Hello from Oregon!

[anyaseidel]

My name is Anya and I am a music teacher from Oregon. As a kid, I was obsessed with Kara Shallenberg's recording of The Secret Garden. I would listen to it for hours on end in the car and had much of it memorized. My siblings are much younger than me and I love reading aloud to them. Now, I am interested in recording audiobooks professionally but want to get some experience first. I really love children's books and poetry.

[Cbteddy]

My name is Anya and I am a music teacher from Oregon. As a kid, I was obsessed with Kara Shallenberg's recording of The Secret Garden. I would listen to it for hours on end in the car and had much of it memorized. My siblings are much younger than me and I love reading aloud to them. Now, I am interested in recording audiobooks professionally but want to get some experience first. I really love children's books and poetry.

Hi there!

In addition to all the links within each forum that provide tips and tricks, below you'll find a few that will help you get up and going as you are starting out.

For Proof Listening (PL) - Check out the Proof Listeners or Editors Wanted forum for links to more information about PL. The most common method is Standard, but some projects do have stricter guidelines.

Then check out the New Projects Launch Pad. This is where any readers post ideas for books they'd like to start as projects, either as a solo or group project. Any projects that have a tilde ~ in front of it means the project is in need of some one to PL. Being brand new, you may want to consider asking if you can start with a chapter or two, just to make sure you understand the process and that it's something you like. It may also be easier to start with PL for a solo project since it'll just be one reader you'll be listening to.

For recording

If not already submitted, be sure to complete your one minute recording test so we can make sure your audio specs are good to go. Once you get that approved, check out the Readers Wanted forums, There's one for readers of other languages, and the rest for mostly English.

There is one forum for poems and shorter works, as well as a forum for longer books. If plays and dramatic readings are more your speed, check out the dramatic works forum too! Click into a post to see a summary of the book/poem/play. If it's something that sounds interesting, scroll down a bit more and look at the Magic Window (MW). You'll see a list with chapters or characters broken down into sections. If there is no name by a chapter, that means it's open and you can put a post in the thread to request that chapter. Once you've gotten the OK from the Book Coordinator (BC), you can then record the chapter.

A best practice that is recommended is to just sign up for a chapter or two to begin with so you can get a feel of the whole process and not be overwhelmed. Be sure to also read the information near the MW about how to access the text, the format the file needs to be saved as, and how to upload once it's ready for review.

When in doubt, don't hesitate to ask any questions. Someone will chime in and provide some assistance

Hope this helps, have fun, and welcome!

[vviera]

My name is Anya and I am a music teacher from Oregon. As a kid, I was obsessed with Kara Shallenberg's recording of The Secret Garden. I would listen to it for hours on end in the car and had much of it memorized. My siblings are much younger than me and I love reading aloud to them. Now, I am interested in recording audiobooks professionally but want to get some experience first. I really love children's books and poetry.

Welcome, Anya!

After you finish your 1-minute test, you can check out this forum, where there are poetry projects. It looks like at the moment there is only one children's book looking for readers. Keep your eye out, though. They come up frequently. I have one going right now but it is all full up with readers.

Have fun!

[ShellyW]

Hi Anya! I clicked on your post because of "Oregon". Where my beloved family lives, thousands of miles away from me. I recently listened to a recording by Kara (Through the Looking Glass) and was so sad to see that she has passed away. I also love the Secret Garden and have a sweet memory of hearing it told at Summer camp when I was about 7. When I taught 4th Grade (a million years ago) I read it to my students.
Welcome!!