I had a question recently where someone asked if I had any advice on audiobook samples? I do!
Whether you’re an author or indie publisher selling your own audiobook and creating the profile for your title, or you’re a narrator looking to get more work and posting demos on your website (or casting sites), what kind of sample should you choose?
FOR AUDIOBOOKS YOU’RE SELLING
If you’re posting a less than 5 minutes sample for selling your audiobook, remember it should be formatted properly, less than 5 minutes (they’re strict). To make sure it doesn’t get booted back to you, choose a sample that doesn’t have swearing or explicit sexual content. Although there are plenty of samples with swearing and sexual content, it’s probably safer to avoid.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be the first 5 minutes of the book. Choose an exciting scene. Don’t worry about confusing the listener or setting the background for the whole book. Choose a section where the killer is approaching and the potential victim (or detective or whoever) is terrified. Choose a section of flirting between the protagonists who are destined for passion and love.
In other words, think of your audiobook sample like a movie demo. Share some of the good stuff so listeners just have to spend that credit to hear more.
FOR DEMOS TO GET YOU WORK
Think of your samples like a layered cake. You want cake, fruit, frosting, chocolate. You want a variety that shows your span, but also works well together. This might look like a nonfiction piece, then romance, thriller, and sci fi. You might have older characters in one sample, and YA characters in another. Make a great cake.
Choose something exciting! Don’t read from the first few minutes of a book. Flip to the back of the book and choose a scene where the tension and energy are high. This allows you to show your breadth as an actor. Have fun with it!
Choose samples from genres you want more work in. If you’re sick of romance, don’t post a romance sample. If you llllloooooove and want more romance, choose a great love scene that shows you’re comfortable with material, or a flirty scene where the sexual tension is electric.
Keep it short. Samples should only be about 2 to 3 minutes. This helps, too, with potential copyright issues.
Don’t post everything. 20 samples is too many. Stop it. They can buy one of your audiobooks if they want to hear that much from you or ask you for an audition. 3-7 demos is the goal.
Update your samples occasionally. You’ll get better with every book you perform, so why would you keep samples up there from the start of your career, when you’re now on book 100 and have learned so much more?
Don’t include music or sound effects. Just you. Performing. Showing how you shine as a long form narration expert. With music and sounds effects, it might sound pretty, but it makes casting think you don’t understand the business. Keep that for your VO samples.
Other pointers…
If you have strength with accents, post some samples with accents.
Label your sample something like GENRE_POV_ACCENTS, so that casting can find what they need.
Choose to read from books you really love. It’ll give your audition a little zing of energy.
Avoid super crazy popular titles, so that you’re not compared to whomever made that book famous.
And most of all…stop stressing and have fun with this. This is where you get to control the kind of career you want by showing what you can do.
So do the thing. And do it with joy.
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TANYA EBY is a narrator, writer, and casting director. She hasn’t updated her audiobook samples in a while, mostly because she’s forgotten they’re there. So now she sends a link to Audible, where they can listen to one of the 1000+ titles she’s recorded. This is SUPER lazy, but sometimes effective. Like Tanya’s stuff? Leave a comment, subscribe, tell your friends. It’s good karma.
Thank you so much for answering my question! This is really helpful and very much appreciated!
I straight-up guffawed at “stop it.” 😂😂😂