The Magazine of Santa Clarita readers are always sending in great questions about the voiceover business. This month, a voice actor asks about audiobooks.
Q: You have narrated some of my favorite books. I just listened to “Change your Brain, Change your Body.” I love all of Dr. Daniel Amen’s books. I’m curious about how that works. How long does it take to record a whole book like that? What is the pay scale for that kind of work? I always listen to an audio book as I’m falling asleep, so you often read me my bedtime story. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your work. How lucky you are to read Dr. Amen’s books. How’d you get that gig? Have you met him? Do you learn a lot from reading the books? I sure learn a lot from listening to you read the books! –Raquel R., Los Angeles, CA
A: Raquel, it took me a week to narrate Dr. Amen’s latest book. I’ve read two other of his books as well: “Magnificent Mind at Any Age” and “Making a Good Brain Great.” I started narrating audiobooks about five years ago. I had put an audiobook demo together and a colleague suggested I submit it to Random House, which was holding auditions at the time. I was called in to audition the following week, and the week after that had my first assignment: a horror novel. Since then I’ve narrated over 60 audiobooks for various publishers, at a rate of between $250-$350/finished hour, no residuals. I’ve never met Dr. Amen, but I’ve seen him on TV and you can see him on PBS and, I think, YouTube. As to whether I learn a lot from reading the books: absolutely! Every day.
Cashman Commercials © 2010
Marc Cashman creates and produces copy and music advertising for radio and television, was named one of the “Best Voices of the Year” by AudioFile Magazine, and will be a keynote speaker and Master Class instructor at VOICE 2010 (in Los Angeles, June 2010). Winner of over 150 advertising awards, and a working voice actor as well, he instructs voice acting of all levels through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques in Los Angeles, CA. Marc can be contacted at cashcomm@earthlink.net or his website, www.cashmancommercials.com.