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.

12 Must-Read Books for Entrepreneurs in 2021

Regardless of how far you’ve made it as an entrepreneur, you are always learning due to the unforeseen circumstances and challenges that are constantly coming your way. You have to be able to adapt and think quickly on your feet to solve anything that may appear.

A way to hone and sharpen these skills is by none other than the simple act of reading. Taking even just 5-minutes out of your day to read a page of any of the 12 recommended books below (listed in no particular order) can drastically improve your skills and make you an entrepreneur that is to be reckoned with.

1. Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

Moore goes on about how to go about marketing and selling any unusual, out-of-the-norm products to any mainstream customers, focusing on the new service or product that requires them to change their behaviours in uncomfortable ways.

His theory mentioned in the book is called “The Technology Adoption Lifecycle”. It breaks down people into 5 groups and how they each adjust and alter themselves to the disruptive product/service:

• The Innovators (2.5%): 

• Early Adopters (13.5%)

• Early Majority (34%)

• Late Majority (34%)

• The Laggards (16%)

They’re all categorized due to the nature and actions they take upon themselves with the product. The innovator will typically buy the newest product to be up-to-date with the newest technology - they want the product for the sake of being the first one to own it. Early adopters look for new technology for strategic purposes. As for the early majority, when they see a product that becomes trending, they’ll start to use it as the new standard. 

Moore goes more into detail about the other categories in his book, focusing more on “crossing the chasm” between the early adopters and the early & late majority of customers as they are crucial to keeping these kinds of customers loyal to the company. 

2. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

As the title suggests, Carnegie gives you multiple tips and techniques on how to not only win your friends over but also how to influence those around you. 

Carnegie starts off by telling you to give up on the idea of winning an argument. In fact, avoid any arguments in general since 90% of the time both opposing sides will still think they’re the ones in the right and even if you do win an argument? You still lose as the opposing party has felt inferior to you - which is never a great feeling.

Another lesson he gives is: never telling someone they’re wrong. Rather, discuss with them and ask them questions about why they think what they think.

These are just some examples of what Carnegie has to offer in his book in what makes a great and successful entrepreneur.

3. Start With Why by Simon Sinek

“People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek

Sinek’s book takes a dive into his insights on how to attract loyal customers, a company culture and create a larger and much more positive impact on the world. He does so by mentioning the story behind the purpose of one’s business, answering the question: WHY?

His theory lies in two different ways to influence humans and their behaviour (including their buying decisions): Manipulation OR Inspiration. 

When it comes to manipulation, this will allow a person to actually take action as it can be seen as pressure from others to buy the product, however, even if this method is a way to get sales going, it isn’t very effective in the long-term. 

A better tactic is to inspire, by starting with why. He suggests that by communicating with your market audience and letting them know why it is that you do what you do is the key to capture customers and inspire them. This way, you create loyal customers who are actually interested in your business and what it is that you have to offer.

Sinek’s book helps improve on leadership skills, and the ability to inspire colleagues, peers and customers alike - everything a great entrepreneur needs.

4. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau 

Guillebeau brings about what it’s really like to start a business, mentioning its challenges while also laying out for the entrepreneur how to start a new and successful business with a small team of up to 5 people using real-life case studies.

He mentions 3 main lessons:

Lesson 1: Make use of any and all of  your current skills
Don’t spend the entirety of your bank account on learning new skills, rather focus on the ones you already have and see what you can do to make use of them to help further your business.

Lesson 2: Starting small, focus on good marketing
Get creative. Find marketing strategies that won’t break the bank such as blogging, collaborate with other small businesses - anything really to get your name out there.

Lesson 3: Take action over planning
Basically, do something, as “overplanning can lead to a quick death for many small businesses.” And if anything comes up along the way, then deal with it then and adjust accordingly as taking no action can put your business at a much higher risk.

5. The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Tired of working a generic, boring 9 to 5 job? In this book, Ferriss gives you the nitty-gritty on how to create a  business while doing what you’re passionate about and turn the profits you make into a life of luxury to live like The New Rich.

Rather than being effective, be efficient, Ferriss says, as he mentions the 80/20 rule - 80% of the results will come from 20% of the action. In doing so, you can live like a millionaire without actually being one.

This new lifestyle he proposes allows for you to do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want - if you focus on flexibility and mobility. He gives you the tools such as delegating tasks to virtual assistants and simply redefining your mindset towards work.

6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Covey states 7 habits for a much more effective and successful business and personality. Though your idea may be great, if you aren’t likeable, it’s just not as easy to gain customers.

Here are the 7 habits:

• Be proactive - take initiative. Do what you think is best.

• Keep in mind, there’s always an end to a beginning - start by visualizing what it is that you want, what your end goal is and create a plan accordingly.

• Priorities - what brings you closer to your goal? Do those things.

• “Win-win” strategies - allow for opportunities where you can create a growing relationship with others where you can both benefit off of.

• Listen, understand then learn when to speak - always listen first, understand the other, then speak when the opportunity arises.

• Harmonize - think and find ways to match the energy levels of yourself and those around you so you can achieve more.

• Recharge - Don’t forget to take time to rest, this way you’re able to do more and be more effective in the long-term.

The habits all help develop your interpersonal skills, as well as other skills that require interacting with others, such as teamwork and communication while maintaining a balance each and every day.

7. The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Drucker shows how you can go about developing your own personal effectiveness. That, in a knowledge-driven world, people need to work on improving their effectiveness.

Here are 5 ways in how to begin doing them:

• Manage your time

• Build strengths

• Set priorities, focus on what it is that will allow for you to achieve your goals

• Focus on results and contributing yourself

• Make decisions that get good outcomes

Drucker’s book, though written over 50 years ago is still relevant to this day as these insights still apply to become an effective executive and what one should apply throughout their daily life.

8. The Hard Things About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Horowitz gives it to you down and dirty. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything on how hard it is to actually start and run a business. He wrote this particular book and in all of its brutal honesty to let entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners know what really happens when your business begins to fail and how to go about fixing it. 

He begins the book by telling a story of himself and how he became a business owner, starting as an engineer at another company to starting up a business with his new business partner Marc Andreesen. While the rest of the book is spent giving you, the reader tips on how to effectively run a business, taking the reality of things - the real problems and challenges it takes to run a business.

Horowitz even mentions the strong mentality he had to build as a CEO: “It’s like fight club management: the first rule of the CEO psychological meltdown is don’t talk about the psychological meltdown.”

9. The Lean Startup by Eric Reis

Have a great business idea? Reis’ book has a rather detailed approach in how to make that idea into one that is sustainable and will create paying customers for your product or service. 

The book begins with 2 categorized assumptions:

• Value Assumption: the belief of customers finding value in your growth, the assumption that you’re doing is going to work

• Growth Assumption: how you’ll actually attract customers and make a profit with your business over time.

Ries then takes these two assumptions and converts them into a plan - a hypothesis if you will and then guides you into finding quick, cheap ways for you to be able to test any hypothesis that comes up such as building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or a promotional video with a website. Anything to get your business going. In doing so, it allows for the uncertainty of starting a new business to become more certain and going forward, to create a long-lasting company with increasing profits.

10. The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

This is the book for you if you’re a new startup company, introducing a new product or service to the existing market already out there. It’ll teach you strategies and tips on how to talk to new customers and gain any feedback that may be of actual value to you and your business.

It teaches you “How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you,” since you’re more likely to present your idea to a close family or friend and they will be more likely to be kind and encourage you rather than give you the hard and honest truth about whether or not your idea will really work in the real world.

Always begin by talking to customers about their lives, rather than immediately mentioning your idea. This way, you can actually see how their life and any problem they have may align with the context of your product and how to solve it.

11. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Kahneman’s book goes deep into the mind of the consumer, looking into the psychology behind one’s decision-making and judgment. A key read to better market your business and increase profits. 

He does so by separating the psychology into 2 different systems:

System 1 - Fast Thinking

• “Operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control.”

System 2 - Slow Thinking

• “Allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. The operations of System 2 are often associated with subjective experience of agency, choice and concentration.”

And analyzes each one, explaining to you so you can better understand how and why you make decisions as well as aid in identifying which system you, yourself are using and what you should actually be using. 

12. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

“Focus on businesses that create something new.” - Peter Thiel

Thiel’s book addresses entrepreneurs, challenging them to take the world (as the title suggests) from 0 to 1 - as opposed to what it is in reality, the opposite. Basically, to create new solutions and products to also create something of value. But before jumping head first into it, he gives tips on the dos and donts of creating a new product or service.

He also mentions how, rather than creating new ideas, businesses strive to take existing products and improve them, even just by a little bit. 

So, if you’re looking to take the risk of creating something new that no one’s ever heard of out on the market, then definitely give Thiel’s book a read.

CONCLUSION

If you’re starting your own business then definitely look into at least one or a couple of these books to gain some insight into what it takes to run a successful business and be a glowing CEO. Each book is set to guide you with crucial information, as well as tips and tricks to improve yourself, your skills and your business on your entrepreneurial journey in hopes that you do make it.

Did anyone of these books pique your interest? If so, which ones? 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.