u/Cocomite

Hi all - I've been booked for my first paid gig on ACX (yay!) Since joining in June. It's a sci-fi novel, exactly my kind of thing, mostly English and American accents.

However I've just learned that an alien race appears later in the book and are written as having a Jamaican dialect. In sending the manuscript the writer has said -without prompting - "if you can't do that, don't worry about it", meaning we could potentially change the accent.

However I don't want the writer to change their intentions because of me! I'm certain I could do a reasonable accent on a technical level, and if so I want to ensure that it's an earnest attempt at bringing the author's work to life. He seems totally unphased (or he wouldn't have hired me).

Does anyone have advice on kind of guiding themselves through accents or characters that they've felt that concern for, in terms of worrying about caricaturing or coming across as insulting/inappropriate?

This may be a non-issue - "it's in the script, so do it" - but as a relative newbie to audiobooks I would really welcome some experienced advice.

Hi all - I've been booked for my first paid gig on ACX (yay!) Since joining in June. It's a sci-fi novel, exactly my kind of thing, mostly English and American accents.

However I've just learned that an alien race appears later in the book and are written as having a Jamaican dialect. In sending the manuscript the writer has said -without prompting - "if you can't do that, don't worry about it", meaning we could potentially change the accent.

However I don't want the writer to change their intentions because of me! I'm certain I could do a reasonable accent on a technical level, and if so I want to ensure that it's an earnest attempt at bringing the author's work to life. He seems totally unphased (or he wouldn't have hired me).

Does anyone have advice on kind of guiding themselves through accents or characters that they've felt that concern for, in terms of worrying about caricaturing or coming across as insulting/inappropriate?

This may be a non-issue - "it's in the script, so do it" - but as a relative newbie to audiobooks I would really welcome some experienced advice.

Hello all!

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I've been in the business in the UK for 20 years now and for all sorts of reasons (primarily a big lazy streak) only just sorting out a home booth setup now.

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I would love to see other people's booths/recording spots especially how you've decorated it! I inherited a KUBE corner booth from a company I did work for (good god, the savings) and want to make it BETTER however I can.

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I also need to work out how to keep things cool when the door is closed...

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Would appreciate your sage advice!

Hey all, I've hit a point in my career where I really thought i'd have found more consistency, more income, and honestly a bit more general success in the industry by now. That's not from a place of ego rather I've been doing it pretty consistently for almost 20 years so just... seems a reasonable expectation.

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I went to drama school, have done other decent work, actually worked on some well known game titles, and always get solid feedback and occasional re-booking from clients - all through my agent - but simply do not work anywhere near enough to make a decent living.

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I'd like to take more control and find more work for myself. I want to do audiobooks, but years of effort have led me nowhere. I am certain i'm simply being ignorant of something basic, and I know there are ways and means to put yourself out there and book directly, so would appreciate words of wisdom from those of you who have taken that path and have found consistency.

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"Your agent works for you, not the other way around" - something i'm sure we've all heard or told ourselves at some point. After all, they live on commission from our work.

Yet I can't be the only one who has felt (for many years) like there is a serious power imbalance. It's a common theme amongst actors as the power and opportunity really does lie with a good agent having good contacts and getting good briefs sent their way. We know sometimes that having a bad agent is worse than having none at all.

I suppose I'm asking among my peers for how they address this themselves? What do you do to empower yourselves, and have you found agent relationships that feel something close to equal?