You got to start somewhere!

berlingunning · Post by **berlingunning** » February 7th, 2023, 7:38 am

Hi! I haven't started recording yet, but I'm getting ready to, and I hope to make a career of it someday.
Question one. Are there professional audiobook narrators who started their career volunteering for LibriVox?
Question 2.How did they land paid gigs if there are any who started out that way?

Question 3. Are there audiobook narrators who both volunteer for LibriVox and are gainfully employed as an audiobook narrators for other companies at the same time? If there aren't, I plan to!

berlingunning · Post by **berlingunning** » February 7th, 2023, 9:55 am

Has there ever been a LibriVox volunteer who went on to a professional recording career? How did they go about it?

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » February 7th, 2023, 10:33 am

A number have. I myself have done 125 professional audiobooks.

The most direct route is through ACX, Audible's production portal. Explore it at acx.com.

Before trying to get into professional work, be sure you are prepared first. There's a lot of good information here: https://www.narratorsroadmap.com

Get coaching, be able to produce professional-quality audio, and gain experience first. The biggest mistake people make is jumping in before they're ready.

berlingunning · Post by **berlingunning** » February 7th, 2023, 10:57 am

I'm not going to rush into anything. Don't worry. I just want to have a plan, and know what steps to take. Part of jumping into things before you're ready involves not having a plan first. I just wanted to make sure that audible was the best way to go for a professional work

flavo5000 · Post by **flavo5000** » February 7th, 2023, 4:11 pm

kittycat19 wrote: ↑February 7th, 2023, 7:38 am Hi! I haven't started recording yet, but I'm getting ready to, and I hope to make a career of it someday.
Question one. Are there professional audiobook narrators who started their career volunteering for LibriVox?
Question 2.How did they land paid gigs if there are any who started out that way?

Question 3. Are there audiobook narrators who both volunteer for LibriVox and are gainfully employed as an audiobook narrators for other companies at the same time? If there aren't, I plan to!

Here's a good interview with the always excellent Mark Nelson who records both for Librivox as well as audible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13EXnCxjpGg&t=1080s

It's got a lot of useful info in it if you're looking to go professional.

Post by **TriciaG** » February 7th, 2023, 5:02 pm

Merged two very similar topics into one, so the conversation can all stay in one place.

Post by **annise** » February 7th, 2023, 7:00 pm

Yes - you have to start somewhere - but at the moment you have only recorded the 1-minute test, and if you start reading another set of requirements which are not the same as LV's it is very easy to get confused (as several of our experienced readers have found). So concentrate on getting your claims read

Anne

quartertone · Post by **quartertone** » February 7th, 2023, 10:44 pm

sjmarky wrote: ↑February 7th, 2023, 10:33 am Before trying to get into professional work, be sure you are prepared first. There's a lot of good information here: https://www.narratorsroadmap.com

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this. I think this is useful even for those of us who are not interested/considering professional VO.
I found a couple of the links on that site by doing my own scouring of the web, but it's great to have a curated list all in one place.

barleyguy · Post by **barleyguy** » February 8th, 2023, 12:26 pm

If you are planning to pursue paid work, I highly highly recommend finding a coach. I'm hoping to head that direction, and have been getting coaching for about a year and a half. IMO I've progressed farther in that time with a coach than I would have in 3 or 4 years without one.

What I did was watched videos of several coaches, and chose someone I thought I would click with. Good coaching isn't free, but it greatly increases your chances of success.