I just chose the narrator for the audiobook version of my book Chief Marketing Officers at Work. The audiobook will be published through Audible.com. 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.
How Choosing a Narrator Works
I could have narrated the book myself, but this is why I didn’t:
- It would likely take 40-60 hours of my time.
- My time and attention is needed elsewhere, like marketing the book.
- I don’t know much about recording or narrating, so the quality probably wouldn’t be great.
Instead, I went to ACX, which is the division of Amazon that handles the entire process of putting a book on Audible, including rights management, choosing a narrator, paying the narrator, and receiving payments for audiobook sales.
I could find my own narrator and get the audio file and upload it, but I chose to use ACX for everything. I crafted a pitch for a narrator explaining a bit about my book and uploaded the first chapter so they could read it as their audition. I chose what rate I was willing to pay, measured per finished hour (PFH), and then waited to receive auditions. I received 30 auditions within two weeks. I then began the process of reviewing the auditions until I found the one I wanted, and then sent that narrator a specific offer, which he accepted (I ended up paying $150 per finished hour, with the total cost coming in at $2,419.35).
Why I Rejected 29 Narrator Auditions
Narrowing down the field of potential narrators was a bit like an eye exam, where I listened to the first audition and then the second and asked myself “Which of these is better?” If there was a clear difference I eliminated one and then tested the winner against the next one. As I went through each audition here are the things I noticed which resulted in me bumping certain auditions while keeping others for further consideration.
- Voice. Some sounded too young, some too old, some were too dramatic, some made pronunciation errors, some slurred their words while others enunciated too much, some sounded upbeat and others sounded like they were frowning or having a bad day, some were energetic and others lethargic. One person made awkward breathing noises that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe. In some cases I could tell within five seconds there was no way I was choosing a certain narrator.
- Technology. Some of the voices were fine, even great, but the technology they used put them at a disadvantage. Sometimes the reader sounded like he was in a bare metal room because there was so much echo. Some just didn’t sound as sharp, as though they were far from the mic, and in other cases certain sounds would pop too loudly and it was distracting. I felt bad for these folks, because my rejection had nothing to do with their talent, and everything to do with them not using the right equipment. But I don’t have time to tell 10 people they need to improve their technology and then wait for them re-audition, so they were eliminated.
- Speed. Several readers read too slowly. Interestingly, none read too fast. Maybe my opinion on this matter is the result of me always listening to audiobooks and podcasts at 2-3x speed.
- Content. I provided everyone with the first chapter of the book, which would take 20-25 minutes to read. I didn’t require them to read the entire sample, and I didn’t give any direction as to how much to include, so I received auditions of varying lengths. The longest was 33 minutes (I’m not sure exactly what went into that and didn’t listen to the whole recording to find out, but I can’t imagine it taking that long even if they read the entire sample) and one was less than a minute. Unfortunately for the 1-minute sample, she only recorded the bio before the interview (less than 5% of the sample, and I would have thought obviously not the meat of the sample), so I wasn’t able to listen to how she would have read the interview section, which was the most important part. It’s easy to eliminate someone based on a few seconds if the reader is really bad, but it’s hard to choose someone based on such a small sample even if she’s good, especially when she’s reading the brief intro content rather than the actual interview portion of the chapter. Do I really want to work with someone who isn’t sharp enough to get this?
- Timing. There is a flaw in the ACX system in that as near as I can tell, I couldn’t stop people from submitting auditions. After I had already narrowed the field down to the top five auditions I still received three more, but at that point I didn’t want to consider any more. I felt bad that people were still doing work to submit auditions, but I couldn’t see any way to prevent it.
There were other narrators who were “eliminated” because they never auditioned. They sent me questions through the ACX system but due to other commitments and a full schedule I only had time to respond to a few of them and some of those who didn’t receive answers never submitted their auditions. Those who went ahead, despite not receiving answers to their questions, at least made it into the running.
I did not reject anyone due to price or gender. The winner was actually the most expensive, and a female made it into my top three.
What Made the Winner Stand Out
There were five auditions that were very good, and I would have been happy to go with any one of them, but the one I chose did the best job of reading the interviews in a voice that made it sound like the real thing. If I had my way, the audiobook would contain the actual interviews I did with the CMOs that are featured in the book, but due to editing of the interviews there’s no way that would work. The winning narrator came close to making me feel as though I were there with Seth Farbman and the other CMOs, hearing their real responses. It felt natural, friendly, authentic.
And by the way, listening to these auditions made one thing clear–I’m so glad I chose not to do it myself. These narrators, most of them anyway, know what they’re doing far better than you do when it comes to narrating a book, and they work hard for their money.
What I Could Have Done Better
I definitely made mistakes during this book-writing process. If I were doing it over again, the main thing I would change would be to provide a shorter reading sample. I gave everyone a full chapter because I had it handy and was too busy to think about doing anything else. That meant narrators could choose to read part of the beginning of the chapter, part of the end of the chapter, part in the middle, or the whole thing–I didn’t make it clear how much reading I wanted from them. It didn’t provide for a truly scientific sampling of the narrators. On the other hand, by unintentionally making it ambiguous I think it benefited me in at least one way in that I was quickly able to eliminate the one narrator who only read one minute of the chapter, and the “wrong part” as far as I was concerned. That said, I think I was hurt more than helped because as I learned after the fact, ACX asks you to submit an audition part no longer than five minutes, and simply throwing up a chapter and not giving any instructions along with it because it was most convenient to me makes me look less professional, and might turn off the most experienced and best narrators. Fixing this would have taken very little of my time, and my only excuses are ignorance, rushing, and a penchant for not reading directions.
I also would have liked to have collaborated more with narrators, but I’m not sure where I would have found the time. It seemed to me to be a choice between spending time responding to questions and then waiting for answers, which might have delayed the project by 1-2 months, or simply listening to the 30 auditions I already had on hand and making a decision. I may have missed out on working with a great narrator as a result, but as it stands I found someone I was very happy with, at the right price, and it all worked out great in the end.
What Narrators Can Learn
I’m not a narrator so I’m not giving any advice of that sort. But I am an expert at being an ignorant, first-time author who is also running a business and is super busy and therefore is looking to take shortcuts wherever he can while still being conscious of the quality of the work he wants to get back. If that’s not the kind of author you ever want to work with then my recommendation would be to never submit an audition until you’ve first submitted a question and received an answer. If you do this, you’ll screen out authors like me. I’m not being sarcastic–I recognize the way I do things isn’t a match for everyone, and it’s better if we establish that early on and move along rather than wasting each others’ time.
On the other hand, if your competitive advantage is that you can provide a high quality product with a quick turnaround, then people like me are willing to pay a premium for it, even if you’re relatively inexperienced. If you’re looking to earn that premium rate and win as much business as possible, my primary suggestion is to focus on what you can control. It doesn’t do any good to complain about authors like me. Many authors are first-time authors, have never run an audition for narrators, and are going to make mistakes. Many authors are working with publishers who introduce their own challenges into the process. I made mistakes, my publisher wasn’t perfect, and there are things I will do differently the next time around. But there is a line of 10,000 first-time authors right behind me, and if you’re complaining about them rather than compensating for them and their shortcomings you’re making yourself grumpy while doing nothing to win more business. Think of it as an opportunity rather than a challenge. Start a blog, podcast, or vlog about your life as a narrator and provide tips for first time authors. Maybe enough of them will find you and get educated and then hire you that you’ll never have to struggle to find clients again, and you’ll also never need to work with an uneducated author again.
If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything that you experience in your life. — Jack Canfield, Author, Chicken Soup for the Soul
Are you an author who has recorded an audiobook? How did you choose your narrator? Are you an aspiring author with questions about the process of creating an audiobook? Please comment below.
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If I’m writing a series then it’s important for me to build a team with my narrator. I want to work through the duration with someone who knows I’m putting my creation in their hands. This is their craft as well- it means a lot that they care about the finished product as much as I do.
So then, you’d actually take the time to answer a narrators questions before they submit an audition, knowing that it is an important step in the collaborative process.
Absolutely. I’m putting my characters in their hand. The more I can give the better.
Exactly. And the narrators who didn’t submit an audition understood that the author wasn’t interested in helping them find the perfect voice for their project.
I can’t speak for every author but the ones I know would talk all day about their characters. Sometimes I think we may give more info than volunteered.
This is a great perspective! My book is a one-off non-fiction/business, which perhaps is easier to narrate, and I was lucky enough that five of the auditions nailed what I was looking for and I could choose from a pool where I felt comfortable with using any one of them. But I can easily see how the process would need to be much more collaborative and drawn-out in other situations, and how even my circumstances would have benefitted from more collaboration and input on my part. Sadly, due to timing and schedules it just wasn’t possible.
I’ve learned that a consistent narrator in non-fiction (and fiction) can be invaluable with building brand identity. If you have a quality narrator hold on to them and use them for all your books. The reader relates your wisdom with the voice. It establishes trust the moment they press play.
I am a non-fiction specialist and have recently been branching out into some longer form reads, such as yours sometimes through ACX and sometimes audio publisher managed titles. I don’t think that non-fiction is necessarily easier as both have their unique challenges. In fiction of course there is a lot to deal with depending on the complexity and the tasks can be quite clear. The challenge with non-fiction can be that the tasks and how to do it well may not be as clear. Since it can, depending on writing style, be a drier read finding a way to make it not so while not falling into over-dramatics can be a real balancing act. Also, finding the authors main line of thought and understanding what deserves emphasis in non-fiction can be tricky. Not everything can be important or unimportant or there are no distinctions. Determining which is and which is not as much requires some understanding and insight. Also, capturing the authors flow and tone can be a challenge.I have heard it said that the greatest compliment an non-fiction narrator can get is a review talking about how well the author read the material. That’s when you know you nailed it.
Great article! I always wondered how people choose one out of a pool.
“Unfortunately for one person, she only recorded a sample of the intro, so I wasn’t able to listen to how she would have read the interview section, which was the most important part.” It would have been helpful (and more likely to get you a better selection of auditions) to let potential candidates know up front to pay special attention to the interview segment.
Putting together even a 20-minute audition recording requires substantial time and care. Even the most proficient voice talent will require, at minimum, three times the length of a given sample. Yours might be just one of several audiobook projects for which the voice talent is submitting auditions that day.
An audition of around five minutes’ worth of a book ought to be sufficient for the rights holder to determine whether the narrator is a good fit. If there’s a passage that is an especially useful measuring stick, excerpt that and use it as your audition sample. More often, though, the audition material provided consists of an entire chapter or even the whole book. The potential narrator then must go through it and try to determine which part or parts the rights holder wants to hear. That’s more time spent, maybe a lot more.
That’s why some very good talent might have passed over your book. Time is money.
“There were other narrators who were “eliminated” because they never
auditioned. They sent me questions through the ACX system but I didn’t
have time to answer them so I never received their auditions.”
Had the author taken the time to answer those questions, she might have found a narrator she liked even better. But… she didn’t want to invest a moment of her precious time to discuss her work with someone who cares about delivering the best possible product. And she didn’t want to waste her time telling a potential narrator that her greatest concern was the “Interview” segments buried in a thirty minute script.
Yes… it is best that she ignores all communication with her potential narrators, so the doormat she chooses to narrate her project doesn’t turn out to be someone audacious enough to interrupt her with stupid questions while she’s watching films on fast forward.
I agree. As you say, had I taken more time I might have found an even better narrator. But we all have limited time and I did the best I could with the time I had available. My time isn’t any more precious than anyone else’s, and I didn’t consider the questions stupid, I simply didn’t have time to respond to them and keep other obligations I had during the same time period. Even if I were simply a jerk it doesn’t do a narrator any good to complain about it, because that’s not within a narrator’s control. If a narrator wants to win more business he needs to work around the shortcomings and ignorance of authors.
Regarding the interview segments being “buried” in a 30 minute audition script, the interview was 95% of the script and they weren’t segments. The first 5% of the script is a bio of the person being interviewed in the chapter, then it goes into the interview which is the other 95%. In this case, all the narrator read was the bio. She ignored the actual interview itself. It seems strange to me that someone would receive a sample that includes a brief bio and an interview and then create their audition from the bio and ignore the meat of the chapter which is 95% of the sample. That said, I could have made that clear and perhaps gotten better auditions. On the other hand, perhaps this was a good way to weed someone out who would require lots of explanation and coaching to get what everybody else could get right without needing to have it explained.
Yes, five minutes would have been easily sufficient in this case, but the particular audition I’m referring to was less than 1 minute. I agree, I should have specified that the interview was the important part (hindsight is 20/20) but narrators must constantly deal with first-time authors like me who are ignorant of how to give good instructions. In this case, had the narrator skimmed the content for 10 seconds she would have seen that the interview made up 95% of the sample I provided, and it seems she would have come to the conclusion she should include part of what makes up the vast majority of the sample in her audition.
The narrator could certainly blame me for not winning the audition, but that doesn’t help her win more auditions in the future. If she wants to win more business she needs to take responsibility for the mistakes authors make in setting up their audition process and work around them.
Yes time is money but you gotta put your mouth where the money is. A 30sec or 1min audition isn’t going to give the author/RH any idea what you can do with their book. Find parts in the audition that will make it stand out. How could anyone not know that the interviews weren’t an integral part of the audition? These people being interviewed are characters are they not?
I disagree. An attentive listener, who has a clear idea of what their book needs to sound like, should be able to tell within a minute or less if you’re the right voice for their story.
And diligence works both ways.
Yes, reading the bio and not the interviews is a rookie mistake, but so was submitting a 20-minute script and leaving it up to the talents to figure out what they should read. If the bio wasn’t important to the decision of whom to cast, why was it included in the audition script in the first place?
First off I would never record a 20min audition to begin with. I think I can read through a piece & pick out a 5min snippet to record & show what I have to offer. As you mentioned it should be the RHs job to post what they want to hear but if they’re not available for collaboration what are we left with. In the end it all depends on how bad one wants the gig.
And, at least as importantly, on how experienced one is.
You’re coming at this from the perspective of an experienced professional, and what you’re saying is all true and appropriate. BUT – While offering up one glaring mistake made by a rookie auditioner as a teachable moment, the OP takes zero ownership of his own role in that mistake, which was providing an absurdly long audition script to begin with. That is what I find objectionable.
Well, I did say “Many authors are first-time authors, have never run an audition for narrators, and are going to make mistakes. I certainly made mistakes, and there are things I will do differently the next time around.”
But you’re right, if I wanted to do a more scientific and reliable comparison I should have given the same three minute section to everyone and asked everyone to read the whole part. That may have been better, although as it is perhaps I benefited more by making it vague because I wouldn’t want to hire someone who can’t tell that the short bio at the beginning of a chapter is not the meat of what I want them to read, and if I had been specific I wouldn’t have learned what I learned about that narrator.
“perhaps I benefited more by making it vague because I wouldn’t want to
hire someone who can’t tell that the short bio at the beginning of a
chapter is not the meat of what I want them to read, and if I had been
specific I wouldn’t have learned what I learned about that narrator.”
This way of thinking is particularly galling. By ignoring the most basic ACX guidelines regarding script length, you were able to – serendipitously – identify *one* rookie narrator as not desirable, but in so doing you also squandered the time of every other narrator who had to dig through your 20-minute script to identify the nuggets of cogent material for their submission. Our time is *every* bit as valuable as yours, and your refusal to acknowledge that is breathtakingly self-involved, and disrespectful.
I agree on both counts. As an author there are things I can improve my instructions to potential narrators, and narrators can improve their pitches. I tried to present my experience not as a model for how to go through this process, but as insight into how the process went so others can learn from both the successes and the failures. If authors and narrators want better results hopefully they can each notice areas in which they can improve without having to repeat my mistakes.
29 of 30 auditioners obviously *did* have to do some digging.
This is not a question of having enough work to turn down business. It’s about managing one’s time effectively by, in part, learning to identify and avoid clients who are uncollaborative, solipsistic, time-wasters, and focusing on more potentially rewarding prospects.
All your “I should have phrased this or that differently” responses are merely hindsighted spin; you’re attempting to walk back statements that, in retrospect, reveal more about you than you now might wish. You’re an adult, Josh. You choose your words, nobody chooses them for you, and I believe you chose most authentically the first time.
It’s clear you’re not self-aware enough to ever own this, so this is me repurposing my time, and focusing on more productive pursuits.
Good bye.
Paul, it sounds like you decided a while ago to see anything I do or say in a negative light. I can understand why–most people when encountering comments such as yours get defensive and try to make themselves look better by spinning things. If I’m doing that it’s not my intent. I just want to create a blog post that is as helpful as possible to audiobook narrators and authors. You gave me critical feedback that helped me see where I had made mistakes and I used that feedback to (hopefully) improve the blog post. I disagree with some of your conclusions, but even where I disagree I still appreciate you saying it because it helps me see how others might view my words and actions. Thanks!
I got EXTREMELY lucky with my first audio book through ACX. I picked the very first guy who auditioned and he immediately made me laugh out loud with the first couple of sentences. I took about three more auditions and realized I wasn’t going to do any better than the first, so I went with him. He’s been fantastic and frequently gets better reviews than I do on my audio books.
There is something about this author that I really like.
I hope you continue to like him after you read his next book in a month or so!
I have to, Max is my alter ego
Re-reading this after your update, I’m struck by a couple of things –
After having been through this process precisely once, you are now presenting yourself as, it would appear, an “influencer” for others who might be considering having their books produced in audio, and, also, for narrators who might be scratching their heads over why their auditions didn’t make the cut. And, frankly, that is puzzling, because I’m willing to bet you real money that most of the narrators who submitted auditions for your book already had at least a few finished titles under their belts. That the main thrust of this post seems to be to offer them instruction on how to do better next time seems, at best, presumptuous. I teach at a local university, and some of the most powerful lessons I impart to my students arise from mistakes that I’ve made. Including some of yours in your original post would have been highly instructive as well. However, although you are a first-time rights-holder with ACX, and as such are certain to have made at least some rookie mistakes, the only time you admit to any is in your update, when you attempt to rebut critiques posted by narrators. (And even there you manage to point a finger at your publisher.) Does this not strike you as just a bit tone-deaf?
To your credit, you have made some keen observations that are genuinely helpful to narrators, in particular the need to use professional-grade technology and to record in a proper physical space, and you offer some presentational tips that many narrators, particularly inexperienced ones, would do well to take to heart. Sadly, you missed many opportunities to teach from your mistakes. You also reveal an innate lack of genuine curiosity about which factors weigh most heavily in a prospective narrator’s decision-making process in choosing titles for which to audition. For instance, you mislaid the burden of choosing content to include in the audition at the narrators’ feet. This is not the narrators’ job. ACX instructs rights-holders to limit their audition scripts to a total length of five minutes (around 770 words); no one knows your book, or the portions of it that will be most crucial in determining the right voice for it, than you. Offloading the responsibility of choosing that content onto the narrator makes no sense, and blaming auditioners for not choosing that content appropriately is patently unfair (not to mention lazy). Also, you cut the legs out of your own premise regarding speed when you state that your expectations regarding pace have been shaped by listening to audiobooks at 2-3x speed (a practice, by the way, that most narrators find abhorrent. We are professionals who work very hard to craft a performance that is natural, authentic, and artful. We know that consumers are busy, and the faster they listen the more content they can purchase, but the idea that all the work that goes into a performance, which in many cases includes years of study and practice, is being bastardized to that degree, is painfully discouraging.) If you know that this practice might be biasing your perception, then it’s up to you to account for it fairly.
Finally, the defense you offer in your update for not bothering to correspond with narrators who contacted you prior to submitting doesn’t hold much water. One of the things narrators can control is how much time we allocate to producing an audition, which, for one five-minute script, can take the better part of an hour. Contacting potential clients with inquiries *before* investing the time and focus required to craft a winning audition is a standard practice, and failure by a rights-holder to respond is perceived as a red flag. Those narrators who never received a reply are likely to believe that they have dodged a bullet. And, they are almost certainly correct. While you are not price-driven, which is definitely a good thing, you are clearly not collaborative enough to be considered a top prospect for any accomplished narrator’s time, talent, and expertise. So, OK, those narrators were eliminated, but, on the bright side, while waiting in vain to hear back from you, they were able to proceed with their work already in progress, preparing the next titles in their queue, and crafting their next audition. Win-win.
Regards,
Paul Heitsch
This is some great feedback! Thanks for writing this up Paul. I’m going to take some time next week and revise my blog post to address the points you brought up. My only intention is to give helpful information and you have some great suggestions here on how I can do that.
Probably a stupid question, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you have you use different accents and voice to portray each character?
This would apply more to a fiction book, like Harry Potter, and probably less to a nonfiction book, which is my area of expertise, but I’ll chime in anyway.
If you’re narrating nonfiction, no, I don’t think you need to use different voices. It might actually be kind of cheesy and distracting.
If it’s fiction, then yes, I think it adds a lot. If you listen to the audiobook of Harry Potter, it’s amazing the way the narrator switches voices, and it makes it an incredible experience. I don’t know how he did it.
Thank you Josh for taking the time to write this. It’s very helpful to budding narrators like myself, looking to get into the industry. Much appreciated! And it’s great it was a valuable learning experience for yourself too. Warm Regards, Barbara