Karen Commins

Time required to narrate and produce audiobooks

28 November 2009

Two weeks ago, the following ad appeared on one of the freelance work sites. While it wasn’t on a site aimed solely at voiceover talent, it prompted me to write about the time required for audiobook production.

Hello. I am looking to turn 14000 word e-books into audio and or video format, this will be ongoing work i know it is a simple process to do and can be done free with max and or various softwares, if you have the knowledge and have done this before please reply this will be ongoing work i will pay $40 per e-book converted into audio. If you have a sample of your work please provide it this will help me make my dicission. [sic]

In reading this ad, I’m not clear what kind of work is actually requested. I’m not even sure the ad’s author knows what s/he wants. However, 2 things are immediately evident to me:

a 14,000-word book is about 1.5 hours of finished audio narration
$40 is entirely too little pay to even consider narrating this e-book

Paul Strikwerda, a Pennsylvania voice talent and thought-provoking blogger, wrote a most excellent and thorough analysis of the recording aspect of audiobook work titled Breaking down an audio book rate. He outlines the process for estimating the finished run time and consequently a recording rate based on the pages and words in a book. It’s a terrific article that I wish I had written, and I highly encourage you to read it and his other articles about setting rates.

But Paul’s article only tells half the story. What about the editing and production aspects of audiobook work?

Since I usually work alone in my stunning soundproof studio, I have to consider my total time commitment when submitting a bid on audiobook work. My rule-of-thumb is that each finished hour of audio requires 4 hours of real time to create: 1.5-2 hours to record and 2 hours to edit. While editing, you must consider the overall story flow when determining tracks, as well as editing pauses for dramatic effect.

If the person who wrote the ad above is expecting a voice talent to narrate his e-book, I can easily estimate that I might need 6 hours in my studio to complete the process. If I divide 6 into 40, I get an hourly rate of $6.66. If that rate looks like a devilish number, consider this point: At this moment, the US federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

Do you really want to do voiceover or audiobook work so much that you’re willing to make less than minimum wage?

The example Paul used in his blog is a book that would run about 8.33 hours of finished time. I don’t think even the world’s most accomplished narrator could record an 8-hour book in 10 hours. Not only might the narrator stumble on words, but other influences can stop the recording, like growling stomachs, external noise, and calls of nature. In addition, the vocal chords grow tired after hours of recording. Furthermore, errors like mispronunciations and incorrect inflections are caught during the editing process that must re-recorded and inserted into the edited material. Using my time commitment formula with Paul’s sample book, I would actually expect to spend over 33 hours in my studio to complete the assignment!

Establishing rates is always a concern for voice talent and all freelance professionals. Whether you’re quoting rates for audiobooks or some other kind of long-form narration, don’t be afraid to set a rate that truly compensates you for your time spent on the project.

PS. Speaking of time commitments, I wrote this article on 15 November but haven’t made time to record it. I decided I’d rather post it for you now without the accompanying narration than continue to delay its publication.

A short letter to my loyal readers

7 November 2009

Dear loyal readers of my blog,

You may be surprised to see Twitter updates appearing instead of my normal essays about the topics of voice-over, marketing, and audiobooks. I have not abandoned my style or intention in maintaining this blog for voice talent. However, three life-altering events during the past 6 months — primarily the loss of my mother — have left me with little time to write anything of length.

I also realized that many of the links I have posted on Twitter are often excellent resources for voice talent and audiobook narrators. Even if you’re following me on Twitter (and if you’re not, it’s always a good time to start!), you may have missed some of this useful information.

Therefore, I am including my tweets as a supplement — not a replacement — to my usual writing on this blog. I have more feature-length articles in the works. I also plan to expand my content to include more short entries like this one since I know it can be difficult to make time to read a longer article.

I thank you for your continued interest in and support of this blog, and I hope you are living the life of your dreams!

Cordially,
Karen Commins

Photo credit: Akirastock/iStockPhoto

6 things swimming teaches us about voiceover

4 October 2009

Karen’s narration of this entry

It was such a gorgeous day yesterday that Drew and I wanted to go swimming. We called our gym, hoping that the outdoor pool might be open. Most outdoor swimming pools closed Labor Day weekend, and the gym pool was no exception.

I have always loved swimming, especially outdoors in the sunshine. Not only is swimming fantastic physical exercise, but it’s also a wonderful meditative activity. I can’t think about too much other than the present moment if I want to keep track of my lap count! Since voiceover is always on my mind, it’s no surprise that I began thinking of parallels between swimming and voice-over during a recent swim.

Swimming pool.jpg Sunny summer day at the swimming pool at Lifetime Fitness, Duluth GA

Warm up

If I don’t warm up with some stretches before I get in the water, I will find it a greater struggle to get from one end of the pool to the other. In addition, muscles that I didn’t know I had — like around my collarbone — will wait a day before complaining about my lack of preparation.

Warm-up is also necessary before voicing copy. If I don’t warm up my vocal chords with some cold reading or tongue twisters, my voice will not be at my natural pitch and will gravel out in the lower range.

Build and maintain stamina

When I started swimming again, I was breathing hard and completely worn out by the time I finished one pool length. Like other things, I’ve found that the more you do, the more you can do. If I stop swimming for a week, I lose some of my endurance and have to work up to my previous level.

The same is true with voice-over. I need stamina to narrate long scripts or audiobooks. If I don’t practice everyday, including while on vacation, I can tell that I’m breathing heavier when I return to the recording booth. Yes, this is another plug for daily voice-over practice because it will help you with your breath control.

Isolate the sound

I am easily bothered by noise, and I hate hearing all of the shrill shrieking of kids at the pool, especially when we swim in the indoor pool at our gym. I was shocked to discover from a friend that you can listen to music under water! After she told me about it, Drew searched for products and found the H2O Audio Waterproof Case that houses my iPod Shuffle. The Shuffle housing has changed swimming for me forever! Now I listen to music as I swim, which helps me concentrate on my exercise rather than other people. I’ve also thought that I may use my swimming time to catch up on voiceover podcasts.

Like me, my Neumann TLM 103 microphone is very sensitive to unwanted noises. Due to my house’s location, I had serious and continuous interruption from a wide variety of outside noises when I was recording. As a result, I had to take extreme measures and add a room to my house for my voiceover studio. My studio is custom-built for recording with special soundproofing measures. The room has no windows, 2 layers of ceilings with added insulation, 2 sets of doors at each entrance with barrier space and 2 layers of 5/8″-thick drywall covering the walls. I installed a WhisperRoom sound isolation booth inside my new room, which raises me up from the floor and provides greater soundproofing. By investing in the construction of my soundproof studio, I am able to concentrate on what’s important — my script interpretation and vocal delivery. I’m not distracted by external noises like lawnmowers because I don’t hear them. While you may not need to build a special room for your voiceover business, you do need to isolate the sound to produce a recording as pure and clear as a chlorinated pool.

Focus on your goals

The endless repetition of swimming from one end of the pool to the other is far from exciting. On a day-to-day basis, it can seem like I’m doing the same thing for no reason. I can talk myself out of going to the gym for any number of reasons like weather, errands, or a desire to relax. However, I am working to make swimming a natural part of my daily routine. I have big health and fitness goals I want to reach, and exercise will help me get there. It’s important to do something I like. I create little goals each swimming session, like swimming more laps or improving my speed. I can’t see much incremental improvement, but I do notice improvement over time.

The voiceover audition process is equivalent to swimming laps. It can seem monotonous to perform endless auditions and win few, if any, of them. On a daily basis, it may even seem like your voice-over career is standing still. As with exercise, it can be so easy to become frustrated with gradual, incremental change. I’ve learned that feelings of frustration or disappointment only block me from moving forward.

I’ve also learned the hard way that every time you criticize yourself or bemoan your current status, it’s an act of self-negation and stops the good from coming to you. If you constantly focus on what you DON’T have, the Universe has no choice but to keep serving up more of the same to you. It’s therefore ultra important to maintain a positive, “keep-the-faith” outlook, and keep doing things you like. If the auditions aren’t working well at the moment, turn to some other aspect of your business where you can exert positive energy such as contacting prospects and clients or creating your own work. By always focusing on what you WANT, you will get a steady stream of inspired ideas for action that will bring you closer to your goals.

Monitor your form

One reason that I like swimming in the sunshine is because the sun casts strong shadows. By observing the shadows of my hands as they enter the water, I’m reminded to keep my fingers together.

Along with a shower and brushing my teeth, part of my morning routine includes narrating a daily spiritual guide and recording it into my digital voice recorder. Nobody hears this recording except me. It’s just one of the ways that I practice and monitor my narration form, which makes me better when I’m in my recording booth. I also record my sessions with my coach (with her permission) so that I can listen to the playback and hear how I modified my approach based on direction.

Make course corrections

One afternoon at the outdoor pool, I noticed it was difficult to swim a straight line from one end of the pool to another. I first thought I was tired, or maybe I couldn’t see due to the sun in my face. I soon realized the problem was the water current. You see those 2 big water slides in my picture? When they are running, a steady flow of water rushes from them, and an erratic flow of people of different sizes come through them, causing splashes of various sizes. The lap lanes nearest the water slides have the greatest fluctuations in current. I could either keep fighting against the current or make a course correction and have a more enjoyable time. In this case, a course correction might mean moving to another lane, going to the indoor pool, or waiting until the lifeguard break when the water slides don’t run.

Your voice-over career will also require you to constantly observe current conditions and make course corrections. We wish it could be a straight and quick line from never voicing the first word to being the rich and famous voice actor beloved by millions of adoring fans.

However, our paths rarely follow a straight and simple line. You may have identified a niche where you want to work, only to learn that the target market is difficult to contact. Sometimes the market doesn’t want your voice in a particular area like commercials; it wants you for something else like phone systems. Don’t fall in the trap of condemning your past action as a failure; just gently think of your next action as a course correction. Being flexible and open to opportunity allows the Universe to act on your behalf and fulfill your dreams in a way you didn’t expect.

Balance your life

Voice-over is a huge part of my life, but it’s not the only thing in my life. When I swim — especially outside on a sunny day — I’m reminded of the big, beautiful world that awaits me outside my house and away from my computer. I’m also proud of myself for taking action on fitness goals. I need my health as a foundation for everything else in my life, including my voice-over career. Even superstar swimmer Michael Phelps made time to do other things, like go to school.

Some days, I work 10 hours in my studio, barely taking time for anything like eating lunch or retrieving the mail from the mailbox. I’ve read messages from other talent for whom 15-hour days seem to be normal. Honestly, I don’t want to be someone who consistently works 15-hour days. My life would be completely off kilter, and my voice would reflect the stress and strain. I’m more relaxed and productive in my reads by making voice-over work ONE of the things in my day instead of the ONLY thing in my day.

Although fall is upon us, I’m happy that I can continue to swim at my gym’s indoor pool. In addition to getting good exercise, I find that I get creative ideas for my voiceover business in the process. I’ve read that something about the ions in the water increases creativity….but that’s probably another topic for another day! Does your exercise routine help you improve in your voice-over career? I’d love to read your comments on this subject on the blog.

Recreating my web site

3 September 2009

Refashion. Reorganize. Remodel. Repair. Revise. Reinvent. Reshape. Reform. Rearrange. Repurpose. Revamp. Renew. Revitalize. Rejuvenate.

No matter which word you pick, you now know what my web site designer and I “R” doing, which explains why I haven’t posted a blog entry in over a month.

No worries. I have so many ideas about voiceover and marketing still to discuss! I appreciate your patience during my web site renovation and promise to return with new content later in the month to reclaim my place in the voiceover blogosphere!

Building something new.jpg

Photo credit: Skip ODonnell/iStockPhoto

Voice-over career requires time and energy

26 July 2009

Karen’s narration of this entry

Nothing lasts forever.
The most unforeseen circumstances will swamp you and baffle the wisest calculations.
Only vitality and plenty of it helps you.
–WASHINGTON A. ROEBLING
Washington Roebling’s name may not be familiar to you. He’s not in the voice-over industry. In fact, he has nothing to do with voice-over or entertainment. However, I recently read about him and his monumental accomplishment, and his quote applies to anyone pursuing a big dream, including a career in voice-over.

You see, Washington Roebling was an engineer — not just any engineer, but the chief engineer behind the famous Brooklyn Bridge. I recently read David McCullough’s fascinating and extremely well-researched novel The Great Bridge, which describes the people, risks, relationships, political environment, and long processes involved to build that bridge. It’s the sort of sweeping, satisfying book that I would love to narrate, but these historical books are usually about men and therefore narrated by men in the audiobook. But I digress …

Part of the story that is so remarkable is that Roebling fell seriously ill and wasn’t even on-site during much of the construction, yet he pressed on until the Brooklyn Bridge was completed and his dream realized. With his wife’s admirable and steadfast assistance, Roebling wrote such an incredible collection of notes and designs that his assistant engineers were able to complete the work to his specifications without his supervision.

The on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary defines vitality as physical or mental vigor especially when highly developed. I can’t agree too much with Roebling’s assessment that vitality is necessary to accomplish anything of importance, especially a voice-over career. However, I would also add time to the equation.

Many people jump into voiceovers with the expectation that a lucrative and easy career awaits them. Unlike an engineer, they don’t study the landscape or make calculations about the best way to proceed. They may give up before achieving the level of success that they seek.

I have often heard that entertainers and sports stars who are considered to be an overnight success usually have been working diligently and learning their profession for 10 years or more. This passage in John Maxwell’s book Put Your Dreams to the Test: 10 Questions that Will Help You See It and Seize It better explains that theory:

Author and speaker Jim Rohn points out, “The twin killers of success are impatience and greed.” I believe they are often the killers of dreams as well. Most people want results that are quick and dramatic. However, the reality is that most dreams are achieved very slowly, and the results come about unspectacularly. If you have achieved any major goals in your life, then you already know that realizing goals can be less thrilling than imagining them. That’s why you need to learn to take satisfaction in the journey and find fulfillment in the small steps along the way.Drew and I visited New York City for the July 4th holiday, and we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Although I’ve seen it many times, I could only fully appreciate its immense size, strength, and beauty while actually standing on it.

Karen Commins at Brooklyn Bridge 7-4-09.jpg

Karen Commins walks across the Brooklyn Bridge 7/4/09The construction process took 14 years, which was 2-3 times longer and at a far greater cost than the original estimate. Had Roebling not maintained his vitality and persevered through unimaginable obstacles over long stretches of time, this masterpiece of American architecture would not be standing.

I thought again about the time and energy needed to complete a dream while we watched Macy’s July 4th fireworks on the Hudson River. We were treated to a spectacular 30-minute show, but the tremendous planning and coordination, including the actual fireworks manufacture and testing, must have started as soon as the festivities were finished last year, or perhaps even earlier. I created a short video of some highlights from the fireworks and added music from my royalty-free library. I am posting the video here for your viewing pleasure.

[KGVID width=”480″ height=”272″]http://www.karencommins.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/NYC-Fireworks-7-4-09.m4v[/KGVID]

Time and vitality have been necessary ingredients in my voice-over business since its inception. Like anyone, I have had and continue to have personal challenges, like the losses of my dad in 2003 and my mother just 2 months ago in May. In the past couple of weeks, Drew and I were shocked to learn that his position as a lead software engineer has been eliminated after 12 years of employment with his company, so we unexpectedly are starting a new chapter of our lives.

I don’t bring up my personal obstacles to gain your sympathy but to point out that vitality is needed to sustain the momentum in my voice-over career while time marches on. You may have noticed that even my blog entries lately required an unusual amount of time and energy to complete. Many days, I have to judge my progress on my voice-over dreams based on incremental forward movement. However, like Roebling and his bridge, I continue to focus on my vision of success, counting my blessings and victories as I go along.

What kind of correlation do you notice between time and energy in pursuing your voice-over goals? I’d love to hear from you with comments on the blog!

5 marketing lessons from Ralph the artist

21 June 2009

Life has intervened to keep me away my blog this last month. Two weeks have passed since I started writing this little story from my recent cruise, which is relevant to voice talent. Drew and I were sitting in lounge chairs on the promenade deck one evening when another man and his wife sat next to us and starting talking to us. We found out that the guy’s name is Ralph; I don’t remember his wife’s name.

Ralph seemed more interested in talking about himself than in finding out about us. We quickly learned that Ralph is an artist who paints geometric designs on large canvases. He handed me his business card, which had a picture of one of his paintings and the verbiage to look for Ralph on Google. I was a bit surprised that Ralph reached for his card to take it back from me when we parted company.

I told Ralph that I love art, and I asked him how long it took him to create a painting. He replied, “that’s my secret.” Perhaps I was just making conversation, but for all Ralph knew, I was thinking of commissioning him to create a painting for me.

As he talked, Ralph told us that he had sold his art in Beverly Hills galleries; maybe he thought we would be impressed. He then segued into a tale of a sale that made me want to bail on that male. (Sometimes I amuse myself.) A buyer at one of these Beverly Hills shows wanted to buy a painting that he had priced at $1200 and asked him to cut his price to $700. After he agreed to the price cut, the buyer wrote a check. It turned out that the buyer was Paris Hilton’s mother, and she planned to give the painting to Paris as a present. Ralph said that if he had known the identity of the buyer, he wouldn’t have cut the price.

Five marketing lessons were once again made clear to me that evening when listening to Ralph. Did you catch them?

1) In a service-oriented business and in life overall, you can only be of service to others if you listen more than you talk.

Like Ralph, many people find themselves to be a favorite topic. Whether I’m socializing personally or networking as a professional voice talent, I ask questions of the other person. When you find out about another person, you are forming the foundation of a relationship. Talking about yourself just seems a self-centered way to pass the time.

You’ll remember that I had expressed interest in Ralph’s art. As an artist and presumably an entrepreneur, Ralph should be open to prospective clients coming from any source. We voice talent also need to be aware that the next job could come from someone to whom we haven’t marketed. In fact, I have noticed that when I put energy into a focused marketing plan, the next job comes from someone out of the blue. I believe that whatever you put out into the world comes back to you, and usually it’s in a way you didn’t expect.

2) Be as open and willing to explain your work to someone who expresses interest.

It was odd to hear Ralph tell me that his time was his secret, and that remark alerted me that I shouldn’t ask any other questions about his work. Whenever people ask me about voice-over, I am more than happy to answer their questions. I also think it’s important to educate people about the time required for a project so that they will better understand my pricing.

In addition, I am a firm believer in self-promotion, especially in an industry like voice-over, with new entrants every day. Most of my voiceover work has come through self-promotion. As I tweeted on Twitter (you can follow me at Twitter.com/KarenCommins) a few days ago, this quote from W. S. Gilbert sums up my view on self-promotion:

If you wish in this world to advance
your merits you’re bound to enhance;
You must stir it and stump it,
and blow your own trumpet,
or trust me, you haven’t a chance.

3) When you hand your business card to someone, you shouldn’t expect to get it back.

I read a job hunting book once in which the point was made that every good salesperson always has something to leave behind. In some cases, the only thing you can leave is your business card. The whole reason to have business cards is so that someone can remember you. I carry my cards with me almost everywhere I go; you never know when a conversation about voiceover might occur. I admit I don’t have them with me when I’m sitting in a lounge chair on a cruise ship. However, I do have them in my cabin and would follow up with anyone if the situation warranted it.

Since Ralph had a card with him, I would think he would be happy if I kept it. If I had his card, I not only would know his last name, but I’d know how to contact him if I decided I wanted one of his paintings. Ralph may have kept his card but lost a potential sale.

While I’m on the topic of business cards, I thought you might like to see a gallery of business cards from voice talent. Clever marketer and fellow voiceover artist Peter O’Connell recently asked voice talents to send him an image file of their business cards. You can see them on his web site. I’m also posting my current business card on this page.

Current business card for voice talent Karen Commins

4) Having your own web site and owning your domain name is becoming increasing important in cementing your identity in your prospects’ minds.

While I didn’t have Ralph’s card for long, I had it long enough to see that he didn’t have a web site. His card had the instructions search for Ralph on Google. I did a Google search for “Ralph artist”. Since I don’t even know Ralph’s last name, I don’t know which of the 7,180,000 results relate to the guy I met on the ship.

Many voice talent use their profile page from one of the voiceover pay-to-play sites as their web site link. Some kind of personal web site is better than Ralph’s, but it is not the most effective strategy for your business. If you want people to remember you and come to you when they need voice talent, why would you market yourself as one of thousands of talent all vying for attention at one site?

I also don’t recommend using personal web space from your ISP because it includes the ISP domain name, and the long link name can look like voiceover is your hobby. It’s worth the money to own your unique domain name and create your web site. Whether on my business card, my e-mail signature, or anything I distribute to potential and current clients, I include only the link to my own site and my Twitter address.

5) When you cut your price, you are the one who bleeds.

I couldn’t believe it when Ralph said he cut his price at a Beverly Hills show. Think about it — he was standing in one of the most affluent areas in the world, yet he caved and sold his work for almost half of his original price! He immediately regretted cutting his price when he realized that his buyer easily could have afforded something even beyond his original price.

I don’t fault his buyer or anyone for asking for a price cut. We all ask that question at some point, especially in a situation where we think the price is negotiable.

In fact, since many people assume that voiceover is no more difficult than talking, buyers of voiceover services perceive our prices to be negotiable and typically ask for a price reduction.

If you feel tempted to compete solely on price, you might want to read another post-vacation story titled Cruising for a competitive advantage.

Will these lessons from Ralph the artist help you in marketing your voice-over business? I look forward to reading your comments on the blog!