Auditions still open for Book of Dreams voice talent

I'm in the process of evaluating auditions for an audiobook version of the second edition of my short story collection, Book of Dreams, through Amazon's ACX platform. I am offering the project on an equal royalty split basis of the proceeds that would amount to approximately 25% for the narrator and 25% for me as the author of the net sales price of the book which would be sold by Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Two of the auditions submitted so far are workable, though not perfect. I would like to review a few more before making a decision on a narrator. I am not ready to make a selection as yet but would like to selest a narrator soon. If anyone is interested or can forward this to voice talent that may be interested in the project, all relevant information is available at [url= https://www.acx.com/titleview/A2XF1WRME6B57A]https://www.acx.com/titleview/A2XF1WRME6B57A [/url].

Because all of the narrators and most of the characters are male, originally I limited auditions to men. But I've changed that as I'm far more interested in the quality of the reading and the resonance of the voice than the sex of the narrator.

Sorry I am speech impaired. Otherwise, it would be great fun.

I think most of us are speech impaired when it comes to effectively reading out loud. Like singing in the shower, it may sound heavenly to us but not necessarily to the rest of the world. Be that as it may, your voice is heard loud and clear, Alice. May it long be so!

I think I have a voice tape at ACX.  My voice is professional, clear and female.  However, I don't like shared royalties as I know how slow they are to come.  As a reader, my work takes a specific number of hours like writing.  If the royalties do not return, those hours become free. 

An example is a children's book on which I did an edit.  I quoted a price based on the number of pages.  When I got the book, the formatting and illustrations made the editing a nightmare.  I averaged .01 an hour by the time it was done.  Then, it took so long, I offered to return the advance.  The writer was not happy with the length of time, and I was unhappy with my quote.

Victor, your offer sounds tempting, however I don't think I would do justice to your work.
In my "Santa Boy" book, my voice recording of reading it to children is already on file.  I wasn't pleased with it although I was told it was very good.

People who do this kind of thing professionally have much practice at it and avoid the untimely pauses or breathing sounds that occur when a novice does it. 

Good luck with your search.

D.K.,

You have a wonderful voice. No doubt about that.

I'm only interested in a royalty sharing arrangement for this project for two reasons: first, I don't know whether Audible will attract enough sales without additional marketing, so it is a gamble for both me and the reader and I want to partner with someone who also believes in the project and is willing to do it on spec. It will be a four-hour (approximately) book, so it is not a major undertaking. Second, because I am working under the assumption that the book will need to be promoted above and beyond whatever market it finds by being included in the Audible/iTunes/Amazon catalogs, I want a partner who has an incentive to promote the book above and beyond whatever I may do on that score personally. One of the auditions for the project also quoted me a very attractive price per finished and approved (by me) hour of recording. I am just not interested in such an arrangement for this project. Thus far, frankly, my most reliable and trusted critic (my wife) prefers my cold reading of one of the shortest story in the collection to the professional auditions. Frankly, I agree with her, and would do the project myself were it not for my lack of a sound proof environment in which to record the project. 

Abe,

I agree with you. A reader needs to have not only a voice that lends itself to the material, but also the ability to read in such a way as to enhance rather than detract from the story. Even for those of us who talk for a living, it is a difficult art to master. Beyond that, a reader also needs to be able to effectively use accents when required, and to alter his/her voice sufficiently to distinguish amongst a cast of characters while moving the story forward with an appropriate level of emotion. A good reader is also a good actor. Listening to auditions makes it clear the extent to which even professionals hit the mark and fall short on these points.

I have tried to listen to my interviews on my web site - and I guess they have all been archived at their locations and no longer available.

I have a profile at at ACX but no voice tape - some profile!  I have a cd of a chapter I recorded but I can't seem to copy it to the computer.

Techno whiz, I am Iam Iamnot.

Quote :

Frankly, I agree with her, and would do the project myself were it not for my lack of a sound proof environment in which to record the project.

You don't need a soundproof room. You need a office with a door you can close, and that doesn't get loud traffic noises.

I recorded 39 tutorial videos for one of my upcoming books. The secret is a good microphone, which you can get for $70 - $100. I have a Blue Yeti bought for around $100. It's magic; it just picks up the major noise near it (your voice) and doesn't record breathing or small background noises. I also recorded the audio after I did the video.

I also use Camtasia, a program with a bit of a learning curve, but once you learn it, you'll be able to edit imperfect videos -cut out unwanted sounds, re-record bits you didn't like, etc.

DK,

I heard your NPR interview for Ghost Orchid. You have a wonderful, distinctive voice.

LC,

Thanks for the tip. I'll look into getting a Blue Yeti whether I ever do my own books or not. I have a nice home office environment, though it can be hard to work around the sounds of lawnmowers, snowblowers and (less often) neighbors'  kids playing on the street as they sometimes do when I am most productive and have the most time to devote to such projects. I could, however, record late night with a good microphone. But I'd still rather have a professional handle the job, as long as it is not too much of a compromise for me as to performance and the cadence and "voice" in my head for the characters I've created and the narrator (who is usually not far from my true voice) in my own mind.

dkchristi wrote:

Techno whiz, I am Iam Iamnot.

I hear you.

This topic gets into something I have wondered about for several years now, without knowing what I might be able to do about it. In high school, I won several awards, both locally and through UIL, for oral reading. I had forgotten about it. It lay dormant until I was asked to become a lay reader at my church. I did that on a regular basis for several years until I left that congregation a few years ago. Since, I have wondered if I might be able to earn a bit of money from the skill, but have not known how to proceed.

I do not see myself as a reader for Body of Dreams, especially if you are looking for a single reader. I would have a hard time reading Earth Mother - not because it isn't a well-written and effective story. That is the problem.  It is quite well written; I just cannot reconcile it with my own perception of the traditional Earth Mother - just my perspective.

I think - have thought for a while now, that if members of the forum could hear our voices, we would probably understand each other better.

I have an mp3 file of myself reading a bedtime poem to my granddaughter (Wynke.Blinken, and Nod). She loved hearing it from me last year when I was staying with her. I made the recording with my iphone after I returned home and sent it to her, so that her parents could play it. When I was back there this past July, I played it for her, and she laughed and loved it. However, it was spoken to and for a threee-year-old child, so the tonal quality is different.

At any rate, I do not think there is a way for us to load an mp3 file to this forum in a way that it could be heard.

I could make a recording of a passage from one of the Book of Dreams stories, but don't know how to get it to yu, or to have it available to be heard here.

Speaking of which, here's me speaking:

Ann -you can upload your mp3 to SoundCloud and link to it here.

Shelagh -Americans will listen to a British accent all day. Doesn't matter what it's saying.

It does give a different perspective to see Shelagh and hear her reading!  We could all do that I guess.  I just don't know how. 

That's why I suggested Skype.  But when I saw what I look like in the camera I decided that was a bad idea.  I think I'm much prettier when I don't see myself.  I remember my younger days I guess.  When I see myself, there's the reality of age creeping up in spite of that great, expensive face cream.

Ann,

Another option is to load a video (or an mp3 file with a photo made into a video) through YouTube which is how I made my crude short story and poetry audio samples. It takes a little time, though. Shelagh's solution is easier.

LC,

Hear hear. I'll sit mesmerized hearing either Shelagh or Emma Thompson read the phone book all day long and into the night!

Shelagh,

I liked the video very much. I think you and I balance each other nicely--you have presence and I have . . . absence.

DK,

Face cream? I've taken to wearing a Nixon rubber mask to improve my looks. Have you any idea how hard it is to shave with your eyes closed? The twenty-to-thirty-something person being held hostage in this fifty-something body might despair but for the fact that he knows he'll flee the empty shell in due course and all will be well in the end. But every time I see myself in a video looking like one of the Thanksgiving Day balloons and stammering like some demented parrot caught in a high voltage transmission line, I think of speeding up the process. Come to think of it, maybe I'll step out now and eat a cow.

Victor D. Lopez wrote:

Shelagh,

I liked the video very much. I think you and I balance each other nicely--you have presence and I have . . . absence.

     

Victor D. Lopez wrote:

Face cream? I've taken to wearing a Nixon rubber mask to improve my looks.

This made me laugh, too! When I made the video, I covered myself in make-up. Then I did endless takes to grab two minutes without me stumbling over a word! I'd expected to be all finished and cleaned up by the time my husband arrived home. As it was, I greeted him at the door with: "I know I look like a clown; I'm filming." He could hardly keep his face straight.

You do look wonderful--and you end with a glorious smile. But your lovely, neat desk makes me want to yank out my three remaining hairs by the root.