To investigate how audiobooks are made, we sat down with a professional audiobook narrator, suzy jackson, to break down her work. Download audiobooks narrated by imogen church to your device. Hannah, the loving and sweet housekeeper and stand in mom, sounds harsh, even a little dimwitted. A narrators voice is not merely a delivery system, an element extraneous to the text, but an integral one fulfilling. Take it from ilyana kadushin, an awardwinning audiobook narrator who got her big break when she became the audiobook narrator for the twilight saga by stephenie meyer. Scammers post books on acx hoping that unsuspecting narrators will create an audiobook that will not earn money but will hurt the narrators portfolio. A native of london, england, shiromi arserio is a stage actor, voice talent, and audiobook narrator. The big lesson i learned is to not take too many books in the same genre. The man is a gifted story teller and can manipulate his voice to any character. Dont let a bad reader ruin your audiobook experience. I recognized his voice as familiar, and after doing some research realized he has read a lot of books i listened too.
A professional can deliver your audiobook by using the right nuances, pauses and character voices. A narrators voice is not merely a delivery system, an element extraneous to the text, but an integral one fulfilling, enriching, injuring or. If their first experience is bad, they may never come back to the medium. The audiobook industry is booming and shows no signs of slowing down. In my experience, most audiobooks have one narrator who reads the entire book. Adams is a former managing editor of the london sunday times, ceo of united press international, founder and ceo of idefense a cyber intelligence company, board member at the national security agency and ncis, author of bestselling books on. In addition to earning a ba in broadcast journalism and ms in computer information systems, karen has completed extensive specialized training in voiceover and audiobook narration technique, as well as digital audio production. At the audible sale today i bought jane eyre narrated by thandie newton despite that i own several audiobook versions of this by impeccable narrators and have read it many times as well.
Consequently, many voiceover talent, screen and stage actors, and people in other fields are eager to become narrators. With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular american actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern us cinema. At times, theyll act out a large cast of every gender, race, and geographic origin imaginable, which is still referred to as solo narration. Ive narrowed my best audiobook narrators on audible down to three main narration qualities.
Now you can read and learn from highlights of their responses and the actual comments from survey participants on their successful paths to the majors. Or when were both reading books about sociopathic killers. I was not enjoying the book, and his narration was a reason. Scott brick might be one of the most prolific audiobook narrators out there. Below are my top five requirements for great audiobook narration. Audiobooks are a special part of the voice over industry that only a select few can master. If you dont find the perfect voice for your project then you dont need to pay. In the voiceoverxtra audiobook narrators business survey 2015, we asked participants whether they narrate for major publishers and if so, how did they obtain that status. Jul 22, 2015 10 of the best narrator and audiobook pairings of all time.
Read out loud, record your voice, and listen to the playback. Reese did do a decent pigeon coo and she does a decent evil persons voice. Has an audiobook publisher asked you to accept \ james adams is founder and ceo of beeaudio, an audiobook publisher offering fixedprice digital service and a voice talent pool of 40 narrators. She can do the brighteyed wonder of children, and the nononsense strait talk of any adult. Finding the best actor is a skill in and of itself, and with that actor, your audiobook can be a hit. Nothing is less intimidating than a noir tough guy voiced by a hammy female narrator, and nothing is less sexy than a literary seductress voiced by a dude in falsetto. Theres just something so magical about having words brought to. Why narrating an audiobook is a lot harder than you think. While gender bending can grate, racial drag can offend. Tips for choosing and working with an audiobook narrator. The rhs for the types of books listed in the bullet points below do not care whether the audiobook sells. But she doesnt suit earthsea at all in my opinion, its just the wrong voice for that world. Too often a narrator will opt for bad audio drag when she said would suffice. The story centers on the meteoric rise of a rock band in the 70s and its lead singers.
Voice actors of all experience levels have found this line of work to be incredibly rewarding. The frozen storybook collection is a musthave for any frozen fan. Become an audiobook narrator intro introduction to audiobook narration using audible acx duration. About half of the general population has never listened to an audiobook. It should be no surprise that the best audiobook narrators, narrate the best fantasy audiobooks. Voice acting is a true skill and these actors can turn a project into something.
Aug 05, 2019 even some book authors make terrible voice narrators. Highlights of their responses are below, followed by their actual comments. Our voices are experienced in audio books, esl and elearning projects. It also provided us an opportunity to start sharing with each other, from one column to the next, those narrators that do and dont work for us since we, as audiobook enthusiasts, know with great certainty that the narrator holds the power to. Join elsa, anna, olaf, and friends for adventure, mystery, and fairy tale fun in 27 exciting stories, including nine audiobook exclusive bonus stories. The audiobook format really requires topnotch voice talent to provide a great experience for the listener. It was the first audiobook i listened to before i read the physical copy. Even online course videos requiring a few hours of voice over are much shorter than most audiobooks, which run closer to 1015 hours. Keppelers top tip for anyone getting into voiceover work is to invest in a good microphone and headphones. Or when one of us thinks the other one has a better book. Tips for choosing and working with an audiobook narrator amazon has made it super easy for authors to hire narrators to turn their books into audiobooks, and the best part is, you dont need to have a pocket full of money to pay the narrator. If youre specifically interested in becoming an audiobook narrator, read on. Listening to an audiobook is easy as pressing play.
Hire the best audiobook narrators find top audiobook narrators on upwork the leading freelancing website for shortterm. She altered her voice in subtle ways to capture differences. I am currently listening to dragon teeth by michael crichton. Theres only one thing better than audiobooks and thats audiobooks with celebrity narrators. Still, it wasnt enough of an issue to keep me from enjoying the.
But the best audiobook narrators take it to the next level. Only after they convince us that audiobook narrators should always marry audiobook narrators, does one of themwe cant remember whosay, its great except when we both need to use the recording studio at the same time. As an audiobook narrator you have to make a connection with your listeners and engage them in a way that is vastly different from other categories of voice over work. Listen to professionallyproduced audiobooks and take notes on how narrators create excellentlydone. Voice over actors or artists are used in radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, video games, ebook and audio narration and other presentations. The audiobook is read by actor reed diamond, a regular on the tv series inspired by simons book. Book narrators who make or break your audible experience the. Relive all the magic of their epic adventure with this deluxe. Hone your skills on smaller jobs and work your way up to the lengthier projects. How to become an audiobook narrator and work at home. There is a level of preference to narrators, but overall i think the bar has been raised in the last decade for better narration. In general a british voice is a good bet, but there. Jan 17, 2018 to investigate how audiobooks are made, we sat down with a professional audiobook narrator, suzy jackson, to break down her work. Jan 10, 2011 james adams is founder and ceo of beeaudio, an audiobook publisher offering fixedprice digital service and a voice talent pool of 40 narrators.
Upwork is the leading online workplace, home to thousands of toprated audiobook narrators. The harmonious bond between authors and audiobook narrators. Adams is a former managing editor of the london sunday times, ceo of united press international, founder and ceo of idefense a cyber intelligence company, board. However, its also common to have two narrators, particularly if there are two main point of view pov characters. Sep 18, 2015 theres only one thing better than audiobooks and thats audiobooks with celebrity narrators.
Karen commins is a professional audiobook narrator who has given voice to over 50 audiobooks. Theres something about a wellacted audiobook that makes the writing jump off the page and onto the screen in your minds eye. I just chose the narrator for the audiobook version of my book chief marketing officers at work the audiobook will be published through. How i chose a narrator for my audiobook josh steimle. The narrator can make or break a book and i think that many people who. Luckily neil gaimans narration of his own book norse mythology got me. Voiceoverxtra audiobook pay narrator revenue sharing \a. Bahni turpin has a bright soulful voice that simply brings to life any character she reads.
Jan 17, 2020 search online for voice over jobs youll find promotional videos under five minutes or corporate training videos of 515 minutes. Acx audiobook narrators training for recording at home. There are only so many ways you can voice certain romance scenes, so i need a nonfiction or a scifi or my new favorite genre, litrpg to mix things up. Voice acting books getting the very best narrators. David walliams, peter serafinowicz, nitin ganatra, sarah. I negotiated with my publisher for the full rights to the audiobook, so i get the full proceeds of each sale after audible takes its cut, which equates to 40% of each sale. I already have recommended the acx master class to some voice actor friends who are interested in exploring audiobook narration. Drew is beyond awful, from the tone of voice, the inflection and even too not maintaining a masculine voice. Five essential elements for great audiobook narration. I mean voice actors who are so amazing at their jobs that while listening to the audiobooks they are performing i lose all awareness that i am listening to a human reading a story and i just feel completely immersed, like i am right there in the book. Our first speaking of audiobooks column carried the subtitle, its all about the narrator and was a general discussion of romance audiobooks. Some of the biggest british voices in audiobooks belong to faces you might not.
A good narrator can make the experience really wonderful. Voiceoverxtra audiobook pay narrator revenue sharing. Poor cover design can indicate that the author doesnt expend money for her business, which could mean she wont pay your pfh rate or do much marketing of an rs title. For this post, we will primarily be examining ebook and audio book narration. She holds a ba in theater from rose bruford college of theatre and performance. But dan and david showed me this doesnt have to be my story. Below is an audiobook narrators list of some of my favourite narrators, and by general consensus, some of the top audiobook narrators and the most famous audiobook narrators. Church says narrators have to learn how to build tension in a scene, the subtle art of capturing the emotion in your voice, or to build its power gradually before suddenly dropping with complete. Top 5 voiceover mistakes audiobook narrators make serve no.
Greatest voiceoversnarratorsstorytellers of all time imdb. Some of my recent clients include amazon, microsoft, walmart, tivo, intuit quickbooks, national geographic. And to make the audiobook recording process even more apparent. The conference includes performances from the most seasoned narrators, offering a great opportunity to experience live the excellence of the craft of audiobook voice acting. Aug 10, 2018 become an audiobook narrator intro introduction to audiobook narration using audible acx duration.
Jun 20, 2018 as an audiobook narrator you have to make a connection with your listeners and engage them in a way that is vastly different from other categories of voice over work. Narrators who are more likely to take away from the audiobook. You may be looking to hire an actor skilled at narrating and voice acting books if you are thinking of producing an audiobook. In addition to narrating dozens of audiobooks, her voice can be heard in documentaries, elearning projects, and video games. In a nutshell, aspiring audiobook narrators need to have the following skills. Lawrence xvii put a ton of effort into making the class valuable and personal. If an author must strain to hear your sample, its a poor reflection on your. I happen to know that a couple of the narrators that drive me crazy are favorites of at least one of the regular posters over on the freebargain romance thread. Book narrators who make or break your audible experience. Youll want to read this article that is devoted to that topic. And i have to admit that for some audiobook narrators this is all too true. Sep 27, 2014 youll want to read this article that is devoted to that topic.
Voiceoverxtra getting narration work from major audiobook. Audition a voice for free right now with our automated system. Spending nine hours or more in the company of a terrible reader a shrieker, mumbler, droner, tooth whistler or overzealous thespian is an experience that can truly ruin a book. Freelancers, she says, tend to be better for general voiceover gigs, but not audiobook narration. I have to agree with your choice of to kill a mockingbird read by sissy spacek. Often a male voice artist will read the male character, and a female artist the female character. Audible provides the highest quality audio and narration. When i manually read dresden i now hear marsters voice in my mind.
It may not sound like much, but its hard for many narrators to do children and adult books with equal qualitybahni manages it. Shiromi arserio is a stage actor, voice talent, and audiobook narrator. Talent are able to fully produce and edit your file so its ready to use and sell. This option might look attractive for selfpublished authors, but narrators who work under this revenue model are typically not the cream of the crop. Sep, 2017 voice over actors or artists are used in radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, video games, ebook and audio narration and other presentations. We only list the most experienced and dedicated audiobook voice talent on our site.
As you probably know, audiobooks have become mainstream entertainment. Theres just something so magical about having words brought to life by the familiar but. If, however, the book has a neutral, third person narrator and several. Not every book adapts well into the audio format, but when you have voice actors like these audiobooks do, well, the odds are much more in our favor. Kenney is a favorite narrator of mine and its listen to anything he does. Audiobook buyers do judge a book by its cover, and so should you. Morgan was born on june 1, 1937 in memphis, tennessee, to mayme edna revere, a teacher, and morgan porterfield freeman, a barber. I noticed with the men, that sam logan in face the fire book 3, sounds a lot like zachs voice in book one, and then zachs voice in face the fire is a little different from the 1st and i was a little disappointed with that. Its simple to post your job and get personalized bids, or browse upwork for amazing talent ready to work on your audioediting project today.
Jan 04, 2019 this option might look attractive for selfpublished authors, but narrators who work under this revenue model are typically not the cream of the crop. As audiobooks increase in popularity, keppeler is seeing more audiobook work appear on upwork. But if the quality of the narration is poor, its unlikely to change with a. Written by taylor jenkins reid, audiobook narrated by jennifer beals, benjamin bratt, judy greer, pablo schreiber. The voice realm was the 4th or 5th site we viewed online. Avoid these killer voiceover mistakes and start getting hired as a narrator for books. Becoming an audiobook narrator with ilyana kadushin.
Jun 12, 2017 it might look impressive to get a whole cast of actors in to narrate a book, and give each character a unique voice, but i would much rather listen to one narrator who puts on multiple voices and remains consistent with them, than five narrators trying to voice five different characters and giving me an inconsistent tone, sound, and pronunciation. Earphones awards search our favorite listens with these award winners. Even some book authors make terrible voice narrators. The book, the island by victoria hislop, was chosen by my book club. Aug 11, 2016 i just chose the narrator for the audiobook version of my book chief marketing officers at work the audiobook will be published through. A handful of narrators i know dont vary their voices at all known as solo narration, but, by and large, successful audiobook voice actors are differentiating each character with their voices. The problem with multiple narrators in audiobooks thoughts. Linmanuel miranda narrates aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe. Find out why hundreds of audiobooks have been recorded through our online service. Download audiobooks narrated by andrew eiden to your device. If youre not a trained actor, begin with some basic acting courses at your local college, or join your local community theatre.