Audiobook Process Overview

Receiving the Manuscript & Notes

Manuscript Format

I will need the full manuscript of the book in either PDF or Word document format. This must be the final version of the book, not a draft. (I Clarify this for Rights Holders that have not yet published their books and may want the audiobook to publish at the same time.) PDF is preferable to me as that is the most successful format for the program I use for proofing. 

 

Typos and Grammatical Errors 

As you know, nothing is ever 100% error-free, and I often come across typos or other things that were missed (not because I’m a great proofreader, but because I’m reading every single word aloud!) If I do come across an error, would you prefer I read everything as is, word for word, or make notes and let you know of any errors I may come across?

 

Character and Pronunciation Notes

Along with the manuscript, I need to receive any book notes that are important to you so I can perform this in a way you imagine. These are notes on content, such as character notes, that may not be stated in the book but you think will be helpful for me as I narrate.

 

Here are some examples.

 

Character notes - these can include:

• Age

• Location - Where the character is from: country, city, culture particulars

• Identity (contextual) - includes ethnicity, socioeconomic, educational, sexual background

• Accent - if any other than standard American English

• Name Pronunciations - especially if unusual or not obvious

• Adjectives - descriptive of their attitude, voice traits, talking pace, and so on (Deep, light,sarcastic, gruff, kind, cocky, flighty, timid, etc.)

Series notes:

• Any characters that recur later

• Any minor characters in this book that have larger roles later.

• Any story arcs or plots that are good to keep in mind for later.

 

It’s important that I receive pronunciations before recording starts. If I don’t, and it turns out I’ve been pronouncing something incorrectly, well, that’ll need to be fixed. That will involve cost: time for me, and in some cases, expense for you.

 

It’s also important that I receive character notes, so I don’t find out CHAPTERS in that the MC has an irish accent, which I hadn't been doing the entire time. If I do not get these notes, I will feel free to take liberties with the character development as any reader would (Which i’m more than happy to do). I’m not looking for notes for every single character, but just the ones that are important enough for you to mention them. 

 

For Pronunciations, Especially for Fantasy, I will send over a list of words I am unsure of how to pronounce with a recording of myself saying them how I think they are said, if it is not approved, I will need to hear you say them. You can either send me a voice recording on Instagram/whatsapp/text, we can have a phone call, or you can leave a voicemail. 

 

For Character Notes You will write the character notes off the top of your head in my Onboarding Form. You DON’T need to flip through your work digging up characters, because after I go through the manuscript, I will collect the list of character names, enter any notes I have already received or gathered on my own and send it over to you for approval. After you see the list, you can let me know if any characters you forgot, or didn't mention, are important enough for you to let me know of any other notes. 

 

Character Voice Lines will be recorded and emailed to you for approval after I have all the character notes.

 

Prepping the Manuscript

Again, I will need the full manuscript of the book in either PDF or Word document format. This must be the final version of the manuscript, not a draft.

 

I read the entire book, making notes to aid in narration: highlighting dialogue, researching any pronunciation, and making any performance notes for myself.

 

Audiobook Omissions

If you’ve listened to audiobooks, you know that certain parts of the book are left out, most often because they would detract from the listener’s experience, or add nothing to it. 

 

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Production Sample - “The First 15”

 

After prepping the book, I record an excerpt. On ACX, this is usually called “the first 15 minutes”; other platforms call it a “performance sample”. First 15 is sometimes a misnomer, especially in fiction, as I will most often try to include a section that includes the most main characters. Also, more times than not, I do more than 15 min.

 

I then send this to you for your feedback. This is a critical step. It’s where you give your approval for any performance choices I make in the excerpt. This Preview is your last chance to give me your notes and feedback on performance, pace, characters etc. I will make however many changes as many times as you like during this process so we can nail the right feel. THIS is the time to be picky if you feel the urge. After this preview, the only notes I will accept from you will be for technical issues or reading errors. (More about those two things in a later section.)

 

Narrating and Recording

Now it’s time for me to do the actual narration, to take your brilliant work and give it a voice!  How long narration takes depends on the length of the book itself, how complex the text is to read, and other factors.

 

During this time, you may not hear a lot from me. Rest assured, I’m hard at work. My aim is always to complete the book according to our agreed-upon schedule, barring any unforeseen circumstances. If something untoward happens, I will contact you immediately.

Live Streaming

While in the recording process, I enjoy going live on Tiktok and/or Twitch. This is an awesome way to help me build my platform, have material to create content, and a fun way to stay connected with me as well as followers (and maybe future readers/listeners!) It is absolutely up to you whether or not it is okay for me to do this and I will be asking in the onboarding form if you are okay with this. 

 

Proofing

Once initial recording is done, I have a third party listen to the entire recording, comparing it to the text. I make mistakes too, and anything that needs fixing such as technical glitches, the wrong text was read, mispronunciations are noted, called “pickups” 

 

Editing & Mastering

Once I collect the list of pickups for the entire manuscript, I then go back through the recording and fix them.

 

After this, I master the files to meet the technical standards specified by ACX or the final distributor.

 

Delivery & Approval

After proofing, editing and mastering is complete, you come back into the process.

 

All the files will be made available to you to listen to and give your feedback. On ACX, this will be on their website; in other cases, it will be different, and I’ll advise as to how the files will be made available to you.

 

I need you to listen to the entire audiobook. I know that may be asking a lot, but it’s critical to the process. This is your opportunity to find any additional errors that slipped through the cracks in the proofing and editing process.

 

At this point, your job is to note any instances of:

 

Technical errors: Glitches, missed edits, background noise—essentially, anything that distracts from the performance

 

Narrator errors: Mispronunciations, stumbles, etc. These all should be taken care of in the proofing & editing, but there’s always a slim chance something gets missed.

 

Any notes on performance or characters? Sorry, these are only addressed after the first 15. I’m afraid it’s too late for those now.

 

Once you’ve listened to the entire audiobook, submit any notes you have to me. I usually provide an online spreadsheet for this purpose. I will go through your notes, make any final corrections, and get the files ready for submission.

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Payment

For ACX Royalty Share:

Everything will be handled through the platform.

 

For PFH(Paid Finished Hour) on ACX:

Mostly will be handled through the platform, but we will need to work out a preferred method of payment. 

 

For PFH for-Dual, Duet and/or off ACX contracts:

ACX only allows one narrator at a time being on the contract they provide through the platform. The second or multiple narrators will need to be on a contract “offsite”. ACX provides the information about this and the template contract here. Which I will fill out with project details and provide when working “offsite”.  

Based on a narrating pace of 140wpm. I will write up an estimate invoice according to the word count of where the project time and cost will likely land, but narration pace will vary depending on project.

 

I can accept payment through Check, Venmo, PayPal, Credit Card, and Direct Deposit.

 

Why is Dual/Duet not listed under royalty share?

Because only one narrator is allowed on the contract, both narrators can’t get a cut of the royalties when sales are made. The amount of coordination and work that goes into managing a multi-narrator project will typically be compensated by doing PFH projects.