Ep. 308 - Royalty Share or Per Finished Hour? How Audiobook Narrators Actually Get Paid

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Your first audiobook offer will make you choose how you get paid. In this episode I go through the three ways narrators actually get paid, what a finished hour really takes, and when royalty share is worth it and when it isn't.

(02:02) Per finished hour. You're paid a set rate for every hour a listener hears. A six-hour book at $150 per finished hour is $900, sometimes with a part paid up front and the rest when you finish. You're paid either way, but you have no stake in the book after that.

(04:00) Royalty share. Nothing up front, and you split the royalties with the author. On ACX that runs for seven years. On Academy Voices it's 10 years with authors and 20 years on our own house projects, because I wanted people to be able to build a career on royalties.

(06:34) Royalty share plus. Royalties plus a smaller payment up front. The author who can't pay $900 might manage $200, and you still share in the sales.

(08:00) Why royalty share helps you against AI. An AI narration is cheap, but no AI company will take a share of the royalties and help sell the book. Flexibility is something only we can offer.

(11:31) What a finished hour really takes. Early on, one finished hour is about four to six hours of prep, recording, editing and pickups. It takes real time, and there's always more audiobook work.

(14:00) Cutting that time down. The script prep and proofing tools in the new Academy Voices site analyse your script and check your audio against it, which can take a finished hour down to two to four hours of work.

(16:34) Red flags. Spam offers on ACX, and long royalty share books with no sales history unless you're ready to help sell them. Shorter books, three hours or less, are a good place to start with royalty share.

(19:30) What to charge. Our rate guide covers per finished hour rates from beginner to pro, with a calculator.

What to charge per finished hour, with the rate calculator: https://www.avosjourney.com/voice-over-rate-guide/?src=podcast-ep308

Academy Voices relaunches Thursday 1 October. Audition for audiobooks there: https://academyvoices.com

Our live classes are open to anyone during Free Class Week, 12 to 15 October. https://www.avosjourney.com/free-class?src=podcast

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