How to Narrate an Audiobook

Browse genres/topics and audition for titles that you are interested in. This process can take a while. When you find something that you are interested in narrating, you must submit an audition to the author.

• The author will provide a short sampling of the book. The sample can be a few lines to a few pages. This is just like auditioning as an actor for a television show or film. If there are multiple characters or emotions involved in the sample, it is important that you adequately express them.

Submit another recording after your audition is approved. Once your audition is approved by the author, ACX and the author will require you to submit another recording. The material for the recording will be the first fifteen minutes of the book.

• This gives the author the chance to decide whether the fit is right for the book. In other words, the author may give you some tips about the characters or ask you to keep certain ideas in mind when recording the rest of the chapters. It is important that you take the author's notes into consideration with each recording.

Receive the full version of the book. Once the author has reviewed and approved the first fifteen minutes of your narration, they will provide you with the full version of the book. They will also give you a date in which the full recording of the audiobook is due. They typically allow two or three months in between the start date and the due date. This is because there will be reviews and re-recordings. Throughout the process, chapters will be submitted individually at first and then collectively.

• It is important to read the book ahead and make notes prior to recording each chapter. This is important because there should be a variation of voices for the different characters. If there is a line in the book that says, "'We ran out of gas!' she exclaimed," you will want to use a voice that implies exclamation. When you read through and notate the chapters prior to recording, you become more prepared for changes in character and mood.

Narrate chapter by chapter. When you begin to narrate the book, you will narrate chapter by chapter. In other words, after you read and record each chapter, you will edit and upload each chapter individually. Editing should be done using professional editing software. This will allow the author to listen to each chapter individually and approve the chapters. The better the quality, the better the experience. When editing, be sure to have continuity between takes. Coughing and other noises should not be heard. This is the purpose of editing.

• Expensive is not a synonym for professional. There are many ways to edit these recordings without dropping a lot of money on software (unless you find an editing software that you really enjoy working with).
• It is important that you listen to your own work. It is better to catch mistakes yourself than to have the author catch them.
• Try closing your eyes while listening to edits. It helps with focusing on the sound of the audio clip rather than visuals on the computer screen.

Receive feedback from the author. Once a chapter is uploaded, the author will listen to the recording and provide or suggest any tips or changes to the recording. If the author suggests changes to the recording, it is best that you go back and make those changes to that recording before recording and editing the next chapter. If they make suggestions to the portrayal of a character, the same tips and changes may be crucial to the following chapters.

• They may even ask for you to add sound effects that are central to the storyline. It is important to take into account any changes that they suggest because they are the judge of the final product.

Submit the full work to the author again. Once you have finished recording each chapter of the book, you will submit the full work to the author again. The website will allow the author to listen to each chapter with continuity.

• This is an important process because the author is the first listener of your full recording. It is important that you allow the author time to review this material. Their review will be hypercritical because they want their book presented properly. The author will still have suggestions or requests after you have submitted the first draft of the full work.

Receive additional feedback from the author. Once again, the author will provide you with tips and changes to the recordings or edit. In rare cases, they will only have a few suggestions or requests for change. It is important to follow their notes, suggestions, or requests for each recording. This process may take several days. The author will most likely listen to the recordings multiple times to ensure that the recordings are to their liking or to ensure that they are held to a certain quality. Their opinion is the most important to the success of your audiobook.

Wait for an internal representative to review your work. If the author approves your work, it will be sent to Audible for an internal representative to review. The internal representative for ACX will listen to the audiobook to ensure that it meets Audible's standards. The standards include: being consistent in sound and quality, including credits in the beginning and end of the audiobook, a sample of 1-5 minutes for retail use, etc. The full list can be viewed at ACX.com.