They told us about all the stages of creating such works. The process is the same for all countries.

It all starts with the purchase of copyrights and the choice of a book for recording in the ratio of “studying the market and the significance of the book for the audience”: most often modern foreign and Russian prose is voiced; classics are also indispensable, as well as detective stories, science fiction, books about youth issues, and children's literature. The story of recording an audiobook from a famous author also works well.

After choosing a piece, the most difficult stage begins - recording. There are four such stages in total.

Stage one. Preparing for recording

Duration. This stage lasts from two weeks to one and a half months on average, this is an important and complex stage, the duration of which depends on the length and complexity of the book. The editor reads the book and puts down all the accents, etc., and if there is no reliable information, he sends questions to the editor who published the book, or to the translator. It all depends on the complexity of the words, titles and names used in the text.

A professional editor places emphasis, writes out words where the emphasis is not obvious to him, writes out terms, geographical names, proper names.

At the same time, the producers, together with the editor, director and project manager, decide who will be the performer or performers. Important: these are not readers.

The people who voice audiobooks are actors who have passed the casting. By the way, many different people come to the casting - workers from radio, television, cinema and theater. Every year, out of 30 auditioned actors, only two or three people start recording.

It's not that there are no talented actors - it's just that when an actor or actress is left alone with a microphone, without feedback, many are lost. You don't just need to read that he opened the door, entered the room, climbed out through the window and went into the forest, where he met a stranger who changed his life.

The actor must lead the listener to the idea of ​​the stranger over the course of several sentences or even paragraphs. He must play it out with his voice. Alone with a microphone, the actor has nothing but his voice. His voice is his only instrument. And it is important that the actor lives the book, and not read it like a narrator. The listener must be imbued with the material he hears. And, of course, the actor needs to fall in love with the text and appropriate it for himself as a role. And play.

Stage two. Record

Duration - one and a half months.

After choosing a book and an actor, the recording process begins, during which a sound engineer is present and is responsible for the sound quality; and an editor who monitors emphasis and text. On average, three hours of recording yields two hours of audio material.

But there are exceptions, a unique example is Dina Rubina, who, when recording for one hour and 15 minutes, gives an hour clear text. On average, Dina voices 16 hours of her book in 20 hours. One shift lasts three hours, making approximately seven shifts in total. But not every actor can voice a book every day, so sometimes the process drags on for six months. Of course, a lot depends on the editing, but on average, one book takes one and a half months to be produced.

During the recording process, it is very important that a good working relationship is established between the actor and the director. It happens, for example, that the relationship between them does not work out, in which case the performer is replaced. The director is a dictator, you need to listen to him and you can’t do without him.

Stage three. Installation and modification

Duration - depends on the length of the book, if the book has 6 hours of sound, then editing takes at least 12 hours

After recording the entire book, the material is given to the editor. He edits the rough recording in an audio editor such as Sound Forge or Wave Lab. Selects and collects the correct takes, builds pauses if necessary, cuts extraneous sounds, whistles and other unnecessary noises. The difficulty of the editor's task is that a good take cannot always be taken as a basis. Often the beginning of a phrase is taken from one take and the end from another. This is a fine piece of jewelry, even with well-recorded takes. After this, you need to listen again to see if each piece fits logically into the overall outline of the sound.

The finished product is then handed over to a professional listener, who listens to the text in order to compare it with the text of the book, check the stress in the words, and finally decide whether the actor’s recitation was successful. Based on his comments, edits are possible in the work. The worst thing that happens during the verification process is when it turns out that during the recording the actor’s stomach was growling, which during the audition is heard like the wail of a siren. And, alas, this can only be heard during mastering, that is, the final listening. This is a marriage and it needs to be rewritten. When the volume of fragments that need to be rewritten becomes clear, the actor is again invited to the studio and rewrites exactly these moments. The difficulty is to get into the same state as when the book was recorded, so that this new fragment does not sound like a patch.

While reading books, each of us has a voice in our heads, voicing the text. What if your voice could be used to make books for other people? To do this, just register in the project LitRes:Reader and voice at least one book.

If you love to read, recording audiobooks can be an income-generating hobby! You can become famous by participating in the annual Electronic Letter Awards. If you are a young actor or broadcaster, a recorded audiobook will be a great addition to your portfolio. You can also record an audiobook as a gift to your family and friends. Imagine how sweetly a child will fall asleep listening to his favorite fairy tale in your voice-over!

Can I narrate any book?

After successfully passing the test task, you can choose to record any book you like from the catalog of our project. We obtain permission for voiceovers directly from authors and copyright holders, so recording an audiobook can bring you a little closer to the writer, without violating anyone's interests.

Any results?

How much can I earn?

You can receive money to Yandex or Qiwi wallets, as well as bank card, released in Russia.

How to become a successful reader?

The first step to success is to regularly record audiobooks. The more books you record and the more often they sell, the more you earn.

Improve your skills: listen to the advice of moderators, do speech exercises (pure twisters, tongue twisters) and breathing exercises before reading a book, study the basics of audio recording.

What do we have to do?

• 1 Register in the project
• 2 Complete a test task
• 3 Voice over a book from the project catalog
• 4 Receive % of sales

Of course, it is always better to leave audiobook recording to professionals. For example, to us - on whose website you are. But... you decided to do it yourself, and we will tell you how.

So. What do you need to do to voice a book yourself? What equipment should you have and what qualities should you have? We have identified three components of success, these are the rules for recording audiobooks:

• Careful work by the reader on the text of the work;
• Correct diction, articulation and breathing;
• Good equipment and quality sound.

The reader's work on the work

The main question that an actor must answer before recording an audiobook is: “What do I want to say?” or “What did the author want to say?” (if we are talking about recording a work that is not your own).

The second question, which is also important to answer: “Who do I want to tell this to?”

And finally, the third: “For what?” What, in the opinion of the actor or the author’s intention, should the book push the reader to, what emotion should it evoke, what should it make him think about.

Having answered these questions for yourself, the manner of presentation, the mood becomes clear, and the subtexts that should be conveyed by voice become visible. You understand the problem, know the solution, and are almost ready to write the book yourself.

It is also important to highlight the climax of the work and read, gradually “rising” towards it, strengthening the presentation, in order to then firmly put the last point.

Only this way and no other way. Otherwise, we will hear not an audiobook, not a literary audio work, but a “reading of the text.”

These are, perhaps, the most important skills that a reader must possess in order to captivate the listener with his performance and turn a printed work into a unique audio work. We will stop at these basic concepts, because by continuing, we risk going into the subtleties of stage speech, but our task is different.

Diction, articulation, breathing

As you understand, without correct and clear sound production, all attempts to immerse yourself in a book, even the most successful ones, and “transmit” it to the listener seem empty. What's the point if he doesn't hear half the sounds?

On store shelves and on the Internet you will find many detailed books and courses on stage speech, but we don’t have much time, right?

Therefore, we bring to your attention a short but extremely effective video course from the Russian Speech Theater Center. The course consists of four short lessons, performing exercises from which you will significantly increase the clarity of sounds, gain the basis of breathing and confidence in speech. By practicing constantly, you will be able to voice any book yourself (well, or almost any).

Happy studying!

Lesson 1 - Articulation

Lesson 2 - Relaxation

Lesson 3 - Breathing

Lesson 4 - Diction

Hardware and programs for creating audiobooks

To record an audiobook you will need:

• Computer;
• Microphone and sound card (or USB microphone);
• Program for recording and editing sound;
• A prepared room without echo or extraneous sounds.

Anyone can register modern computer, because sound does not require serious computing resources. The main thing is to pay attention to the noise of the fans, because the microphone will also record it.

Microphone and card

The microphone-card connection can seem not only complicated, but also quite expensive, so we recommend starting with a USB microphone. This microphone has a built-in sound card and is easily connected and identified by the system. From the budget models we can safely name Recording-Tools MCU-02, from the more expensive line – Shure PG42 USB. However, many manufacturers now have USB models to suit every taste and budget. As for audio cards, the undisputed leaders in terms of price/quality ratio are PreSonus, Focusrite and, of course, Roland.

Programs for creating and recording audiobooks

Manufacturers of sound software delight with variety. And not only paid products, but, most importantly, free and no less high quality - except that the tools they usually have are a little poorer:

• Audacity - home recording classic, free program for creating audiobooks;
• Ocenaudio is my personal discovery last year, an excellent program for recording audiobooks.

Both programs are cross-platform, i.e. work on all major operating systems. The first has much richer functionality, but the second, in my opinion, is more convenient to use. Try both and choose what you like.

I also recommend the paid, but inexpensive Reaper - this is a full-fledged multi-tracker in which it is convenient not only to write a speech, but also to combine it with music and noise (important - the trial period is endless). And if funds allow, then you can pay attention to the Sony product line - Vegas and Sound Forge - programs for creating audiobooks.

Room

We put the room in fourth place on our list, although it undoubtedly deserves first. Because neither excellent clear speech nor professional equipment will save you from extraneous noise and echo, which is almost impossible to get rid of. This ultimately has a catastrophic effect on the overall impression of the book.

If you are taking your first steps in scoring and do not want to spend money on professional treatment of the room, for example, Ikea U-shaped hangers and thick blankets will help you: the structure can enclose the recording area and partially eliminate reflected sound. Of course, you can read under the covers, but believe me, it is very difficult.

And don't forget about extraneous noise! The room should be quiet.

Now you have basic knowledge on how to record an audiobook yourself.

And if you need professional voice acting, contact us using this button:

From time to time I receive letters with the following content: “I want to record an audiobook. Where should I start, how should I continue and how should I end? Or, in other words, “how do you do it”?

- Basically, at random. But it has been repeated at random over and over again for quite some time, so it makes sense to talk about a habit. Habits can be bad or good; the latter are also called algorithms. It is difficult to distinguish one from another, but it is possible, and everyone solves this issue in their own way.

I’ll try to describe in detail, in several steps, my personal view of how you can record audiobooks. I’ll try to write it in such a way that it’s clear even to complete beginners (but without explaining how audio editors work, that’s on their own). Let's leave aside the artistic and performing aspect; it practically does not lend itself to algorithmization. Let's focus on purely technical issues for now. So:

Microphone selection

This question is asked quite often. We will not consider options for cheap and low-quality headsets, since I had no experience working with them. I myself use professional studio equipment, which includes a condenser (U87) or tube (U57) microphone path Neumann, tube microphone preamp-compressor UniversalAudio, mixing console, external digitizing device (ADC) and the computer itself.

Needless to say, my version is very expensive and non-mobile, it’s just something I have on hand if I have free time in the studio. These are opposite poles, and, obviously, for a beginning reader-reciter you need to find something in between. And it does exist, it’s called a USB microphone. Its undeniable advantage: it plugs directly into the USB input of your computer, bypassing the preamp and digitizing device. In combination with a laptop, you get a very mobile and low-noise (which is important!) option. Many models of such microphones have a monitor output for headphones, so you can immediately hear your voice as it sounds into the microphone, which is also very important. My colleagues Dmitry “digig” Ignatiev (InfrasonicUFO) and Semyon Yanishevsky (Samson) use these microphones, the quality of their work speaks for itself.

Room

The next important factor is the place where you record your voice. Probably everyone who has tried to record knows how booming a voice sounds in an apartment. Then it is almost impossible to remove. Someone is soundproofing the storage room. Some hang themselves with blankets and carpets. All of this can work quite well. But you can try something like this:

I have already filled in the empty fields at the top and clicked Save. Now the most interesting part: we need to extract the chapter names from the file names. Open the Get Tags From File Names tab at the top and fill in the image below. Click Write tags - and again:

All chapter and part titles are in place. All that remains is to number everything by clicking the button to the right of track#, and rename the files themselves. Open the Rename Files tab at the top and enter:

Here, instead of Samolyot, enter the short name of your book - and you’re almost done. On the Multi Tag File Editor tab there is a button Edit All Supported Tag Fields. By clicking it, you can enter a lot of other tags and embed texts and pictures into each file.

Don’t forget to select Options » Tags from the menu at the very beginning and check the Write Unicode Data box...

But now you can wipe away the sweat of work and relax. The book is ready!!!

Here you can download the full package of plugins for Sound Forge mentioned in the article.