greetings from Maine

[bsmechanic]

Hello, fellow Librivox volunteers,

My name is Chris, a 25-year native of Chicago recently relocated to Maine. During this transition over the past year and a half, I decided to work toward voice acting as an occupation. Hey, I'm in my 50's and still have plenty of time ahead of me. Why not? From there, I invested in recording essentials (good mic, preamp, editing software), set up a small closet studio and worked through a couple of Udemy courses in voice-over. My bandmates and I use a common DAW (Ableton Live) with which to compose, edit and share music files, so I already had basic editing and mixing skills.

This past November I released my first audiobook production on Audible under a royalty-share agreement with the author. In retrospect, it came out pretty good for a first book, especially considering its length (21 hours), but my performance needs some work. This is where Librivox comes in. Like many, my performance is elevated while reading literature or script that is well-written, as if it was meant to be spoken aloud. Librivox offers classic literature of many genres to choose from.

I was thrilled to find a short science/speculative fiction story by Ben Bova, a favorite author of mine. Though this particular story has already been read by another narrator I went ahead and ran a test recording of this 18-minute story. It was a delight to read! I'm looking forward to volunteering narration on as-yet-unread works. Sure, I get to brush up on my acting skills along the way, but mainly I'm narrating because it's fun.

Best to all of you on your own story-telling journey.

[philchenevert]

Hi Chris and a big welcome to LibriVox. If you like SF, there is a lot of public domain stuff to record and have fun with. Do your 1 minute test to check that your tech specs match what we need , post it and then jump right in. Check out our forums, ask lots of questions and enjoy.

[msfry]

Welcome, Chris. You nailed it when you mentioned that some writers' materials seems written to be spoken aloud. When I run across those I am especially delighted to record them. It feels like they are giving me a thumbs up for unlocking (by inflection and pacing) their true meaning. This is especially true in poetry, and oratory, but in articles, stories, and all forms of prose. Most authors seem excited about the subject they are making the effort to write about, and that is exciting to me. So glad to have you aboard.

[silverquill]

LibriVox is a great place to explore various types of readings. There is quite a range of material in our collaborative projects. Of course, solo work is wide open, too. Do keep in mind, that you are always welcome to record something that may already be recorded in our catalog. Multiple voices and versions are welcome.

Maine is vacation land for us in New England. Just had quick getaway to Kennebunk, but wish we had had the time to get up to Bar Harbor whee we honeymooned. We've got some good LV'ers down that way too.