VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

voicejones · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: going rate for books on tape

I need help quoting a book on tape read. About 350 pages. I read, record and edit in my studio. I do alot of industrials and I know this is a whole different animal as far as rates. Help
Thanks
JJ

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject:

350 pages, assuming 300 words per page gets you 105000 words. Reading at 160 words per minute, this is roughly 11 hours of recorded audio.

I'd go anywhere from $250 to $500 per hour of recorded audio. Even that might be low.
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Lizden · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject:

Hey JJ!
Is this a fiction book? A textbook? Non-fiction?
Because according to a recent Audiobook workshop I went to....(sorry Kafer) what Jeff quoted you was actually high.

But then again, that was for just the recording.

Mr. Fraley? Mr. Pat Fraley? Paging Mr. Pat Fraley? Smile

Liz
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject:

I was most definitely factoring in the editing time which will multiply the total time by a factor of 3+.
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steveanthony · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:51 am Post subject:

For a finished hour that you produce, record, and edit, Jeffrey is in the ballpark, depending on the publisher and type of book. Is it fiction or non-fiction? Does it contain dialogue (will you be shaping characters)? Will you be responsible for checking pronunciation and such?

There's a relatively big name audiobook publisher in New York City that pays talent about $90 per finished hour. Granted, no editing and such. But using that as a baseline, then add studio and editing, plus any other duties you may have to assume, and you've hit the $250 per finished hour threshold if you use the 3 hours of production yield 1 hour of finished audio with a studio rate of $50 per hour. Start adding other duties and it climbs from there.

Good luck, JJ

voicejones · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:10 am Post subject:

The book is historical fiction and pronunciation difficulities will be minimal.
I've read the book but will be working from an abridged script and there are some dialog sequences.
JJ

todd ellis · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:10 am Post subject:

i just got picked up by an audio book publisher that quoted me a rate of $300 - $500 per finished hour.

of course, i haven't gotten a JOB yet ... but those were the agreed upon rates.

as a side note: i was also offered an audio book at $50 per finished hour and was told i'd be lucky to get it.
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Lizden · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:21 am Post subject:

Well, there ya go! Laugh

Todd & JJ: CONGRATS! to BOTH of you!

L.
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

I just finished my second audio book. Jeff's about right on the editing time. For every hour of completed audio it was around 4 hours of editing. Then again, maybe I'm just slow.
Or anal.
That would have been appropriate for this last book. "Compulsive Acts: A Psychiatrist's Tales of Ritual and Obsession".
That of course isn't counting the time doing the recording itself.
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