“I can’t hire a narrator. It’s too expensive!”
If you’ve said this … I get it. I’m an indie author, so I understand the constant push and pull. Who has the time or money to do all the marketing “they” say you should do? (Spoiler alert: almost no one.)
The fact is, most indie authors are working on a tight budget. That often means human narration is too expensive. Many authors consider AI narration, but for various reasons, they’d really rather have a human reading their work.
But … what if human narration wasn’t too pricey?
Pay-As-You-Go Narration
I’m now offering indie-author clients a new way to produce an audiobook: Pay-As-You-Go Narration.
In a nutshell, Pay As You Go allows you to get as little as one chapter produced at a time, depending on your budget. You’ll pay—and I’ll narrate—in stages, and you’ll get finished files along the way!
The Details
Here’s how it works:
- Reach Out: Contact me (at carolbethanderson@gmail.com) to find out if your book is a good fit and to discuss my current rates.
- Make It Official: If we agree to work together, we’ll sign a Pay-As-You-Go Narration contract.
- Deposit: You’ll pay 10% of the estimated total cost for your book’s narration as a deposit (credited back to you at project completion). This deposit allows me to prepare to record. (I’ll make notes in the manuscript, plan character voices, meet with you virtually to discuss your desires for the audiobook, etc.)
- Pay As You Go: I’ll produce the project in stages. Today, maybe you have enough budget for me to narrate one chapter. Or five chapters. Or half the book. We’ll agree on a timeline, and I’ll get to work. You’ll pay me once I’ve completed the files for that stage.
- File Delivery: You’ll get completed (edited/mastered) files for each stage promptly upon payment. These files belong 100% to you. Below, I’ll give you some cool marketing ideas for these files.
- No Obligation: If things change and you need to cancel the project, that’s okay. You’re only obligated to pay for what I’ve produced.
Out-of-the-Box Marketing Ideas
Besides being budget-friendly, here’s what really excites me about Pay As You Go: you can use the files however you want along the way. Here are some ideas:
- Publish a PAID serial audiobook. Serials are so popular in publishing these days, with people reading stories in episodic form on Kindle Vella, Patreon, Radish, and more. What if you used Patreon or a similar service to provide your audiobook to subscribers … as it’s being produced? They’ll get the audio before anyone else. What a cool way to build your brand among your biggest fans (and make some extra money!)
- Publish a FREE serial audiobook. Lots of authors are putting audiobooks on YouTube for free. If you get enough subscribers, you may monetize your account. With Pay As You Go, you can publish chapters to YouTube as soon as you get them.
- Use audio clips on social media. There’s a fantastic website called Headliner where you can upload an audio clip, add an image, text, etc., and then download a video to share on socials. I use it to share audio clips all the time. Maybe you could promise your followers you’re going to share a one-minute sample from your audiobook-in-progress every week … to whet their appetites for the eventual release and get them buying other versions of the book!
Got Questions? Here Are Some Answers.
How much does it cost?
Please reach out to me at carolbethanderson@gmail.com to find out my current rates. I know it would be great to have that info here, but there are multiple reasons it’s better to have that discussion over email. You can be assured of two things:
- I’m not into giving anyone a “hard sell.” I’ll answer your question, and if you need to move on, that’s fine!
- My rates are below what many other professional narrators charge. I love narrating, and as an indie author, I also love being able to help fellow indies keep their budgets under control.
What kinds of books do you like working on?
I love many genres, both nonfiction and fiction. When you reach out, I’ll ask for a digital copy of your book to skim through so I can determine if it’s a good fit for me. (Feel free to check out the samples on my homepage to get an idea of my narration style with various genres.)
Can you work on my audiobook before the book is published?
Absolutely. In fact, I personally like to release my own audiobooks at about the same time as my ebooks/paperbacks (though that’s purely a personal choice).
If you’re publishing your book as a serial, with a little bit of planning, you could share audiobook chapters/episodes with your fans at the same time you release written episodes!
Need More Information?
If you have more questions or want to check on my current pricing, please email me at carolbethanderson@gmail.com.
And if you’d like to keep in touch via my occasional narrator newsletter, sign up below.
I look forward to hearing from you … and I hope we can work together to produce your audiobook!