Voice Acting

Information for Rights Holders

I’m excited to get started on your project! I know you’ve put a lot of work into it and I will take the same care with the audio performance. 

The following information will help make the project go smoothly. 

Contact info: me@tiffanyford.dev

Please contact me by email for the fastest communication. Also, if we are using the ACX system, we need to send any emails regarding scheduling changes through their message system as it is the official record of communications for ACX projects.

Auditions

Most authors like to hear how the prospective narrator will perform their words. I will be happy to supply a custom audition lasting no more than 5 minutes from your text.

Choose 2-3 pages of your book for me to record. You may decide to choose pages from different scenes or chapters. For instance, I’d suggest an interaction between the main characters in a fiction book.

Schedule

When we agree that I will record your book, I’ll coordinate dates and establish 2 due dates for the audiobook:

  1. the first 15 minutes (see item 3 below)
  2. the complete audiobook

Payment

I ask new clients to pay 50% of the fee as a non-refundable deposit after approving the 15-minute checkpoint file. Once I submit the full, retail-ready audiobook to you, I’ll send an invoice for the remaining balance. Payment is due upon receipt.

The final invoice is based on the actual finished time and may differ from my estimate.

If we’d be contracting directly rather than going through ACX, Findaway, or Upwork, I would withhold the end credits and retail sample until the invoice is paid.

Production Process

I want to give you a behind-the-scenes look at my audiobook production process. This will help you understand how I work so we can be good partners.

  1. I receive the complete, recordable manuscript in PDF or Microsoft Word format.
    • I prefer to receive the complete book before I audition so that I can determine if I am a good fit for the material.
  2. Once we have entered a contract for me to produce and narrate the audiobook, I read the manuscript cover to cover and make choices affecting how I will record the book.
  3. If you have character bios, please send them to me! It’s particularly helpful when an author can tell me things that aren’t in the book, like:
    • Who would you cast for this role if you were producing a movie? I don’t imitate people or provide a voice match, but it’s usually helpful to use other people as inspiration for a character’s voice.
    • Is this book part of a series with recurring characters?
    • Are there any pronunciations of words or names that are made up or not easily researched? Sometimes authors have a preference for a character’s name or have invented the city or world they live in.
  4. During my prep, I look for clues about the characters or people in the book, including:
    • their age
    • their socioeconomic standing
    • their native region and/or specified accent
    • their quirks and attributes
  5. I do meticulous pronunciation research as I prepare the text. Your notes and guidance help greatly in this process as well.
  6. I record the first 15 minutes and send it to my editor. We perfect it before sending it to the rights holder (RH) for approval.
    • This 15-minute checkpoint usually is the first 15 minutes of the audiobook. However, it could include passages taken later in the book if the RH wants to check certain character voices.
    • The RH should listen to this file and provide me with any feedback about pacing, tone, character voices, and pronunciations. This is your chance to offer any specific comments about the performance.
    • Once the RH approves this file, I complete the audiobook without further input.
  7.  I record the entire audiobook. 

I perform the text in the book word-for-word as written. I must read the words on the page in the order they are written, without adding, subtracting, or transposing words while maintaining any character voice and using the proper inflection and emotion for the context. Narration is not as easy as it sounds!

I frequently find typos in the book and correct them in the recording as I am saying that line.

To improve listener comprehension, I will say the full name of an abbreviation or acronym the first time I come across it and use the initials thereafter. I may use contractions in fictional dialogue if it would be keeping with the character.

Non-fiction works may also require me to add clarifying transitional words or descriptions of material. If your work relies heavily on information contained in charts or sidebars, I recommend that you create a PDF to accompany the audiobook and change your text to indicate the page in the PDF to find the reference material. This site shows how to create the PDF, and this page from the ACX help system has instructions for including it with your audiobook.

Important note: Audiobook narration is a performance art based on my interpretation of the author’s text. As a result, I make integral artistic and directorial choices as I record. I therefore don’t accept artistic or directorial change requests past the 15-minute checkpoint. Thank you for understanding.
  1. I send the audiobook and my pronunciation research to my editor for editing and proofing.
    • My editor adjusts the pacing and eliminates noises that distract the listener. He checks the text as he listens to ensure that my reading matches the author’s words and notes any corrections I need to make.
  2.  I re-record the sentences my editor identified that require corrections.
    • These sentences are known as pick-ups. They may have technical errors, such as mispronunciations, and misreads, or noises that couldn’t be edited out, such as excessive mouth clicks or extraneous background noise.
  3. My editor seamlessly inserts the pick-ups into the original audio and masters the files to give them a consistent and pleasing finished sound.
  4.  I upload the final, retail-ready files to the rights holder for approval and distribution.

Due to my research and the corrections process, I’ve rarely had an instance where a rights holder asked me to re-record a mispronounced word.

However, I will correct any technical errors of mispronunciations and misreads, even if it means fixing them multiple times throughout the book. As stated above, I do not make artistic or directorial changes after the 15-minute checkpoint.

Sometimes rights holders want to re-write passages after they have heard the audiobook. If my schedule accommodates me to re-do such sections, I will invoice the client for 1.5 times my PFH rate on the re-worked passages as I would be going through steps 4-8 a second time.

Other resources you may find helpful:

Audiobook Resources for Authors  http://www.AudioForAuthors.com

My Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet  http://www.AudiobookMarketingTips.com