Voicing an Audiobook.

Setting the Scene.

Many people who voice for either their own audiobook or for an audiobook of another could just run at it quickly, like a bull at a gate, with no exact idea of the content of the book or the plot or in the characters. This can be a good technique for most but you have to ask yourself a question, "Can I really do this book justice if when a character appears I try to pick that character up as I get to them?" In many cases I would say this is the wrong to go about voicing an audio book. You need to know when the plot is going to change, you need to know when to be happy and when to be sad, mood changes are important and you definitely need to know your characters. You need to put in some work before hand to gain this useful information.

Scanning or Reading?

To get the important information about the plot, the moods and the characters. You need to put the work as I said above. This could involve you speed reading (scanning) your way through it as quick as you can so you can get down to the nitty gritty and begin to voice those chapters. This may be OK for some but I would say it is much better to read the book as if you are actually reading it. Like a book you've been waiting to appear in your local bookshop and you read cover to cover without going to the toilet or eating. Read the book thoroughly, know your story and then you can voice the audio book and do the read showing it as much justice as your talent accommodates.

Before you start - make sure your terms are right for you.

There is nothing worse than starting an audio book project and getting no payment up front, even an advance of some kind. Many would be voice over talents go through a whole list of voice over niches and then end up with voicing an audiobook and thinking,  "Great! Long term work, this should tide me over and I can voice other jobs in between!" The thing about voicing an audiobook is that you read the book first in a normal way (takes time!), you then read it again but this time recording (takes more time!) and lastly the editing (unless you have an amazing publisher who doesn't mind what you send them) (takes even more time). How long does it take you to read a book? Is it more tiresome to read aloud than in your head? Reading out loud for 10 hours or maybe more is not easy. Think about your famous well loved singers, do they sing in 10 hour concerts? No! Why? Probably because they haven't got enough content apart from Madonna and Elton John but the other reason is because if they did sing in 10 hour concerts their voices would probably sound awful and then they would not be the stars they are today.

The last thing you need is to underestimate the time involved with voicing an audiobook, the time needed to edit and the pure stamina required to keep it up. It is not an easy task. If it is your own book then sure go for it every time because any profit you make is entirely yours. For those voice over artists looking for a quick book, it isn't in audiobooks, reading for an audiobook is a long hard slog, more like a marathon when a voice over for a commercial is 100 metre sprint. If the terms are not in your favour you could quickly become bored and want to throw in the towel or get so 'P'd off' that you perform in a haphazard way, not only affecting the book itself but also your reputation.

If your terms were right from the outset, this can offset any boredom you feel. If you are not getting paid until the end then this can be a difficult pill to swallow, even if the end result could end up with sharing revenue. Many people don't like to feel like they are working for nothing and even if they have a small advance in their pocket this can make all the differe

I still want to voice an audiobook - what is good practice?

I am not about to tell you what is or isn't good practice because it is a very personal thing. What is good for one is not necessarily good for another. What I can say is, and what works for me, is to read the book thoroughly, know the plot, know the moods, get inside your characters (what makes them tick?). Even if it is quite obvious who each character line is for, go through the script and write next to each line who it is for. This may sound silly but the lines sometimes come so thick and fast when you are reading them that one character can quickly change to a new character and you can end up with your male lead becoming female in character very quickly.

For example: 

Mr Rogers implied that I had to change in to my uniform as quickly as possible. 
"Be quick we have work to do!" , he said.
"I will be quick Mr Rogers, I know we have a busy day to day!" Jayne said.
It had been a particularly sticky and hot day and I always brought a spare bra to change into. Today I could not find it in my bag and didn't fancy wearing my other bra as it was uncomfortable to wear on a hot day. I scoured around in my locker and eventually found my spare bra from yesterday.
"This is my yesterday bra girls, does anyone have a spare one I could borrow, please?" 


The last line in italics is quite obviously for the female role but when reading fast you can inadvertently read this line in a more husky voice believing because of the speed of the read and the way that it comes along that straight after the narration part on the female role the male role could follow. In many books the read can be much like 1 and then 2 and then 1 and then 2 again but sometimes the pace does change and can come in any other combination but after a while of 1 and then 2, 1 and then 2, you can become a little complacent and get so used to it that although it sound silly you end up reading this line as a male deeper tone rather than a female more higher pitched tone and then not find out it is wrong until the editing stage.


Some other things to do is write down the side of the manuscript, mood words like angry, sad, nasty, nice, happy, etc. This allows you time to see it beforehand and get ready for it, so as to have as few mistakes as possible and make the read easier.


Also another thing that could help you with your read is have three separate bull-clipped sets of pages from the manuscript, one for what has been read, one for what has been recorded and the last set of pages for what has been edited and sent to publisher or uploaded to wherever you need to upload it to. These sets of pages will of course change in size as you work your way through the book.


The last thing you will need is a hell of a lot of water. You almost need your own personal waterfall directly pouring straight into your mouth to keep the dry throat at bay. At the very least a one liter bottle of water and a glass so you can keep refilling without having to pop off for more water at too many intervals. And do not drink the water in gulps, just gentle sips of water to keep your mouth moist and your voice usable. Hope this helps anyone who is thinking of voicing an audio book, someone who is currently voicing an audiobook and possibly even someone who has already voiced audio books.


Good luck with your future voicing ventures!