Audio Books

Native English accent, former BBC news announcer

Over 30 years experience as a Voiceover

Broadcast quality studio

Files sent quickly -.wav, .aif or mp3s

ISDN & in-person sessions

Highly reliable - reasonable rates

So, what style would you like your audio book read in?

- Firstly, can you confirm with me that you have the rights of the material to have it recorded?

- Then....How many sections has your script? Do these need to be in different files, or different CD tracks?

- Can you confirm that these sections (if any) are clearly marked on your script?

- Can you let me know about any unusual pronunciations, and that they are clearly marked up on the script? Send me “Howjsay” links if they are on there.

What technical format do you require the mastered file(s) in?

.wav , .aiff, .mp3 128kb/sec, or .mp3 256kb/sec?

The benefits of asking me to voice your audio books:

- I’m totally professional and won’t let you down; give me solid direction and I’ll follow it.

- You own the rights of the recordings; the fee is a total “buy out” one.

- All recording are done in a broadcast quality studio and all files are edited with no re-takes or mistakes and fully technically optimised (normalised and lightly compressed) as part of the service.

QUESTIONS? Call +44 7831 231 869 or e-mail: mail@peterbaker.tv

WHY NOT DUPLICATE AUDIO CDs OF YOUR RECORDINGS

TO INCREASE THE PERCEIVED VALUE EVEN MORE?

Click HERE to download further information!

USEFUL LINKS:

Learn how to produce professional web promos: http://www.internet-training-school.com/videocreation.html

Get a free logo for your website: http://www.freelogoservices.com

Discount Internet Marketing Bookshop: http://www.discountbooks.com

Easy and cheap web creation software, where it’s easy to embed audio and video media: www.serif.com

Professional video editing software: www.adobe.com

Free information for newcomers to web marketing: http://www.internet-training-school.com

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AUDIO EXTRACTS:

EXTRACT FROM “JOURNEY TO THE RIVER SEA” novel Eva Ibbotson

(Narration with voice characterisation)

EXTRACT FROM “AUDIO TRAFFIC MARKETING” e-book

(Factual e-book narration)

EXTRACT FROM “PLR SOCIAL BOOKMARKING TRAFFIC” e-book

(Factual e-book narration)

If you need more convincing about what a great idea it is to convert e-books into audio books, read this article by behavioural psychologist and broadcaster Christina Andersson!

Have you ever been on a long car journey on your own? I mean a really, long, tedious, boring journey, when you’re simply not interested in anything on the radio, you really don’t want to listen to the junk CDs your spouse left you in the car, and you’re even bored with the thoughts in your head!

Then, you think of those intriguing e-books you bought some weeks ago. You downloaded them to your memory stick, hoping to read them in a break time at work. Like you ever get a decent break at work, right? Then you killed a tree and printed the whole e-book off on 262 pages, but you forgot to take it with you on your road trip. Not of course that you could read while you drive, anyway. But you could… LISTEN!

If only you had bought the downloadable mp3 or audio CD version of the e-books! You’d be totally engaged on your journey, perking up your spirits and helping your concentration on your driving as well. But hang on a minute. There wasn’t an option to BUY any audio version. Oh dear.

OK, this next bit’s aimed at e-book writers, publishers and internet marketers. If you’ve written a magnificent e-book, packed with information, tips or is just an entertaining good laugh, it’s no good if nobody reads it.

Admit it, these days everyone is incredibly busy. We have to make media more accessible. If you had published your e-book with an audio option, more people would have had the time to listen to it on public transport, going for a walk, or on that tedious, awful long car journey; they would have told their friends about it and you’d get more copies sold.

But, guess what? An audio version of your e-book, read by a professional voice artist, neatly edited with audio optimised by compression and EQ, and encoded as an mp3 or on a physical Audio CD, actually has a far HIGHER perceived value than a mere pdf text file. Yes, the same material could make you even more money as an e-book publisher or internet marketer. You’d be able to charge 25%, 50% or even 100% more for the same material.

So why not go back to your collection of e-books out there for sale on your own sites or on sale in the Amazon Kindle Shop and think how they could be enjoyed by the poor souls enduring a very long, desperately elongated journey.

Simply find a professional voiceover artist; check out their voice samples to make sure their style would suit your

e-book (maybe you wouldn’t want Alice Cooper reading a pre-school primer) then get the best rate from them, ensuring you insist on a total “buy out” fee. This means you don’t have to pay them anymore even if your audio book or podcast gets to number 1!

Next, market your Audio Book; sell it on itunes or on the Amazon Audible site; there are many, many others, and make money. Then next time YOU’RE on a long, long car journey, take a quick look at the drivers next to you.

If they’re smiling, they could be listening to and really enjoying, one of your audio books!

The Power of the Podcast –

The Benefits of turning E-Books into Audio Books

Christina Andersson

I also need to know please...

EXTRACT FROM “RED, RED ROBIN” novel Stephen Gallagher

(Narration with voice characterisation)

For example, for a factual book, should I sound like the author, as if it were my own words, sounding natural and ad-libbing, or should it sound like a narrator reading a script? For a story or novel, do you want every character to have a different type of voice or accent? If so identify what you would like these to be.

Many clients prefer a “straighter” read with little acting required. To get inspiration, there are some excerpts below, or listen to the voice styles on my home page.

Your check list!

1) Choose the voice style you’d like – listen to the audio excerpts on this page or the home page.

2) E-mail me your first page at mail@peterbaker.tv and I’ll read this for you completely FREE with no obligation.

3) Once you’re happy, count the words and calculate the rate at £180 per hour.

4) Pay me 50% of this via PayPal and I’ll start recording the rest of your material. Let me know if you’d like each chapter or section as separate files and any other technical information.

5) The full job should be complete, fully edited within 5 to 6 working days, depending on duration and workload. You’ll get the broadcast quality audio files with full rights for any usage.

As well as voicing short promos, phone prompts and commercials, I also read Audio Books. It’s not just novels and stories that are tackled; often factual books work really well in the audio medium. Sometimes, for example, there’s a series of existing e-books a client may give me; you see, if there’s an AUDIO version available recorded by a professional voiceover – like me! in a broadcast studio – like mine! It’s worth far more to sell on.

You see, the great thing about audio books, or effectively mp3 podcast files is that they’re more useful and more attractive to buyers; they can listen in their car, at the gym, in their kitchen, wherever. So if you’re selling books of any kind, you need to have an audio version of it available because buyers are prepared to pay to have it! You may also want to burn the files onto a set of CDs and create attractive packaging so you can charge more.

So what’s the difference between short and longer reads for a voiceover like me? Surely it’s just a case of reading for longer? Well, no! For “long-haul” voice sessions, it’s really important to keep the listener in mind throughout the recording. Sometimes things written down come over very differently when read; you have to look out of these and adapt the ebb and flow of the pace of your voice to ensure the full meanings come across. Plus the timings between sentences is important as well; using dramatic pauses correctly in reading novels, especially where there are different characters speaking is very important.

With all my projects, YOU, the client choose the style and the speed you’d like me to read – there are plenty of examples on this page and on my home page. Then after you have chosen a style, I’ll record the first page of your script and check with you it’s OK before tackling the rest. This I do completely FREE of charge, and you’re welcome to walk away without owing me anything at this stage if you don’t like what I do!

Don’t forget that everything is recorded in a BBC quality audio studio using a £2,000 Neumann professional microphone. You’ll get edited, optimised files in whatever type of file you require.

OK, you’re thinking, this is going to come very expensive. A professional voiceover is going to charge hundreds of pounds even for recording a SHORT script in a studio, especially if the rights are bought out. Longer reads are going to be unaffordable.

Actually, no! I have to tell you a secret; professional voiceovers like me actually LOVE to read audio books, as we can really get our teeth into the material, particularly if it’s a fascinating factual book or gripping novel. We pride ourselves in really making the recordings engaging and enjoyable to listen to.

My main rates for SHORT-form voiceovers are on the home page of this site; but for long reads over an hour, the rate is only £180 an hour of finished, edited, optimised, mastered material. And that’s fully bought out, and even burnt to a master CD if required, although most clients prefer wav, aif or mp3 downloads. (Same price for any file format)

Here’s how to calculate the rate. First calculate the duration of your script. At the BBC the guideline to average “newsreader” speech is 3 words per second, and that works fine for me too so, you word count in Microsoft Word tas, say, 32,433. So you divide by 3; that’s 10,811 seconds. Divide by 60 to get 180.18 minutes. Divide by 60 to get about 3 hours; so the fee would be only 3 x £180 = £540. An incredible bargain since those three hours could make a superb 3 CD boxed set you could sell at 30, 40 or even 50 pounds each, depending on the value of the content you have.

Convert your e-books into

mp3 audio books!

- Audio makes them more attractive to customers

- Plus it increases their sales value

- Audio makes books come alive!

Decide on the voice style and send me one sample page

I’ll voice the sample for FREE; when OK,I’ll record the rest

Recieve the full recording as a studio quality mp3 or wav file with full rights

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