About This Site
Greetings! I’m Karen Commins. You may know me from my work as an audiobook narrator, producer, publisher, blogger, and leading curator of information about the audiobook industry.
I’ve written many articles on my blog to help narrators, am a frequent contributor to several Facebook groups, and offer private consultations. As the Audiobook Share-rator™️, I wanted to expand my level of assistance to the narrator community by creating this site devoted to the needs of audiobook narrators at all levels.
Busy narrators have told me that they are relieved to have the comprehensive set of resources about becoming a narrator on the home page. Rather than spending their time to craft a helpful answer, they love the speed and ease of referring newcomers to this site.
You’ll find another long list of helpful links in the section below!
I’m a firm believer in not re-inventing the wheel, yet so many of us were doing that very thing when it came to searching for training and networking events, finding reviewers for our latest release, and even learning software features.
NarratorsRoadmap.com is a site for all of us!
The following features will interest experienced narrators:
- Events Calendar of 8 types of color-coded events, including audiobook training classes, author and audiobook conferences, and book festivals
- Knowledge Base with answers to frequent questions that occur during prep, narration and post
- Reviewers Directory that is searchable by genre
- Video Courses on iAnnotate and other topics (coming soon)
As you can see in the chart below, some avenues are free to everyone, while access to others requires a paid Members Express Pass. We have 3 payment options: $10 a month, $50 for 6 months, or $100 per year. Click here if you want to register.
Just for fun, I’ve hidden an Easter Egg on the site. A web site Easter Egg can be described as an object that has something significant to it, may be hiding in plain site, and usually is unexpectedly clickable. Only 1 person found it during the Grand Opening contest. If you find it, send me an email to claim a free 1-month subscription!
| Non-Member | Member Express Pass | |
| Knowledge Base | ✔ | ✔ |
| Videos (part of K.B) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Welcome Center | ✔ | ✔ |
| Events Calendar | ✔ | |
| Reviewers Directory | ✔ | |
| Video Courses | ✔ |
Welcome Center
What would a Welcome Center be without an array of exciting offers from vendors who are eager to expand your view of the world?
I trust the sites listed below because one or more of these conditions is true:
- I know the owner.
- I have used the service or product.
- I have reviewed unsolicited testimonials from other narrators.
I would not refer you to a service or produced created by someone who has narrated a few books and now considers themselves an expert! I also am not receiving compensation from any of these businesses with the exception of any affiliate links as noted in the Terms of Service.
If you contact one of the people below, please let them know you found them listed on NarratorsRoadmap.com!
Accents and Dialects
- AccentHelp.com — A number of specialized dialect kits containing recordings and written materials are available for purchase.
- The British Library’s free database of British Accents and Dialects has recordings representing different accents and dialects in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- DialectsArchive.com — The International Dialects of English Archive is a free site containing 1400 sample recordings of native speakers from around the world speaking in English, often as a 2nd language.
- DrDialect.com — Narrator and coach PJ Ochlan provides paid personal coaching in accents and dialects.
Author Resources
My Audiobook Resources for Authors is a categorized list of helpful articles from a variety of sites to help educate authors about all phases of the audiobook production process.
Book Covers
- If you publish your own audiobook, you’re responsible for supplying the book cover. I have been very pleased with Emma Lysy Design.
Books
Books specifically about becoming a narrator and improving your performance are shown on the Home page.
- If you’re interested in becoming a publisher, you’ll find good information in The Guide to Publishing Audiobooks: How to Produce and Sell and Audiobook by Grammy-winning audiobook director Jessica Kaye.
- Several reference books are useful on a regular basis in non-fiction narration:
Coaching
A vetted list of audiobook coaches and consultants for both audiobook performance and business issues can be found in this spreadsheet.
Downloadable Training
- I hosted a webinar with intellectual property attorney and Grammy-winning audiobook director Jessica Kaye about licensing audio rights. You can purchase the 1.5-hour recording with transcript and sample agreement on my Shop page.
- Audio engineer Don Baarns has developed several video courses on Studio One and iZotope RX.
- Narrator James Foster lists videos for his Fostering Characters workshop and narrator web sites.
- Narrator and coach Pat Fraley sells in his on-line shop a wide variety of books, as well as home study courses available with and without critique, including the 5-course Audiobook Major set.
- Narrator Jeffrey Kafer shares his strategies for picking more winners among royalty share titles and creating an attention-getting portfolio.
- VoiceOverXtra has numerous recordings of webinars, including the Complete Audiobook Narrator Series featuring coaches Paul Alan Ruben and Sean Pratt, and engineer George Whittam.
Editors and Proofers
Need an editor or proofer for your project? Contact one of the people on this spreadsheet.
Marketing
- My Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet — This free page offers a treasure trove of tips and tactics to market your audiobook. The RH should be doing the heavy lifting for audiobook marketing. Marketing yourself as a narrator, which is a better use of your time, requires different strategies. The best marketing book to help you increase your general client list is Get Clients Now! by CJ Hayden.
- AudiobookBoom.com — Created by narrator Jeffrey Kafer, this site allows you to post paid ads in a weekly newsletter of titles for which you can offer reviewers a download code.
- Many people have asked how to create an audiogram, which is the short video where the WAV file is visible over the book cover similar to this example. I mentioned 2 sites on my Cheat Sheet above but am including them here for ease of reference: Headliner, a free site, and Wavve.co, a paid one.
Podcasts
- Audible Original Audicted hosted by Audible’s editors
- Audiobook Narration for Beginners hosted by narrator J. Rodney Turner
- Audiobook Speakeasy hosted by narrator Rich Miller
- Behind the Mic hosted by AudioFile Magazine
- Harper Audio Presents hosted by Harper Audio
- Serial Audio presents serialized versions of sci-fi, urban fantasy, and horror audiobooks, narrated by Travis Baldree, James Anderson Foster, and Joe Hempel, respectively
- Story Bites hosted by narrator/author Tanya Eby and author Sarina Bowen
- Voices In My Head (video show) hosted by narrator Basil Sands
You’ll find more shows in my Twitter list of Audiobook Podcasts. Skip down to the Twitter List section below for more info about my lists.
Pronunciation
- AudioEloquence.com — Created and maintained by narrators Judith West and Heather Anne Henderson, this free site contains the motherlode of vetted pronunciation sites to aid in research, many with sound clips.
- Pronounceology.com — Developed by narrator Adam Verner, this paid site automates your pronunciation research. A free referral list of vetted researchers is also available on the site.
- Narrator Ann Richardson discussed numerous methods for pronunciation research in this article.
Software Configuration and Training
- Don Baarns provides personal coaching on StudioOne and more.
- Jim Edgar offers a free audio review, as well as classes and coaching on recording software.
- Dan Lenard can help create or troubleshoot your studio and assist you with your demo.
- George Whittam has a variety of studio services and tutorial videos.
- Roy Yokelson offers studio treatment and coaching in software among many other services.
Time-saving Services
- AudiobookScout.com — Created by narrator/author Craig Tollifson, this paid site notifies you about ACX listings that fit your criteria and includes links to the ancillary research needed to evaluate them.
- Narratic.com — Another offering from CraigTollifson, this paid site tracks and emails you about your ratings and reviews for your audiobooks on Audible.
- Pozotron.com — Co-founder Jake Poznanski loves audiobooks and has developed a paid tool that narrators can use to aid in their proofing. The tool is also useful for finding every occurrence of a word in a recording.
Twitter Lists
I maintain what are arguably the largest Twitter lists of audiobook publishers, narrators, bloggers, and podcasters. This article explains how to subscribe to and use them.
Utilities
- Audible Sample Finder — Enter your audiobook’s Audible page on narrator Steven Jay Cohen’s site, and his code will extract your sample for you at no charge.
- 2nd Opinion — Steven Jay Cohen created another nifty utility that’s free to download and use. This one checks the technical aspects of your recorded files.
Web Sites
- I highly recommend the talented team at Voice Actor Websites. They created this site and KarenCommins.com and exceeded my vision for functionality and form in both cases.
- Andrea Emmes Designs specializes in creating web sites, graphics, business cards and other branding materials for audiobook narrators.
- James Foster offers a user interface heuristic evaluation of your audiobook narrator website.