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With the advent of audiobooks, the way people read books has changed. An Audiobook is a recording of a book or other similar works. Recording the entire book (word-for-word) is termed as “unabridged” while recording a shorter version is described as an “abridge.” Audiobooks can be either of the two versions, and the final recording is made available to the audience via the best audiobook apps.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the tips that can help you pick the right audiobook voice over artist who can bring your project to life. Before that, here are a few factors you need to consider while creating an audiobook.
Contents
1. Factors to Consider When Creating an Audiobook
When it comes to creating an engaging audiobook, the top five factors you need to consider, includes your target audience, industry trends, popular distribution platforms, budget, and the voice over artist for audiobooks. Let’s take a brief look at these factors below.
1. Target Audience: There are several questions you need to answer concerning your target audience.
- Who have you written the book for? Is it for children, young adults, or adults?
- Is it a guide or a self-help book for a niche audience, especially senior citizens?
- Knowing what percentage of your target audience prefer audiobooks over regular paperback or hardback cover book can also help you make an informed decision.
Once you know the answers to these questions, you can decide whether or not to turn a book/novel into an audiobook.
2. Latest Industry Trends: Audiobooks are currently the most flexible and rapidly growing publishing segment. Current trends include retailers bundling e-books & audiobooks, smartphones offering popular audiobook apps, car manufacturers offering free audio content with the purchase of a new car, and of course, the fast-growing educational audiobooks for e-learning projects..
3. Distribution Platforms: You need to understand which platform works best for you and which platform is the most preferred by your target audience. There are several audiobook apps available such as Audible, Spotify, Audiobooks.com, Google Play Books, to name a few. Conduct thorough research on these platforms to understand their customer reach, delivery models, the revenue they offer, to make an informed decision.
4. Budget: Voice-over narration for audiobooks is challenging, so you need to have a substantial budget if you want to hire an experienced VO artist. There is no fixed voice-over rates for audiobooks as most audiobooks voice-over artists determine the cost based on the scope of the project.
5. Voice Over Artist for Audiobooks: The success of your audiobook depends on the quality of the audio and how engaging the voice is. Recording an audiobook is a lengthy process that requires consistency. Thus, only a seasoned female or male voice-over artist can do this job with perfection. To help you make the right choice, we have listed some tips that can help you hire the best voice over artist for your first audiobook.
2. Male Voice Over Artist or Female Voice Over Artist: Which to Pick?
The first question you need to tackle when hiring a VO artist is whether you need a male or a female voice over artist, depending on the characters and storyline.
- If you want to record your audiobook in the first person i.e., narration from the main character’s point of view, then it is a simple choice. Based on the story, you can pick either a male or a female artist.
- In cases when there is no specific lead character or in cases of multiple characters, you need to be more judicious. Determine which voice (male/female) would suit better for the audiobook voice-over and why.
- For non-fiction books, it depends on the genre of the audiobook. Pick a male voice artist for a firm & authoritative narration, while a female voice artist is generally preferred for a soothing & calm narration. But either can work well in all scenarios as they can adapt their tone/voice to match the character’s persona.
3. How to Choose a Voice Over Artist for Audiobooks?
Audiobooks are trending among book lovers nowadays. Therefore, selecting a perfect and suitable voice for your audiobook becomes mandatory for its success. Listed below are some tips I believe will help you choose the right partner for your audiobook.
1. Versatility: This is the key characteristic of a professional voice-over artist. Remember, an artist who is good at playing a funny character may not be able to pull off an insurance commercial.
- You need to know if he can alter/modify his tone from funny to villainy to salesy to casual without much effort.
- Most essentially, check whether they are a good storyteller.
- Another aspect to consider is if they can speak in different accents naturally.
- You can also ask them for a voice-over demo to see if they can adapt their tone to suit a particular character.
2. Experience: Experience is another aspect to consider while selecting a voice-over artist for audiobooks. Most PRO-voice-over artists don’t have a degree or formal training in the art of narration. They have become the best at what they do through constant practice.
3. Check their Demos/Past Published work: You can always ask them to show you their past published works or demos to understand if they match your expectations before you decide to hire them. Listening to their previous works gives you a fair idea if they are suitable for your voice-over project. Check out some of the audiobooks I’ve done for Audible and Audiobooks.com.
- Check out my narrated Audiobooks on Audible
- Chanakya New Manifesto: To Resolve the Crisis within India
4. Check Reviews/Testimonials: Checking reviews and testimonials of the voice over artist is probably one of the most common things to do before contacting them. Make sure to check reviews both online and offline. Have a look at their website, social media page, or any other written material online.
5. Costs: If it is your first audiobook, you want to be practical and stick to your budget. To this end, it is important to check the cost of the voice-over narration. Based on the expertise they are bringing to the table, a skilled VO artist is likely to charge a premium price. However, by hiring them, you are assured of quality work and timely delivery. This will save you a lot of trouble, and enable you to deliver your content quickly to your audience.
Conclusion
Hiring an experienced voice-over artist is essential, especially if it is your first-ever audiobook. Firsts are always special, and if you want to execute it to perfection, then you need to partner with skilled talent. Having worked on numerous voice-over projects in the past, I have the required skills to bring a project to life and move your listeners. So, get in touch with me if you want to partner with a VO artist who’ll ensure your audiobook project makes a huge impact.
