How to Become an Audiobook Narrator

A lot of voice actors tend to turn towards becoming audiobook narrators, as they find the work much more rewarding regardless of the level of expertise required, Who says you can’t learn? So how do you get started? Better yet, what skills do you need to be an audiobook narrator? 
Keep on reading to find out some of the traits needed to become one.

Know The Different Types of Narration

Surprise! There’s more than one type of audiobook narration, but typically they are voiced by only one person and to be able to differentiate from the characters they change their tone, style or pitch of voice.

• Solo - one person is voicing all of the characters and is able to differentiate their voices accordingly.

• Duet - when there are two actors cutting in every line of a dialogue scene like a play if you will.

• Multicast - an example of this is if you had 4 characters and different points of view for each character, so you’ll have a different voice for each one.

• Full-Cast - actors performing various roles.

Self-Management

A very important aspect to have personally and professionally in any field, but especially when it comes to narrating a book as you are the one who shows the way to the listener. Whether you are going to be self-directing or directing others, you need to be able to stick to the timeline and make sure to plan for any errors, extra time in the studio and to be sure things get done in a timely manner.

Stamina is Key

Some days you’ll be in the studio for long, long hours and your voice may get tired or strained. Try to pace yourself so you can keep a consistent performance throughout the entire recording session and remember to bring that same energy and tone to the next one as you will need to sound pretty much the same the whole time.

Organization

This is key as you should be planning way ahead, before even booking any studio time. 

Start with your script: How is it going to sound to listeners? What edits need to be made to keep the listener immersed? What words need emphasis? What words need to be softer? Pacing? Think about how you want it to sound and what message you want to be delivered in the tone of voice.

Remember to plan out extra studio time, and to budget accordingly as costs can quickly add up. For every hour of finished audio, plan for 2 hours in the studio regardless of the experience of the actor - they’re bound to make mistakes and making sure you have the time to actually and effectively deliver a great audiobook is what’s important.

Know What You’re Doing

If it’s your first time creating an audiobook, do some research. There is plenty of advice, tips and tricks out there, so as to not waste any money on a project that you have no idea where to even begin, look into it here. The narrator needs to have full control over their voice, which means confidence and if you’re new then you may not have the experience so all that’s left to do is to learn and practice.

Be Objective

You may have your own opinions on how a character should sound or be like, but stay objective. While you may love the book you are narrating, keep in mind that it’s the author’s book and they’re the ones who have created the story and the people in the book that you are so passionate about. Basically, the narrator tells it as is. You may have extra inside information that the audience doesn’t know, but that doesn’t mean you are the author (unless you are, but there’s a reason why you have a script).

Paint the Picture

People who typically enjoy listening to audiobooks like being told a story. So, it’s up to the narrator to be able to execute and deliver this to the best of their professional abilities. They’re able to bring the text to life and truly embody the characters. Whether it’s through the pacing and pronunciation of your words, voice separation from each character and narrative text, what you’re doing is drawing people to you with your voice, a strong skill not everyone is able to do.

CONCLUSION

There is more to audiobook narration than meets the eye. There’s a lot of background preparation that needs to go into the production before you can even begin to think of actually stepping into the studio. Basically, know what you’re doing, and if you don’t start researching, otherwise you’ll find yourself clueless and out of money. Do you want to create your own author-narrated audiobook? Let us know!

Written by Tina Phong

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If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Learn more here and listen to some of our audiobook samples.

8 Skills You Need for Audiobook Narration

Narrating an audiobook isn’t just reading words off of a page in one single monotone voice, it’s a lot more than that and some would even consider it one of the hardest forms of voiceover jobs you can do. But if you follow these steps, you’ll be able to master the technique and become one of the best narrators out there.

1. Articulation and Breathing

You need to be able to properly and clearly pronounce words, especially on those with harsher or higher-sounding tones as they aren’t very pleasant to the ear (such as the letter S). You also have to be wary of which words to put just a little more emphasis on and which ones to not, while also making sure to avoid any whistling sounds, lisping and other unnecessary mouth noises.

Always make sure you have enough air in your lungs to properly be able to deliver a full sentence without needing to take a breath (some could be super long sentences as well) so that the line stays consistent and your voice isn’t fading out by the end. Avoid any swallowing, and gulping and look into breath control.

You’ll need to focus on controlling how your ‘p’ sounds, harsh words, maintaining your volume throughout and being able to project your voice properly. This way, once you’re on the review and editing phase of the audiobook, there won’t be that much to adjust and you’ll more likely be hired.

2. Delivery, Tone and Consistency

To be able to draw in and fully immerse the reader into the story is what makes a narrator a great one. It must match what is going on in the text and the message that the author is trying to deliver at this point of the story. 

The pacing and the tone of yours need to be adjusted accordingly as the listener could easily get bored of your voice as it becomes more predictable and similar sounding. You’ll have to practice the energy you place in reading each sentence, breath control, pitch control and characterization. The more professional and consistent you are in your delivery the more likely you are to get hired,

On top of that, your voice must stay consistent from day to day as it’s most likely that you’ll be doing more than one recording session for the same audiobook.

3. Eye-Brain-Mouth Control

When reading the script, you are to read it word for word as it is tailored and perfectly written with all the words necessary to unfold the story - so don’t go adding or changing up anything yourself. 

You also must avoid making any mistakes or as little as possible as one mispronunciation of a word will lead to having to redo the recording - which takes up time and money. So, make sure to read ahead and know more or less of what next lines need to be delivered. This way you’ll be able to easily read the script and deliver your performance effortlessly.

4. Stamina and Endurance

As an audiobook narrator, the days are long and you’ll typically be spending 4-6 hours in the studio, each day recording. This means you’ll need to have the same amount of energy in the delivery and tone of your lines by the end of the day as you had at the start of it. 

5. Characterization

Give life to these characters through your voice. Based on their gender, age, accent, personality, tone - whatever it is have a specific voice for each character that matches their description.

6. Analysis

Understanding the story, its plot, and the characters is crucial to delivering a great performance that won’t bore the listeners and actually get them more invested and immersed in the world that the author has written on the pages - but in audio form. 

7. Separation 

Make sure to separate your narrator voice from your character’s voice so this way the listener can differentiate between each character while also knowing which parts are just describing words. Basically, say “she said” in a normal voice, but what she actually says is in a slightly different voice. But make sure this stays consistent so the reader can identify which character is speaking without needing a name.

8. Investment

Any successful narration is due to the narrator actually being invested in the story and enjoying it themselves. As opposed to seeing it as just another assignment or job that pays, to see it is an opportunity to be able to bring the story to life and take the listener through the journey of each character as their life unfolds.

CONCLUSION

If you want to become an audiobook narrator start sharpening your articulation and breathing skills, work on your delivery, tone and consistency, eye-brain-mouth control, your stamina and endurance, bringing the character’s on the pages to life, understanding the story, being able to create distinctions between each voice and to be thoroughly invested in your work.

Are there any other secret skills you’d like to share for audiobook narrators? Let us know!

Written by Tina Phong

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​​If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales. 

Learn more here and listen to some of our audiobook samples.