The Life of an Audiobooks Narrator

Interviewed by Sandra Parshall

I couldn’t live without audiobooks, and one of my dreams has been to have my own work recorded. That dream has come true with the Blackstone Audio edition of my new mystery, Broken Places, narrated by Tavia Gilbert. Tavia is a stage and voice actress who also produces, directs, and narrates books, full-cast recordings, and documentaries. She has won the audiobooks profession’s Earphones Award and been nominated for an Audie. Recently she agreed to satisfy my curiosity about the way books are recorded and how audiobook narrators work.


Q. How long have you been an audiobook narrator? How many books have you recorded in that time?

A. I've been narrating books full-time since September of 2007, when I got my first contract with Blackstone Audio. I was, truthfully, a bit lost before that gig. I had left my day-job the year before, and I was really struggling to make my way, half-heartedly auditioning for commercial voiceover work and dreaming of really meaningful narration work. After my first job with Blackstone, I continued to get assignments monthly, and now it's a rare week when I don't have a book to record. I've worked on more than 70 books? 80, maybe? I'm losing count.


Q. How does someone get a job as a narrator? Did you audition?

A. I did audition for my first Blackstone title, after I met Grover Gardner, a veteran narrator and the studio director for Blackstone, at the Audiobook Publishers Association Conference in New York in May 2007. I gently but persistently followed up with Grover after that initial meeting, and he finally sent me an audition piece. He cast me, and the following day he called me back. I was sure he was going to fire me before I even started - realize his mistake - but he gave me a rush title to work on, so I had my first two gigs. Every book I do I have a moment of a crisis of faith, and I think that it will surely be the very last book I ever get to do, but so far I'm adding new publishers and new projects fairly steadily.


Q. Who decides which reader will record which book? Do narrators specialize in certain genres, or in fiction vs. nonfiction?

A. A publisher's studio director or casting director is in charge of choosing the narrators for projects. From time to time an author will have the right to approve the reader assigned to their book, so a few samples may be sent to the author to review before a final casting decision has been made. There have been a handful of projects I've hoped for, and it's thrilling when I've been chosen and heart-breaking when another narrator gets the job. One gig was already assigned to another narrator when I heard about it, and after campaigning for about a year, I was finally given the assignment. The book was Sing Them Home, by Stephanie Kallos, who is a dear friend of mine and one of my college instructors (voice and speech for the theater), and the book won my first Earphones Award and got great reviews, so my determination to land the project paid off.

I think yes, some narrators have their niche, and I imagine that every narrator has a genre they are most fond of, but no matter what the material, the job of the narrator is to serve the vision of the writer with the most authentic voice. What I mean to say is that it's imperative for the narrator to fully inhabit the narrative voice and serve as a medium between the printed word and the listener. So no matter the genre, the process is the same - get out of the way of the work - let the work flow freely through you - and humbly embody the author's voice and vision.

I've done everything from children's and young adult titles, mystery & suspense, contemporary fiction, sociology, biography/memoir, full-cast theater, philosophy, religion, historical fiction, and science fiction. I'm not sure there is a genre I've not had a chance to do yet, but my favorite projects are literary fiction, meaningful memoir, philosophy, and creative non-fiction. I am never so fulfilled as when I get a project that is about social justice and equality. I've been really fortunate to do projects that I think are important, most recently, Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty, which inspired and infuriated me.


Q. Have you ever been asked to narrate a book that you hated? How do you handle that kind of problem?

A. Yes! And it's painful. It's got everything to do with the quality of writing. If the writing is masterful, there is great pleasure in narrating. If the writing is poor, it's an uncomfortable process. There is a vulnerability in great writing - a revelation of the author's heart - that is rich and beautiful in its idiosyncratic truth no matter what the subject matter or genre. Knowing that there are gorgeous books to be read, it's disheartening to get a book that relies on trendy cliche, author egotism, or cheap formula. The worst for me is reading books with female characters that are stereotypes, or books that use sexual violence to titillate. I have turned projects down if I feel that I can't commit in good conscience to the work. I've used a voice name to distance myself from a piece of work that I am uncomfortable with. But if I do a project, I am committing to embodying it and believing in it during the whole of the performance. Whether I'm working on a book that is gorgeous and transcendent or just pretty okay, I want the performance to be enjoyed and appreciated by the listener and the author, and so I endeavor to stay present moment to moment and not judge the material in the process of recording it.


Q. Do you read a book more than once before you start recording? Do you mark it up, check pronunciations, make notes on characters, etc.?

A. I read the book in full once before I read. Ideally, I would read the section the night before that I will be narrating the following day, but most often I am reading and prepping next week's project at night. I don't mark my script much at all, though each book is different and so it may require its own marking. I do always try to mark paradox, because to bring those juxtapositions to life requires mindful intention and inflection.

I am responsible for the research for my projects, so I look up a lot of the language in a dictionary or encyclopedia, call hotels or city halls or embassies to double-check pronunciations of geographic locations and proper names, call librarians for assistance. When I'm reading fiction or narrative non-fiction, I note each character and what they say about themselves, how the author/narrator describe the character, and how they are described by other characters in the book. That's exactly how I would prep a theatrical character, and it helps me make specific acting choices. I will also note how I think the character's voice sounds - i.e., low, laconic, whiny, halting, bright, strained.


Q. Recording a book must be like appearing in a play or movie in which you play all the parts. Writing a novel is a lot like that too. Broken Places has characters from different levels of society and different places, and many are natives of the mountains, so when I was writing I heard various accents in my head. How do you prepare to do different voices and accents?

A. I would LOVE to have a lot of time to prepare dialects and character voices, but a full-time audiobook recording schedule is pretty tight. I have a stock of characters that I can pull from ("Ok, he'll be my low, slow Southern guy, and I'll use my bright, breezy snob for her"), and I continue to explore and challenge my vocal instrument and my acting specificity to create new people to play. I use my friend Paul Meier's International Dialects of English Archive, which is an invaluable resource, as well as his dialect training materials, and I use the International Phonetic Alphabet as a shorthand to transcribe the key sounds of a dialect.

I constantly soak in the way people speak, listening critically to how people express themselves with sound and language, tone, pacing, rhythm, volume, pitch, placement. I have started finding clips of interesting and idiosyncratic speakers that I can imitate for a particular character, from YouTube or NPR or movies. I also just work on the fly and I try something out until it works. It's very challenging, and I've gone back through an entire book and rerecorded the dialect of a character (a very manipulative Eastern European criminal) because I just wasn't satisfied with my first interpretation.


Q. How long does it take to record an average-length book? How many hours a day do you record?

A. It generally takes me about two hours to record one finished hour of narration, so a book that totals 10 hours will take 20 hours to record. Sometimes I get down to an hour and a half for one finished hour, but that's a rare, victorious, shining star recording day. I record for five hours a day, at most. I used to do seven, but it's really hard on my body, especially my neck and shoulders.


Q. Do you work with a director who is on hand while you’re recording?

A. Unfortunately, many audiobooks are no longer being directed. With digital technology transforming the publishing world, budgets have been cut, and audiobook narrators are often self-engineering and self-directing. But I love working with a director, and have frequently paid out of pocket in order to bring one in for the duration of the recording. I've worked many times with a wonderful director and long-time theater collaborator, Stephen, and we are close enough that we've had great disagreements and debates about character, language, word emphasis, and tone. It's great to have someone to pay attention to the long arc of the story, and it allows me to relax a little bit and trust that someone else is in charge. For the first year and a half I narrated I always paid for a director, and it was a great investment. I am successful self-directing because I've had such a great director to work with. When audiobook publishers are willing to invest in a director, it really pays off with the best possible performance.

I produce, cast, and direct as well, and I've found that when the budget doesn't call for a director for the entire process, it can be very valuable to work with the actor on the narrative voice at the beginning of the recording. The narrative voice is SO important, and I enjoy "sculpting" with an actor the voice they use. I'll sit in on a book for the first couple of hours and then check in later to answer questions, give support, and remind the audio engineer what they should keep in mind creatively as they're running the session. Later I'll give the actors feedback about phrasing, breath, relaxation, paradox, pace.


Q. How do you fit this in with your other work?

A. I do some theater, commercial voiceover, and on camera work, but audiobooks is my main gig. (How lucky am I? Reading for a job! It's pretty great.) But it's going to get exponentially more complicated and challenging when I start a two-year, low-residency masters program in creative non-fiction this summer at Vermont College of Fine Arts. I'll be reading and narrating for work and reading and writing for my MFA. I have a business in development, Talkbox, which I believe will be the key to my sustainability as an artist, and where I can weave together the inter-related passions of my life - theater, photography, writing, sound design, story-telling, and activism - and produce and publish work. I want to keep paving my own way in the world, and I'm open to wherever pursuing risks and joy may lead me.


Q. What do you enjoy least about narrating audiobooks?

A. What do I enjoy the least? Days when I have persistent mouth noise. My own reluctance to get the work done on a book that's not a lot of fun to read. Tension and tightness when I want to be so relaxed. Jaw tension. Oh, this is my biggest frustration. Some days I feel like I have lock jaw, and that's a real sign of fatigue and the need to do some body work - get into the pool, do tai chi or qi gong, or talk a walk on the beach. Very aggravating to feel these things when I'm on a tight deadline.


Q. What do you enjoy most?

A. I love the moments of work when I am filled with joy and delight with language. Language is the most beautiful gift, and an enchanting phrase, a complex idea masterfully unfolded, the brave exposure of a terrifying truth - all these awaken me, make me more fully alive, engaged, and present. Sometimes when I'm reading a book I will gasp and tears may come to my eyes because something the author has written is so true, or because I've just learn that I've truly not been alone in thinking or feeling something all my life, or because the writer has been so delightfully playful with their words. I love narrating a book that I wish I myself had written. I love that I am a better writer because of this very intimate, intensive exploration of language through audiobooks. I appreciate that I have an opportunity to tell a story that someone will absolutely love, as I adore stories voiced by narrators like Davina Porter, Barbara Rosenblat, and Norman Dietz.
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Learn more about Tavia and hear a sample of her work at www.taviagilbert.com.

Read Me a Story

Sandra Parshall

I’m addicted to audiobooks. Unabridged, pleased, and preferably on CDs for superior sound quality. I check out half a dozen at a time from the library and go through them at a rapid clip. Without them, the number of books I “read” every year would drop by more than half. Many times I’ve purchased a book in print and ended up listening to it on audio from the library instead.

When I’m not at the computer or reading a printed book, I’m usually hooked up to an audiobook. I listen while I cook, while I fill the birdfeeders, while I pull weeds in the garden. One thing I never do is listen to a book while I’m driving. I’m afraid I’ll get too wrapped up in the story and will either have an accident or forget where I’m going. I’ll take a book on cassette tapes if that’s all that’s available, but I much prefer CDs, and I wish the library had more of the books I want available for download to my MP3 player.

Some people say they can’t become absorbed in audiobooks the way they sink into the print version. They need to see the words on the page. But for me the key to enjoyment of an audiobook – aside from the quality of the writing – is the reader’s voice. Anyone who listens to more than a few audiobooks has favorite narrators and tries to avoid those whose voices they find annoying for some reason. Companies like Books on Tape and Recorded Books, Inc., know this, and their web sites provide lists of books narrated by specific readers. The Recorded Books web site also has photos and bios of the narrators.

I’ll pass up an audiobook I want to listen to if it’s narrated by someone whose voice irritates me. I’ll try a recording I might otherwise pass over if one of my favorites is narrating it. Donada Peters has made me a fan of M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin mysteries. I will listen to anything Davina Porter (right) reads in her lovely voice.

Some readers, though, please me with one author’s books but not with another. I think C.J. Crit is the perfect reader for Margaret Maron’s Judge Deborah Knott novels, but I don’t think she’s right for Janet Evanovich’s books. George Guidall (left) is probably the most experienced of all narrators, with more than 650 unabridged books to his credit, but I enjoy his deep, somewhat rough voice only on certain types of books. Oddly enough, his voice seems perfect for Lillian Jackson Braun’s “Cat Who” mysteries. He sounds like Qwilleran.

I come to associate a particular reader with a particular author, and I’m annoyed when a company gives the narrating duty to a variety of people. For example, the Recorded Books versions of James Lee Burke’s novels are read by Tom Stechschulte (pictured on the right), Mark Hammer, and Will Patton. I like all three of them, but it’s disconcerting to me to get a different voice each time.

Who are the men and women who record books? Some well-known actors have done recorded books, but the people who make a living at it are often the show business equivalent of mid-list authors -- talented, but not destined to become stars and earn a lot of money from acting. When they read a book, they play every part, and their job is to bring out all of the story's emotional complexity -- truly perform it, not simply read it aloud. I’ve seldom listened to a recording that seemed poorly prepared or dashed off. My only complaint is the occasional mispronunciation. I still grit my teeth when I remember the narrator who repeatedly pronounced Quantico as Quan-TEE-co.

Recorded book narrators have their own awards to recognize professional achievement – the Audies, given in numerous categories. Veterans like Davina Porter and George Guidall have won multiple Audies. Publishers Weekly has a review section devoted to recorded books, with the emphasis on the reader’s performance of the material.

As usual, I have a bunch of unabridged audiobooks in my to-be-listened-to stack, among them Angel’s Tip by Alafair Burke, read by Eliza Foss, and China Trade by S.J. Rozan, read by Christine Marshall. I just finished listening to The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon, read by David Colacci, and now I’m listening to Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon, read by Jeff Woodman. I’m waiting my turn on the library’s reserve list for recordings of new books by John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Greg Iles, Jeffery Deaver, Stieg Larsson, and Kathryn Stockett.

And what am I actually reading, as in holding a printed book and moving my eyes over the words on the pages? Undone by Karin Slaughter. I will finish a couple of audiobooks in the time it takes me to read Undone.

Do you listen to recorded books? Do you have favorite narrators?

Writers are from Venus, editors are from Mars... in between are agents

Sandra Parshall


Writers live in their own insular worlds – located mostly inside their heads – and editors live in the bustling world of commerce, where a book is a product that must justify its presence on a shelf. Straddling both worlds, always trying to bridge the gap, are those wondrous creatures called agents. If a writer wants to be published by a big New York imprint these days, having an agent to get your manuscript on editors’ desks is a must. Most New York editors won’t look at work that hasn’t first been vetted by an agent they respect.

Agents are in the ideal position to judge the current turmoil in the publishing business and predict the future, so I was eager to hear from the panel of agents who spoke at the Malice Domestic conference last weekend. Because the phenomenal Anne Perry was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the Malice organizers were able to lure both her US agent, Donald Maass, and her British agent, Meg Davis, to the conference and to seats on the panel. Joining them were Ellen Pepus of the Signature Literary Agency, Janet Reid of the Fine Print Agency, and Meg Ruley of the Jane Rotrosen Agency.

They tackled the toughest question first: Is publishing dead, or dying?

Ruley – whose clients include Julia Spencer-Fleming, Dorothy Cannell, Rhys Bowen, Cathy Pickens, and other equally talented mystery writers – believes this is a “watershed moment” in the history of publishing, with great movement and change as people discover new ways to read. Books are still selling, but the printed form is no longer the only way to enjoy a book.

Davis agreed and pointed to the internet and other “channels we haven’t seen before” that allow authors to prove to publishers that an audience exists for what they’re writing. Reid – who represents Dana Cameron, among other well-regarded mystery and thriller writers – said that publishing is certainly changing, but writers shouldn’t worry about it. “The one thing that will not change is the hunger for storytelling.” She advises writers to “just write really, really well” and leave the business worries to others.

Don Maass, who looks far too young to be the legend he is (clients include a long string of award winners and NY Times bestselling authors), believes that e-publishing is taking hold, although it now represents a “microscopic” percentage of book sales. Audiobooks, Maass said, account for 10% of publishing profits, and eventually e-publishing will equal that.

So what’s selling? What’s hot and what’s not?

These five agents may be markedly different in their personal styles, but they all played variations on the same theme: they want to see superior writing and storytelling ability. They aren’t interested in shallow books that are basically more of the “same old same old.”

“People want something that engages their minds in an intelligent way,” Meg Davis said. “They want books with weight.”

While admitting there’s still a strong market for vampire books, Ellen Pepus said she’s looking for “deeper” books that delve into the psychology of the characters.

Reid finds thrillers easiest to sell, but she said that a “compelling, fresh voice” is essential even in escapist fiction.

Ruley doesn’t believe it's worthwhile to think in terms of trends, but she snaps to attention when a book written in a “fresh and distinctive voice” lands on her desk.

Maass spoke rather disdainfully of “hook-y” books and said there are now more mysteries featuring Jane Austen as a character than books actually written by Austen. Those novels, he said, are “nice but shallow.” He’ll consider representing only “the best paranormal” – novels that create a rich, layered story world. What he most admires are literary mysteries with deep character development and great storytelling that works on many levels. He looks for “micro-tension” in a novel – every sentence must be so strongly crafted that it compels the reader forward. No flab, no utilitarian prose.

With so many writers jumping from genre to genre these days, I was especially interested in these agents’ views on writers who want to try different things. Pepus said that if a writer can be successful in different genres, she’ll represent everything the author produces. But Maass and Ruley said it’s unlikely that a writer can master more than one genre. A writer should think about his or her long-range career and focus on one thing, Ruley advised. “The more focused you can be, the better.” Maass agreed, advising writers to stick with what they do best and cultivate the audience for that type of book.

How does a writer claim the attention of these agents? It is possible, however daunting it may seem. Maass pointed out that his agency (four agents, total sales of about 150 novels per year) launched the careers of half a dozen new writers in the past year. Those writers have one important thing in common, aside from their talent: they were willing to dig in and do major rewrites for the agency before the manuscripts were marketed, and they had the patience to take their time and bring their books as close to perfection as possible. He’ll read queries from unpublished writers, always looking for a voice so distinctive that it bowls him over, and he doesn’t ask for exclusives on manuscripts. Neither does Ruley.

Davis bemoaned the number of “mass mailings” she receives – queries broadcast to every agent in the world. Don’t send out stuff like that, she advised, and don’t send agents money, candy, cookies, or nude photos of yourself either. Most writers, the agents agreed, say too much in their queries. It takes “so much less” to engage an agent’s attention than writers believe, Maass said. Brevity is best. If your work is special, you’ll be able to convey that in one paragraph.

Reid said she prefers to make sales herself, rather than being approached by writers who have contracts in hand and just want an agent to do the fine-tuning on the deal.

One of the most discouraging comments came from Pepus, who cautioned that “most first books don’t sell.” But if she loves a client’s writing, she’ll hang in there until something does sell.

Often it seems to writers who are wading through rejections that the last thing in the world agents are looking for is a new client, but no one who sat in on this panel could miss the enthusiasm – the love – that Davis, Pepus, Maass, Reid and Ruley feel for books and the people who write them. Ruley summed it up when she said “the most fun ever” is discovering a new writer whose work makes her “flip out.” Believe it or not, agents are in the business for the same reason writers are – because they are passionate about books.

(The agents in the photo above are Meg Davis, Ellen Pepus, Donald Maass, Janet Reid, and Meg Ruley.)