Today’s World Violin Day! As you know, I play harp, not violin. However, a violinist and his instrument figured prominently in my audiobook of FANNY HERSELF: A PASSIONATE INSTINCT by Edna Ferber and in the music I chose to go under the credits. I started to write this quick story as a Twitter thread, but I strive to keep my original content on MY site and share it on social media. On Tuesday 3 June 2014, I wrote in my journal: The recording of FANNY HERSELF [by Edna Ferber] is done! Yay! I had been thinking…of how to change the title to make the book different from the free edition…I wan ..read more

Last updated 2/20/21   If you own the audio rights to your book, you are referred to as the rights holder (RH). The RH has many choices when starting an audiobook project. Two of the most important decisions you’ll make are the narrator’s payment and the audiobook’s distribution. Make these decisions very carefully and INDEPENDENTLY because their long-term repercussions could be harmful to you in ways you don’t expect! Payment Options You basically have 3 ways to pay your narrator: Per Finished Hour (PFH) — You pay $X times each finished hour of audio up-front to the narrator. For instan ..read more

When a kid returns to school in the fall during a movie or TV show, they invariably must write and recite a report discussing how they spent their summer vacation. I never recall having that assignment at the start of any school year. If I had, my report probably would have included the number of books I checked out from the library and the songs I learned to play on piano, and, from 5th grade on, the music I played on clarinet, oboe, and flute. I also would have talked about my daily trips to the pool. My almost daily pool time would certainly remain present in such a chronicle today; some th ..read more

It’s finally here! Settle in for the 4th and final article about analyzing the questions on my Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz. If you’ve missed the previous posts in this series, check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.   This time, we’ll talk about the Financial Considerations section of the Quiz. I was taught to never discuss money in a job interview until you know you are a good fit for the position. I saved this section until the end for the same reason. What are your financial expectations? While it’s true that your earnings potential as a narrator rests in part with your driv ..read more

We’re halfway through with the questions on my Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz! To catch up, start with Analyzing the Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz Part 1. Continuing where I left off in part 2, we’ll discuss the last 7 of the 15 questions in the Personality/Work Habits section. How would you rate your comfort and skill levels with working with technology more complicated than your phone? Not too many years ago, all audiobook narrators went to recording studios and were only responsible for performing the text of the book. An engineer ran the computer controls, and a di ..read more

After I published my last article, Drew and I moved to a new house! We had lived in our other house for 30 years, so it took 6 weeks to get everything relocated from there to here. We’re STILL unpacking and hanging artwork in between our other activities, including actually doing some work! Like finding the right place to live and physically moving in, choosing the right career — even if it’s a career change — should start with significant self-reflection about the way you want to structure your life, the activities you enjoy, and your skills. I think most people spend more time planning thei ..read more

Last week, I presented my Audiobook Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz. Today, we’ll look at the rationale behind the Baseline and Language questions. Note that these questions don’t have right or wrong answers. Baseline Skills Have you ever heard the sound of your recorded voice? I asked this question because many people have never heard a recording of their voice. When they do hear it, they don’t think it sounds like them. Listening to your own voice can help you identify areas where you need improvement. For instance, your diction may sound sloppy and even make words unintelligible to the liste ..read more

  Congratulations! You’ve got a brand new audiobook! It’s time to get the word out about it! I minored in marketing while in college and have always loved to think about marketing ideas. Sandra Beckwith at BuildBookBuzz.com recently asked me a number of questions related to audiobook marketing. Our interview was posted today, and you can read it here. A while back, I wrote 2 articles on the ACX.com blog to address this very topic. In Part One, I explained some reasons why people are resistant to listening to audiobooks. I then offered 3 ways to make your audiobooks more discoverable ..read more

As a user of ACX.com since it was in its pre-launch beta test and an Audible Approved Producer, I was delighted when Scott Jacobi, Marketing Director at ACX, asked me to speak on his panel today at this year’s VOAtlanta Conference.     Scott is moderating the panel titled Chapter One — Creating Your Audiobook Career. My fellow panelists are Greg Cooler, Director of Production for ListenUp Audiobooks here in Atlanta, and Andrew Gallagher, the QA Supervisor and Production Evangelist at ACX. Since we have a wealth of topics to cover in 1 hour, I thought it would be helpful to prov ..read more

  In my last article for narrators, I wrote about 3 ways to become a computer super user. One piece of software that all audiobook narrators need is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Coaches and new narrators often ask me where they can learn how to use their DAW. The 7 options listed below in no particular order will help you learn the DAW software. 1) The Deyan Institute offers classes in Pro Tools for Production and Pro Tools for Post-Production, as well as an option for 6 hours of Pro Tools instruction. 2) Edge Studio offers webinars in Audition, Audacity, Pro Tools, Reaper, an ..read more