Audiobooks discussion
Narrators' Corner
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Guest Narrator Melanie Fraser 1-11-16
Melanie is new to me, but your post mentions historical fiction, so I'll be sure to check her out!
Do you ever get 'readers block' where its hard to get your tongue around a particular phrase? And do you find some authors' writing is more natural for you to read than others?
Hi Melanie, I just want to say how lovely your voice is and really enjoy your accent. Is your accent typical of a particular part of England or did you have to work to develop it?
You do a lot of accents in your work... have you studied the languages or worked on the accents separately?
Hi Melanie and thanks for doing this.I read a comment recently that male narrators tend to have greater variety in voicing male characters but female characters generally just get a higher pitched voice with not a lot to distinguish one female character from another.
How do you approach male versus female characters and what is involved in making all the characters distinctive?
What kind of training have you had prior to beginning narration--acting, singing, vocal coaching, etc.? Have you done any acting on stage or film... your reading and character voices are quite expressive. How did you come to choose narration as a profession? Did others notice your voice and suggest it or was it already an idea of your own?
How long can you narrate at one go - an hour? Two? When do you notice your voice begins to get tired? How do you take care of your voice?
I just wanna say that your narration style is truely good, i enjoyed listening
Julie wrote: "Hi Melanie and welcome to the Narrator's Chair ! I thought I'd post some question on here to get us started since we are on different time zones .
Feel free to answer as you have time. No hurry ..."
Good morning from the UK, Julie! Thank you for your warm welcome. I'm in the GMT time zone!
Julie wrote: "Hi Melanie and welcome to the Narrator's Chair !
I thought I'd post some question on here to get us started since we are on different time zones .
Feel free to answer as you have time. No hurry ..."
Lilmissmolly wrote: "Melanie is new to me, but your post mentions historical fiction, so I'll be sure to check her out!"
Hello Lilmissmolly. thank you for joining us. Yes, I love historical fiction and non-fiction to read and to narrate. This genre is one of my favourites and I hope to narrate more this coming year.
Julie wrote: "Can you tell all the folks where you are located since I mentioned the time difference ? What careers did you have or are you still working on in conjunction with your narrating ?"
Julie - I've had a varied career. I started my performing arts training aged 5 in Cape Town before moving to England where I have appeared as an actress, singer and dancer in theatre, TV and film for several decades. After qualifiying on the Professional Dancers Teaching Course at the Royal Academy of Dancing (recommended to me by my former teacher at the Royal Ballet School, Pamela May, who ended up examining me for a part of it!) I was invited to Italy to Guest Teach. I’ve lived and worked in a few cities in Italy (as well as in Spain) as a performer and as a classical ballet teacher. I taught professionally for 18 years and then worked in advertising following in the family’s footsteps. Later, I qualified as a natural health practitioner and practised the latter for a few years at clinics in London but had to stop due to long-term family illness making it impossible to continue. I also worked as practice manager of a private doctor’s practice in London for several years. Returning to performing has been like coming home (always my first love) and narrating audiobooks is a part of that and although I no longer work in the theatre as an actress, I sometimes do screen work. My main focus now though is narration.
Julie wrote: "Have you previously done anything for Librivox ? No I haven't done anything yet for Librivox, Julie.
Can you tell us about your first narrating job ?
Were you nervous , and is it much easier now that you have been doing it awhile ?"
The first production since returning to performing was: A Gentleman's Daughter: Her Love written by Reina M Williams (an historical romance in the Austenesque style). Yes I was nervous, definitely yes! It was a huge learning curve, despite all the wonderful training and advice I’d received, one still has to dive in, so to speak, and hope one doesn’t drown. Then again, performing live has the same “nerves” experience. In fact we tend to say that if you are not nervous as an artist, it’s not a good sign.
Julie wrote: "Can you explain a typical workday ? Are you usually recording ll day, or do you take breaks or only do it a few hours per day ? No day is typical. I work from my studio at home so the hours vary according to the stage I’ve reached on that project. After the preparation days, actual recording would take up to 3 hours when my voice is at its best. The voice changes all the time so it is essential, from a continuity point of view, to at least complete a chapter before stopping. After a break of a few hours I sometimes continue recording. The rest of the time I edit and master/produce - the latter part which takes much more time can also be done if there are external noises such as storms, lawnmowers, coastal guard helicopters etc when one can’t record!
How many different Genres have you narrated and do you have a fav..."
I’ve narrated Fiction History, Modern Romance, Historical Romance, Mystery, Crime, Fantasy/Alternative History, a very short Horror, Steam Punk and Children’s Fiction. In addition, I’ve narrated extracts of Non-Fiction company histories written by my late father, one of which is on my website.
My favourite genres are espionage (still to narrate this one), crime /mystery thrillers and history - fiction and non-fiction. Espionage has always been a favourite both in books and TV films and reading books. History is fascinating and informative always making me want to research to learn more. I have a pile of espionage non-fiction books to read which I bought at Bletchley Park during a recent visit there.
Fraoch wrote: "Do you ever get 'readers block' where its hard to get your tongue around a particular phrase? And do you find some authors' writing is more natural for you to read than others?"Hello Fraoch - yes reader's block does happen! Sometimes the brain and mouth simply don't want to communicate - usually if I am over-tired. Later in the day or sometimes the next day, it all comes together nicely. Of course, being in England, I usually find the flow of English authors a little easier as I'm used to the way words are put together here but not always. I do love short sentences and know that is due to my late father's influence. I instinctively gravitate to certain styles of writing both for pleasure and narration. The good thing about working via ACX is that one can try out a section of script before deciding whether or not to audition.
Julie wrote: "Can you explain a typical workday ? Are you usually recording ll day, or do you take breaks or only do it a few hours per day ?
How many different Genres have you narrated and do you have a fav..."
Jeanie wrote: "Hi Melanie, I just want to say how lovely your voice is and really enjoy your accent. Is your accent typical of a particular part of England or did you have to work to develop it?
You do a lot o..."
Hello Jeanie - thank you very much for your lovely comments. My accent is called RP - received pronunciation so not from any region here. Although my family spoke like that, I was influenced by my early years in South Africa and had to work on my vowels (which were shortened and clipped) with my drama teacher when we moved to
England. My teacher was always telling me that I must speak as they do at the BBC!!
Regarding accents, this was a very steep learning curve when I started audio book narration and still is. I do speak Italian and some French with a tiny bit of Russian and Spanish. Greek is a language I'd like to learn and then I hope to emulate that accent in narration.
Jeanie wrote: "What kind of training have you had prior to beginning narration--acting, singing, vocal coaching, etc.? Have you done any acting on stage or film... your reading and character voices are quite expr..."I mentioned my acting training and experience earlier. It is important to continually improve one's craft. For example, I recently attended another workshop in London with Yvonne Morley - this time for accents which was extremely helpful. Sometimes I attend online seminars and voice coaching if the teachers live abroad. I'm so pleased you like the expressiveness - that part is not difficult for me. However, it's quite a challenge to get the suggestion of an accent right and then put the emotion, pitch and also adapt it to male or female and the right age group. Many narrators manage this seemlessly and I have huge admiration for them.
Audio book narration was recommended to me by my voice over coaches but it wasn't until I was motivated by Helen Lloyd (BeeAudio), with whom I'd worked in theatre productions many years ago, that I really put my toes inthe water!
Tad wrote: "Hi Melanie and thanks for doing this.I read a comment recently that male narrators tend to have greater variety in voicing male characters but female characters generally just get a higher pitche..."
Hello Tad - I don't think female characters and their variety of pitches are any less so than male characters for either male or female narrators. Both genders have their challenges.
My approach is to record a character on a different day or at a different time of day for continuity throughout a production. I have a spreadsheet of all the characters which is colour coded and each character has it's own audio file to which I refer - I know many narrators work in a similar fashion. I spend a lot of time before starting to record choosing each character's particular nuances for both male and female voices. I've found during the past year that my voice has lowered. Whether this is due to the large amount of use or just getting older, I'm not sure but it certainly helps with the male voices!
Jeanie wrote: "Hi Melanie, I just want to say how lovely your voice is and really enjoy your accent. Is your accent typical of a particular part of England or did you have to work to develop it?
You do a lot o..."
Jeanie - you asked if I worked on accents separately and the answer is, yes. I engage tutors who are native speakers of foreign languages to assist me with these. There are many tutors whose native accents have altered due to living in other countries so I try to find those whose accents are as pure as possible in the ones I need to work on.
Leena wrote: "How long can you narrate at one go - an hour? Two? When do you notice your voice begins to get tired? How do you take care of your voice?"Hello Leena - I can usually narrate non-stop for about 3 hours but during that time I drink a lot of water to keep hydrated. My studio has an aroma stone to which I add water and cooling essential oils to keep the atmosphere moist. I also nibble at celery which helps to keep mouth moises at bay. Regarding vocal care, apart from strict dental hygiene, I always do voice exercises and as a former simger, vocal scales are a part of that. Tongue twisters and facial exercises are also included - all this is done before I start recording. The voice is the first thing that shows when one is tired so fresh air (I'm lucky to live by the sea so there is plenty of that) and enough sleep.
Manu wrote: "I just wanna say that your narration style is truely good, i enjoyed listening"Hello Manu - thank you very much. Which audiobook or sample did you enjoy most?
Julie wrote: "MelanieWhat type of singing did you do ?
Julie - I sang in musicals and also had my own solo vocal cabaret act. In the latter, I did a variety of styles but was more of a ballad singer. One of the songs recommended to me by fellow countrywoman, the late Eve Boswell, when she coached me was, "If I Were A Bell". I recorded our sessions on tape and still have them. In musicals the description of my voice was, lyric soprano. I started private singing lessons aged 12 and absolutely loved it.
It sounds as if you have been very fortunate to be able to live so many places and have so many different professional careers. Did you have a favorite on..."
My favourite was musicals because acting, singing and dancing are combined. There's nothing more exciting to me than hearing (when in the theatre dressing room) the stage manager announcing, "Ladies and Gentlemen, overture and beginners please" and hearing the orchestra warming up.
Julie wrote: "MelanieWhat type of singing did you do ?
It sounds as if you have been very fortunate to be able to live so many places and have so many different professional careers. Did you have a favorite on..."
Julie wrote: "Melanie
Julie, regarding public speaking, I did this from a very early age and of course past live experience as an actress and singer has helped with each time I have done so. As yet I haven't done that for audio books.
Julie wrote: "Have you done any multiple narrator type work and if so did you all work together on it or does each person do their own part then they are put together. ?So far I haven't done multiple narrator work. I think dual or multiple narration is an excellent idea and makes total sense to me, after all, there are male and female voices in radio dramas and stories and it brings new life to the listening process. It is either done in a studio together - each reading their sections/parts (a bit like radio recordings) or recorded separately electronically after discussing the process beforehand with the parties involved. I suspect one day that will be the norm for audiobooks.
On the same vein , what do you think o..."
Dramatised versions of the classics are wonderful. Many have been done by fantastic artists and rather like film, I feel they should be left alone. Often the original is so much better than anything that follows. Yes it is vital to read a whole story before performing it to fully understand its development.
Julie wrote: "By the way , I should have added this sooner , but I've listened to 2 of your books and I kept thinking that you had the perfect voice for an Austen book. Have you considered doing a classic like t..."I'd rather do newer books, Julie. Most have been done before by wonderful artists and in my view, there is a danger of over-exposing those works.
Julie wrote: "As for my question above about Dramatised books, I'm wondering , from the reader's ( or listener's) viewpoint, if you feel they would have a much more enriching experience ,say, if they actually re..."Apologies for not completing the answer, Julie. Yes I do believe one should, if possible, read the books first. Sometimes though, if one isn't immediately attracted to a certain book, the dramatised version can inspire one to do so.
Julie wrote: "Can you remember the very first audiobook you listened to and what age were you ?I was first inspired by Michael Redgrave’s Macbeth as a teenager (about 14, I think) when I was at theatre school. I have always enjoyed BBC radio’s Book at Bedtime and other radio stories too. Apart from radio instalments, I didn't listen to audio books again until a few years ago in South Africa. The late David Rattray, brought great intensity to his reading of The Day of the Dead Moon which I heard whilst travelling to Rorke’s Drift and Isandlwana in Natal so that when I arrived there, the battle with the Zulus had already been vividly recreated by him and our guide there was a decendant of one of the Zulu warriors of that period. I listened to his recording again recently and it was just as exhilarating. If you enjoy history, do try it Julie. It can be found online (not via Audible) and downloaded to MP3 or CD.
I'm coming into it a bit late in the game . I only started listening last summer so I have lots of catching up to ..."
Julie wrote: "That's a great answer, that the dramatized version might inspire a person to read the book afterwards. I never looked at it in that way. I just looked at it as maybe I wasn't as experienced of a li..."It's wonderful to read of the great enthusiam for audio books from you, your team and other listeners. I don't think experience is important - just an enjoyment of the stories. It wouldn't be as exciting if one started to dissect them. Personally, I'd rather not analyse too much as that spoils the joy and magic of escaping into another "world".
Hi Melanie,What has been the most challenging book for you to narrate, either from an emotional perspective, or because of other specific challenges (difficult accents, pronunciations, etc.)?
Julie wrote: "Thank you for the recommendation. I'll definitely look it up. I like history and also books about adventure and travel. It sounds as though our lives were much different. You have gotten to visit..."
Yes there is a lot of research needed for some of the books I've done, which is fascinating. Specific books have been: The Final Dawn (Stalin's era in Russia), Crossing the Vaal (the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa) and recently, Desiree 1519. The latter covered the Spanish Conquest in the Yucatan (involving reasearch about the Mayans and Aztecs), Morrocco (Sultan, slave trade etc), the Greenwich Observatory in London as well as the invention of the Sea Clock and the expedition to the North Pole. The history between the latter two books is connected but I won't give any more away!
Jessica wrote: "Hi Melanie,What has been the most challenging book for you to narrate, either from an emotional perspective, or because of other specific challenges (difficult accents, pronunciations, etc.)?"
Hello Jessica - I'd say the latest audio book, just released on Audible, Desiree 1519 by Archie Vincent. There were nearly 50 characters to do in a variety of accents and the story, as mentioned earlier, covered several countries including Ireland. The historical audio books always need a great deal of research but it's intriguing to discover the background. From an emotional point of view, there were several in most of the books I've narrated. The principal heroines in The Promise, by Elizabeth Chappelle and Princess in Peril by Janet Whitehouse were emotionally tense and upsetting but the baddies in A Murderer's Heart and Dirty Business - both by Julie Elizabeth Powell - were demanding but enjoyable emotionally in a different way. I love playing villains!
Julie wrote: "* Please excuse all the typos .I'm answering partially on my ipod and partially online here ,so my ipod spell checker often makes me sound a little bit LOOPY when I re-read what I just posted .I..."
Definitely not LOOPY, Julie. Thank you for all your interesting questions.
I work independently. Sometimes I receive a lovely message from an author asking if I’d like to narrate a book which is a huge honour. Mostly, though, I scan the auditions and if one looks as if it might have my "name on it", I will read the book and then audition. The worst situation is if one doesn’t read the whole book first and then discovers some surprises which would be problematic when narrating. I do have an agent for acting but not for audiobooks. No I haven't worked through publishers so far and therefore enjoy being able to choose the books I'd like to record and then audition for them.
Hi Melanie, Some of the narrators we've talked to have mentioned conventions such as the American Publisher's Association where they go to meet other narrators, learn more about the industry, and to network to build contacts. Is there an equivalent association in the UK/Europe and have you attended any? Would you travel to the US for conventions here?
Julie wrote: "Where do you believe your love of books came from ? Were your parents avid readers, or did a teacher influence your love of books ?"My father was the first and greatest influence when it came to books as soon as I could read as a child! He was a writer and publisher so his enthusiam was infectious. Nowadays, my enjoyment of books is increasing and so is my library - both of tactile books and those on Kindle.
Welcome Melanie! I have to admit that your voice is new to me, but it sounds lovely (I have just listened to some of your sample on audible UK). All of the books, in that site, that you have narrated are less than 6 hours long. What is the longest book you have narrared? (Apologies if someone has already already asked that question - havn't had time to read though all the posts).
Oh and by the way, I'm going to buy Misadventures Of Fatwoman - that title sums up my life, and I love the way you read it!!
Melanie, You mentioned working through ACX, do you plan to work only through them or do you want eventually to work for publishers as well?
Margo wrote: "Welcome Melanie! I have to admit that your voice is new to me, but it sounds lovely (I have just listened to some of your sample on audible UK). All of the books, in that site, that you have narr..."
Hello Margo and thank you so much for your kind words.
Yes it has been a conscious decision to do shorter books and in fact I had intended when I started to do short stories but have only recently done some of those. The main reason for this is that I wanted to experience different genres and enjoy variety. The longest one I've produced so far is Lady Concealed which is 5 hours 20 minutes long.
I'm thrilled you are attracted to Misadventures of Fatwoman. One of my favourite characters in that is Sylvia!
Jeanie wrote: "Melanie, You mentioned working through ACX, do you plan to work only through them or do you want eventually to work for publishers as well?"
I have no concrete plans at the moment, Jeanie. It's early days so it'll be interesting to see what happens later on. I must say though, that I would always like to read a book before narrating it and wonder if any publisher would offer that opportunity.
Hi Melanie. Such fun to hear from a UK based narrator! Is the audiobook recording scene similar in the UK, to the US? Enjoying your comments immensely.
Welcome Melanie,I haven't come across any of your reading yet but after checking out some of the samples on Audible, my initial impression is that your voice reminds me of Davina Porter. Great company to be in. Thanks for stopping and I wish you much success.
Melanie, You've traveled around the world, lived in Italy, and have a cool accent--I think I want to be you! ;P
What is your favorite book of all time that you've read?
If you could narrate any book ever written, regardless of other narrations, what would you wish it to be?
Anne wrote: "Hi Melanie. Such fun to hear from a UK based narrator! Is the audiobook recording scene similar in the UK, to the US? Enjoying your comments immensely."Hello Anne and thank you so much for joining the conversation. I really enjoyed your spot too.
I don't know much about the audio book scene in the USA but gather that it is prolific and certainly the union there is very strong. Until ACX started up in the UK in 2014, I believe, most audio book production was done in publishers' recording studios or independent ones. Then the home studio revolution mushroomed and the audio book market has been growing fast since then. However, regarding ACX, the USA was ahead of the UK by 3 years. How popular is ACX in the USA, Anne, compared to audio books produced in traditional studios?
From what I've been able to glean, the reviewers of audio books over here in the UK tend to be predominantly American. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I'd love to "meet" more UK ones too.
Interesting that things are so different. I haven't recorded anything for ACX as yet.Things seem to change daily in our industry. Interesting that most audiobook reviewers tend to be in the US. I imagine newspapers such as the Guardian, and Observer do reviews?
Anne wrote: "Interesting that things are so different. I haven't recorded anything for ACX as yet.Things seem to change daily in our industry. Interesting that most audiobook reviewers tend to be in the US. I i..."Anne, yes they do. Here is the link for the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/books/audi...
and for the Observer:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audi...
From what I can gather, the reviewers work independently from these publications.
Greetings Melanie,So, my question is about the technical aspect. When you are recording, do you just "roll tape" and then go back and edit (this is assuming you are a one-person production team). And how long do you usually record per session?
T.W. wrote: "Greetings Melanie,So, my question is about the technical aspect. When you are recording, do you just "roll tape" and then go back and edit (this is assuming you are a one-person production team)...."
Hello Todd - welcome and thank you for your question. I record using SonySoundforge Pro 11 which has the punch and roll facility. So if you want to re-record something, you can just place the playhead at the absolute end of the last word and re-record so that the the "join" can't be heard. If you are not familiar with this system, Jason Huggins (who trained me on the audio technical side), has a great video about the process - here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HfjC.... I've put this information for readers of this conversation too, Todd, as I expect you already use something similar. There is a good choice of software including Protools and Adobe Audition out there which have this facility.
Yes I am a one person production "team"! As mentioned to a similar question earlier, I record on average for about 3 hours and then find my voice and concentration need a rest. Whilst I do some editing "on the fly", most editing is done afterwards and not always on the same day as the raw recording. I have a range of software which I use for editing and mastering.
Julie wrote: "Melanie When reading for your own enjoyment, do you prefer print or audiobooks ?
I prefer print books and love the feel of them but also read books on Kindle.
Can you tell us a few of your favorite narrators that you enjoy listening to ?"
Well Julie, these are not in order of preference:
Favourite male narrators include: Martin Shaw, Martin Jarvis, Dennis Kleinman, Roger D Watson, Simon Vance, Simon Prebble and the list continues......
Favourite female narrators include: Emilia Fox, Helen Lloyd, Jane Copeland, Anne Flosnik, Serena Gay, Helen Mirren and the list continues.........
Grumpus wrote: "Welcome Melanie,I haven't come across any of your reading yet but after checking out some of the samples on Audible, my initial impression is that your voice reminds me of Davina Porter. Great co..."
Hello Grumpus, it's lovely to "meet" you. I've read a lot of your posts and enjoyed them and am very much enjoying being a guest here.
Thank you for your wonderful impression of my voice - incredible and I'm honoured that you have compared it to such a prestigious narrator as Davina Porter.
Jeanie wrote: "Melanie, You've traveled around the world, lived in Italy, and have a cool accent--I think I want to be you! ;P
I bet you'd love Italy, Jeanie. Yes I have travelled extensively, especially when singing and have a special badge souvenir for crossing the Equator several times - such fun!
What is your favorite book of all time that you've read?
Oh that's a difficult one as there are many but I will plump for the first one that really simulated me. When I was 14 and had mumps so wasn't allowed to dance (had to be in quarantine for 10 days) - The Agony and the Ecstasy, a huge volume and a famous story. It was terrific to later visit many of the places mentioned in Tuscany.
If you could narrate any..."
Another huge question - the one that stands out is Rachel’s Shoe by Peter Lihou. There are bound to be others but this is the first one that comes to mind.
Julie wrote: "There are certainly a lot of good ones to choose from , aren't there ?Oh yes and many more, Julie.
Are any of the books you've done a part of a series or do some of the ones you've done have another book coming up ?
I'm only going to mention the hard copies at the moment, Julie. Tavara Tinker: Sounds of Time has already been published. Archie Vincent has a another in the Desiree series just published on Amazon.
What a..."
Melanie, I have visited Italy several times and fell in love with it from my first visit, but I've never had the great fortune to actually live there--hence my deep envy of you!
going forward, what are your goals in narration for the next year... five years?
What have been the biggest surprises to you about the field of audio narration now that you have jumped in?
Julie wrote: "There are certainly a lot of good ones to choose from , aren't there ?Are any of the books you've done a part of a series or do some of the ones you've done have another book coming up ?
What a..."
It is already a very crowded profession so one needs stamina, talent of course, the right training, patience, tenacity and perseverance to mention a few essentials. Firstly, one needs to find good voice coaches and also ones who specialise in audio book narration which is very different to corporate voice over work. Even actors need to learn how the field works.
On the technical side, one needs to master the sound engineering side if one is that way inclined and how to set up a sound-proof studio. One of my voice coaches once said to me about his range of adult "students", "It depends how the brain is wired" when it comes to understanding and implementing the IT side of things. Not everyone can or wants to learn about it and it is a very time-consuming learning curve.
Then there is the marketing side of things if one doesn't have an agent or publisher. It is very important to set up a website - that took me ages to figure out but was such a relief when it all worked!
These are the main things and are also ongoing. Above all is the ability to concentrate on the many aspects of narration at the same time without it all impinging on one's performance. The stamina needed is both mental and physical.
If one wants to make a quick buck or lots of it, I would recommend one finds another outlet. Many narrators supplement their work with corporate projects - most of us do it because we enjoy it, not as a huge money spinner.
Hello Julie
Thank you for setting this up and I look forward to the event. Have a restful weekend.