Audiobook Narrator View: Process, Expectations, and Tips
/This week, Shaina Summerville, awesome human being and audiobook narrator extraordinaire, jumps in to give us a look at the narrator’s side of things when it comes to audiobook narration. Enjoy!
Getting your book into audio can be a terrifying experience for many authors! It’s not easy to let go of your book baby and entrust it into the hands of a narrator. You may have a lot of questions. And many authors have no idea what all goes in to the making of an audiobook. So today, I am here to help clear some of that up!
Shaina Summerville, audiobook narrator
Hi! I’m Shaina Summerville, and I am the narrator of two of Dana’s books: Into the Fire and Across the Ice. I currently have upwards of 30 books available on Audible. For the most part I focus in YA fiction, cozy mysteries, nonfiction, and sweet romances. My overall voice and narration is “Bubbly, Clever, Millennial—a caffeinated blend of positivity and pluck!” But enough about me—let’s talk about what a narrator does and how you can make the best of the narrator-author partnership!
So, Shaina, what goes into narration of a book?
Many, many hours of work! Depending on the genre and content of the book, it can often take 4 to 6 hours of work per every finished hour of audio. For dense non-fiction books, it might even take more.
That much time? What all is involved in the process?
Before I can start narrating, I must read through the book at least once. Sometimes more. I have to get a handle on the plot and story arc, learn who the characters are, and keep out for Key words. Key words can be descriptors of voice quality, descriptors of how a line was said, mentions of a character’s accent, and more. I also keep an eye out for any words for which I need to look up pronunciation--especially when it comes to non-fiction. I once had to figure out how to say entwicklungsmechanik in the middle of an otherwise perfectly normal sentence.
Once I’ve completed my first read of the book, I can delve more deeply into characterization. Here, I will take a look at my compiled notes and start to get a mental image of the characters. I may assign them adjectives or other descriptors to help give an easy mental image so I can flip back and forth between character voices as I record.
The next step is the “First 15” (called the pre-production sample on Findaway Voices). Once this is approved by the author, I can start narration. Later on, I’ll offer you some helpful hints on leveraging the First 15 to your (and your narrator’s) advantage.
The narration of the book will often take at least a 2:1 ratio of recording time to finished audio time. Again, as with other steps, this can depend on the genre and the density of the language. Sometimes the words flow right off your tongue. Sometimes they don’t. When I record, I use a process called “Punch and Roll.” This allows me to stop when I make a mistake, listen to a few seconds, and start recording again at the proper point. Punch and Roll is critical for a nice, smooth performance and efficiency. Without it, editing can take forever!
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Now it is time for post-production. This consists of proofing, editing, and mastering. Who does this? When narrating with a publisher, the post production is all performed by the publisher’s sound engineers. When it comes to indie authors and publishing, that can depend on your agreement with your narrator. Many narrators will outsource their audio to a professional sound engineer for these steps. This often costs between $70-$100 per finished hour of audio. Have you ever wondered why a narrator’s rates are as high as they are? This is why. The cost of their post-production is built into their rate. Some narrators will do their own post production. But it is important to note, no matter who does the post production, that this portion of the job can take many hours of work. If you are listening to 10 hours of audio, it is very likely to take a minimum of 20 hours for post—and that’s the minimum. And no matter what, it is important that someone other than the narrator proofs the work. It can be very easy to miss a few things during recording and self-proofing.
Then, the book is done! It is uploaded to your platform of choice, the author approves it, and the book moves on to retail! Ta da!
You mentioned leveraging the First 15 to my advantage. How do I do that?
Here’s a little secret. The First 15 is a critical point for your audiobook. Once the First 15 has been approved, the book is in the narrator’s hands. They have creative control from there on in. Each narrator might have a slightly different process with how they work, but this fact is agreed upon amongst most audiobook professionals.
That said, the First 15 is really the point that you can make sure you are hearing what you want to hear. While the name is “The First 15” this First 15 does not have to be the first 15 minutes of the book! You can request another section (or sections) to be used for this. Are you concerned about certain character voices and want more input there? Pick sections containing those characters to get approval on the voice. Do you feel like the pacing or tone is not what you want in the sample? This is when you can address it with your narrator and make sure you are on the same page. If you don’t mention these facts after the initial sample, the narrator will proceed with the assumption you were happy with what you heard. The narrator may make some small tweaks to performance at the end of the book, but this will depend on the narrator and the number of requests. All narrators will fix mistakes they may have missed for no cost (i.e. mispronunciations). Many narrators will request additional compensation for performance alterations that were not addressed in the First 15.
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How can I best communicate with the narrator along the way to make the process go more smoothly?
First things first, I encourage you to take a deep breath and try to release any preconceived ideas of what your narration may sound like. You may have always pictured a narrator performing a scene a certain way, but the narrator is not a mind reader. Just remember, as with any art or performance, there can be many roads to the same destination. Sometimes the differences from what you expected can be beautiful moments you never would have thought of. But offering line readings or policing the tone on every sentence can be seen as a sign of a micromanagement. Ultimately, those actions will stifle the creativity of the narrator, not allow them to organically discover the world or the characters, and at times can be entirely unrealistic. (I once witnessed an author expect their narrator to sound exactly like people they met briefly in another country 10 years ago). However, as I said in the beginning, your book is your baby! You want it to sound its best! So, how can you get the product you want from your narrator?
1) Hold auditions! Don’t just cast from samples. You need to know that the narrator can handle your text and that they sound how you want them to sound. You could hire one of the most prolific, well known narrators out there and they may not be the right fit for your book for one reason or another. It is easier to hold that audition and pick correctly from the get go. It also saves you (and your narrator) from the mental pain that can come from the dissolving of a contract. I can say first hand that there is almost nothing more discouraging than being told, after being given a contract, that you are actually not the right fit. Make sure you find someone who can really tell your story. Just having a nice voice is not enough.
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2) Cast the Characters. Do you have an idea of what you want the characters in your book to sound like? Cast them for us! Think about famous people we all know (or can easily look up online) and tell us: “I picture [insert character] as sounding like Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception” or whatever it might be. You can also provide us with any descriptors for their voice, physical appearance, or personality that you would like. We can’t be inside your head—but providing this information can get us closer. Just remember that when you cast a character for us, the narrator will give you an essence of that person, not a mimicry. No matter how hard I try, I will not be able to sound exactly like James Earl Jones. But I can give the essence! For another fun tidbit, for one character-voice-tweak, an author once told me that a particular character needed to sound like they were speaking Parseltongue—voice achieved!
3) Make sure your book is fully edited and that you send the proper manuscript. I’ve narrated several books with grammar and spelling mistakes. This can make it very difficult to narrate smoothly. It can also add a lot of extra time if the narrator is expected to fix those mistakes, and frankly, that is not our job. (But of course, if one or two little errors make their way through, we will fix it or bring it up to the author).
How can I get in touch with audiobook narrators to find one who is a good fit for my book?
There are so many amazing narrators out there and you are not limited to any one option. You can read about Dana’s experience working through ACX here and Findaway here. Dana found me on Findaway Voices where I was offered an audition for her book. I am on the rosters for Findaway Voices, The Audio Flow, Spoken Realms, ACX, Pink Flamingo Productions, and Deyan Audio. However, there are so many production studios and small publishers that you can find and utilize for these purposes.
How did you get into audiobook narration?
It was a very roundabout fashion, to be honest. I double majored in Theatre and Communication Arts at Cardinal Stritch University. I moved back home to the Chicagoland area to become an actress. I’ve worked at many Chicago area regional theatres, primarily doing musical theatre and children’s theatre.
I’ve been blessed to work in many amazing productions and play a few of my dream roles. However, by itself, theatre does not necessarily pay the bills, so I started looking into other creative outlets for my talent to add to the mix. I stumbled upon a voiceover workshop and that coach discovered I was strong at long form narration and suggested audiobooks may be a good fit. Before that, despite being an avid bookworm and love of audiobooks, I’d never realized that was a career I could have.
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I briefly looked into ACX but did not understand the production specs and technological requirements so audiobooks got put aside but I started experimenting with voiceover. One day, I saw an advertisement for a three-day workshop on audiobook narration in the city not far from me. I signed up and learned enough to get started. My first books were not great. I lived in Wrigleyville, a block away from Wrigley Field during the World Series Cubs win. Sound quality was difficult to account for and I had a roommate at the time who liked to work from home and have people over fairly often. It was not conducive to spending hours in the booth.
When my now fiancé and I moved in together, I really took the plunge. My dad and I built me a booth (that is painted to look like the Tardis). I started getting coaching from some excellent audiobook coaches (Sean Allen Pratt, Jayme Mattler, Andi Arndt, Shannon Elizabeth Parks, and Carol Monda to name a few) and I started to upgrade my equipment. I also began attending narration events such as APAC—a yearly event held in NYC each May.
Can I book you for work?
Of course! Feel free to check out my narration samples at www.shainasummervillenarration.com. If you like what you hear, you can contact me via my contact form. I am happy to answer any questions you have and help you navigate the wonderful world of getting your books into audio. And if I’m not the narrator for you, I am still happy to answer questions and direct you to someone who may be a better fit, or at least a place to find them! If you want to stay up to date with my work and projects, you can also sign up for my once a month email newsletter.
That’s all folks! Please, feel free to contact me at any time. And be sure to check out Into the Fire and Across the Ice (which should be coming very soon).
Thank you so much, Shaina, for sharing your insights. And since she mentioned Across the Ice, you can hear her amazing work on that audiobook right now! Squeeeee!!! I submitted it into Findaway’s final approval cogs last week, and it’s already available in several places including Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play (sorry, Amazon/Audible takes forever). You can use this link to go download it now.
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.
