Lorelei King - Storyteller: How to be an Audio Book Narrator: Companion Script

STORYTELLER

How to be an audio book narrator (companion script)

by Lorelei King and Ali Muirden

STORYTELLER: How to be an Audio Book Narrator - companion script

First published in 2019

By Creative Content Ltd, Roxburghe House, 273-287 Regent Street, London, W1B 2HA.

Copyright 2019 Creative Content Ltd

The moral right of Lorelei King and Ali Muirden to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher nor be otherwise circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published

In view of the possibility of human error by the authors, editors or publishers of the material contained herein, neither Creative Content Ltd. nor any other party involved in the preparation of this material warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of such material.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policy of Creative Content Ltd. or any employing organization unless specifically stated.

Cover design by Daniel at HCT Creative

Typesetting by Creative Content Ltd

eISBN 9781908807465

Praise for Storyteller: How to be an Audio Book Narrator

A great listen for anyone who is a budding narrator, or just a lover of audios. Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times best-selling author

My very favorite narrator on planet earth is sharing her narrating secrets in Storyteller a must-listen for anyone who loves audio books. Darynda Jones, New York Times best-selling author

[Ali Muirden] is the difference between a good audio book and a great one. - Amanda Prowse, best-selling author

...illuminating guide to would-be audiobook narrators. Christina Hardyment, The Times, London

To the boys: our wonderful husbands, Al and Vince and the irreplaceable BB.

Storyteller: How to be an Audio Book Narrator - Companion Script is a transcript of Storyteller: How to be an Audio Book Narrator and is intended to be used in conjunction with the audio book, in which techniques and references are demonstrated.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

LORELEI: Welcome to Storyteller: How to be an Audio Book Narrator..

Sales and production of audio books are booming. It seems that in our busy, multi-tasking lives, people are hungry for more and more recorded books.

If youre listening to this title, maybe youre thinking of becoming part of this exciting new adventure in audio. And who can blame you?

Im Lorelei King. Im an actress, voiceover and narrator, and Ive been recording audio books for - well, longer than I care to admit. In that time Ive been lucky enough to record some fantastic, best-selling series and to have received many of our industrys awards. And Im so proud to be one of the first inductees into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame - an incredible honour.

I wrote this book along with Ali Muirden, a multi-award-winning and Grammy-nominated producer who directs and produces audio books and audio productions for a variety of multi-national publishers. Ali has worked in publishing for over 30 years and she ran the Macmillan Groups audio books division for over 10 years.

In 2008, Ali and I co-founded our publishing company, Creative Content Ltd, which specialises in digital audio books.

Storyteller is for people who want to get started in the audio book business, or who want to learn more about what they have to do to get there. But its also intended as a guide for narrators already in the business. You might pick up a few tricks and techniques to help you become even better at your craft.

This book isnt about how to build and run a home studio, if thats a direction youre thinking of going. But we will have tips and techniques that will be useful in all arenas - whether youre recording at home, or in a dedicated studio with an engineer and producer.

This is how it will work: In each chapter, Ill talk about a different aspect of audio book narration, based on my experience, and at the end of each chapter, Ali will come in on that topic from her audio publisher and producers perspective. I think youll find her insights really useful.

Well begin by considering what a narrator is and what he or she does. Well talk about whats involved in audio book narration, and ask some questions to help you determine if you have what it takes.

Well talk about where to start and how to get some experience under your belt.

Then well move on to the nuts and bolts of narration: for example, how to prepare, how to create voices, how to behave in studio. Well discuss different types of books you might be narrating, and how different approaches are sometimes required.

Therell be a section on tackling narration challenges - and believe me, there are plenty - and well finish with some thoughts on what we think the future holds for audio books - and for narrators.

And just for fun weve included a bonus chapter, where Ali and talk about what producers and narrators really think of each other.

By the end of this book, we hope that youll have a good understanding of what goes into audio book narration and what you can do to prepare yourself for a career in this industry. We hope well have given you some tools to help develop your talent and to bring your unique voice to the audio world.

Our wish is that the information we have to share will be both practical and inspirational, and that it will help you on your way to what - in our opinion - is one of the best jobs in the world.

Lets begin.

PART ONE - BEGINNINGS

Chapter One - Do you have what it takes?

LORELEI: Im going to start with a really basic question: What is a narrator? I would say that a narrator is an actor, a storyteller, and a messenger.

An actor, because narration is fundamentally an interpretive and a collaborative art. A narrator brings an authors words to life in a way that is unique to that narrator.

A storyteller, because many people listen to audio the same way people used to gather around a campfire, enthralled, listening for escape, for entertainment, for information and inspiration.

And a narrator is a messenger - because there are times when hearing someone say something can break through in a way that the printed word sometimes cant.

Therefore, being a narrator is both a privilege and a responsibility. A privilege because an author is entrusting you with his or her story, and because listeners are inviting you into their heads in a most intimate way - literally, as most people listen with earphones. And thats why you have a responsibility to do your job as well as you can.

So if youre going to go for it - really go for it. Be prepared to work hard. And be prepared to be honest with yourself.

If you want to go into audio book narration, Im assuming you have a passion for the craft - but you also have to ask yourself if you have the raw material. Thats not necessarily an easy thing to know, but here are some questions designed to help you think about it.

Number one - is your voice easy to listen to?