Comments on: Time required to narrate and produce audiobooks http://voicesofadvertising.com/voiceover-stuff/time-required-to-narrate-and-produce-audiobooks/ Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:20:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Paul Strikwerda http://voicesofadvertising.com/voiceover-stuff/time-required-to-narrate-and-produce-audiobooks/comment-page-1/#comment-158 Paul Strikwerda Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:24:56 +0000 http://voicesofadvertising.com/voiceover-stuff/time-required-to-narrate-and-produce-audiobooks/#comment-158 Thank for picking up my article! I totally agree with you that I have lowballed my 8.33 hour estimate. It does not even include the time needed to prepare for the recording. I recently spent hours and hours reading and researching my last audio book. It was filled with foreign names; I had to practice unusual accents and I needed to get the script ready. My scrips are usually packed with symbols and colors. Just as a singer would make notes on where to breathe and where to place accents, I do the same thing. Every character is highlighted in a different color, making it easy for me to change my voice and speech patterns. All of this takes time. Lots of (unpaid) time. With this in mind, I am absolutely stunned by the number people on a P2P such as voices.com, who are auditioning for 300-page audio books in the $500-$750 range. Recently, someone posted a job on voices.com: 75 hours of narration for $750-$1000. It happened to be for an audio Bible. What are these voice-seekers thinking? They're either incredibly naive or very desperate or both. Or are they....? Within a day, over 50 people had responded. Unbelievable! I'm also not pleased with a site like voices.com for allowing voice-seekers to post projects at rates that are insulting and disrespectful to their members. What's the use of having 'suggested minimum rates' on a site, if that site isn't willing to uphold them? It seems to me that these 'suggested rates' might be out there to give aspiring members an incentive to sign up for their service: "Look how much you can make in the voice-over business, guys! All you need is a credit card, a computer and a mic..." It's like promising diners a gourmet meal, but once inside, the hungry eaters find themselves in a fast food place. Ultimately, it's up to you and me whether or not we're willing to allow voice-seekers to hire us for a handout. We're independent contractors, and if we want to undercut the competition and shortchange ourselves, nobody is going to stop us. As Dr. Phil says: "We teach people how to treat us." Doing so, we get what we deserve. However, this short-term thinking based on personal gain only, is poisoning the well all of us are drinking out of. And come to think of it, how much is gained if you end up working for rates that are below minimum wage? Are you running a business or a not-for-profit? Thank for picking up my article! I totally agree with you that I have lowballed my 8.33 hour estimate. It does not even include the time needed to prepare for the recording.

I recently spent hours and hours reading and researching my last audio book. It was filled with foreign names; I had to practice unusual accents and I needed to get the script ready.

My scrips are usually packed with symbols and colors. Just as a singer would make notes on where to breathe and where to place accents, I do the same thing. Every character is highlighted in a different color, making it easy for me to change my voice and speech patterns. All of this takes time. Lots of (unpaid) time.

With this in mind, I am absolutely stunned by the number people on a P2P such as voices.com, who are auditioning for 300-page audio books in the $500-$750 range. Recently, someone posted a job on voices.com: 75 hours of narration for $750-$1000. It happened to be for an audio Bible. What are these voice-seekers thinking? They’re either incredibly naive or very desperate or both.

Or are they….? Within a day, over 50 people had responded. Unbelievable!

I’m also not pleased with a site like voices.com for allowing voice-seekers to post projects at rates that are insulting and disrespectful to their members. What’s the use of having ‘suggested minimum rates’ on a site, if that site isn’t willing to uphold them? It seems to me that these ‘suggested rates’ might be out there to give aspiring members an incentive to sign up for their service: “Look how much you can make in the voice-over business, guys! All you need is a credit card, a computer and a mic…”

It’s like promising diners a gourmet meal, but once inside, the hungry eaters find themselves in a fast food place.

Ultimately, it’s up to you and me whether or not we’re willing to allow voice-seekers to hire us for a handout. We’re independent contractors, and if we want to undercut the competition and shortchange ourselves, nobody is going to stop us. As Dr. Phil says: “We teach people how to treat us.” Doing so, we get what we deserve.

However, this short-term thinking based on personal gain only, is poisoning the well all of us are drinking out of. And come to think of it, how much is gained if you end up working for rates that are below minimum wage? Are you running a business or a not-for-profit?

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