Hiring an Audiobook Narrator Through Findaway Voices
/This is a bit of an addendum to the post I wrote about creating audiobooks using ACX vs. Findaway. You can find that here. And given that I’m not going to re-cover most of the same ground here that I did in that, I recommend giving that one a read. As I mentioned in that previous audiobook creation blog entry, I prefer Findaway as a distribution platform. Their reach is simply a lot wider, and while Amazon is a major player in the U.S., they’re not the only one, and even a small fish in some other countries’ markets. So with the release of Into the Fire on audio this week, I’m sharing my experience using Findaway Voices to hire a narrator. Fair warning, there are some technical hurdles to jump, which is why I’m here to forewarn you.
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Firstly, as discussed in the aforementioned blog entry, I used Draft 2 Digital’s hookup with Findaway Voices to sidestep Findaway’s usual $49 setup fee—woohoo!
This is also the part where you have to select how your narrator is going to be paid. Findaway recently began a program called Voices Share wherein you pay a portion of the narrator’s usual rate and they get a portion of the book’s royalties going forward—like I always say, read your contract carefully and don’t sign until you understand exactly what you’re signing! Anyhoodles, I chose the Voice Share option, which also means I’m locked in with them for one year. To be honest, I think that’s a much better deal than ACX’s seven year royalty share option. More on the contract later.
So after all the typical new project/information entry stuff that comes with any creation undertaking, it was time to start the audition process.
For my other two audiobooks so far, I had already met the narrators in person and chatted about the project. This time, I’d be hiring a stranger and therefore had no idea what to expect. This is where the Casting Questions form you fill out to tell potential narrators about your project comes in really handy. And by handy I mean for connecting you with the best people to bring your future audiobook to life. So take time with this form and fill it in as best you can. Once you’ve submitted that, you should get an email from Findaway letting you know they’ve received it should be sending you narrator recommendations sometime within the next week or so.
I’ll be honest, this is the part that was really exciting for me. Again, I didn’t know what to expect from the narrators Findaway chose. I also didn’t know how easy it would be to pick between them. Would they all sound the same to me? Would I hate them all? Well, never fear, because the process actually ended up being really fun.
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I had about somewhere between six and eight narrators to listen to. And even though at this step you listen to their chosen, preloaded audition pieces, the differences between them were clear as crystal. There was one who, no offense, I immediately disliked. Her voice just didn’t appeal to me, so that choice was easy. The rest, though, I had to give each one a couple of different listens. And I asked for second opinions too from some folks who know my books well. In the end, though, you know your book better than anyone, so think about the sorts of moods your book has. Mine have a mixture of humor, whimsy, darkness, and romance, not to mention a pretty big cast, so I needed someone who could handle all those things.
I should say here that if your first round of narrator options doesn’t work, Findaway has a button at the bottom of the audition screen to request more narrator choices. I don’t know if there are extra questions attached to that that button as to why the first round of choices don’t work (since I didn’t end up having to use it), but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are.
In the end, it came down to two people. For any narrator you think has potential, you can request auditions specifically for your book. This is a reading selection that you choose from your book for your potential narrators to read and record for your review.
And this is also where I hit my first technical sanfu.
Just something to be aware of if you’re planning on going down this road, the screen where you enter your audition script will grow as the length of your selection does, but the scroll bar for the page will not. That means, eventually, the very important Submit button underneath the script field will eventually disappear and can no longer be clicked on. Needless to say, this was extremely frustrating and may have made me want to throw my laptop out a window… among other things. Unfortunately, it’s is a website build issue and there’s really nothing you can do about it because it affects all browsers—trust me, I tried them all. You could just shorten your sample, but I didn’t like that option because I “am stubborn” (read: will not be beaten by technology!). I ended up combining some keyboard shortcuts—the tab and space keys primarily—with a few practice runs and managed to submit my information using just keyboard strokes. Hopefully, in the future, Findaway will fix this.
Moving on from barely-avoided laptopicide… audition script submitted! Time to wait another week or so. Look, I said it in the aforementioned blog entry: audiobooks take a really long time to create. That’s just life sometimes. So I was one excited bunny when my audition recordings came in. And, honestly, it was no contest after that. The other narrator did a really great job, but it was clear Shaina Summerville, the narrator I eventually hired, really understood the feel I was going for with the book. Even my second opinion peeps were like, “Oh yeah, without a doubt.” I don’t know if everyone’s experience is so clear, but I was more than pleased.
So now I got to press the button to hire Shaina. Does anyone get as pumped as I do for stuff like this? Because I was really excited by this point. Some of my excitement was dampened slightly because there was some kind of technical issue with the e-signing of the contract that followed—this is the step that locks you into the process, so again, read carefully and make sure you understand before signing. And, of course, this was yet another technical issue that affected me no matter what browser I used. Thankfully, Findaway’s customer service team is great. I never actually found out why the contract page was being so squiffy, but the people at Findaway helping me were great.
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And, while that was being fixed, I worked on filling out the Production Notes for Into the Fire. Production Notes are basically information for your narration on different character accents or voices, special word pronunciations, tone, pacing—they’re basically director’s notes so your narrator knows how you’d like them to perform. Again, the more clear you are in this form, the better. Don’t think your job is done there, though. Good, constant communication, as with so many things in life, is key. For instance, I completely forgot to put into my Production Notes how to pronounce Invarnis—the continent’s name in the Broken Gears series. Thankfully, Shaina was on it and, once pre-production began, she messaged me via Findaway^ to ask.
^Unfortunately, there’s really no way to contact your narrator before production begins if you have a question or extra notes for them. Once it does begin, though, Findaway’s notification system works pretty well.
This was also a good time for me to update the cover art for the audio version. And that is something you’ll have to consider since your audiobook cover file has to be a square, until retangular ebook files. Now, you could just stretch your ebook file, but that’ll make it look… well, stretched. I’ve seen some with either blurred or solid colored bars on either side to make it square, which I honestly think is a better option. Your cover designer might be willing to help you out too, so be sure to ask.
Okay, back on track. So the contract issue got fixed. Things did seem to lag a wee bit after that and I emailed Findaway to check on the status of things, which seemed to jumpstart things again. Yay! And then Shaina got started. The first file your narrator will upload is an Extended Sample. This is a much longer piece your narrator records for you before beginning on the rest of the audiobook’s recording, and it’s really important. In Findaway’s own words…
“This is your opportunity to shape the tone/style of your audiobook with an experienced professional vocal actor...
Before your narrator can continue recording the rest of your audiobook, we need your approval of this extended sample. You’ll be able to approve it right on the website, or give feedback and request up to two extended samples total for this production.
After you’ve approved this extended sample, only objective edits will be made to the performance (mispronunciation, missed word, mic pop, etc), so it’s important we get this step right!”
Have I mentioned that having an audiobook created puts a whole new set of jobs on your shoulders? Because now you’re a producer, casting executive, and director all in one. Audiobooks are work! Thats why I do these blog entries, so you can be advised before heading down these roads. Hopefully, this helps you know what to expect.
Don’t worry, we’re almost there! Sort of. So I listened to the Extended Sample, had a bit of a chat with Shaina about some other words/names I had forgotten to mention re: prononciation, and also began chatting with her about doing the narration for Across the Ice too^^. That’s how impressed I was with Shaina! Seriously, she does such a great job.
^^For Across the Ice and already knowing who I wanted to narrate, the process pretty much just skipped over the whole audition section. Again, I had to chase Findaway down a little bit when things began to take longer than they were supposed to, but one little email and we were sorted.
Fast forward a few weeks and Shaina had some chapters for me to start listening to. So exciting! I will admit, this part is a bit long and time-consuming. I listened through every chapter and marked where changes needed to be made with timestamps. And, yes, I do think this is a necessary step. There were more spots where I hadn’t specified how a word should be pronounced and a few little mistakes slipped their way in. It happens, and catching those little things contributes to your audiobook being even better^^^.
^^^Be careful about micromanaging your narrator. You don’t want to drive them to quit you. That’s why there’s such a heavy emphasis on the front end with finding the right narrator and Production Notes and checking the Extended Sample. And I’m not saying this because I think I’m great at it. I’m sure there were places I fell down in this area and others. I’m just trying to forewarn you, dear reader, of potential pitfalls. Again, communication, the earlier the better, is so helpful.
So I listened through all the chapters and messaged with timestamps and fixes, Shaina did her magic, and then the day came. Cue the trumpets because I was ready to approve the audiobook! Findaway will probably send you more than one email that your audiobook is ready for approval, but that’s an automated message; it doesn’t realize you’re probably still listening through. Finally, though, when that magical day comes, you can hit the approve button, sit back, and…
Pay the bill.
Lol, sorry, but this is the part where you gotta cough up the cash you promised. After you do that, though, your new audiobook baby goes out into the world! Now, each platform will take a different amount of time to publish your book. Some only take a few days (Rakuten/Kobo, for instance), while others (looking at you, Amazon) can take up to a month or more.
And that’s basically it. I say that like it wasn’t a ton of work from both you and your narrator 😂. As I said, I hope this helps you to be prepared should you decide to take this journey.
Thanks for reading!
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Dana Fraedrich / www.wordsbydana.com participates in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, Audible.com, and others. This page contains affiliate links.
