Audiobook narration is a specific skill, so simply choosing a random voice actor is not a good tactic. Audio hours vs personhours if youre looking to sell our your own ebook then have a look at jareds post at startups open sourced. The audio book segment is one the fastest growing segments in book publishing. Accordingly, if you have a 60,000word book, your finished audiobook would likely have a runtime length between 7 and 8 hours. Do you want to pay them for their efforts upon completion of the audiobook a fee per finished hour. Since some companies are set up to pay for general transcription on a per word basis, i am having a hard time deciphering how that compares to those that pay by the audio hour. Each production must be delivered fully edited and ready to listen. Jun, 2011 the industry rule of thumb is that it takes 6. Work your way down the rates and select all that apply.
Sign up to get modern mrs darcy blog posts delivered directly to your inbox. The big benefit for the client is the cost saving in not spending 23 hours debreathing each hour of audio. Remember, oftentimes that cost only includes narration, and audio engineering, editing, costs for marketing and reselling are additional. Voiceoverxtra is the voice actor\s daily resource for building voice over success. Final corrections are made until audio is approved. An audiobook may not be the best choice if your book includes a hefty helping of dialogue.
How to make an audiobook an independent publishers. My wife and i are driving to boston and back this weekend 4 hours each way and we wanted to find an audiobook that we could start and finish in this timeframe. A reading of the complete text is described as unabridged, while readings of a shorter version, or abridgement of the text are labeled as abridged spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. In this post, im going to walk you through the pros and cons of the different options. Voiceoverxtra audiobooks hours to produce a \finished. Final running time of the completed audiobook including credits. Now king and maxwell are playing the hour game, uncovering one horrifying revelation after another and putting their lives in danger. Then a series of secrets leads the partners right into the frantic hunt that is confounding even the fbi. So, the payment per finished hour requires anywhere from 36 hours of actual work. The total cost is based on the exact length of the finished.
When i told them the estimated timeline ratio of about 4 hours of work per finished hour of audiobook, some of them responded that they thought a more experienced narrator could do the task in less time. This means if you have an hourlong audiobook, then your investment could be anywhere from. As an audio editing expert with 20 years experience i will professionally edit and mix your 30 minute podcast or audiobook 2 revisions included, and perform the following services. How to turn your novel into an audiobook ny book editors. Therefore i am looking to set up some sort of reference point here. Audio is edited to specification and formatted as an audio book. If you have narration recorded but do not have the audio edited, i can do this. The official rate card below works like building blocks. Typically, narration is performed at the rate of about 8000 words per hour. The longer the book, the higher the estimate will be.
An audiobook or talking book is a recording of a book or other work being read aloud. Understandably, some voice overs do not want their voice to be out there with breaths on it. Professionally edit and mix your podcast or audiobook. Not insane considering it is an art form, and most of these guys took years to hone their craft. For longer lengths use this handy formula to determine the running time for your audiobook.
Note that it usually takes twice as long, if not longer, to edit a voice over than it does to record it. The average rate per hour of work regardless of the length of the audio. Word count editing recording total estimate total wvoice 110,000. A common metric in audio production is cost per finished hour pfh. Therefore, a 10hour audiobook could require 60 or more hours to produce. If we charged for each studio hour, only the largest publishing companies would ever be able to afford to produce an audiobook. Generally speaking, a finished audiobook should have a small amount of headroom and a good average volume aided by compression and eq. When you hire someone to produce your audiobook for you, they are typically paid per finished hour of your audiobook. What is the standard rate words for audiobook narration. Or if you have an audio editing background, you could save some serious money by doing the editing through your own software and equipment. Why should it be assumed that audiobook production be quoted at one rate that automatically includes narrating, preparing, engineering, editing, proofing, file rendering. I indicated that this might be so, but i didnt think so. The time spent editing will vary depending on the audio engineering skills a narrator possesses.
The per finished hour rate might seem steep at first, but you have to account for the additional time it takes to prepare, record, edit and master highquality audio files. I tend to bundle the editing and production costs together and base that on the fact that one hour of raw audio will take 23 hours to edit and produce. I tend to bundle the editing and production costs together and base that. Once they have done the prep work, recording is straightforward. We pay narrators by their pfh per finished hour rate, meaning they get paid based on the duration of the final performance. For the closer they get to the truth, the closer they get to. All we ask from you is that each mistake is marked by a transient in the audio file. For detailed info on key steps, read the acx audio submission requirements on our web site. Story brief, notes, and visual assets available for prep. Recently, i was asked the same thing by several local authors. So, what is your average word count for one hour of audio.
The icing on the cake is to put the fully edited audiobook through some nice processing to give it a nice, clean and clear sound. For an audiobook, your calculation of time involved to completed hour is pretty accurate. Also, while some narrators are strictly performers, more and more narrators like myself are working as narratorproducer, where in addition to voicing the book, we also do the editing. So, i finished that and now am listening to the dan stevens narration of the book. These audiobook narrators will provide us with the finished audio files, completely edited and ready to submit to audible. Amount of time taken to record, edit, process and upload the completed audiobook. A standard read rate for audiobooks is 9,300 words per hour. I can help you with any or all the steps of this process. The other common metric and what we use at archangel ink is cost per word. However, it usually cost thousands to have an audio book professionally recorded and edited to be sold commercially.
I also cover a lot of this and more in my book recording audiobooks. For instance, audible uses an average rate of speed of 155 words a minute, or 9300 words per finished hour. However, we have been involved with a good number of audio book. Embedding the cover art, chapter names, etc and exporting in m4b format. For editing and post production of your self narrated audiobook you will get a fully edited and enhanced audiobook that will bring out the best possible sound of your recording offering your audience a great listening experience. You can determine the estimated numbers of finished audio hours by dividing the total word count by 9,300. Per finished hour means one hour of retailready audio that meets acx specifications. Their rates are based on a finished hour, which includes the narration and necessary editing. We can estimate the cost of your audiobook by multiplying a per finished hour narrator rate with the estimated length of your finished recording. Look for someone who has experience with longform narration and preferably audiobook production. It includes the time required to prep, record, edit and engineer the narration files, and administrative tasks such as uploading files. What you need to know before selfpublishing an audiobook. Ive been asked to give a quote for editing an audiobook for a.
This hourly offer is for 30minutes5,000 words of finished audio readytouse mp3 file that meets and exceeds acxaudible standards. All prices are based on roughly 9000 words per finished hour. How much does it cost to turn your book into an audiobook. Excellent questions and with close to a dozen voice actors on staff at our company, i can definitely answer your questions. For example, if you have a five hour audiobook, it can often take the narrator. Turn your book into a perfect audiobook acx or m4b by. I accidentally checked out the bbc production of the play, which is only about 90 minutes long. Example a book is 80,000 words read rate is 9,300 words per hour 80,000 divided 9,300 8. Ive been an audio producer for various media for 15 years. How to quote accurately for an audiobook production.
While there are definite reasons to convert your novel into an audiobook, there are times when an audiobook isnt the right choice. Hes had great success with it and has written up a detailed howto of the steps involved. As an audio producer of television promos, and before that a studio engineer with one of the top recording studios in hollywood, ive spent far more than 6 hours just working on a single 30second promo or radio commercial. Professionally narrate edit and produce your audiobook. An audible approved producers insider secrets for voice actors wanting to record acx audio books via audiobook creation exchange. How long does it usually take someone to produce 1 finished hour of. It usually takes 2 hours of recording for every finished hour of audio. Audiobook publishing dont leave money on the table.
For example, a professional narrator can frequently record 3040 mins for an audiobook in one hour. It takes 46 hours to professionally produce one hour of finished audio. This takes an additional 12 hours of work per finished hour of audio. Can you afford to hire a high quality voiceover actor, and have your audiobook professionally edited. How many words are in your script and where will the audio be used. This includes the book prepresearch, initial recording, editing, proofing, recording any necessary changes or corrections, and mastering your audiobook so that it. As the voice over industry\s online news, training and resource center, voiceoverxtra is a must have resource for anyone involved with the voice over industry, and the best place for newcomers to begin researching and learning about a career in voice overs. How much does a voice actor cost for recording an audiobook.
This is because they may be well prepared andor are able to sight read making very few errors. We have found that it generally takes a total of around 6. The term per finished hour refers to the number of actual edited and mastered hours the project clocks in on its finished presentation. To take advantage of this special offer, visit visit s. Narrators set their pfh rate and may change their rate at any time. With a son tiger fighting in nam, college age kirby working on marthas vineyard, eldest daughter blair pregnant with twins back in boston, kate only has thirteenyearold jessie with her at her moms nantucket summer home. Audiobook creation costs simplified audiobook revolution. Add about 3 hours perhaps 4 for editing each hour of recorded audio, and this may be unique to. Audiobook publishing self publishing self publishing. How long does it take to edit one finished hour of an audiobook. You can use our calculator below to estimate the cost of professional audiobook production.
Narrate an audiobook voice talentaudio production project overview. How long does it take to record and edit an audiobook. The same narrator reading a technical elearning programme may only record 10. If an author requests an audition within 7 days of a rate change, we request the. The average rating on the audio version is a phenomenal 4. Linda, one of the lowest per hour was thackerays vanity fair.
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