Author Welcome Guide to Audiobook Happiness
j.m. wood productions, LLC
The Audiobook Production Process:
Phase 1
THE MANUSCRIPT
As soon as possible after booking me, I’ll need the full, complete, finalized, edited (ESPECIALLY if you are self-published!!) manuscript of your book. This should be sent in a single file, clear and legible, preferably as a PDF – this makes it easier for me to read and make notes on. If it becomes clear at this point that the manuscript is so riddled with errors, duplicated paragraphs and obviously hasn’t ever seen an editor, we may have to postpone production until the manuscript is ready for prime time.
Phase 2
THE PREP
The Character Key prep sheet
This is a chance to do a deep dive on the principal characters in the story and it helps me dial in not only the voice but the complete character. Don’t fill this out for bit-parts and ancillary characters like waiters, random policemen, etc. unless they appear later as major characters.
Once I’ve read through the whole book, I’ll compile and share my Check Sheet. This a Word.doc that contains a full list of pronunciations for approval along with other issues such as:
· Ambiguous textual issues such as missing words or sentences that have got a bit mangled during rewrites. Obvious typos or editorial slips (e.g. sentences like “He bent down to give me kiss”) I will just correct in my narration as I go – but anything where the right answer isn’t clear will be checked with you in advance.
· Abbreviation preferences – for instance, if your book features a Federation of Psychic Operatives which is abbreviated to FPO, do you want that voiced with individual letters or as a single word (e.g. FAY-po)?
· Other questions.
Phase 3
THE 15 MINUTE SAMPLE
After all prep is finished, I will upload or send you a fifteen-minute sample of fully finished, retail-standard audio.
Now, despite the name, this won’t necessarily be the first fifteen minutes of your opening chapter! I will probably hit 3 or 4 different 3-minute segments of the book, targeting dialogue, accents, 3rd person exposition, etc. This is the opportunity for you to review and verify the choices I intend to make for my narration, including agreeing with the voices I choose, pacing, performance, pronunciations etc. You should provide me with any and all feedback prior to approving this submission.
This step is VERY important, since once you’ve approved the First 15, I will be free to go ahead with the recording of the entire production without further input from you. If there is any specific direction or other critical performance-related items that need to be addressed, this is the time to do it!
According to ACX, you have 10 business days to review and approve the sample. You are entitled to two rounds of pickups or revisions, and I am allowed 10 business days to perform each round of the requested changes. Also understand that you are not obligated to proof-listen my work. However, many Authors/Rights Holders willingly do so. Yes, the process of creating an audiobook is and should be considered a collaboration and not an adversarial relationship. From this point forward however, I make the artistic decisions as Talent, Director, Recording Engineer, Editor, Proofer, Mastering Engineer, Producer. In which case, I will continue to record the book in its entirety.
Phase 4
SHOWTIME!
I record your entire book, including opening and closing credits.
How long this takes depends on the length of the book as well as the complexity of the language, voice requirements, and any other factors (such as an unexpected sore throat!). It takes two to five full hours in the booth to produce one hour of raw audio, or even sometimes more for particularly demanding texts.
Phase 5
POST-PRODUCTION
Proofing, editing & mastering
Then it’s off to my patient and amazing proofer! She listens through to the entire narration along with the manuscript and provides me with a pickup package (a full list of any stumbles or weird enunciation, background rustles or microphone noises etc), labelled and time-stamped for me to re-record and correct. She also checks for consistency of pronunciation and accent, flags up anything that doesn’t seem right, and generally makes sure everything is sounding as good as it possibly can.
Once the pickups (rerecords) are complete, the files are edited and run through my personalized mastering chain to ensure even levels, consistent room tone, and a rich, clear vocal without disruptive sibilance or plosives, and checked against audio spec requirements for Audible.
Phase 6
PUBLICATION
If we’re working under contract through ACX or Findaway, I then upload the final files for the completed audiobook (including a Five Minute Retail Sample) to the project page for your final review and approval! Remember, these are to be sent back only for correction of any errors (e.g. a line of dialogue voiced as the wrong character), not performance choices or textual changes. ACX allows for up to two rounds of *reasonable* corrective rerecords.
FAQ
How can I cancel the contract?
First, I will ask to please be communicative and let me know what the issue is and give me an opportunity to make it right.
If, for whatever reason, you are dissatisfied with my narration and wish to dissolve this Agreement (under which I have met my deadline obligations) in order to seek out a more suitable narrator, ACX makes accommodation for that. However, for my protection and compensation for the effort to deliver the completed work in good faith, ACX will require the Rights Holder to pay a Cancellation Fee – commonly called a Kill Fee. This is covered in detail under Section 8 of the ACX Audiobook Production Standard Terms.
Can you produce my 10 hour audiobook in a week?
No. I will be upfront and transparent with you and give you a best-estimate as to a time frame, but if I am working on NO other projects ahead of yours, I will ask for a 5 to 6-week lead time.
Do you do audiobook promotion?
Yes…and no. I’m super excited about your book, so I will, of course, holler about it on my social channels, but the author bears primary responsibility for the promotion of the book, especially when it comes to paying for advertising or promotion.
What are the genres you narrate in?
Pretty much anything and everything except material that constitutes torture-porn or graphically depicts the abuse of children.
I otherwise love horror, thrillers, noir, historical fiction, gothic fiction.
What are your rates?
My standard rates are as follows:
PFH: $250 minimum; $350 if the book is selling well, $400+ for best-sellers or a well-known author.
Royalty-Share Plus: $125 PFH
I will consider Royalty Share Plus on ACX only if the eBook is selling a minimum of 30 copies per month.
Royalty-Share: Available when print or ebooks are selling 100 copies or more per month.
What is Royalty-Share Plus?
Royalty-Share Plus is an ACX setup whereby the narrator is paid a minimal Per-Finished-Hour fee in addition to sharing the royalties.
This is to ensure two things: 1) that you can attract a skilled, professional narrator for a book that would otherwise not earn enough to compensate the narrator’s work, and 2) that the narrator can afford the professional services like proofing and editing that ensure a quality product.
"I can't afford your rates. Can we make another deal?
I’ll narrate for yamadori bonsai plants. 🙂
Otherwise, no. BUT there are solution paths! What’s your followership on the socials? Many authors are finding success in crowd-sourcing the money necessary to fund the audiobook production. Run a Kick-starter campaign. I could do some live narration for your Patreon subscribers.
I can't afford you. I'm thinking about going with an A.I.
While TTS technology is good and improving, it lacks the ability to see between the lines, find nuance, subtext, accents and bring the emotion, especially when it’s raw. Imagine how a computer might voice a scene where a woman walks in on her cheating spouse. Robots don’t do raw pain and rage. Non-Fiction, you say? Robots don’t care about the entomology of bees like you do. It can only simulate.
Ask yourself: is “eh, passable” good enough for you? You made a beautiful cake. Wouldst thou then ice the cake with excrement? Would you read a book you knew was just a prompt output from a machine? Do you respect authors who disrespect the craft of writing and publish A.I. output for a few bucks?
The data shows so far that readers want authenticity. The reviews of Amazon’s Virtual Voice audiobooks aren’t great. I’ll be here when it doesn’t work out; no judgment.
Let's make some audio magic!
Send me an email and let's talk!
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