — and audios are priced on length. If an audiobook has chapter one of the next book in a series, that addition artificially inflates the running time. Listeners feel cheated to find out the story isn’t as long as they were led to believe.
Other resources on this topic:
- ACX provides suggested text for opening and ending credits on this page.
How to prep a book for recording
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 compared to Meryl Streep, wrote about the importance of pre-reading the book:
I read the book only once, slowly.
I determine what voices to lend to the various characters as I prep the book.I read the book only once, slowly.
I take the book, sit in my favorite chair with as much quiet as I can surround myself with, and slowly start to pore through the book and allow the characters and the atmosphere and the dramatic arcs to occur to me as I read.
I have to read the book at least once so I know where the characters are going, so I can foreshadow and deliver lines differently depending on what is still to come.
In short, you cannot be true to the author’s intent if you do not read the book before you record. Prep is not wasted time but instead is the crucial element of the job. The more work you can do on the front end leads to a smoother and easier time during the recording process and a better finished product.
Every word in the book has meaning and lends itself to one’s overall interpretation of the text.
In his 21 Targets course, narrator and coach Matthew Lloyd Davies further emphasized that the text is all we have. He said:
There are only the words on the page. There is nowhere else to look! If you look anywhere else, then you’re not telling the story of the book.
Most narrators read a digital copy of the book on their tablet. I’m one of the many pro narrators who uses the iAnnotate app on an iPad for this purpose. The $9.99 cost of the app is a business expense. This app works well with the Apple Pencil and has built-in features to aid in our prep. (I developed a video course on this app for those narrators who have a Member Express Pass. Click here if you’d like to see a sample.) Other popular annotation apps include Notability and Good Reader. You’ll want to experiment to find the one you like best.
If you want to reformat your PDF script before reading and annotating it, Johnny Freeman at Pozotron created the video Mastering PDF Prep in Pozotron to show the steps in the paid version of Adobe Acrobat.
Characters
You’ll be making decisions about how to perform the book to realize the author’s intentions, including giving thought to character voices. You need to glean every bit of info about the characters to be able to portray them as real people instead of caricatures.
Narrator and coach Matthew Lloyd Davies noted during my section of his 21 Targets course that we often forget to ask ourselves 2 important questions when deciding how to tell the story:
- “Who is telling this story?”
- “Could I listen to this for 10 hours?”
You may think that you can simply ask the author for character breakdowns and pronunciations. Please do not rely on this lazy approach! As the narrator, you are supposed to be the expert, and as such, prepping the book is a significant part of your job.
Other Considerations
Words not directly related to character development are vitally important for establishing appropriate pacing and tone. They reveal the subtext of the relationships and story arc and drive our interpretations.
You must “read between the lines” and understand the subtext of each scene and how it builds the story arc. You control the surprise for the listener. Otherwise, audiobooks could be recorded by artificial intelligence (AI) instead of actors.
You’ll want to consider diversity, equality, and inclusivity when determining whether you are the best fit for the material.
Reading the book also allows you to check your inner compass. If the manuscript contains sections you find objectionable that you do not wish to perform, the time to cancel a contract is before you have started recording the book.
Author and Publisher Contact
When an author hires you, you can send them a welcome packet that includes your questions, but please realize that it’s not the author’s job to supply you with anything. (For example of a welcome packet, look for my page in the Resources of Audiobook production workflow.)
When a publisher or production house hires you, you may only receive a synopsis. They don’t have the capacity to read every book. They expect the narrator to do thorough prep to make appropriate acting choices based on the author’s intent.
However, you can ask the producer for the book’s Style Sheet. Narrator Natalie Naudus shared that the traditional print publishers create these Style Sheets when editing the book. The audio group may need to request it from the print group, and it may not always be available. Some Style Sheets include more details than others. You won’t know unless you ask for it.
In addition, you should be aware that when you are working with publishers, you should not attempt to contact the author without the publisher’s permission. You would submit any questions about pronunciations and characters to the producer.
As a tangent to that last point about working with publishers, let me add that you should not share any pre-release info on social media without the publisher’s permission.
During your pre-read, do the following things:
1) Read Amazon and Goodreads reviews of your book. They often contain a synopsis of the book which may help you recognize its plot points and themes. Reviewers also frequently summarize the characters’ traits and sometimes comment that the book and/or characters reminds them of a TV show or movie.
2) Analyze the book’s genre, tone and personality. AudioFile Golden Voice Narrator Kevin Free offers these comments about what he looks for on his first read.
3) Create a pronunciation list and note any words you don’t know how to say or only think you know how to say, including names of cities, real people, brands, technical jargon, and foreign phrases. Incorrect pronunciations are a sure-fire way to make a listener drop out of the story! (I encourage you to read narrator and director Kimberly Wetherell’s Twitter thread about the audiobook production process in response to a listener who complained about pronunciation errors.)
You may need to consult several sources in order to find an authoritative answer. The first pronunciation listed in a dictionary may not be correct for your book or your character. Your decision about the correct usage is based on the context, author’s style, time period, socio-economic background of the character, and dialect.
Also, names of cities, towns, and streets should be pronounced the way the locals say it. For instance, Cairo, GA, Cairo, IL, and Cairo, Egypt have 3 different pronunciations.
Some narrators prefer to enter add their pronunciation research to the text. I advise you to enter all of your pronunciation research in a separate document so that you can easily share it with your editor and proofer, and reuse it on later books, especially if you are doing a book in a series. I use Evernote as you can see in this video.
Finishing your pronunciation research before you are in the booth will make you a more efficient narrator and enable you to maintain the flow of the narrative. You’ll find some pronunciation resources listed in the Welcome Center.
4) Take notes about anything descriptive about fiction characters, including what the character says about himself and what others say about him. For instance, you may learn deep into the book that they have a specific accent. I discuss this step more and include an example of one of my Evernote character dossiers in this article.
You’ll also find some helpful tips about character development in this Backstage article and tips for committing to your characters in this one written by narrator Elise Arsenault.
If you have permission to contact the author, you could ask them for any background material they can share with you, such as character profiles, pronunciations (especially helpful for sci-fi/fantasy books with invented places and species), or their ideal Hollywood casting. Narrator Joel Leslie describes his character questionnaire in this article.
Some people find it useful to highlight each character’s dialogue in a different color or write initials in the margin so that you know who is speaking.
It may help you to highlight or underline descriptors or “stage” directions, such as “he whispered” or “she said in a trembling voice” as narrator Suzy Jackson demonstrates at 1:31 in this video.
You may also find it useful to map out relationships between characters and/or the characters in a scene. To that end, narrator Rachel Leblang offers this suggestion:
I always block some time out after I finish reading a book for prep to sit down and hand write out the main characters and what lasting impressions I had of them: characteristics, relationships, story arcs, etc. To see what really stuck with me about each person after reading the whole thing.
Whether you decide on a voice before you record or during the session, save a snippet of the voice some place where you can easily reference it later in the session. You might save it on your computer with you DAW or on your phone’s voice recorder. You’ll be able to hear it and get back into character whenever you need it.
Site members can watch watch module 12 of my iAnnotate Video Course in which I show how to store and share voice clips within iAnnotate.
Narrator Barbara Henslee shared her Excel workbook template (file download) in which she records all her notes during prep. The file has tabs for Time, Space, Notes for Author, Characters, Chapter Summaries, Typos, and Pronunciation.
5) For non-fiction books, you need to perform with the passion of the author even though you will probably lack their expertise. You would do well to follow narrator and coach Sean Pratt’s guidance in his 2-part mini-masterclass about non-fiction prep on VoiceOverXtra:
Part One
Part Two
You’ll also want to refer to Sean’s article about the 4 voices of non-fiction.
Case Studies
Audiobook narrators always hear the anecdotal story about the narrator who didn’t do any prep and learned when recording page 300 that the main character had a specific accent. This narrator then had to re-record all of that character’s lines in the book.
I want to share 2 actual case studies that illustrate the importance of thoroughly prepping the entire book before starting to record.
1. Harold and Maude by Colin Higgins, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
A listener on Audible commented in her audiobook review:
I did not care for Barbara Rosenblat’s use of a German dialect for Maude. Again, Ruth Gordon’s portrayal of the sweet, seemingly naive and fun loving Maude appealed to me much more.
The narrator can’t depend on or even consider a movie actor’s interpretation of the text and must come up with her own interpretation of the author’s words.
In this book, the author steered Rosenblat to a German accent with these lines:
p. 16 The narrative tells us, “She spoke with a slight European accent.”
p. 29 Maude says, “I don’t speak Dutch. German, French, English, some Spanish, some Italian, and a little Japanese.” I would think that most people would list their native language first.
p. 58 Maude says, “When I was a little girl in Vienna…” and [she met her husband when she] “knocked off his hat. With a snowball in the Volksgarten.” Note that German is the official language of Austria.
p. 72 The narrative states “She had taught Frederick to play marbles when they were in hiding after the Anschluss.”
2. Bamie: Theodore Roosevelt’s Remarkable Sister by Lilian Rixey, narrated by Karen Commins
I confess! Even with my experience, I became one with the anecdotal narrator though not because of lack of thorough prep. Instead of discovering a necessary accent late in the book, I learned a critical pronunciation, which I never would have thought would be somehow revealed in a text.
Theodore Roosevelt’s sister Anna “Bamie” Roosevelt married a man with the last name of Cowles. I didn’t know whether it was pronounced to rhyme with bowls (long ō) or howls (dipthong) and couldn’t find it in during my pronunciation research.
I needed to start recording on a certain day to meet my deadline. I had read and prepped most — but not all — of the 303 pages in the book.
Since I still hadn’t discovered how to pronounce Cowles, we called an organization dedicated to the study and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt and asked them. The person confidently said the name rhymes with howls.
I silently read and prepped the remaining pages after starting the recording phase. I didn’t note any issues.
You can’t imagine my dismay when I read aloud on page 279 this “rhymed toast” in Bamie’s guest book written by her sister Corinne, who certainly would have known how the name was pronounced:
To Admiral and Mrs. Cowles
(Magnetic pair of sunlit souls!)
I did what I should have done at the outset — I combed through obituaries, found a surviving family member, and contacted that person to ask the correct pronunciation. I had to re-record about 150 instances of the name! I was just glad I could make the edits before sending the book to the editor!
Other resources on this topic:
- I found The Art of Reading audio course and accompanying guide to be extremely useful in analyzing a book’s structure and author’s style in depth, which helps us to give a more nuanced read. Professor Timothy Spurgin’s discussion of the type of narrators’ voices in the text is invaluable! Note that the presenter is not a professional narrator, so he stumbles over his words a lot in these lectures.
- APA members will find at least 2 past webinars on script prep under the Resources/Webinars menu option after logging in to audiopub.org.
- Star narrator Katherine Kellgren was well-known for her extensive prep. Sadly, she is no longer with us, but you can learn much about her process from her interviews here and here.
- Grammy-winning producer and director Paul Alan Ruben describes:
- using the prep process to connect emotionally to the text in this article
- how the text gives us actable clues in this article
- Award-winning narrator Ann Richardson wrote a comprehensive article about prep for VoiceOverXtra that includes guides for fiction and non-fiction books.
- Award-winning narrator Joel Leslie Froomkin takes you behind the scenes of his prep process in this article. He also shows how to use reviews before you audition and markup your book during prep in this video.
- AudioFile Golden Voice Michael Crouch describes his process for prep and character delineation in this interview.
- Award-winning narrator and Casting Director Tanya Eby describes in this article how your prep might change as you gain experience. (Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.)
- Narrator Dawn Harvey shares excellent tips about prep in her article on VoiceOverXtra.
- Narrator Heidi Rew offers her approach to prep using a spreadsheet in this article.
- Narrator Matt Godfrey discusses his thought process and actions during prep and recording sessions in this in-depth article.
- ACX University created this video on audiobook prep.
- Several narrators offered good preparatory tips, including how to maintain consistency between recording sessions, in this article.
- Author and narrator CC Hogan shares here how he prepares the script for recording.
- Narrator Ann Richardson described skills needed by a good book-preparer on her blog.
- Award-winning narrator Sean Pratt describes the “colors” of the paragraph in non-fiction books and shares a few pages of mark-up in this article.
- This article illustrates that every word has meaning, and a single word can shape an actor’s entire performance. Thanks to narrator Michelle Lee for the find.
- Prep tips from several narrators are included in this Voices.com article.
- Work with a coach from the Coaches Directory and check out the list of downloadable courses in the Welcome Center.
How to say mathematical symbols and equations
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 to refer to the PDF. The Sections to Record page includes links to help the RH create and submit such a PDF.
Preliminary Notes
Read your math translation very slowly so the listener can follow along. Remember in audio, you need to clarify somehow what’s in parentheses, etc. The order of operations doesn’t hold up well in audio.
Also, in equations that have both the capital and lower case versions of a variable, make sure that you specify that.
For example:
A = ax^2 + bx + c
A and a are different variables, so you’ll need to say “capital a” and “lowercase a”.
The best way to show you how to say mathematical equations and symbols is through several case studies.
Case Studies
Example 1
is read as:
“T equals the fraction one over r, times the natural log of the fraction with numerator C and denominator C minus W R”.
Example 2
The triangle is read “Delta”.
The squiggly X is the greek letter Chi (pronounced kī).
So the first highlighted section is read as:
“Delta kī squared equals one hundred sixty five point five eight, delta df equals 2, with a p value less than .001”
(They’re talking about a statistical study here, so the “p value” is a common thing discussed, it shows statistical significance, which you can read about here, if you’re so inclined.)
The next two, of course, are read “kī squared” and “df”
The acronym RMSEA is read letter-by-letter, R-M-S-E-A.
The bottom two highlights are read “r equals point one two, with a p value less than .05”, and “r equals point five nine, with a p value less than .01”.
Example 3
The mathematical parts are read as:
“2 point 99792458 times 10 to the 8th power meters per second”
“1 point 602176634 times 10 to the negative 19th power COO-lombs”
h with a line through its stem is pronounced “h bar”.
Planck is pronounced plahnk.
The value for h in the third bullet is actually a typo. It should be an x, not a c, for multiplication. “1.0546x10…”
J.S is pronounced jewel seconds
“Alpha equals the fraction with numerator e-squared and denominator h-bar times c.”
A -1 in the superscript is pronounced just “a to the negative first power”.
Example 4
The difference between them is statistically significant (B = 2.35, p < .05, EXP(B)=10.50).
This is a statistical test. I (Kyle) would say the entire parenthetical:
“B equals 2.35 for a p value less than point zero five, and the exponential function of B equals 10.50.”
Other resources on this topic:
- Mathematical English (a brief summary) is a comprehensive, 30-page PDF published by mathematics professor Jan Nekovář. In addition to converting symbols into words, this document offers practice examples.
- Andy Gillett’s site Using English for Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education includes this handy chart of English words for mathematical and scientific symbols with the IPA symbols for pronunciation. Thanks to narrator Linda Graves for sharing this find.
Now That You’re Here, Where Do You Start?
It’s my goal to make NarratorsRoadmap.com be the site with the greatest breadth and depth of information and resources related to audiobook narration on the Internet! This site meets you where you are and will help take you where you want to go!
Some people have told me they feel overwhelmed by the tremendous wealth of content on the site and asked me where they should start to get the best use out of it.
That question is almost impossible for me to answer because every person’s background, situation, and goals are different. However, I will attempt to offer some general recommendations on this page.
Options available only to Express Pass members are designated with this member badge.
The Welcome Center has all the details about membership costs and benefits, the registration link, and even MORE links! You can also join by clicking here or on the LOGIN button above.
Authors:
- The Welcome Center page has a section titled Author Resources. If you join the site, you’ll also have access to my exclusive member-only Audiobook Distributor Comparison Chart.
Everyone at Any Time:
- Be sure to consult the Roadmap to the Roadmap to see a summary of the offerings and understand the site navigation.
- Check out the professionals listed in the Audiobook Village directories as you may need their services at any moment.
- The Pit Stop Shows consist of interviews with narrators who do more than narrate. Their stories are sure to inspire you!
- The Welcome Center page lists over 20 categories of services and products that you could need at any point in your career.
Newcomers Exploring This Career:
Begin by reading all the articles and watching the videos on the Home page.
- My articles and those from other pros suggest practical steps to take and ways you could proceed. I particularly recommend you begin your research with these 2 resources as they may make the decision easier for you:
- My Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz articles
- Sean Pratt’s video So…You want to be an audiobook narrator?
Before You Narrate Your First Book:
After you know you want to pursue this work, follow these steps at a minimum.
- Read and refer to all of the articles in the Best Practices and Performance sections of the Knowledge Base articles and the article How to Do Pronunciation Research as they describe in detail the specifics of doing the work.
- You’ll also want to pay attention to the article titled What rate should a newcomer charge? in the Auditions/Career section of the Knowledge Base
- Set up space and equipment for your studio.
- You’ll find popular choices for equipment in the KB article Which microphone and interface should I get?
- Hire an engineer in the Studio Treatment and DAW Training section of the Welcome Center page to help you learn your software and make your sound quality the best it can be.
- I outline some First Steps in the Connections section of the Home page where you can practice and build your skills.
- I’d work with a vetted coach in the Coaches Directory located in Audiobook Village. You’ll want to make coaching an on-going event throughout your career.
- If you want to audition on ACX, read through the KB articles in the ACX section, especially ACX Projects to Avoid. (Shameless plug for a related product: I taught a 3-hour webinar called Put Yourself in the ACX Driver’s Seat. It’s available for purchase and immediate download on my Shop page.)
Watch the 12-module iAnnotate member video course to learn how to configure and use this software to great advantage during your prep.
Acquire the habit of looking through the worldwide, member Event Calendar for any training and networking opportunities you want to attend. You can also participate in any of the Clubhouse discussions you see there. In fact, now is a good time to join the Narrators Roadmap House! I track a LOT of events and add more to the calendar every week!
You’ve narrated 1-9 books:
- Read through the Auditions/Career and Post Production articles in the Knowledge Base.
- Start watching the rest of the Videos, which are categorized as Business, Performance, and Production. You’ll also want to watch the videos on the Home page.
- Work with a vetted coach in the Coaches Directory located in Audiobook Village. You may want to work with different coaches as some specialize in business areas, while others guide you in improving your performance.
- You need to have a web site so people can find and contact you. You’ll find web designers in the Web Sites section of the Welcome Center page.
- You’ll also want to start other aspects of your business, such as some sort of client relationship management (CRM) system. Some people use a spreadsheet, Airtable, or specialized software.
In my Evernote video course for members, I show how I use Evernote for CRM to keep details I’ve learned about prospects and clients, set reminders for follow-up, and retain copies of communications.
Watch the member Video Course titled Create Your Own Path. Each segment of this course has its own list of resources. The module on Prospecting may be most helpful to you at this point.
- In addition to the prospecting module mentioned above, another segment discusses Public Domain (PD) books. I previously advised people to wait to do one until you’ve completed a few books and solidified your work process. However, I now encourage you to choose to cast yourself in projects you like which are a good fit for your voice. Work begets work!
- Be aware PD books require extra steps since you are the publisher, including choosing the cover art and distribution channel(s).
- You’ll find my curated collections of PD books among the resources.
- Of course, if you want to do one or more PD books purely for practice and release it on YouTube and/or in a podcast, that’s certainly an option. In fact, these kinds of projects would help you develop and improve your work flow even if you record a book but don’t distribute it.
- If you want to publish your book — whether your own, one you’ve licensed, or a public domain title — on Audible and other sites, watch the module about publishing. It has a set of resources and also links to the member-only article in the KB titled Audiobook Distributors Comparison Chart. This chart will also help you guide authors in making their distribution choices. (Shameless plug for another related product: If you’re interested in licensing the audio rights to contemporary books, you’ll find a webinar I did with IP attorney/Grammy-winning directory Jessica Kaye on my Shop page.)
- In addition to the prospecting module mentioned above, another segment discusses Public Domain (PD) books. I previously advised people to wait to do one until you’ve completed a few books and solidified your work process. However, I now encourage you to choose to cast yourself in projects you like which are a good fit for your voice. Work begets work!
Also included in the member Video Course area is my webinar about Public Domain Audiobooks and Self-Publishing. It covers even more about territory about these topics than the modules in the Create Your Own Path course, plus it has even more resources!
You’ll find more videos and articles under the Convos With Karen tab on the member Video Courses page. Many of these deal with mindset issues and royalty share questions.
Also on the member Video Courses page, you can watch my Antidotes to Comparison-itis and Bad Review Fever to learn practical, actionable steps you can take to improve your mindset.
You’ve narrated 10 or more books:
- Review the items in the previous sections and take any actions necessary and meaningful to you, such as:
- auditioning on ACX
watching the member video course on iAnnotate
looking for events in the member Event Calendar. Expand your perusal of the Calendar to include author/reader events, conventions, book festivals, etc. to find gatherings to attend in a prospecting capacity. Submit proposals to event planners to speak about audiobooks at their function.
viewing the Create Your Own Path member course and webinar about Public Domain Audiobooks and Self-Publishing, choosing a public domain book, recording it, and self-publishing it.
- Several KB articles are especially useful for those of you who found the site later in your career.
- These articles present a wide range of options you may not have considered for doing the work:
- These articles will aid you in finding more work:
At some point, you will start approaching the producers and publishers listed in the exclusive member Casting Directory (available to 6-month and yearly members only). Remember — you only get one chance to make a good first impression!
Some people with tremendous acting experience in other disciplines or some special skill like a language may be added to publishers’ rosters immediately. However, most people should expect to have a body of audiobook work as evidence of their ability before contacting publishers.
With more completed projects on Audible, you become more credible to publishers. When you get a book from a publisher, they have to know that you can meet their deadlines and submit a finished product that is comparable to their other books. You also understand better the type of work you want to do and where the market wants your voice. These 2 areas may or may not overlap.
There’s no set number of books you’d need to have before submitting your demos to publishers. My point is that you don’t want to contact producers — or authors, for that matter — before you are ready. You’ll find more information and resources in the article How long does it take to get work from publishers?
We all take unique paths in our careers. Don’t feel like you have to heed these guidelines. Instead, I hope you’ll follow your interests as you traverse the site.
Members, don’t worry about missing something! I send a newsletter to members every other Monday (except at year-end) that lists all the changes on the site to help you stay current.
Glossary of audiobook-related terms
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 by ACX to narrators who are a master of the craft and consistently produce high-quality recordings
Abridged
A condensed version of the book. Abridgements were common in the 1990s and 2000s to save production costs so that an audiobook did not require an unwieldy number of cassettes or CDs in the package.
ACX
Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX.com), a free marketplace between rights holders and narrators for audiobook production
AHAB
Casting database developed and used by Penguin Random House Audio where narrators can create a profile
AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format, a method of storing uncompressed audio data that was developed by Apple Computers
APA
Audio Publishers Association, the audiobook industry trade association with many member benefits specifically for narrators
APAC
Audio Publishers Association Conference, the APA’s annual event
Audacity
Free audio editing software
Audie
Awards of excellence in narration and production in numerous categories given by the APA each year after a stringent judging process.
BDSM
Bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism in erotic romance book
Big 5
The 5 largest print publishers in the US: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. You can see all of their divisions and imprints at this link.
CRX
Corrections found by the proofer where the narrator must re-record phrases or sentences due to mispronunciations or misreads (also known as pick-ups). Narrators usually label the re-recorded file with CRX in the title.
D
Dominant in erotic romance book
DAW
Digital audio workstation, which can be a hardware- or software-based system with an audio interface to record and play back sound. Pro Tools, Reaper, and Adobe Audition are examples of commercial software DAWs.
DNF
Did not finish. Audiobook listeners may use these initials in a review of an audiobook they stopped listening to because they didn’t like it.
Earphones Award
Editors of AudioFile Magazine confer this designation on multiple titles in each issue that are considered to be extraordinary listens.
Editing
The process of critically listening to the raw audio recording and eliminating or reducing mouth noises and gaspy or cut breaths, covering extraneous background noise with room tone, and adjusting the pacing as needed to make the finished recording sound like one continuous take.
Editor
The person who does the editing. Experienced narrators tend to edit their auditions and hire an editor to edit an audiobook. You’ll find a vetted directory of editors in Audiobook Village.
FB
Facebook
FLAC
Free Lossless Audio Codec, which is an uncompressed audio file format that is small like an MP3 file but has full sound resolution like the original WAV file.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions on a web site or in an internet group
F/F
Female Female couple in a romance/erotic romance book
Finished Time
The duration of the retail-ready product. The industry rule of thumb is that ~6.2 hours of work in real time are required to produce 1 finished hour of an audiobook once the narrator starts to record. Note that audiobook prep is not included in this time estimate.
- 2 hours of recording
- 3 hours of editing
- 1.2 hours of proof listening
FV
Findaway Voices, an audiobook marketplace and distribution site where narrators can create a profile and be cast by indie authors to narrate titles.
FX
Processing effects (plugins)
H&R
Health and retirement part of payments to SAG/AFTRA from employer to fund those benefits to narrators
HC
HarperCollins, a Big 5 publisher
HEA
Happily ever after, a term used by romance writers and listeners
HF
Historical fiction
HR
Historical romance genre
Hybrid
A contract where the narrator receives payment partly by an up-front PFH rate and part over time in a royalty share contract
IG
Instagram
Intro
The opening credits where the title, author, and narrator are announced.
litRPG
Literary role playing game genre
LU or LUFS
Loudness Unit or Loudness Unit Full Scale. The Loudness Unit is an arbitrary measurement which allows a person to control the audio output. The LUFS measures the loudness of audio without reference to decibels.
Master
The final step in audio production which adds effects to make the sound most pleasing and at a consistent volume throughout the book.
MC
Depending on context, either main character or motorcycle club romance sub-genre. Usually the narrator is the same gender as the main character in a fiction book or the author of a non-fiction book.
MG
Middle grade
M/F
Male Female couple in a romance or erotic romance book
MFM
Male Female Male trio in an erotic romance book
M/M
Male Male couple in a romance or erotic romance book
MP3
A file format of compressed audio that loses some of the file’s resolution in order to make the file size smaller. Most narrator uploads are MP3 files.
MS
Manuscript, which should have been edited for plot, grammar, and punctuation before it ever reaches a narrator’s hands
NA
New adult genre
NF
Non-fiction
OP
Original poster, a term used in internet forums to indicate the person who started the discussion.
Open Record/Roll Record
The narrator records the audio and leaves all mistakes and re-takes in the file. The narrator often uses a dog clicker to highlight the re-take in the WAV. This type of file requires more editing time — and therefore increases the editing expense — as the bad takes must be removed. This recording method is the opposite to P&R defined below.
Outro
The closing credits where the title, author, narrator, and all copyrights are announced. The outro may also include a sentence from the publisher about their web site, catalog, etc. so that users could find their other titles.
PANA
Professional Audiobook Narrators Association
PD
Public Domain, which means the book’s copyright has expired, making the book available to record by anyone without any royalties due to the author or publisher
PFH
Per finished hour, the payment rate most used in the industry for narrators, editors, and proofers. Studio time may be charged according to real hours.
Pickups
Corrections found by the proofer where the narrator must re-record phrases or sentences due to mispronunciations or misreads. Narrators usually label the re-recorded file with CRX in the title.
PNR or P&R
Punch and roll, a recording technique where the narrator stops recording when they mistake, go back a 1-2 seconds in the recording, start recording at the mistake, and say the corrected sentence, continuing on with recording until the next mistake. P&R removes all the bad takes from the file in real time of recording, making the task of editing much more time- and cost-efficient. This article explains it and links to videos demonstrating it in several DAWs.
Post
Short for post-production, the stage when the recording is edited and mastered.
PRH or PRHA
Penguin Random House Audio
Producer
The person who pays for the production. They may or may not cast the talent, schedule studio space, and hire the director, engineer, and proofer. On ACX, the narrator chosen to narrate the project is called a producer because the narrator would be performing all of these tasks. The rights holder would be a co-producer in this instance.
Proofer
The person who listens to every word of the audiobook for sonic and textual clarity while reading the text. The proofer determines misreads, mispronunciations, and extraneous sounds that the narrator and editor should re-do before the book is mastered and released for retail sale. You’ll find a vetted directory of proofers in Audiobook Village.
Publisher
The company or individual who acquires the audio rights to the book and releases the audiobook for sale.
PT
ProTools, a DAW from Avid and long-known as the industry standard software
QC
Quality Control
Reaper
DAW that runs on Windows, macOS, or Linux
RH
Depending on context, rightsholder, meaning the person who controls the audio rights to the title, or reverse harem, a romance sub-genre
RP
Received Pronunciation, a regionally-neutral, middle class British accent
Room Tone
The background noise in your recording space, which should be as close to silent as possible. Record at least 10 seconds of room tone in each session so that your editor can copy and paste room tone as needed to cover extraneous noises in your recording.
RS
Royalty share contract. In this type of contract, the narrator’s fee and other production costs are not paid at the time of recording. Instead, the narrator gambles that the book will earn out and defers her fee and costs to be paid from the royalties earned by the audiobook’s sale over the 7-year term of the contract. The rights holder receives half of the royalties of the audiobook and also makes money on sales of all other editions. The narrator receives the other half of audiobook royalties available and is only paid through those royalties from audiobook sales. Therefore, all of the risk for low or no sales of the audiobook rests with the narrator on a royalty share contract.
RS+ or RSP
Royalty Share Plus contract on ACX, which is that site’s implementation of a hybrid contract of a negotiated payment up-front along with a RS contract
RMS
Root Mean Square (average loudness over time)
RX7
iZotope RX7 is a set of tools used in post to repair and clean up your recordings. Some people may have older versions like RX6.
S
Submissive in erotic romance book
S&S
Simon & Schuster, a big 5 publisher with its own audio production offices
S1
Studio One, a DAW from Presonus
SAG/AFTRA
The merged US labor union of Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television And Radio Artists to which a narrator can join.
SF
Sound Forge audio editing software
SFC
Strong female character
Slate
When instructed to do so, the voice actor states their first and last name at the beginning of an audition recording.
SOVAS
Society of Voice Arts and Sciences, which produces the annual That’s Voiceover conference and confers the annual Voice Arts Awards in a number of categories including many for audiobooks
SR
Spoken Realms, an indie distributor through which narrators can become a featured voice and publish our own audiobooks
SM
Social media
TBL
To be listened to, an abbreviation used by audiobook listeners to note titles they intend to hear
Thread
A discussion in an Internet forum or on social media.
TW
Twisted Wave, an Mac-based audio editor
Unabridged
The complete, word-for-word text printed in the book is read in the audiobook edition, with the exception of certain sections.
USB
Universal Serial Bus connectors allow you to connect peripherals to your computer. USB microphones typically have inferior components and produce noisier recordings than professional-level condenser microphones with XLR connectors. They also can introduce delays and hums in your recordings that will require extra work to eliminate in post-production.
VST
Virtual Studio Technology (plugins)
WAV
The uncompressed audio file format created when you save your recording
WIP
Work in progress
XLR
The audio industry’s standard electrical connector that is circular and has 3 pins. Professional microphones have XLR connectors.
YA
Young adult genre
Other resources on this topic:
- ACX has an audio terminology glossary that lists many terms specific to the recording process.
- Narrator James Romick explains terms associated with audio recording in this article.
- This reference site of literary terms gives definitions, examples, and discussions about all the terms used by writers and publishing.
- Narrator Andy Garcia-Ruse created and shared this Canva template named Glossary of Audiobook Industry Terms, which may be helpful for narrators to give to rights holders.
Home
Welcome! Whether you dream of becoming an audiobook narrator or already are one, you’ve found THE destination for audiobook narrators of all levels!
Everybody has a nice voice. Knowing how to use it to express the author’s intent is what matters.
All of the info and links on this site have been carefully written and curated for credibility and value. You’ll find indispensable advice from industry pros that you will want to read and absorb. Success leaves tracks!
If you’re new to this career, every resource below on this page — articles, books, connections, and videos — answers the question “How can I become an audiobook narrator?” At any level of experience, you may want to follow my suggested track in the Knowledge Base article Now That You’re Here, Where Do You Start?.
More helpful tips:
- The sign posts in the site navigation above point to avenues throughout the rest of the site that are of greater interest to experienced narrators. Some sections are free to all, while others are offered only to Express Pass Members.
- The Welcome Center has all the details about membership costs and benefits, the registration link, and even MORE links! You can also join the site by clicking here or on the LOGIN button above.
- If you’re an author who wants to put your work into audio, you’ll also want to head to the Welcome Center for resources selected especially for you.
- Need a guide to everything available on the site? Click here to see the Roadmap of NarratorsRoadmap.
I’m constantly adding links and developing content for the site. Sign up for updates and/or subscribe to this site’s Twitter account to be alerted about site additions. Questions or comments about this site? Please send me an email!
Karen Commins
Tour Guide and Chief Cartographer
Articles
You’ve no doubt heard the phrase “consider the source”. That advice is especially true when starting or improving your career as an audiobook narrator.
When searching Google about reading audiobooks, you’ll find a boatload of articles and courses on the topic. However, so many of those search results are from people who don’t have much, if any experience, in doing the work. If the site is about making money from home or some other general term, you can be sure it’s not a credible source.
These articles were written by people who have solid, verifiable experience in the industry.
- Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz — Karen Commins
- How to Become An Audiobook Narrator— Karen Commins
- How to Become an Audiobook Narrator — Audible.com blog
- APA New Member Learning Journey — Audio Publishers Association
- Two Cents — R. C. Bray
- How to Break Into Narration — Scott Brick
- 10 Skills You Need for Audiobook Narration + Voice Work — Marc Cashman
- How To Be An Audiobook Narrator (In Many Steps) — C. S. E. Cooney
- Step Up to the Mic/Become a Narrator — Erin deWard
- How to become and audiobook narrator — April Doty
- So you want to record Audiobooks — Marissa DuBois
- How To Make A Career in Audiobook Narration — Tanya Eby (Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.)
- So You Want To Be A Narrator — Tanya Eby
- How to Become A Narrator — Robert Fass
- Breaking Into Audiobooks Part 1 and Part 2 — Rachel Fulginiti
- How to Become an Audiobook Narrator and Tips for First-Time Narrators — Tavia Gilbert
- Audiobook Narration Tips That Don’t Suck — Johnny Heller
- Simple Rules for Audiobook Success…That You Already Know and Ignore — Johnny Heller
- Any Self-Starter Can Break Into the Field — Interview with Hillary Huber
- Is Audiobook Narration Right for You? Part 1 and Part 2 — Tom Jordan
- Letter to Newcomers — Jeffrey Kafer
- How to Get Started Narrating Audiobooks — Steve Marvel
- Curious About Becoming a Narrator? Learn to Fish… — Ann Richardson
- What You Need to Start An Audiobook Narration Career (Not Just A ‘ Nice Voice’) — James Romick
- Audiobooks — SAG/AFTRA
Tanya Eby asked audiobook narrators at all levels how they got started in this profession. She received over 100 responses from narrators and other audiobook professionals! Along with their fascinating and diverse origin stories, each respondent also offered some words of inspiration. Tanya linked to each person’s web site to aid in your networking.
Note: You may need a subscription to read Tanya’s Substack. You’ll find a discount offer in the Welcome Center.
- Part 1
- Stories from Tanya Eby, Sean Corey, André Santana, Kelly Wilkinson, Pam Wood, Marie Hawkins, Kim Alexander, Jody Lebel, Tim Ratliff, Stacy Gonzalez, Emily Ellet, Craig Van Ness, Angelina Rocca, Derek Dysart, Ray Greenley, Susie Hackel, Randye Kaye, Karen Commins, Meghan Kelly, Nita Drakatos, Lynn Marie Brunk, Ella Lynch, Tom Jordan, Shiloh James, Gary Bennett, Richard Rieman
- Part 2
- Stories from Jenny Myers, Ann Richardson, Jane Oppenheimer, Bob Johnson, Michael Naramore, Liz Leafloor, Isabella Tugman, Roger Arnold, Shannon Nicole Locke, Krystal Hammond, Carol Beth Anderson, Sara Sheckells, Curt Bonnem, Alexandra Cohler, Stefanie Kay, David L. York, Andrea Emmet, Kris Keppeler, Emily Norman, Serena Scholl
- Part 3
- Stories from Lindsey Dorcus, Petrea Burchard, Mike Shirokov, Marie Hoffman, Natalie Duke, Nicky Enders, Mark Turetsky, Veronica Giguere, Hallie Bee Bard, Allyson Voller, J.S. Arquin, Eilidh Beaton, Mallory Fuccella, Rebecca Stern, Jennifer March, Marni Penning
- Part 4
- Stories from J. Rodney Turner, Dominique Franceschi, Kaleigh Kirby, Elizabeth Wiley, Su Ling Chan, Chuck Conover, Stephanie Willing, Jessica Marchbank, Sara Hannah, Traci Odom, Carmen Jewel Jones, Kyle Snyder, Vivian Glazier, Alexei Sebastian Cifrese, Melissa Kay Benson
These articles provide information about starting work as a voice talent.
- So you want to get into voiceovers — Karen Commins
- Info Sheet for Newcomers — Pamela Almand
- VO Strategist FAQ — Tom Dheere
- Parade Magazine — And the Myth of Easy Voiceover Money — Randye Kaye
- The Voice Over Entrance Exam — Peter O’Connell
- Why is doing voice-overs so difficult Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 — Paul Strikwerda
Books/Audiobooks

Acting With The Voice: The Art of Recording Books
by Robert Blumenfeld

by Tanya Eby

Storyteller: How to Be an Audiobook Narrator
by Lorelei King and Ali Muirden

Audiobook Narrator: The Art of Recording Audio Books
by Barbara Rosenblat

The Guide To Publishing Audiobooks
by Jessica Kaye
Connections
First Steps
The first thing any prospective narrator should do is LISTEN to audiobooks. AudioFile Magazine is the premiere source of professional reviews of audiobooks in its magazine, newsletters, and podcast. The web site includes a talent and industry database which lists publisher information.
Then, watch award-winning narrator Sean Pratt‘s video below and take his test. Answering my Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz and reading through the explanations will further help you evaluate whether this career is a good fit for you.
I also recommend you take these 2 free mini-courses on Narrator.Life:
- Exploring Audiobook Narration — Andi Arndt
- Beginning Narrator’s Reality Check — Ann Richardson
If you decide to move forward, I highly encourage you to volunteer for your state’s reading service for the blind or Learning Ally to gain and improve skills, as well as provide a needed service to the world. I no longer recommend that anyone volunteer to record for LibriVox as their recordings are public domain and have been used to train AI voices.
Organizations
The Audio Publishers Association is the publlshers’ industry trade organization. It offers numerous benefits of membership to narrators including frequent webinars, news updates about the industry, opportunities to meet publishers and producers, and an annual conference.
The annual HEAR Now Festival celebrates audio storytelling in all its forms.
The Professional Audiobook Narrators Association is a trade organization created and run by audiobook narrators to advocate for our business interests and connect narrators within and outside our community. Membership is open to both union and non-union narrators.
Coaching
A listing of vetted audiobook coaches and consultants for both audiobook performance and business issues can be found in Audiobook Village.
Podcasts
Narrator Rich Miller hosts the informative and entertaining Audiobook Speakeasy podcast with guests from across the audiobook industry, including many of the coaches in the spreadsheet above. Listen to their episodes to help you choose the best person to help you.
In his Audiobook Narration for Beginners podcast, narrator and host J. Rodney Turner and his guests share tips and info they’ve learned on their path.
Audition Sites
New narrators can create a narrator profile or submit demos on 2 sites listed below. However — and I cannot stress this point too much — you only have 1 chance to make a good first impression! In fact, this point is so important that I want to highlight this excellent advice from award-winning narrator Ann Richardson:
Make sure it is a positive one that reinforces your professionalism and expounds on the excellence you’re bringing to the table. If, however, it conveys you’re new, inexperienced, not prepared, it would behoove you to resist the urge. It has been my experience that people grow weary quickly of multiple bumbling attempts, insecurity, and demonstrated lack of proficiency. In addition, they’re not usually willing to let you learn and iron out the kinks on their project.
In all cases, you need to be sure your demos are competitive in both your performance and sound production. Also, follow the submission instructions EXACTLY.
- ACX.com Marketplace site with titles available for audition. Authors may request your audition.
- AuthorsRepublic.com Marketplace site with titles available for audition. Authors may request your audition.
- FindawayVoices.com Findaway may send you auditions.
Social Media
If you have a profile on ACX, you can join the Indie (ACX and Others) Audiobook Narrators and Producers Facebook group. Narrators of all experience levels are members of this active group, and it’s a great place to ask questions and learn from others. Before you make any posts, check out the extensive group FAQ, which I created and maintain.
NOTE: Numerous industry veterans with years of experience and/or 100s of books completed participate in that Facebook group. The professional narrators there are not simply offering opinions. We are trying to guide newcomers into using industry best practices instead of making unnecessary mistakes that hurt the industry. Half of Americans have not heard an audiobook. If their first experience is a bad one, they may never come back to the media. Authors who have bad narrator experiences may not continue making audiobooks of their titles. Therefore, I implore you to also read this article and its comments before challenging or dismissing the advice a veteran narrator shares with you.
Subscribe to my Twitter lists to keep up with industry news in tweets from audiobook narrators, producers, publishers, and reviewers.
Videos
APA Webcast: What I Wish I Knew...