Getting into Audiobooks

Photo by Casey McMurray

"We have access to a really great organization, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, and a great resource named Rochelle Rose, director of actors programs. The Foundation and your New Orleans Local held a weekend of workshops this past spring with casting directors and a renowned voiceover coach from New York, Paul Liberti. I had been curious on how to get into voiceover work and work for Audible, feeling it a natural fit for my past experience: running a recording studio, hosting and producing regular radio shows, acting and singing." said Local Board member Olga Wilhelmine.

"The workshop was really fantastic and inspiring, and Paul was generous with his tips, advice and knowledge on how to record a good audiobook and how to get started. One thing, of course, is to get a reel, but how to get a reel without experience or work? I was so inspired that I actually created an Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) account. ACX is a platform where rights holders and producers/narrators meet. I decided to just audition for a book that jumped out at me. It was a romance story, but the story itself had pieces in it I could relate to as an actor and performer. I did the audition as a home recording on my iPhone, and I included a note explaining a bit about me. I told the author that her book inspired me to make a home recording, but I let her know that I had access to a studio where I could make an official, professional recording if she liked my audition. The author wrote me back that same day! She said that she was actually moved to tears by my audition, so she would send me an official offer to narrate her book. This was my first job. Because this book is a novel, it required different characters’ voicing as well as differentiation between the first-person narrative of the lead character, and differentiation between her inner and her outer voices.

"Within two-and-one-half months, I had completed four books. They reflect the variety of books available as audiobooks.

"I still have yet to put together an official reel!

"With this year being the slowest by far in recent memory for work in the film and television industry in our local, I was really grateful to find work that relates to acting but does not require me to move somewhere else to find a role. It was good to find work that keeps me active while our Louisiana Legislature members sort out their issues with the tax incentives that will bring work back to our area.

"There are some strict production criteria if you want to narrate for rights holders whose works are found on ACX. In order to land individual jobs, you need to audition. The author must like your voice, and your voice will need to fit the type (male, female, young, old, etc.) that matches the character(s) and tone of the book. In a lot of ways, it is very much like auditioning for an acting gig. ACX offers some great online videos with tips and tricks from pros on how to improve your narration and production skills to help you grow and secure more rewarding assignments.

"Feel free to email me at neworleans@sagaftra.org. I would be happy to talk to any of y’all who want to know more about audiobooks. Hopefully, we can get Paul Liberti back sometime to coach us through more workshops, too," added Wilhelmine.

Note from the audiobook staff team: Members should be advised that outside of ACX, union minimums do not include post-production services and narrators are not required to produce a fully finished retail-ready audiobook. Narrators either work in a studio with an engineer or in a home studio where they provide a “punch records” only. Editing, mastering and QC are considered “additional services” for which narrators should be paid. Narrators bidding on ACX work are also encouraged to consider the value of these services in those bids. Members with questions about industry standard wages and working conditions are encouraged to contact anyone on the audiobook staff team by clicking here.

This item was originally featured in the September 2016 local newsletter.