Audiobook Voiceovers

What audiobook narration involves

An audiobook is the longest relationship a listener has with a single voice. Eight to fifteen hours, often over several weeks. A voice that sounds pleasant across a two-minute demo can become unbearable at hour six, which is why audiobook casting works differently from every other format.

We audition narrators on a passage from your actual manuscript, not a generic sample, and we send you a long enough excerpt to judge stamina rather than first impression. For fiction we ask for a section with dialogue, because character work is where most narrators separate.

Fiction and non-fiction need different narrators

Non-fiction rewards clarity, authority and a sense that the narrator understands the argument. Fiction rewards performance: distinct voices for each character, held consistently across a full book, plus the restraint to know when not to perform.

Narrators who excel at one are frequently mediocre at the other. We cast for the specific book rather than from a general roster.

Consistency across a long recording

• A character bible built before recording, logging the voice used for each character
• Pronunciation list agreed with the author for names, places and invented terms
• Same room, chain and settings for every session across the project
• Proof listening against the manuscript, word by word
• Pickup sessions for corrections, matched to the original sound

Retail-ready delivery

Audiobook retailers reject files on technical grounds regularly, and a rejection costs weeks. We master to the standards the major platforms require, including room tone, peak and RMS levels, noise floor and head and tail spacing, and deliver chaptered files named to the retailer's convention, along with the opening and closing credits and a retail sample.

Translated editions

If your book has been translated, the audiobook needs a native narrator in each market, not a bilingual reader. We cast separately in each language and manage the pronunciation list per edition.

Send the manuscript or a sample chapter and we will come back with auditions from shortlisted narrators and a fixed quote for the finished book.