How To Choose the Best Narrator for Your Audiobook Part 1 ~Audiobook Production via ACX

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Tristan Hunt and I have started a YouTube series of How-To's to help authors with the audiobook production process of their books.

The number one question I am asked when I teach about audiobook production at writer's conferences is, "How do I choose a good producer/narrator for my book?" Please comment and let us know if this is helpful to you, or if you have any other questions for us. Thanks for visiting!



I think it's important to listen to what Tristan is trying to say about this endeavor being a creative "production." This is a collaboration to create a new product and a new way to experience your story. One reader told me she gets something different out of each format, which I found intriguing. But even reading an eBook is a different experience from reading the same story in print. So it's important to make sure the audiobook experience is just as enjoyable and unique to that format. And if you don't take care in your narrator choice, you will hurt sales because that experience won't be as great as it could have been for your audience.

The first thing to ask yourself as you begin to look for a producer/narrator is:
 
Did you write the book in first person or third?
 
If you wrote in first person then you must match the gender of the reader to the gender of the main character. If you wrote first person from more than one character's point of view, then you need a reader to match the gender of each. Note: ACX is, in my opinion, the best place to find the right narrator for you story and get production going.