Audiobook Narration
Your story, voiced.
Immersive narration that honors the world you built.
It’s your story. I’m the vessel bringing it to listeners’ ears. Handing your book to a stranger is its own kind of leap, so you get a narrator who already lives in your genre. Immersive character portrayal and consistent, embodied performances, backed by a multi-pass production pipeline that delivers audio meeting retail specifications.
I read these genres. I know how they should sound. Your characters, your world, your voice—brought to listeners’ ears.
I take one audiobook project at a time. While I’m working on yours, it’s the only book in my booth.
I specialize in speculative and romantic fantasy:
Gothic Fantasy
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Magical Academy
Supernatural Suspense
Occult Detective Fiction
Paranormal Romance
Romantasy
Urban Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Supernatural Thriller
Other genres are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Samples
Every story has its own voice. Here are a few I’ve stepped into.
Per Finished Hour (PFH) Production Package
$250 PFH
Full production including narration and professional post-production: editing, proofing, and mastering to retail specifications. Your audiobook is delivered retail-ready.
Rush Service: $350 PFH (subject to availability)
Royalty Share Plus (RS+) Package
ACX platform distribution only
$150 PFH + royalties
The $150 per finished hour covers post-production costs. The total (based on estimated finished hours) is due in full upon approval of the 15-minute sample (the same trigger point as the PFH 50% deposit). I receive my narrator compensation through the ongoing royalty share (a 7-year term per ACX’s agreement).
Optional Add-On: Premium Checkpoint Review Service
+$50 PFH
For rights holders who want collaborative oversight during production. You receive periodic reviews of raw recordings (every 3 chapters or 2.5 finished hours), allowing course corrections before editing begins.
What You Receive
Custom audition (up to 5 minutes) if requested
15-minute sample for approval before full production begins
Fully narrated and produced audiobook per approved specifications
Separated, labeled chapter files
Opening and closing credits
Retail sample
ACX-compliant mastered audio (192 kbps or higher MP3, 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, proper noise floor and levels)
Please note: Your final files are delivered via a secure, password-protected OneDrive link with a 30-day download window. I keep backups for a full year after delivery, so you’ve got a safety net. If you ever need files re-sent during that year, there's a small $25 admin fee. After that year, files are securely deleted per my privacy policy.
What's Not Included
Manuscript rewrites or edits
Sound effects or music
Marketing services
Distribution services
What You Provide
To keep production on track and protect your timeline, here’s what I’ll need from you before we begin:
Complete, fully proofed, edited, and record-ready manuscript (Microsoft Word, .docx preferred)
Confirmation that you own full legal rights to the material
Character and pronunciation guide
Technical specifications and timeline preferences
Front/back matter preferences, credit requirements, intro/outro specifications
Estimated Production Timelines
Timelines vary based on project complexity, schedule, and production team availability. These are general estimates; a specific timeline will be confirmed in writing upon booking.
15-minute sample: 1–2 weeks
8-hour audiobook (~72,000 words): 13–16 weeks
10-hour audiobook (~90,000 words): 14–17 weeks
Two clocks run here. The sample clock starts once I have your final manuscript, pronunciation guide, and signed agreement—that’s the 1–2 weeks to your 15-minute sample. The production clock starts at written sample approval, once the deposit (PFH) or production payment (RS+) is in.
My Commitment to You
Genre fluency. The pacing, the tropes, and the emotional beats built into how I read every line.
Consistent characterization. Every character gets a distinct, maintainable voice. I track character details throughout production to ensure consistency from chapter one to the end.
Respect for your vision. This is your story. I’m the vessel bringing it to listeners’ ears—my job is to honor what you created.
Retail-ready audio that meets platform specifications. No surprises, no quality issues, no failed uploads. The full production pipeline is on my Resources page: What Happens to Your Audiobook Between the Booth and Your Inbox.
Every audiobook also passes through an independent proofer. A second set of trained ears comparing the audio to your manuscript word by word.
My Voice, My Terms
Your audiobook is narrated by a human who chose to be in the booth.
I don’t submit auditions or voice samples to platforms that use recordings for AI training or voice cloning. I vet every platform’s terms of service before I put my voice on it.
This isn’t a stance I arrived at casually. The audiobook industry is navigating real questions about AI-generated narration, and I’ve chosen to work with platforms and partners that protect human voice talent. That protection extends to you: when listeners hear your book, they’re hearing a real performance—one that can’t be replicated, repurposed, or stripped of the craft that went into it.
Rights & Ownership
These protect your story on your side and my voice on mine. The plain version:
You retain all rights to your manuscript
I retain rights to audio recordings until payment is received in full, at which point ownership of mastered files transfers to you
Voice prints and characteristics remain my property
Narrator credit required on the final audiobook product
Prohibited: AI training or voice cloning, unauthorized distribution, and repurposing audio without permission
No AI Touches Your Book. Ever.
Your manuscript doesn’t go into any AI tool. Not for summaries, not for feedback, not for “just checking.” Not at any stage, and not without your written permission. This applies whether your book is unpublished, in progress, or already out in the world.
The work you’re paying me for is my work. Editorial letters, annotated manuscripts, revision roadmaps, session feedback, narration prep—all of it is written by me, on my own, without AI assistance of any kind. That includes the behind-the-scenes notes and drafts. My reading brain and Word’s basic spell-check are the whole toolkit—no cloud-based writing or analysis tools, nothing AI-powered. Your manuscript travels only where the work requires: secure storage and delivery back to you.
Neither your book nor your name ever enters an AI system. If that line ever needs to move, I’ll ask you first. You can say no, and it won’t change anything about our work together.
The formal version lives in the Terms of Service.
FAQ
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Request a free custom audition (up to 5 minutes). You’ll hear how I interpret your characters and tone before committing. No pressure, no commitment—if we’re not the right fit, it’s better to know early.
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The custom audition (free, up to 5 minutes) helps you decide if I’m the right narrator for your book—no commitment required. The 15-minute sample comes after you’ve decided to work with me; it’s where we finalize the artistic direction before full production begins. You approve the sample, then pay the deposit, then we proceed.
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That’s what the 15-minute sample approval is for. You get up to two rounds of artistic revisions on the sample—tone, pacing, character voice adjustments—before we proceed. Once you approve the sample, that establishes the artistic direction for the full production.
Want more checkpoints along the way? The standard process includes sample approval before full production begins. If you’d prefer additional review points during production—hearing chapters as they’re completed rather than waiting for the full delivery—that’s available as a premium add-on. Ask me about the Premium Checkpoint add-on
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My default is my natural speaking voice, and for most books that’s the right call—it’s where my range, stamina, and consistency are strongest, and it keeps characterization grounded across a full-length production. That said, if your story calls for a specific accent on a character (or the whole book), send me a short passage and I’ll record it so you can hear how it lands before you commit. If it’s not a fit, I’ll tell you.
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Steam does not scare me off. That being said, I do understand that heat levels and specific content vary, and so do narrator comfort zones. If you are worried, before we start, send me a brief description of the heat level and any scenes you’re unsure about (or the scenes themselves). I’ll review it and give you a straight answer about whether it’s a fit. If it is, you’ll get the same committed performance as the rest of the book. If it isn’t, I’d rather point you toward a narrator who can give your listeners what they came for.
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The timeline reflects the investment, not the wait.
For every finished hour of audio, there are approximately 6 hours of work across seven production phases. I wrote the full breakdown on my Resources page: What Happens to Your Audiobook Between the Booth and Your Inbox. A 10-hour audiobook represents 60+ hours of production work. I take one audiobook project at a time, so yours gets my full attention.
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I record in an acoustically treated home studio using an LCT-440-Pure condenser microphone and Universal Audio Apollo Solo interface, edited in Reaper. All recordings are mastered to ACX/Audible specifications.
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PFH (Per Finished Hour) is paid in two halves: 50% as a deposit upon approval of the 15-minute sample, and the remaining 50% invoiced upon final delivery, due within 30 days. You own the audio outright once the final payment clears.
RS+ uses the same trigger point but a different amount: you pay only production costs ($150 PFH × estimated hours) at 15-minute sample approval, and I receive my narrator compensation through an ongoing royalty share with you over 7 years per ACX’s agreement. RS+ is only available for ACX distribution.
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The estimate is based on 9,000 words per finished hour, a reliable industry rule of thumb, but mastered audio rarely lands exactly on it—dialogue-heavy pacing, dramatic delivery, and genre speech patterns all move the needle. Whatever it lands on, you pay for the audiobook you actually received, and the math settles in both directions.
For PFH projects, your deposit is 50% of the estimated total. The final invoice is calculated on actual finished hours. If the book ran longer, the additional hours are added at the same $250 rate; if it ran shorter, your remaining balance shrinks accordingly.
For RS+ projects, you paid the production cost upfront based on estimated hours. After mastering, I reconcile to actual hours: additional hours are invoiced at the same $150 rate, and if the book ran shorter, I refund the difference at the same rate. Either way, you only pay for finished hours that exist.
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I offer single narration (one narrator performs the entire book). For dual narration, I’m open to it, but you’d need to find and coordinate with the second narrator. Multicast projects are considered on a case-by-case basis.
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Yes, but changes after recording begins cost $25 per 300 words. Significant revisions (over 5% of runtime) are quoted individually and may affect the timeline. I strongly encourage you to finalize your manuscript before we begin.
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You have 10 business days to review the final files and submit corrections. Technical errors (misreads, audio glitches) are corrected at no charge. If you have more than 5 corrections related to performance preferences, manuscript typos you didn’t catch before production, or pronunciations we didn’t verify together, a revision fee applies.
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Final finished hours are calculated after production is complete and mastered.
Administrative Policies
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PFH: 50% deposit (calculated on estimated hours) due upon 15-minute sample approval. Final invoice issued at delivery, calculated on actual finished hours, minus the deposit; balance due within 30 days.
RS+: Full production cost ($150 PFH × estimated hours) due upon 15-minute sample approval. After mastering, the total reconciles to actual finished hours: additional hours invoiced at $150 each; if the book runs shorter, the difference is refunded at the same rate.
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I respond to emails within 1 business day.
All project-related communications and approvals are documented in writing
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15-Minute Sample: Up to two rounds of artistic revisions included (tone, pacing, character voice adjustments). Written approval is required before full production begins.
Final Files: 10-business-day review period from delivery. A formatted spreadsheet will be provided for submitting correction requests. All corrections must be submitted together in one comprehensive review. If no response is received within the review period, files may be considered approved.
Free corrections: Misreads or production errors missed during proofing; mispronunciations of common words.
Corrections subject to fees: Author performance preferences, manuscript typos discovered after recording, or pronunciations not provided in advance.
The first 5 corrections are included. Beyond that: 6–10 corrections cost $50, 11–15 cost $80, and 16–20 cost $120. Anything over 20 is quoted individually.
Manuscript changes after recording begins: $25 per 300 words ($25 minimum). Changes exceeding 5% of the total runtime are quoted individually.
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Cancellation before 15-minute sample approval: No charge
Cancellation after 15-minute sample approval: 50% kill fee
If I cancel: 100% refund of deposit
No partial or raw files delivered upon cancellation
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Rights Holder delays: Up to 30 days with written notice, timeline adjusts accordingly. Beyond 30 days: $50 weekly hold fee. After 90 days of inactivity, I may request release from the project. If no response within 14 days, I am released with payment for all completed work.
Narrator delays: Timeline extends accordingly with regular status updates provided.
Ready to Start?
If you have an audiobook-ready manuscript—reach out. Send your book details, and I can provide a custom audition so you can hear how your story sounds before we go any further.