When I was a teenager a Class III license was required to be an on-air radio personality. I kept a stack of magazines in the bathroom and read copy aloud from them every time I went to the bathroom. It drove my mother crazy, but I knew I would have to read advertising copy in that position. 55 years later I have developed that "whiskey and cigarettes" quality to my voice, at great personal cost. During that time I have been the frontman for boogie rock bands throughout the midwest and wrote essays about being raised on a farm in the 50s, as well as a few books. Now I want to publish those books and do the reading for audio Books. I am really looking for your guidance. My stance is that if I can' read them, no one gets the books.
Hi Bill, I have a question for you. It is my personal policy to have a royalty be included in the majority of the work I take. So when doing direct marketing as you suggested, is it standard practice for a royalty to be included in contracts? Or, could I cost myself work by asking for one? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm started planning my recordings for my channel and you confirmed how I think I should approach it. I was thinking of breaking my recordings into sections to 1. Go easy on my voice 2. Easier to edit
Your advice really gets me motivated! I am really thinking of jumping into this. I do have a few voiceover samples of narration on my UA-cam page. I would be forever grateful for some advice and tips. Of course if you're unable I understand.
Hi Bill. I'm a native german speaker living in LA for the past 12 years. I love your content and can't wait to start. However I'm a bit hesitant, because I do still have a slight accent when speaking English. Do you have any advice how to start and how to sell my accent? Check out german pages instead? I found one page that does sell accents for travel pages etc. English speaking with a german accent.
It can be a challenge as I too have a slight Hispanic accent, but there’s work out there. Most of my clients are international clients as they feel more comfortable with an American with a slight accent.
Another great video Bill, thanks! A question about pay for audiobooks: early on should you focus only on $ per finished hour vs. royalty and or royalty share? Being paid right away is super important early on in order to begin building a career; especially if you have a family to care for.
He might not answer you, but I've seen this discussed many times in the VO community that I'm in and generally it's recommended you go PFH with half up front or at least at certain intervals.
@@mamandapanda185 Yeah, that totally makes sense. I would feel more comfortable with milestones in place or something similar. It’s a long process and a lot of work, so knowing you’re getting paid is huge. Thanks for the response 👍🏼
I like the idea of getting paid at intervals. Curious if everyone thinks $75 PFH for 30,000 words completed in 10 days is reasonable or even possible for a relative newbie?
@@pegeensingley2273 From what I’ve seen, that’s approximately 3-5 finished hours. As a beginner in being on the other side of the glass, I think it’s reasonable pay, but not sure about the time frame. If you’re a busy talent, it may be unrealistic for you. But, it all depends I suppose.
Thanks Bill! I'd have quit if I went straight to audio books, because editing/mastering short-form reads has been absolutely bleeping excruciating. But, I'm ready to dive in, after several months.
@@julieru8953 I tried starting with commercials, explainer videos, and e-learning modules but have only had 10 orders in 4 months on Fiverr. I've had such a hard time with production that I haven't had the means to go beyond Fiverr. Honestly, I tried DIY entirely but recommend finding someone who specializes in the exact DAW you know that you want to use and pay them to help you with settings and FX chains specific to your voice, environment, and equipment. Dewees aside, this arena is far more complicated than what most influencers reveal in their posts and videos.
@@mamandapanda185 4 months is a very short time. For me, I'd say you want 2 years of recording your own voice experience to be comfortable with the various ways to record and process your voice. There's really a lot to know. But be confident if you keep at it, you'll get there. Good luck
@@TraderTimmy That's a lot more realistic than influencers pushing "make quick money using your phone to record audio books!" 7 months later, I still haven't gotten into them. For one, they're far less money than other categories, and secondly...I have a bit of ADD. Also, ACX doesn't seem to have much going on these days. I know there are other places, but, I still don't feel motivated. Forget doing them on Fiverr, I think, unless you've made it into Seller Plus and can deny requests after reading how the book is written because poorly crafted pieces take exponentially longer to record.
I'm the complete opposite. Just finished my first audio book, was the most money per hour I've ever made in VO and was an absolute nightmare. I just can't stand the editing time. I enjoy just nailing short commercial work and moving onto the next job, got waaay to much ADHD too do audiobooks.
Dude :D I have ADHD, bought mic and all the stuff /I've been doing rap for some time/ and wanted to start recording audiobooks :D so that brought me here and I see your comment :D
Lol - I feel you brother. I've recorded my first short story and the editing drove me nuts and the result was a hot mess. After listening to it myself I felt I just completed a marathon. So I thought I completely suck at this and just let it be. That's over 3 years ago and now I finally found the strength again to get back into it. Maybe this time it'll work and thanks to videos like voice coach I can start to believe in myself again. Thanks for that ✨🤗💯
Just one question Bill. I am supporting a family of 3 and am trying to get into the VO world how can i get started while working my day job? is it something that i can use the weekends to get started or do i NEED to dedicate more time out of my week in order to get off the ground?
I've heard conflicting information in regards to how long an Audiobook Demo should be; some other places I've seen have sometimes recommended up to five minutes total. Could you elaborate on your thinking about demo length?
I'm trying a local play talent for my novella. If he has what I want, it's record time! I will do 1 page at a time. Cut! Must get the page perfect for my recording style. (This is Casey Casper)
You can sign up for an account on ACX & then upload your demos there. They have specific info about how to upload there. Also, any of the freelance platforms will have the same 👍🏼
I don't don't know how you can do several jobs before noon. wow. For me... 25 minute story takes 2 hours recording. I do multiple takes to make sure I have one I like. then it takes about a day to edit, including de breath. Question about your chain: I keep seeing different chains. Mine is bump the volume by 6db, get a noise sample, de-noise, de-Ess, EQ, Compress, Limit (just for safety). i see other people lower the volume by 3, then compress, then raise the volume by 3. Why? Wouldn't this increase your noise floor volume? So you use De-Ess, then compress, then de-Noise? Why Compress before noise removal? The reason I bump the sound first, is that the De-Noise picks up the noise better, and the SSS is easier for the De-Esser, and it bring sup the quite parts. Then the compressor brings down the loud parts, to give it a more condensed range.
He's able to do multiple jobs because he's trained so he is quicker and by the fact that the other jobs of the day that aren't the audio book are short commercials. 15-30 seconds.
Hi Bill, not sure if this will reach you. Been watching every video for a while. Transitioning into voice over and thoight about audiobooks. Is there I way I can privately message you about some minor questions?
hi bill. i have a macbook pro. with that, do you think there's a way around recording an audiobook/audition with a laptop as such that has the fan making noise? or would i just have to invest into a macbook air/desktop? =/
Hi, I think must be pretty busy. For what it's worth, you might try placing the mic far from the laptop. Use some sound dampening material to shield the mic set up from the laptop noise. I don't know about your laptop, but with mine, it only turns on the fan if the laptop gets hot. Thus, I keep a very cold room temp with air-conditioning. I can record right in front of my laptop. I just turn off the A.C. when I record. The A.C. goes back on as soon as the record button is off. More than that, yeah, get a laptop that runs quiet.
After 30 years in broadcast production as a director of photography my back got too painful to continue. Prior to that I was an actor in NY and LA. How perfect is it to continue as a V.O. for audio books? Thank you Bill for your valuable UA-cam support and help!
do u know of online community that promote monotone fake voice or ( synthesized ) voices? i can't stand it when real human narrators feel like they have to be actors trying to simulate little girl voices or other character's voices. I would rather listen to a monotone boring narrator than give up on modern audiobooks because of these actor wana -be human narrators, they're so annoying. i have listened to some classic audiobooks with monotone fake voices, but these get boring after a while. I want to hear a smut novel or other more modern tittles. just read the damn story, that's my motto.
Thank you Bill. I'd love to see a session of you recording an audio book - even if it's simulated.
I've been turning all of my stories into audiobooks and they're loving them!
LOVE this guy! Just started looking into doing audio books and got my first contract yesterday! Thank you!
Congratulations on your first contract! Good luck to you!
@@BethBurns68 Thank you! Just got my second but have not been able to get into commercials. People love to stick with who they know will already work.
10 months later How goes it????
@@ryanlansford4129 How's it going now with voice overs man?
When I was a teenager a Class III license was required to be an on-air radio personality. I kept a stack of magazines in the bathroom and read copy aloud from them every time I went to the bathroom. It drove my mother crazy, but I knew I would have to read advertising copy in that position. 55 years later I have developed that "whiskey and cigarettes" quality to my voice, at great personal cost. During that time I have been the frontman for boogie rock bands throughout the midwest and wrote essays about being raised on a farm in the 50s, as well as a few books. Now I want to publish those books and do the reading for audio Books. I am really looking for your guidance. My stance is that if I can' read them, no one gets the books.
This was wonderfully helpful. Thank you 🙏
Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you as always for such valuable information 🤗
thank you big man
Loved the video and subscribed! One question though, what exactly does that 60 second demo sound like?
Hi Bill, I have a question for you. It is my personal policy to have a royalty be included in the majority of the work I take. So when doing direct marketing as you suggested, is it standard practice for a royalty to be included in contracts? Or, could I cost myself work by asking for one? Thank you.
Thank you. I'm started planning my recordings for my channel and you confirmed how I think I should approach it. I was thinking of breaking my recordings into sections to 1. Go easy on my voice 2. Easier to edit
I am here trying to self-promote and learn all i can to get better with voiceovers. thank you for your video.
Hey, I just bought a great Kia Forte!
Thank you so much, that was incredibly helpful!
Very helpful Bill.. Thanks 👍🏻
Your advice really gets me motivated! I am really thinking of jumping into this. I do have a few voiceover samples of narration on my UA-cam page. I would be forever grateful for some advice and tips. Of course if you're unable I understand.
Thanks another insight
Hi Bill. I'm a native german speaker living in LA for the past 12 years. I love your content and can't wait to start. However I'm a bit hesitant, because I do still have a slight accent when speaking English. Do you have any advice how to start and how to sell my accent? Check out german pages instead? I found one page that does sell accents for travel pages etc. English speaking with a german accent.
I see buyer requests for German speakers or German accents in the buyer requests section of Fiverr fairly often.
It can be a challenge as I too have a slight Hispanic accent, but there’s work out there. Most of my clients are international clients as they feel more comfortable with an American with a slight accent.
Great info, thanks Bill !!
Another great video Bill, thanks! A question about pay for audiobooks: early on should you focus only on $ per finished hour vs. royalty and or royalty share? Being paid right away is super important early on in order to begin building a career; especially if you have a family to care for.
He might not answer you, but I've seen this discussed many times in the VO community that I'm in and generally it's recommended you go PFH with half up front or at least at certain intervals.
@@mamandapanda185 Yeah, that totally makes sense. I would feel more comfortable with milestones in place or something similar. It’s a long process and a lot of work, so knowing you’re getting paid is huge. Thanks for the response 👍🏼
I like the idea of getting paid at intervals. Curious if everyone thinks $75 PFH for 30,000 words completed in 10 days is reasonable or even possible for a relative newbie?
@@pegeensingley2273 From what I’ve seen, that’s approximately 3-5 finished hours. As a beginner in being on the other side of the glass, I think it’s reasonable pay, but not sure about the time frame. If you’re a busy talent, it may be unrealistic for you. But, it all depends I suppose.
Thanks Bill! I'd have quit if I went straight to audio books, because editing/mastering short-form reads has been absolutely bleeping excruciating. But, I'm ready to dive in, after several months.
What did you start with instead?
@@julieru8953 I tried starting with commercials, explainer videos, and e-learning modules but have only had 10 orders in 4 months on Fiverr. I've had such a hard time with production that I haven't had the means to go beyond Fiverr. Honestly, I tried DIY entirely but recommend finding someone who specializes in the exact DAW you know that you want to use and pay them to help you with settings and FX chains specific to your voice, environment, and equipment. Dewees aside, this arena is far more complicated than what most influencers reveal in their posts and videos.
@@mamandapanda185 4 months is a very short time. For me, I'd say you want 2 years of recording your own voice experience to be comfortable with the various ways to record and process your voice. There's really a lot to know. But be confident if you keep at it, you'll get there. Good luck
@@TraderTimmy That's a lot more realistic than influencers pushing "make quick money using your phone to record audio books!" 7 months later, I still haven't gotten into them. For one, they're far less money than other categories, and secondly...I have a bit of ADD. Also, ACX doesn't seem to have much going on these days. I know there are other places, but, I still don't feel motivated. Forget doing them on Fiverr, I think, unless you've made it into Seller Plus and can deny requests after reading how the book is written because poorly crafted pieces take exponentially longer to record.
I'm the complete opposite. Just finished my first audio book, was the most money per hour I've ever made in VO and was an absolute nightmare. I just can't stand the editing time. I enjoy just nailing short commercial work and moving onto the next job, got waaay to much ADHD too do audiobooks.
Dude :D I have ADHD, bought mic and all the stuff /I've been doing rap for some time/ and wanted to start recording audiobooks :D so that brought me here and I see your comment :D
Lol - I feel you brother. I've recorded my first short story and the editing drove me nuts and the result was a hot mess.
After listening to it myself I felt I just completed a marathon. So I thought I completely suck at this and just let it be. That's over 3 years ago and now I finally found the strength again to get back into it.
Maybe this time it'll work and thanks to videos like voice coach I can start to believe in myself again. Thanks for that ✨🤗💯
Thank you!
Thank you, Bill.
Great video, Bill! Thank you!! Question.... I have the same mic as you. Can you tell me why you choose to not use the foam cover it comes with?
Great video, I quitted recording audiobooks too.
Just one question Bill. I am supporting a family of 3 and am trying to get into the VO world how can i get started while working my day job? is it something that i can use the weekends to get started or do i NEED to dedicate more time out of my week in order to get off the ground?
Thank you Bill. Very informative w no fluff.
What is the prep work look like for an audiobook? I imagine you have to read it cover to cover. Color coded highlights for each character etc. etc.
Hi excellent. But ACX is not available in India. pl/suggest some other platforms available in India.
Good stuff Bill, thanks as always!
How long should a reading sample be? I have material for this, but don't know dimension.
Thanks Bill for the great video! Very informative. Thinking about getting into voice over.
Hope it's going well
I've heard conflicting information in regards to how long an Audiobook Demo should be; some other places I've seen have sometimes recommended up to five minutes total. Could you elaborate on your thinking about demo length?
Very helpful advice, Bill! Thank you!
BROOO thankyou so much, this really helped and the tutorial was really easy to use as well :)
Great video.
Thx Bill!
Thank you for another great video.
Bill, did you join SAG-AFTRA? Is it necessary to get better paying gigs?
Should you read books that need a voice over talent for the demo? Or can you ready anything?
Another great update, Bill! So it appears your entire processing chain is real time?
Is there much opportunity for audio Poetry?
I'm trying a local play talent for my novella. If he has what I want, it's record time! I will do 1 page at a time. Cut! Must get the page perfect for my recording style. (This is Casey Casper)
so... what is royalty share? :)
Thank you for that video. One huge question for you. On what format or device would a candidate submit a demo?
You can sign up for an account on ACX & then upload your demos there. They have specific info about how to upload there. Also, any of the freelance platforms will have the same 👍🏼
On a CX you can search for titles excepting auditions and submit your audition demo there as well as having a ton of sample demos on your profile.
I don't don't know how you can do several jobs before noon. wow.
For me... 25 minute story takes 2 hours recording. I do multiple takes to make sure I have one I like.
then it takes about a day to edit, including de breath.
Question about your chain: I keep seeing different chains.
Mine is bump the volume by 6db, get a noise sample, de-noise, de-Ess, EQ, Compress, Limit (just for safety).
i see other people lower the volume by 3, then compress, then raise the volume by 3. Why?
Wouldn't this increase your noise floor volume?
So you use De-Ess, then compress, then de-Noise? Why Compress before noise removal?
The reason I bump the sound first, is that the De-Noise picks up the noise better, and the SSS is easier for the De-Esser, and it bring sup the quite parts. Then the compressor brings down the loud parts, to give it a more condensed range.
He's able to do multiple jobs because he's trained so he is quicker and by the fact that the other jobs of the day that aren't the audio book are short commercials. 15-30 seconds.
Hi Bill, not sure if this will reach you. Been watching every video for a while. Transitioning into voice over and thoight about audiobooks. Is there I way I can privately message you about some minor questions?
is there a resource like ACX that's available for people outside the US? I can't access ACX because I live in Australia.
wait, i just reached the part about direct marketing
hi bill. i have a macbook pro. with that, do you think there's a way around recording an audiobook/audition with a laptop as such that has the fan making noise? or would i just have to invest into a macbook air/desktop? =/
Hi, I think must be pretty busy. For what it's worth, you might try placing the mic far from the laptop. Use some sound dampening material to shield the mic set up from the laptop noise.
I don't know about your laptop, but with mine, it only turns on the fan if the laptop gets hot. Thus, I keep a very cold room temp with air-conditioning. I can record right in front of my laptop. I just turn off the A.C. when I record. The A.C. goes back on as soon as the record button is off.
More than that, yeah, get a laptop that runs quiet.
What are your thoughts on AI and computers taking over for human narrator's. They seem to br getting pretty good.
After 30 years in broadcast production as a director of photography my back got too painful to continue. Prior to that I was an actor in NY and LA. How perfect is it to continue as a V.O. for audio books? Thank you Bill for your valuable UA-cam support and help!
What is involved in making a demo? Lol I know nothing at all about this
You had 4 or 5 jobs in one day and you worried about having other work in play? I want your problem thank you! LOL...nice!
Is a 56yr old to late to give this a try?
no. There isn't an age limit.
So many narrators sound so robotic. Is that what the authors want? I'd much rather hear a book that sounds realistic.
This video contains basicly nothing that helps "killing it at Audiobooks"
You obviously didn’t listen to it.
do u know of online community that promote monotone fake voice or ( synthesized ) voices? i can't stand it when real human narrators feel like they have to be actors trying to simulate little girl voices or other character's voices. I would rather listen to a monotone boring narrator than give up on modern audiobooks because of these actor wana -be human narrators, they're so annoying. i have listened to some classic audiobooks with monotone fake voices, but these get boring after a while. I want to hear a smut novel or other more modern tittles. just read the damn story, that's my motto.
Ask to subscribe at the end! Have to see if you worth it. Like taking a woman to dinner and asking her for the Nookie before she eat!
You didn't even Speck about how to make a Audio book yagging about your self what a waste of my time