When producing an audiobook, one of the most critical decisions is choosing the right narrator. The voice behind your story is just as important as the words on the page. With the rise of audiobooks, listeners are looking for more than just content—they want an engaging experience. Now more than ever, with audiobooks revolutionizing reading, and more than a decade of double-digit revenue growth, authors need help navigating this space to ensure their book resonates with the intended audience.
As audiobooks continue to rise in popularity, self-published authors can no longer afford to overlook this format. The Guardian notes that audiobook sales surged during the pandemic and haven’t slowed down since. For authors, this means more opportunities to monetize content and reach new readers. Self-published authors can seamlessly transition their written work into the audio world, maximizing their potential and providing access to a booming market.
How to Choose the Right Narrator for Your Book
The decision often hinges on the genre, audience, and overall tone of the book.
For a story with complex characters and emotional depth, a dual narration might elevate the experience, immersing listeners in different perspectives. For more straightforward storytelling, a single, well-rounded narrator can effectively carry the story from start to finish. While single and dual POV are simple enough terms, they aren’t the full scope of what can be done with audiobook narration.
To find your perfect narrator it helps to identify the wants and needs of your book. And as knowledge is power, here are a few key phrases we’ve put together to arm you for your production journey.
- Fully-voiced - Only one voice actor is present, this is also known as a single narrator. The voice actor will supply all the different voices for characters through different pitches, tones, and cadences. This can be helpful with a large cast of characters and is often seen in fantasy novels.
- Partially-voiced - A single narrator will subtle differentiate between different characters with voice acting. This can allow an engaging and vibrant world without being overstimulating.
- Unvoiced - This may seem like a strange term, but is used to describe the lack of dynamic role-playing within the narration. This simple style is often best used for novels of serious tone or nonfiction when the style of text is vital rather than entertainment from the story.
- Full cast - Two or more voice actors work to create a fully voiced audiobook. High fantasy novels work extremely well with this style.
These cover some narrator basics, but let’s break it down into even more technical terms. These all describe the kind of narrator you’d like after the style of narration is decided. These terms can also aid in effective feedback to hired voice actors and can eliminate unnecessary revisions.
- Pitch - using a high, low or neutral voice
- Pace – speaking at a particular speed
- Pause - the ability to add the right amount of silence at the right moment
- Tone - the ability to reflect and change between emotions
- Volume - from a quiet whisper to a loud roar
- Accent - whether regional or international
- Emphasis - making individual words or phrases stand out
- Intonation - movement within a sentence to reflect elements such as questions
Fully voiced or unvoiced, there is still a choice between single or dual narration. But how do you know what would be best for you?
It often depends on the genre and the type of story being told.
- Single Narration: As the most common format, a single narrator reads the entire audiobook. This style works particularly well for memoirs, non-fiction, and novels with a clear, consistent narrative voice. It’s cost-effective and can create an intimate, one-on-one experience for the listener. A talented narrator can modulate their voice to differentiate between characters, making the story engaging while maintaining a cohesive tone.
- Dual Narration: Dual narration involves two narrators, often splitting male and female character perspectives or taking on multiple points of view. This approach is frequently used in romance novels, thrillers, and books with distinct, alternating perspectives. By using dual narration, listeners experience a more dynamic, performance-like reading, which can enhance emotional depth and tension. However, it can also be more expensive and requires precise coordination between narrators to ensure consistency.
Take Advantage of Tools
Once an idea of your narrative direction is decided on, finding the right fit can be overwhelming. Thanks to our narrator database, which can be accessed via SoundCloud, authors can access professional narrators with experience in a wide range of genres. Whether you need a single narrator with a warm, engaging voice for a children’s book or dual narrators for a thriller, HGW has the resources to bring your story to life. Our narrators are skilled at adapting their performance to fit the nuances of the text, ensuring that the listener remains captivated from the first word to the last.
By choosing the right narrator, authors can take their audiobook to the next level. Let your book be heard and capture the growing audience of audiobook listeners today.