![]() You’re not getting constant street noise. ![]() There’s no hum of machinery that can’t be turned off.To record in the comfort of your own home, you need a quiet space. In Los Angeles (where I am), a few of our public libraries have creator labs that provide recording space for free. Do you happen to know a voiceover artist with a home studio? Or a studio owner who would exchange recording time for copywriting services? With a little extra digging, you might find opportunities to use someone else’s space for super cheap or even free. Make sure making a self-recorded audiobook in a studio is still more affordable than hiring a pro. Recording hours x hourly rate for recording studio = Total cost Number of words in your book ÷ 9,000 = finished hours If you live anywhere near a mid-sized city, you’re likely to find a few good options in a Google search.īefore you book a studio, do the math. Even a lot of coworking spaces now include podcast studios. Recording spaces are more prevalent than ever before. These days, it’s entirely possible to set up a decent recording space in your home without dropping a ton of cash.īut let’s consider all the options. You’ll need to either rent a space or set up your own studio. Now, what if you want to narrate your own audiobook? Recording the Audiobook (20 hours of work ÷ 2 hours a day = 10 days)įactoring in weekends, two weeks is probably the smallest turnaround window you want to ask for. They’ll need ten days to record your entire audiobook. So you should assume your voice artist will only work on your book for about two hours each day. Now, after about two hours of recording, the voice gets tired and quality starts slipping. (10 finished hours x 2 hours of audiobook recording = 20 hours) That means it’ll take them a maximum of 20 hours to record your audiobook. ![]() ![]() (90,000 words ÷ 9,000 words per finished hour = 10 hours)Ī professional audiobook narrator takes up to two hours to record one finished hour. That means you can expect your audiobook to be ten hours long. Let’s say your novel is 90,000 words long. Explain exactly what’s needed, your desired timeline, and the terms of the agreement. Ask yourself if this is a voice or a delivery style you’d want to listen to for several hours.įinally, be clear about the parameters of the job. If you ask for recorded auditions, be sure to provide a sample that gives audiobook narrators the best opportunity to demonstrate their ability to:įind a voice artist who’s easy to understand. On any of the platforms I mentioned before, you’ll either search a directory of voice artists directly or post your project details and receive offers. Plus, the hidden benefit of hiring established voice talent is that they’ll likely promote your audiobook to their following, too. If you can find space in your budget to hire professionals, go for it. You also may have to invest some money in recording equipment if you DIY, like a quality microphone, soundproofing equipment, audio editing software, and potentially online courses on voice acting or narration. Listeners will bail if they don’t like the narration. Just be aware that the narration truly does make or break your audiobook. If you can’t afford to hire an audiobook team, have excellent narration and tech skills, and are willing to invest the time, try the DIY route. But that’s a tough deal to strike if you don’t already have a strong sales record. This means you don’t pay anything upfront but you have to split your royalties with them. For reference, about 9,000 words take up one finished hour.ĪCX also gives you the option to create a Royalty Share agreement with your audiobook narrator. “Finished hour” refers to the actual playing time of your audiobook once it’s complete. As for the Cost…ĭepending on the skill level of the team you hire, you’re looking at anywhere between $100-500 per finished hour. Both Amazon’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) and Findaway Voices make it really easy to hire professionals through their systems. You can also make an audiobook using talent you find in the distribution platform you plan to use. Or you can find audiobook producers, narrators, and audio editors on freelance websites like Voices, Upwork, and Fiverr. It’ll be a massive time investment, but it’s probably your least expensive option. You can go full DIY, meaning you narrate, edit, and distribute the audiobook yourself. There are a lot of ways you can go about doing this.
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