I’ve had some really great blog suggestions lately (thanks everyone!) but some of them seemed like questions I could answer a little more succinctly. So here’s a collection of random questions I’ve received.
1. Is there a trend in listener preferences regarding single voice v. multi-voice? And is this related to preference for a narrator doing fuller-voiced vs more subtly-voiced characters?
Trends in audiobooks are difficult because they change so quickly. In 2023, the Audies seemed to be mostly multi-cast. In 2024, there were more single narrator performances. Multi-cast performances are great for some titles, but less successful for others. Right now, it seems to be coming down to cost. It’s more cost effective and easier to produce a seamless audiobook with one or two narrators than a full cast. But the books are still popular, so there will probably continue to be more. Dual reads—two narrators reading separate chapters from their characters POVs—seem to be here to stay.
As for fuller-voiced vs. subtly-voiced? This is tricky too. Some people hate character voices. Some people love them. I think as narrators, we have to just do what we do and what the script leads us to do. A literary fiction piece with no quotes might lead us to subtly voiced characters. A litRPG with battle scenes and orcs and dragons and possessed humans might lead us in the direction of full-on character voices.
In general, keep doing you. Follow your instinct. Ignore the trends. They float up, the fall back, and it’s not really anything anyone can predict or control.
2. Overthinking. How/When to get out of your own head and just perform the script.
Stop it. Just stop it.
Ha! I love this clip from Bob Newhart. Someone shared it with me when I was obsessing and it’s terrifically funny, but also true:
If you’re driving yourself crazy overthinking, stop what you’re doing. Get out of the booth. Shake it off. And get back in the booth confident that you were hired to narrate this piece because of how you narrate pieces. They want you and your choices. That’s what they hired you for. They hired YOU. Overanalyzing, overthinking, overcriticizing just makes you feel like a lousy person and won’t make you a better performer. What makes you a better performer is confidence. Get in there. Be you. Be rooted. Be confident.
And watch the Bob Newhart video.
3. Is there a way to make 3rd person narration shine a little more?
Yeah. When I find that I’m disconnected from a 3rd person POV, sometimes I try to create a character for the narrator. Who is telling this story? Why are they telling it? It will inform your text and give subtlety to your narration. And you’ll notice that an excited young woman telling a story to her friends, is greatly different than an older woman warning her children about what is in the woods.
4. Any input on union vs nonunion relationships with publishers? I’m curious how often publishers are interested in nonunion talent (everyone’s gotta start somewhere) vs how many productions are done with union talent in mind.
Unlike film and TV, audiobooks aren’t strictly Union or non-Union. The Union worked very hard to get agreements for livable rates for narrators from big publishers and producers, and those rates apply to talent in general. Non-union and Union are paid the same. That means there isn’t an incentive for them to hire either way.
Some new publishers don’t have union contracts and will pay a lot less. But if they’re consistently producing audiobooks, it would be nice if they were also willing to pay through a Paymaster or get a union contract so that their narrators can get health care and retirement.
5. I'd like to know what you think of newsletters for writers. Good? Bad? Indifferent?
Some people love them. Some people hate them. If you do them well and you enjoy it, keep doing it.
For me, when I get a newsletter, I’m less likely to read it closely. I know it’s a general posting and there’s usually a lot of text. I’m more likely to read an email that is personal to me and quick, with bullet points.
While it’s nice to hear what projects people are working on or achievements, it helps me more as a casting director to know your availability, anything that sets you apart from other narrators, and genres you love to perform. So, for me, I’m indifferent.
Maybe a way to do both would be to send a quick personal email with a link to your current newsletter if casting is curious.
Have a quick question you’d like answered? Let me know and maybe it’ll pop up in a future article. New (longer) articles to come: What to do when you’re overbooked, How to get started in audiobooks, and possibly, How to pull yourself out of dark places when things are overwhelming.
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TANYA EBY is a narrator, casting director, and writer in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Ha! That Bob Newhart clip is GOLD. Thanks for sharing.
Also - I'm looking forward to the blog post on being overbooked because that's my current situation.
I'd love to add a question to that: Should I pause my email marketing if I'm booked out? I want to connect, but I'd hate to turn down a new project if I'm too busy.
I love Bob Newhart! Thanks for the clip and answers to the questions.