How to Become an Audiobook Narrator: A Comprehensive Guide
Imagine walking down the street on a bright sunny day, earphones on, listening to your favorite podcast or audiobook on your way to or from work or elsewhere. That's the picture Thomas Alva Edison, had envisioned in 1877 when he successfully invented the phonograph the first-ever device capable of recording and reproducing sound.
Ok, perhaps that is not true, but nearly a century and a half later, the impact of audio narration, or audiobooks has become a part of the vogue culture.
Audiobooks, along with podcasts and radio shows, have played a significant part in the emergence of audio as a medium of consuming content.
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The Emergence of Audiobooks
Audiobooks came into existence in the 1930s, when they were recorded on vinyl records and played on gramophones. However, the emergence of the internet technologies have eased production and led to the proliferation of audiobooks today. As a result, the audiobook industry is projected to reach nearly $8 billion in annual revenue by 2024, with over 1.8 billion users worldwide already consuming audiobooks.
One key advantage of audiobooks is the flexibility of not holding a book or straining your eyes while reading, making them more desirable than text-based content like e-books, or paperbacks. A survey by Grandview Research states that 70% of audiobook listeners multitask, and 55% consume audiobooks at home and while out.
Despite these numbers and facts, when it comes to audiobooks, a vital part of any audiobook is the narrator, essential in bringing the story to life. So, let's look at what they do and how they shape the way we enjoy stories.
Who is an Audiobook Narrator and What Do They Do?
An audiobook narrator is a person who reads the text of a book for an audience to listen to in the form of voice overs for written books.
Akin to a narrator reading out a play or a story, an audiobook narrator recounts the events unfolding in a book or story. While the role of a narrator might make it sound monotonous, an audiobook reader does anything but.
Types of Audiobook Narrations
Audiobook narrators do different types of reading based on the number of characters present within the story and the context that each character brings to the story. In this case, narration could either be solo or with a cast of voice actors who lend their voices to distinct characters.
Fully-voiced: Such narrations use distinct voices for each character (if multiple exist) in a story. For such audiobooks, one narrator could do multiple voices for different characters, or a cast of narrators could voice different characters within the story.
The audiobook for the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, whose author, George Saunders, won the Booker Prize in 2017 for the same novel, has a cast of 166 different narrators! |
Fully-voiced narration could either consist of a cast of actors or a single actor who could do a bunch of voices, like Allyson Briggs, who voiced 16 characters as part of the audiobook, 'The Chameleon', written by Merrick Rosenberg. When asked about the intent behind doing different characters, Briggs stated, "I think it helps the listener keep track of everyone since there are so many characters. I feel the constant changes of voices keep you engaged. It adds dimension, personality and fun."
Partially-voiced Audiobook Narration: In certain audiobooks, distinct voices are given only to a few characters in the story. For example, Stephen Fry, who is the voice actor for the Harry Potter book series in the UK, uses a distinct voice for the character of Hermione Granger (who usually speaks faster than the rest) but does not use separate voices for other characters.
Unvoiced Audiobook Narration: This requires no distinction in speech or narration. It simply conveys the words and the setting behind the events in the book with no voice reserved especially for the characters.
There is also duet narration, where two voice actors are used to narrate the events of a book, and commercial narration, where the intent is to convey a message to the consumer, than a story. This type is used in places such as advertisements and community service messages.
Famous Audiobook Narrators
While you won't be wrong to believe that audiobooks might be a trend of the times, many people have already become renowned audiobook narrators. From celebrities like three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep (Charlotte's Web, The Testament of Mary) to two-time Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe award winner Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) and the former First Lady of America Michelle Obama, who narrated the audiobook of her autobiography, Becoming, in 2018, with the final duration totaling 19 hours.
How To Become an Audiobook Narrator
When you read a book, do you also find yourself to be narrating the book to someone? Do you also try to read in different voices for each character based on their dialogues?
If the answer to the above questions is yes, then you are already on the way to a successful career as an audiobook narrator. You don't need to be a Hollywood star or a famous public figure to succeed. Let's dive into the essential skills needed to become a successful audiobook narrator.
Skills Required for Narration Jobs
To become a successful audiobook narrator, you need to possess the following key qualities:
Clear and confident speech and a great voice
An avid reader of novels and the ability to bring stories to life
Ability to take small pauses in between sentences to make it sound natural
A good practice of breath control while reading
Optimum speed of reading and delivery. Don't rush reading aloud
Understanding of the context of the book (for effective experience)
To-do's for landing a High-paying Audiobook Gig
This is a checklist for all aspiring narrators:
Identify the genres of content that you like reading.
Listen to other types of audio-based content, like podcasts and radio shows.
Get a gist of the book you will be narrating before you start the narration.
Practice frequently - Record a demo reel of yourself while reading the book and review it. Share copies with friends, peers, and family for their input.
Create a portfolio of your audiobook recordings that provide a testament to your voice acting.
How to Get Started As An Audiobook Narrator?
Getting started with recording audiobooks is a fuss-free and easy task.
Step 1: Start recording with just the recorder tool on your phone, tablet, PC or a simple recorder. There is no need for specific or expensive equipment.
Step 2: Create a profile on a platform that pays you to record audiobooks such as Audible, Kobo LibriVox, and many more.
Step 3: You can record a demo if you are in the initial stages. If you are ready - start recording the audiobook narration for the deliver your project after iterations.
What are the Best Tools for creating an Audiobook?
We read earlier that there are many tools that you can use to easily produce and edit your recordings. A key name among them is Murf.ai.
Using Murf.ai, you have the option of choosing from a range of 120+ voices and over 20+ languages, among the largest of its kind.
Based on your type of narration, you can pick and choose voices for different characters, even if you are doing the narration all by yourself. All you need to do is to follow these steps.
Step 1: Upload your script/recording of the audiobook to Murf Studio.
Once you upload your script, you can break it down into sentences or paragraphs.
Step 2: Select the AI Voice for your Audiobook
Based on the characters and the type of narration, you can select different voices for different characters or sections within the script. This removes the need for a cast. You can also use filters like language, gender and the type of use case of the recording.
Then you have the option to adjust the various parts of speech such as pitch, speed and the use case of the block of text using the options present above the particular paragraph or part of the recording.
Another useful feature of Murf is adding emphasis to particular words. This helps to make distinctions in different words and areas of the recording to make it sound intriguing. For this, you need to click on the 'Emphasis' tab above the particular block.
After doing so, you will need to select specific words that you want emphasized in the recording. Once selected, you can adjust the pitch and the speed of narration for the particular words to make your recording more life-like.
Once finished, click on the 'Export' button to render your final output. Here, you would need to select the required format and quality of your recording.
By leveraging the power of AI-based voice overs, you can create audiobooks in a span of a few hours and not worry about the speed of narration and other facets that you might need to continuously adjust.
Where Can You Upload Your Work?
You have put all the hard yards in and have spent hours recording the perfect audiobook. Now it's time to make people go 'all ears' on your narration. Let's see what platforms we can use to upload our audiobooks.
Parameter | Audible | Findaway Voices | Kobo |
Number of Available Titles | >800,000 | >150,000 | 150,000-500,000 |
Popular Genres | Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy (Mythology) | Romance, Self-Help, Mystery, Thriller | Fiction, Biographies, Self-Help, Kids Fiction |
Duration of Approval of Audiobook | 10 days | 2-7 days | 1-3 days |
Royalties | 75% goes to Audible | Allows users to select the allocation of royalties. Users get to keep up to 80% of the proceeds. |
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How Much is an Audiobook Narrator Paid?
As stated before, there are over 1 billion active listeners of audiobooks which indicates a healthy market size for audiobook narrator jobs. As a result, audiobook narrators are also decently paid for their efforts in recording audiobooks.
Typically, a person working regularly as a narrator is expected to make between $38,000-65,000 a year. However, it varies drastically because of the nature of the work.
People are paid on a per-finished hour, per-project basis or royalty or profit sharing.
Per Finished Hour: A person paid on a per-hour basis is remunerated after every 60 minutes of recorded content that is finished. Professional audiobook narrators charge anywhere between $80-150 per hour and the rates can go up to nearly $500 per hour.
Per Project: A person paid on a per-project basis is remunerated after the end of each narration, depending on the total duration.
Royalty or profit sharing: This is a diminishing practice but is one where the proceeds from the audiobook are shared among the narrator and the publishers. It is a diminishing practice due to controversies emanating in the field regarding the actual sales numbers and how the royalties are equally shared.
Future for Audiobooks and Audiobook Narrators
The audiobook industry is expected to grow at a rate of more than 10% each year for the next five years and a key contributor to this growth is the ever-increasing interest in audiobooks which, in turn, opens up more opportunities for aspiring and professional audiobook narrators.
Despite questions surrounding the emergence of AI, it has helped empower such narrators to expedite their audiobook creation experience, as made evident through Murf's example above. Platforms like Findaway Voices and Audible allow audiobook narrators to control their publishing, royalties and copyrights, giving narrators the power over their content.
As the demand for audiobooks rises, budding audiobook narrators can chart fulfilling paths in this dynamic and ever-growing industry.
FAQs
How much work is involved in audiobook narration?
The amount of work depends on the book that you are narrating. Typically, the duration of a recording is 1.5-2 times the duration of a book. For example, if an audiobook is 10-12 hours long, then the recording could take a minimum of 15-18 hours. Re-listening to the audiobook and suggesting re-recordings would take an hour or two, while editing and proofing typically takes 2-3 hours.
What are the different ways in which I can produce an audiobook?
By yourself or through another narrator: You can use tools like Murf to edit and produce your audiobook with ease or can team up with experienced narrators to assist with the editing and production.
Working with a production house: You can also team up with an external production house that can assist you with a team that can consist of an audio engineer/editor, a listener for experiential analysis, and a proofer to suggest re-takes.
How to become an audiobook narrator for Audible?
Create an account on Amazon's Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) and register the book you are creating the audiobook for on the platform. You need to upload your audiobook, chapter-by-chapter. Finally, provide information about your audiobook, such as author, narrator, publisher and copyrights and submit the audiobook for approval.
