Tips for choosing the best voice over artist for your first audiobook

Audiobooks are instructional, educational and entertaining due to which the world has become obsessed with them. By changing the way we listen, read and learn, and by building word exposure and improving vocabulary, audiobooks delivered through a professional voice actor have become an essential part of learning. And the best part is that you can listen to audiobooks anywhere and everywhere!

If you are trying to self-publish your audiobook, you need to ensure the following to stand out from your competition:

Assess your audience:You must understand the taste, preference and needs of your audience before launching your audiobook in the market. It is always better to do a market research and chalk out your potential customers on the basis of:

• Demographics, age and profession
• Their reason of listening to audiobooks and what is the mode of listening
• Types of audiobooks and narration style they prefer

Establish your budget: You should determine the budget for your audiobook narration by taking count of the total words present in the book. This will determine the voice narration cost and the final editing costs. A thorough analysis of the comprehensive requirements will ensure that you don't exceed your budget.

Finding a professional voice artist: This is an important step that will make or break the success of your audiobook. Recording an audiobook is a difficult and exhausting job, therefore only a seasoned voice actor must be chosen for the job. The top qualities to look for in an artist when seeking audiobook voice over services are:

1. Clear delivery, right diction: The voice must be audible and the voice actor should have confidence and ability to pronounce each word clearly throughout the script.
2. Narrative gripping and right pace: The narration has to be paced properly so that the listeners are attracted to the voice and are able to understand the story.
3. Conversational as well as convincing: The voice artist must be able to engage the listeners through his/her conversational skills and should provide credibility to the narration.
4. Creativity in voice and passion for reading: Multiple voices must be portrayed differently and the voice artist should provide interactive storytelling along with creative voice acting.

Recording an Audiobook yourself? How To Become An Audiobook Narrator

Do people tell you that you have a clear and soothing voice? If the answer is yes, you might try to think of doing the narration by yourself! To narrate your own audiobook you will need a quiet place to record, few essential equipment, recording software and some technical expertise. If you don't have any previous training in voice overs, you might try these tips to break into the industry:

1. Do a thorough practice by reading out loud. The voice must be consistent but should NOT feel like direct reading. You can always record yourself for better assessment.
2. Do voice acting of various characters so that the reading does not seem monotonous
3. Do not go ‘overboard’ with accents and take voice lessons to understand the native accents of the character.
4. Be precise with your pronunciation and understand the tone of the book/story before going for a voice over recording.

Studio requirements to get that ‘perfect’ voice over recording: You can either book a studio for recording or set up your own home studio with these essential equipment:

1. A suitable voice over microphone
2. A sturdy Mic stand to hold the microphone and free up your hands to handle the script.
3. Pair of studio headphones, that keep unwanted noises at bay and can help to assess your recordings better.
4. Pop filters, which block the initial popping and breathing of the mouth.
5. Recording software (Audacity/ Garageband/ Logic/ Pro Tools) to hear a playback of your voice.

You would also want to soundproof your studio by insulating it with absorbent panels and cork, rubber, or foam insulations so that the quality of the recordings is professional and free of undesired noise.

If you want to stay away from the hassle of self recording and are looking for good audiobook voice artists then you can try visiting Voyzapp, a leading voice over company. By hosting thousands of professional and experienced voice artists on its portal, Voyzapp ensures that you hire the right voice that suits your requirements and budget.

In a nutshell, hiring a veteran voice artist for your narration can give a wider global exposure. So keep searching for the ‘perfect’ voice to increase sales and visibility of your audiobook!

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