Guest Post from Trista Shaye about Reading Your Own Audiobook
I know this is off topic, but I recently asked Trista Shaye to do a guest post on my blog about voice acting, specifically if she had any advice for Indie Authors who wanted to, or are in the process of self publishing their own audiobooks. This is what she had to say.
Hello! I’m Trista Shaye – voiceover artist and YA and MG author. Super thankful for the opportunity to share with you a little about myself and hopefully answer the question: what makes an author a great person to work with on the audio version of their book. I’m here to say, this process isn’t hard and if you keep a few simple things in mind as you go into the audiobook production world, things should go fairly smoothly for you.
A little bit about me: I’ve always loved books. I used to have my library card number memorized and would order heaps of Barbie and fantasy books each week to read through. When we had sleepovers, my best friend and I would discuss the current book we were reading together and how we each pronounced the character’s names. I had lists of book titles I’d made up written on random pieces of paper and also wrote some songs for a few of them – none of these old writings have ever made it further than that.
My childhood set me up to enjoy the written word and I always dreamed of becoming an author. At sixteen I published my first full-length novel and the year after I published my second. And quite honestly, I believe that being an author myself helps me to better understand where some of the authors I work with in the audio world are coming from.
Growing up, my parents would read to us quite often. Both of them would always read each character with their own specific voice – and my mother often had a phrase she would say for specific accents, if there got to be too many characters at once and she couldn’t remember how the accent went off the top of her head.
As I grew older, and as I read more on my own, I would pick a character at the beginning of a book or series as “my” character and – either in my head, or aloud – I would read their lines like it was actually me in the story. I also believe this, as well as my history in theater and indie film, helped prepare me for the work of voiceover.
People ask me all the time, “How do you even get started in narration or voiceover?”. I usually direct them to Audible’s ACX, where it’s free to set up a narrator profile and you can audition for any titles you want, and you can usually land a project quite easily. However, I didn’t begin there.
My first book, though in the end it was published through ACX, started out on Facebook in a writers group. I believe it was God’s handiwork that I saw the post asking for auditions for the book, that I already had a nice microphone and knew how to use it, and that I was somehow the exact voice they were looking for to bring the book to life. I never once thought about being a narrator up until that point, but I had always wanted to try voice acting, and the opportunity was dropped into my lap.
My first audiobook was … a learning curve, we’ll say. I learned so much from it. But once I had finished it, I was hooked on this thing called voiceover and found I really enjoyed heading into “my office” each day for work. I loved bringing each character to life with their own unique voice, I enjoyed the challenge of changing from one accent to another and learning how to put sound effects to kid’s books. But my favorite thing as a voiceover artist and specifically as a narrator – which can also be the most frustrating part, as well – is all the people you get to meet, all the authors you form relationships with as you work on a story that’s written from their heart.
I’ve had the opportunity to produce over eighty audiobooks on ACX, and I’ve worked with about twenty-plus different authors. My experience has been mixed, as I’ve had to learn how to ask the right questions about aspects of each book, and even then, I’ve had authors lie to me. But the majority of the projects I’ve produced and the people I’ve worked with have been good, and even the bad experiences have taught me valuable lessons.
So, you’re wondering, what makes an author the best person to work for and with, or the worst? The one-word answer: communication.
That’s a pretty broad topic though, so I’ll narrow it down into several bullet points.
*Always send a reply. If a narrator contacts you prior to the audition with questions – even if they seem obvious to you – answer them with a message, even if it’s days later and you forgot; do it! I hardly ever audition for a title if I don’t get a message in response to my query, and I always send a message prior to my auditions. Answer all their questions before and during – it’s helpful to know you’re as invested in this project as we are.
*Explain the best you can about what you’re looking for. You can only explain so much about the type of voice you want and then it all comes down to hearing each audition. Post YouTube video links, or audiobook links, if you have certain voices in mind for a narrator or for characters – being able to hear what you want is much easier for a narrator to grasp than just saying, “You know, James Earl Johns, but also a bit of Delia Owens”. Can I hear what you mean when you say that?
*Post a range of characters for the audition and keep them short. Try to post a large range of characters – if your book has a large range of characters – for the audition. Also, keep the audition as short as you can – usually up to five minutes is the max. We understand you want to hear our voices but you’ll usually be able to tell if the narrator is right for you or not within the first twenty to thirty seconds and long auditions – anything above ten minutes – are unnecessary. If you like a narrator, however, you can ask them to audition again with another section of the manuscript that they either didn’t get to or you haven’t posted but you want to see if it works with their voice. Don’t ask for more than one of these extra auditions, though, unless they offer.
*Understand everyone’s voice is different. Everyone’s voice is different, and someone who might be good at voicing the little girl in your story might not have the same range to voice the deep male who comes in later on. And someone else might be able to voice both pretty well. If a narrator’s voice is generally on the higher end, don’t expect for them to strain their vocals to try and get that deep rumbling voice you might have pictured for a character. Choose what’s more important to you – which characters you absolutely want a certain way, and which can come under the narrator’s vocal range.
*Give us space to do our thing. I love it when an author gives me free rein to decided how to voice the characters – it’s (sometimes) easier and a lot more enjoyable. That being said, if you have a certain voice in mind for certain characters, please state that to begin with; but if for other’s you don’t really care as much, just let us know and cut us loose. A good narrator is an actor/actress as well and they know how to bring out voices you might not have even thought of – and sometimes, they might not have even known they were able to do. If, generally speaking, the narrator doesn’t have enough emotion in their voice – which you should have been able to tell by the audition – you can mention this. But try to refrain from “This needs to sound more sad”, “This isn’t happy enough”. Again, a good narrator is an actor/actress and they should get those cues from the writing.
*Corrections. Hey, we all make mistakes. If you notice a correction that needs to be made in the narration or a character’s line, tell us! Don’t feel shy or like you might make us feel bad, just tell us. We appreciate it, really. We’ll be more than happy to fix it, it’s probably something that takes a few seconds to do and it makes your book sound better in the end. As to full chapter revisions, that’s something you need to be careful with. You chose this narrator based on their audition and you can’t expect for them to do anything different than like in the audition. I had an author ask for me to revise several character’s voices in a chapter three different times – all the lines. Once you get into that water, you need to understand you’re likely going to have to start paying more to make up for the time you’re asking them to put into it. Also, please don’t expect for the character’s voice to always sound 100% the same through the whole book, either. Day to day your voice will sound a little different because of what you drink, how you slept, how early in the morning it is, so on. Obviously glaringly different changes in a character’s voice would need to be addressed, but something minor is best left alone. Even when I’m talking normally to someone, my voice can rise and fall in pitch depending on what’s being said. It’s honestly, realistic.
*Let those who auditioned but didn’t make the cut know. It’s always so nice to me, and rare, when I’ve auditioned for a title but not gotten it, that then the author will send me a little message and say they’ve chosen someone else but they appreciated my time. Do this, it sets you above the norm.
*Don’t lie and be nice. These go without saying but it has to be said because I’ve dealt with both. Please don’t lie about the content of your book if a narrator asks, we will find out your lying if we’re narrating it, after all, and then you have to deal with it. Not the best way to go. Also, be as nice as possible. Narrators/voiceover artists and actors/actresses in general deal with rejection constantly and are in contact with many people, just be graceful with all communication.
*Pay your narrator. You wouldn’t ask a plumber or a cover artist to do what they do professionally for free – I mean, you may but you would get some looks. Same goes for any narrator. This is their job, for me it’s my full-time job right now, and royalty share split basically means you’re asking the talent to produce your book for free trusting they’ll get a return later down the road that they may never see – for me, I record, edit and master your files; that’s a lot to do for “free” and bills don’t get paid for free. Going into getting your audiobook produced, prepare for the fact that you’re asking someone to spend countless hours bringing your words to life and prepare by saving up for it. It’s worth it to pay them. -I do several royalty share books per year, but normally I just can’t afford to. Most authors who want audio can’t afford to pay me and they know they can find someone else who will do it for free. This is hurting the voiceover, and specifically, the audiobook narrator industry, as it forces those of us who should be getting paid – which is everyone of us – into having to look further and wider for actual work.
-Royalty share plus is amazing, it’s the best of both worlds. It means a lower hourly rate is needed for you to pay the narrator, and you also split the royalties, allowing you not to break the bank, and allowing the producer to actually get paid some of what is promised up front.
*Don’t expect your narrator to be your promotional agent. I do usually post my latest projects when they’re completed to my social medias, but that’s about it. We get paid to read your book, not to promote it. Some authors think if they choose royalty share they can get their narrator to promote the book all the more because it benefits them. Truth is, I post once for all books, paid or royalty. This may sound harsh, and you can always ask if we’re willing to post or share promotional links, and usually, we’ll say yes, but don’t just expect us to.
*Review your narrator and encourage them. Tell other people about your narrator. At the end of a project, it’s always nice to know how you did, no matter who you are and what you’re doing. Like I said, we deal with a lot of rejection and knowing you appreciated our work means a lot. A review – that you can just send via message to the narrator – can be posted to our profiles and websites and can help us get future work, as well. Tell your author friends who might be interested in audio about your narrator – networking is such a great way to get us more work and we’ll always appreciate a mention even if nothing comes of it.
I hope these bullet points made sense, and more importantly, I hoped they helped you think about a few things you might not have considered before if you’re considering getting your book produced into an audiobook. I could say a heap more about all of this, but I tried not to be long-winded and just sum up some of the most important things.
I’m always open to answer any questions you might have about the process of audiobooks and you’re more than welcome to email me: tristashayeofficial(at)gmail.com
Visit me on ACX, my Website (the link for my website can also be found on my ACX profile), Instagram, or Facebook.
The Benefits of Belonging to a Community of Authors when Publishing
Words fail to express how much my author friends have helped me in my publishing journey.
Without the help and support and bartering of services with Alicia Scarborough, I would have been forced to pay someone to create covers for my various self published short stories.
The various friends who have volunteered to either BETA read or edit my manuscripts saved me hundreds of dollars in editing fees for my self-published titles. While at the same time costing me many hours in BETA reading their manuscripts in return. However, reading their works is more of a pleasure than anything else.
I have said it many times, my favorite part of being an author is meeting new author friends. Most my author friends will never be able to BETA read one of my stories. Nor will they join my ARC (advanced reader copies) team, someone who agrees to read your book before the release and post a review of your book on release day. My friends are there to help to support me when I feel depressed. Or when I want to talk out a certain problem or plot hole, and so on.
In short, I have benefited greatly by surrounding myself with other authors, sharing each other’s frustrations, successes, and literary discussions.
That is why I chose to create the Burning Embers Author Discussion Group on Facebook. And that is why Ally & I created this blog. It is another platform we can use to reach out to and help more author friends.
Publishing costs can run anywhere from $0 – as much as you desire to spend.
I have not spent a single dime on any of my current publications, self-published or traditional published.
Here are a few various categories that may cost money:
Editing:
As I have shared before, I barter services for editing, so I am not familiar with editing costs. I do know from previous inquiries that some editors charge you by the page, others charge by the word count. If you confident in your editing abilities, then you may choose to edit your own books free of charge, but I am not confident in my own editing prowess, which is why I barter services. Content editing gets very expensive, but I hear the end result is worth the cost, both in the quality of your story and in the value of the experience to improve your own writing prowess. I know the one time I bartered services for a content editor, my content editor was instrumental in helping me see what did and did not work in my book, and helped me understand why.
Cover:
There are some fantastic covers out there that cost thousands of dollars, others that are fantastic and only cost a few dollars. And you have everything in between for both cost and quality. If you publish with a traditional publishing house, you do not pay for your cover, pending on your contract with your publisher. If you create your own covers, which some of my authors friends do, then you also do not pay for covers. And if you barter services, well, then you do not pay for covers with money, just time to accomplish whatever it is you and the cover designer agreed to.
Formatting:
So I get my formatting free in three different ways. First, I barter services for formatting for some self published titles. Second, I upload my books to either Amazon KDP Publishing or Draft 2 Digital, and they do all the formatting free of charge. Third, my publisher formats my books I have contracted with them free of charge. But if you want specific formatting done just the right way, you can research how to do it yourself, you can barter services with someone who knows how to format well, or you can pay for it. I don’t know if formatting services are expensive or inexpensive, but I do know it is one other cost that needs to be taken into consideration.
The one thing that all authors need to consider when looking at publishing costs is marketing and advertising costs. The larger the publisher, the greater that publishers reach and marketing value, but that does not mean they do not do everything for their authors. It does not matter who is publishing your book, you want to look into having a marketing and advertising budget. How much you spend will depend on several variables that I cannot tell you, because they are not universal. But, in general, if you want to find new readers, well, then not spending any money at all on any aspect of marketing or advertising will be detrimental to your sales goals.
Why Traditionally Publish A Book When I Can Do It Myself?
There are a quite a few pros to publishing with a publisher. First, you have the resources of your publisher to help you market and sell books. That by itself is potentially HUGE, pending on the publisher you sign on with.
Other Pros include:
*Editing services provided by your publisher. I strongly recommend all authors to edit their books to their fullest, either themselves or others, before submitting anything to a publisher. But, a new pair of eyes on a story is always helpful.
*Book Descriptions or Blurbs. One thing that I struggle with the most on my own is crafting intriguing book descriptions for my self-published novels. My titles published through my publisher, Cosby Media Productions, have better, more enticing book descriptions than anything I can craft myself.
*Book Covers. Publishers, pending on your contract of course, have their own resources for creating book covers.
*Formatting. Publishers, here again pending on your contract, take care of the formatting.
There are more Pros, but for me personally, the above are the biggest influences as to why I sought a publisher for “The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1.”
What are the CONS to going with a Traditional Publisher?
Like with the pros, there are quite a few different cons to singing with a traditional publisher, and different authors lists of pros and cons will vary. Here are just a few of my biggest cons.
*Setting Pricing. DISCLAIMER: I have not had this problem with CMP, but a former publisher. I discussed pricing of ebooks with one publisher who desired The United, my only published title at the time, to be priced at something like $15.99 AS AN EBOOK! I don’t know about you, but as for me, I would never buy an ebook at $16, no matter the author.
*You may not like the cover the Publisher gives your book. It happens. Some publishers I have heard of will talk with you about it and change the cover, others, not so much. On this count, I have been lucky. My CMP covers are the best.
*Release Date. DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING STORY IS A COMBINATION OF THREE DIFFERENT AUTHOR FRIENDS WHO TALKED WITH ME ABOUT BOOK RELEASE WHOAS. I WAS NOT ONE OF THE AUTHORS ILLUSTRATED HERE, MY PUBLISHER HAS GIVEN THE MOST SUPPORT OF ANY ON BOOK RELEASES AND COVER RELEASES. My friend, let’s call him Jim, had book 3 of a series that I absolutely loved coming out with a small publisher. Jim was told the book would be released on Jan 1st. (No, not really New Year’s Day, I am using it for this example to illustrate what happened). But his publisher never gave Jim a pre-release link, nor a look at the cover, so he could do a cover reveal or promote pre-release sales. Searching for something else on Amazon the week before Christmas, Jim stumbled upon his Book 3, published and available for sale (not PRE-SALE mind you, but released for sale). That accidental find was the first time Jim saw his new cover, and he had to save the cover from Amazon because his publisher never released that to him personally. Moral of the story: research your publisher before you sign anything. If possible, talk with some other authors who are published with the prospective publishing firm.
*I’m tired of getting rejection letters from Publishers and Agents. On this point, some publishing firms, the BEST publishing firms among them, only accept manuscripts through literary agents. Some don’t. That does not make it a bad publisher. One publisher I would like to sign on with, and who sent me a rejection note on two separate occasions for The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1, was Shadow Mountain. They accept non-solicited manuscripts, and are a very good publisher that has seen success in marketing and selling of fantasy books, Brandon Mull’s best selling series, Fablehaven, is one of theirs. But it can be discouraging for a new author to get so many rejection notes, especially when you have faith in your book and you have the ability to self-publish.
*I want full control over every step of the publishing process. I have heard this, or if not this phrase specifically, something similar to it from many, many, many self-published authors. They want full control over pricing, marketing, promotional sales, book cover, book descriptions, etc.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Not all books are meant for every publisher. Some books will do better if self-published. Others will do better with a small press, others with a large press. Every book has its own journey, its own ideal home. I recommend you think about what you want to accomplish with the release of your current WIP (Work In Progress) before deciding how to go about publishing it.
Wow, it’s been a while since yours truly has written anything for Burning Embers.
To be honest I needed a break and I thank JQM for handling things while I was on hiatus.
So, what’s brought me back to the typewriter? What’s got me all fired up?
I’ll tell ya 😉
Apple has launched Apple Books for Authors! Woohoo!
It has a lot of cool things that make me want to do a series exclusive to Apple Books only and stop putting all my eggs into the KDP basket.
Why is Apple Books good? Well, as you know KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) has been dominating the indie publishing sphere since 2015 and frankly it’s gotten a bit too tight in restrictions for many authors.
The glory golden days of KDP are gone and over with and thus you either play by the might Zon’s rules or you get booted. Once you get booted you didn’t have many options…
Well, there is Draft2Digital but still KDP was the go to spot for your average reader in the mindset to buy and not peruse.
With Apple Books on the scene making it super easy for authors to publish on their platform I bet there’s going to be a huge change in the market. Will it be for good? Only time will tell.
The game changer
So, what’s got me absolutely crazy about Apple Books and why should you even bat an eye at it?
Take a gander at these wonderful options my fellow author friend:
Apple Books
Kindle Direct Publishing
70% royalties on every book, regardless of price
✔️
❌
No file delivery fees
✔️
❌
No limitations on offering free books to customers
I thought so too and is super inticing for me to ditch KDP all together. However, keep in mind that Apple Books does not have a program like Kindle Unlimited.
Nor do I know if you can do print books through them or get free ISBNs (yes in some countries like the USA you have to pay for your ISBN numbers) through Apple Books.
Overall, I would have to say that this is a huge step up for Apple and I hoping this gives KDP a run for their money. A little competition helps keep things fair and we indie authors have been needing this for a while now.
What are you thoughts on Apple Books? Are you excited to give it a shot? Let me know.
So, before I begin I want to say that this is in no way anything more than the personal opinion of JQM. I have nothing against Vanity Presses in the book publishing world. For some people and some projects it is the perfect option. I am not an expert on Vanity Presses, so what I am sharing is just my opinion based on my observations and personal research.
I have been approached by a few Vanity Presses in my day (email, phone calls, FB Messages, Twitter Messages, and letters), especially when The United was no longer represented by Tate Publishing, and before I signed on with Cosby Media Productions. To be honest, the biggest red flag to me that it is a Vanity Press is when they say “For X-amount of Dollars, we will publish your book.” A true traditional publisher will never ask you for money to publish your book. They take their cut out of royalties, but more on that when we talk about traditional publishers.
The disclaimer out of the way, why choose a Vanity Press to publish your book?
As far as I understand it, and as far as I can tell from my research, a Vanity Press is kind of like a one stop shop for self-publishing with less control over the publishing details, such as where your book is published, pricing, cover, and formatting.
As far as I am concerned, you as the author are in full control of the editing. Never submit a manuscript to any publisher that is not as perfectly edited as you can manage on your own. I am not saying edit solely yourself. Barter services with other authors for editing and BETA reading, and/or pay for an editing service or barter editing services BEFORE you submit your first book to any publisher. For your published book to make the best possible impression, have it as perfect as your resources can make it BEFORE submitting it to any publisher or literary agent.
CONS
So, first let’s talk about why a Vanity Press is a bad idea for your project. If you want full control of your cover, ebook distribution, or how your final book is formatted, then a Vanity Press is not for you. If you do not have money to pay for their services, a Vanity Press is not for you. If you want your book in a brick and mortar store, or you want a publisher to be strongly involved in the marketing of your book, then a Vanity Press is likely not the right fit for your project.
PROS
So, with all those cons out of the way, why would you choose a Vanity Press. That’s simple. If you, as the author, want to publish a book, but you do not want:
1) to design the cover.
2) format the various types of books (print, mobi, epub, pdf).
3) Upload the book yourself to Amazon or Draft2Digital or any other ebook distributors.
4) Want to pay someone else to do all the above for you.
Then you might look into a Vanity Press.
My Final Thoughts
Personally, I would rather take on all the hassle of self publishing, or go through the hassle of finding a publisher. But that is just me. Vanity Presses are not inherently bad. It’s just they have never been the right place for me to publish any of my projects.
