You’ll be a narrator if you want to make your book into an audiobook. This is not a straightforward process; narrators are professional actors who must be auditioned and chosen. This article will teach you how to identify and select the ideal narrator for your book.
The voice over agency, like most acting vocations, is populated by thousands upon thousands of amateurs. They may be cheap and eager, but sadly, this does not always convert into skill.
The pointers below will show you how to look for, evaluate, and pitch narrators:
1. Read Your Book Aloud
Read your book first before you open Google. It may appear flawless on the surface, but if you give it a voice, you’ll notice flaws you wouldn’t have detected otherwise. Narrators are not magicians, and even if they were, it is not their obligation to correct their errors.
You should be able to read your book aloud without difficulty. If you find yourself stumbling over incorrect punctuation or unable to pronounce made-up terms, you should revise your work. Regardless of how good the narrator is, their success is also dependent on their writing ability.
2. Cast A Wide Net
Unfortunately, narrators do not share the same stage. They are dispersed around the internet, and while most have a presence on many sites, searching on multiple voice over service at once will get the greatest results. This procedure is frequently free, and the only cost is your time.
P2P sites are the greatest for you (Pay to Play). This means that prospective narrators must pay a subscription fee to promote on the website. The biggest benefit is that only narrators ready to pay are present, which eliminates many amateurs. The primary negative is that because the site’s income is dependent on the number of voice performers, there is occasionally a lot of rubbish.
3. Study Your Narrator
Before you start sending out audition requests to narrators, do some research on them. Check online for examples of their work; if they only have a few projects published, it may be worth seeking someone with more experience. However, this is not a guarantee of how good they are; if they appear to be someone who will suit your task, try them out. Newer narrators will most likely be less expensive as well.
4. Keep Your Intended Audience In Mind
Consider your audience while listening to auditions or samples. People respond differently to different voices. Gender can also play a role; ladies prefer male sounds that indicate a large stature, whereas males prefer female voices that indicate a lesser stature. If your book is aimed at a specific gender, choosing the right voice is even more vital.
5. Choose Your Sample With Caution
Once you’ve reduced your list of potentials, decide which writing sample to offer them. Don’t send complete chapters; three pages should suffice. Please send a dynamic selection. Dialogue between many characters will give you a sense of your narrator’s ability to use different voices, while background narration will give you a sense of their standard tone. It is critical to have a narrator who can voice everything in your work.
6. Consider Your Financial Situation
Everyone wants an experienced narrator who has narrated hundreds of audiobooks, but experience comes at a cost. Consider how difficult your book is to read when deciding on an offer. Most importantly, select a narrator that you believe is appropriate for your work. Your novel is unique, and selecting a narrator entails more than just evaluating their technical ability. Find the individual who best expresses your book.
Conclusion:
The public listens to audio narrative narrations while performing other work, such as driving, running, or doing something else – their attention is divided. They also listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and audio stories while doing something else. To handle control, take a deep breath, speak at a normal pace, and use voice-over actors in the audio tale to make it appear convincing. As a result, whatever you want to do, whether audio or video stories, it should be done flawlessly!