The process of recording an audiobook: From prep to the studio. And why narrating is called work.

Working as an audiobook narrator is, quite honestly, a fantastic job. Every time I am asked to bring an author’s words to life, I feel extremely grateful. I have a thousand things to say about the work and its challenges, but for the sake of concision, I’d like to focus here on the process of recording an audiobook, from start to finish.

Preparation
Before I can record, I prepare the script by reading the entire book, noting essential clues for performance. I mark the dialogue using a unique letter or symbol for each character so I can quickly switch into their voice. As I read through, I create a list of characters, along with any descriptions offered by the author (such as “Rachel was a thin woman with a high, friendly voice.”)

If I’m unsure of a word, I’ll research it and write the pronunciation in the margin. I circle or underline any emotional indicators (such as “John’s voice shook as he said…” or “Angela whispered urgently.”) Often, this type of direction comes after the person speaks, so if it is not marked in some way, you risk saying the dialogue before you get the direction, which means a re-take.

Once the script is marked up, I create distinct voices for everyone in my character list, using the author’s descriptions to help me wherever possible. All this work is completed before I head into the first recording session.

It took me over fourteen hours to prep my very first audiobook! Now I’ve recorded more than one-hundred books, and my process is a lot faster, but still time consuming. Nonetheless, I believe that this kind of prep work is necessary for a good performance. Sometimes an author won’t mention until page 342 that one of the main characters has a Lithuanian accent! Gotta read the book first.

In the Studio
Working in the recording booth requires a great deal of focus and stamina. An audiobook recording session lasts about six hours, and an average novel requires between three and six sessions to complete, depending on your reading precision. Although my preparation lets me know what is going to happen next in the book, I always try to tell the story as if it is happening right now, this second. And even though it requires a huge amount of concentration and constant attention to the action on the page, this kind of discovery in performance (staying “in the moment”) keeps the listener engaged and imbues the story with freshness and life. Or at least, that’s my goal!

That’s why they call it Work. 
For me, one of the most challenging aspects of audiobook narration is reading a story that I don’t like, or that is badly edited, or just plain boring. Hardly any of the books I narrate are books that I would choose to read. Sometimes, though, this turns out to be a pleasure. I’ve discovered some hidden gems that I might otherwise have missed!

But even when faced with a book I abhor, I still invest myself in the characters, stay focused, give the performance everything I’ve got. I owe this to the author, whose art I’m bringing to life; the producer, who was kind enough to cast me; and the listener, who wants to have a good experience. It’s certainly a challenge but it’s part of being a professional. And in my humble opinion, even the worst day in a recording studio beats the heck out of a million other jobs.

Which brings me back to my original point; working as an audiobook narrator is a fantastic job. I feel lucky and grateful every day. And yes, it’s more than luck; I began stage acting at age six and I worked incredibly hard to become a full-time voice actor. Now that I’m living my dream, I don’t take one moment for granted.

Nicola Barber’s voice can be heard on TV and radio commercials worldwide, popular video games such as World of Warcraft, and even some talking toys. But her true passion lies in bringing to life the characters and scenes in novels, a talent for which she has twice received the audiobook industry’s highest honor: The Audie Award. In 2013, Nicola received an Audie nomination in the top category, Solo Female Narration, for “Call The Midwife” by Jennifer Worth. Nicola is also a proud recipient of multiple “Earphones Awards” for outstanding audiobook narration.

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m a 5′5” Jewish kid from Long Island, New York. But you may have heard me as a hulking African-American, ex-linebacker zombie killer. Or a seventy-year-old Massachusetts woman grieving the loss of her young daughter. Or a Polish teenager wandering the forests of Europe after World War II. Or that 6′4”, sexy Greek god who always wears leather pants and kills werewolves in his spare time. Yeah, you know the one.

Only in the world of audiobook narrating am I afforded the ability to escape that word that is so feared by actors: Type. I get a chance to perform so many roles I would never get a chance to even audition for normally. It’s really an actor’s dream, in many ways. Of course, it’s also slightly terrifying.

Usually an actor has one job: Convey the truth of ONE character as he or she pertains to the story that is being told. In an audiobook with multiple characters, you have to truthfully portray several characters of all varying sexes, ethnicities, ages, etc. So, it’s a fine line sometimes between telling the truth and individualizing each character in a distinct way so the listener can discern between the players….and just making funny voices. It’s always a fear of mine that, somewhere, a listener is thinking, Really? That’s how you think a woman sounds??? But all I can do is dive in, and try to make truthful choices and let the chips fall where they may.

Something I like to do when prepping a book with multiple characters is cast them all in my mind. It can be famous actors, friends, family members, the guy who works at the deli down the street, whomever. But when I’m first reading through a book to prep, I like to write down ideas for whom I would like to see play this character in the movie version. It’s not necessarily a matter of imitating that person, but it just informs me where I may pitch my voice, where the characters’ rhythms may land, etc. Most times I’ll jot down some ideas but I won’t actually try them out until I’m in the booth recording, and I’ll just see what happens and hope it works—keeps up the element of surprise for myself, which I feel is important when working on audiobooks. Many times the voice that comes out is nothing at all like the voice I had in my head, which can be really exciting if it works. Even if I’m recording a non-fiction book with no characters at all—say a business book—I still try and approach the narration from a performance standpoint. I’m not just reading the information off the page. I try and look at it as one person telling another person a story, giving them advice on how to do something, teaching them something new and exciting.

Again, audiobook narration is about trying to tell the truth in an interesting way and taking the listener on a journey with you and the author. Or at least, that’s the way I try to go in at it. And, if nothing else, at least I got to play a 6′4” sexy Greek god who kills werewolves at one point in my career. It’s the little things, right?

Fred Berman is an award winning narrator of over 100 books. He’s the recipient of two Audie Awards for the books Spy The Lie (Philip Houston) and The Intelligent Entrepreneur (Bill Murphy), as well as seven Audiofile Earphone Awards.

When people ask me what it’s like to narrate an audio book, I always give the same answer. It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but also the most gratifying. I’ve done all kinds of voiceovers for many years, but the skill set needed for audio books is unique. First off, you’re not “announcing” anything; you’re almost not even reading. You’re really telling a story; that’s the mindset you have to get into. If you’ve ever read a bedtime story, you know what I mean. You have to get into your characters’ heads, decide what kind of people they are, and how they would react in specific situations. When you figure out what kind of voice you want to use for a given character, you then have to remember it. Some people use recording devices to help with a certain voice, others merely write down a description. You have to figure out what works best for you. For non-fiction, of course you don’t need an array of voices, but you DO need to sort of act the part of the off-camera “observer.” Almost a reporter. Every audio book brings its own special challenges, but when you’ve finished, and you hold that finished product in your hand, there’s nothing like that feeling.

You’ll find more details at petelarkin.com.

The discipline of the audiobook… I say ‘discipline’ because it is an art form like no other. There are no real parallels to stage or film work or even radio theatre because of one key fact. The recording artist is the final product. She or he has been charged with the task of taking one artform, an already established published work, and elevating it to a new plane wherein the single voice of the artist digests and renews the focus and aims of the author for an eager listening public. And yet…it is done for one pair of ears at a time.So intimate, so immediate. It is a powerful and sacred trust.

How well do we remember being read to as children?

Being drawn into unknown worlds of fiction by artists with the skills and Endurance to create that bond with the listener over many hours of audio magic, requires acting skills above and beyond what you see on stage and screen. It is a journey fraught with twists and turns, compelling the recording artist to engage every tool in the box to make that journey and its final destination both memorable and meaningful.

And yet, this artform is a collaborative effort. The skills and sensitivities of a good director and engineer combine with a talented artist to bring that audiobook to its rightful place in the pantheon of great recordings that can be enjoyed again and again.

For me, each new audio project is a chance to, once again, ‘connect’ with the listener in that primal way. One pair of ears at a time.

Barbara Rosenblat is one of only a handful of award-winning narrators whose name is as well known to consumers as audio publishers.