Categories
Audiobook production

Why You Shouldn’t Narrate Drunk

beer in the dark
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/clear-glass-mug-with-beverage-during-night-time-65210/

Here’s an idea: you should not narrate drunk. I know what you’re thinking: “My best ideas come out when I’m drunk” or “I’m so relaxed”. Here are my solid reasons for not doing voice overs while drunk.

Your vocal muscles will be numb

When you are intoxicated, your facial muscles do not work like normal. Everything is working in slow motion. Your tongue, your larynx and your lips are all working slower, so you are not going to maneuver well. You are going to stumble over words that you crushed before. When you realize that it took you ten tries to get this line right, you’ll wish that you were sober when you recorded this piece.

Your mind is slower

When you are reading something while under the influence, your mind is working slower. This means that you are processing information at a slower rate. So while it sounds cool in your head, it sounds like garbage on the record. If you don’t believe me, listen back to it after you record something whilst smashed. Yeah, I was right. You think you’re moving in slow motion but in reality you are just slower, which doesn’t always sound good.

I encourage you to prove me wrong.

If you think you sound better while drunk, go for it. It will be much harder to replicate. When you have to redo a line or a performance, achieving that same level will be much more difficult. When you’re drunk, your speech is unique in the fact that it’s extremely difficult to replicate. So if you don’t have to replicate it, that’s cool. But if your client wants you to match, good luck pal. Matching is going to be like landing on the moon. 

Being drunk can create a one-of-a-kind performance but I don’t think it should be your regular way of cranking out voiceovers. It’s bad for your health and too hard to replicate.

Categories
Audiobook production

The Strong Reasons Why You Should (or Shouldn’t) Consider the Darkside of ACX Royalty Share

Photo by Martin Péchy from Pexels

For authors, ACX royalty share seems like a great idea. You get a free audiobook produced by a narrator. The catch is that you have to split the royalties 50-50 for 7 years. What could possibly go wrong? Here’s the darkside of ACX Royalty Share.

The darkside of ACX Royalty Share

Your book could sell many copies. This is great! The drawback is that your narrator is splitting the revenue and that means you’re making half as much money as you would normally make. Not good for your bottom line.

Now if your book doesn’t sell many copies, that isn’t the worst either. You essentially get a very low-cost production. At the end of your 7 year contract with the narrator, the production is all yours.

Is there a better option?

So royalty share may seem attractive, but what if you want a cleaner option right from the start? Well, it’s going to cost a bit. You get to decide how much, but remember that you get what you pay for. If you pay cheaply, you may get a finished product that you don’t like. Make sure you vet your narrator properly. MAKE SURE THEY’VE MADE AN AUDIOBOOK BEFORE! If your narrator hasn’t narrated a book before, you need to go with someone else. Narrating a book is a massive project that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

If you go the Pay-For-Production route, you buy the narrator’s work upfront, but then the book and it’s lucrative stream of revenue are all yours. You also have the freedom to break your exclusive deal with ACX and pursue a wider distribution (it’s hard to do this with a royalty-share deal).

In conclusion, here is my TLDR: royalty-share can cost you more than you think. If you have a big audience that you write for and you know your book is going to be a sales success, buy out your production.

I can help you with audiobook production. Feel free to reach out.

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Why you shouldn’t narrate drunk