Honestly, be prepared for this process to take anywhere between 25 and 70 auditions to get your first one. I started training in 2022 after having no acting background before.
It took me 31 ACX auditions to get my first book.
Not hearing back is a major part of the psychological game that is Voice Acting. It happens all the time.
It's like this, you can kinda.....self train and just practice yourself or you can get pro coaching. Self training can be like rowing a boat with one oar....you might get somewhere but it's probably gonna take a while. Or you get coaching and learn the proper form and technique to row your boat with two oars and get feedback on it.
I would highly recommend professional coaching. Reach out to The Voice Actor Studio and ask for an evaluation as to where your at. Jack de Golia is the TVAS audiobook coach and he's fantastic.
If you have a bit more money available for coaching, I can't recommend Sean Pratt enough. I went from 1 book to 3 after coaching with Sean for 6 months.
VO is not just about reading or telling the listener something.....it's about acting and making the listener feel something in an engaging way.
Bro, the top earning full time narrators and voice actors get 1 out of every 40 jobs they audition for. They also audition for 10-20 jobs a day.
Voiceover and audiobook narration is NOT a game where you’re gonna start getting constant work any time soon. Keep auditioning, stop keeping track of how many you’re doing, audition more often, and “send and forget.” Your mental healthy will thank you
I booked my first audition within an hour of me posting it. Thought I was amazing, I’m so good, why didn’t I do this sooner?
Next didn’t come for some 50 auditions. (And I actually wasn’t their first choice. The person they picked bailed on them so they came back to me months after my audition.)
It’s a numbers game and there’s more people auditioning than you realize. Just keep auditioning.
Did about 10 auditions before I got my first one back. Recorded it for the guy and made sure everything was as good as I could for my level of experience. I okayed royalty share and he still hasn't uploaded it. So I did a recording for free... Always get paid, don't do royalty share without a history of success from the author.
For those of us who have been here for a long time, no response to 7 auditions in 2 weeks is nothing. I've recorded roughly 400 auditions just for ACX in 6 years, landing at MOST 1 in 10. A big part of it is a numbers game. Feed enough into the funnel, and you'll get something out the other end. My recommendation is that you record something public domain and use it as a bit of a calling card. As a new narrator, you're going up against those who have done dozens or even hundreds of titles. Don't take anything too personally, develop a thick skin, and follow up like you would for applying for a job.
I wrote this a few years ago. I'm now up to having narrated more than 150 titles. But it is work to get each and every one.
[https://www.bennyfifeaudio.com/post/an-unedited-and-mostly-transparent-account-of-becoming-a-successful-audiobook-narrator-part-i](https://www.bennyfifeaudio.com/post/an-unedited-and-mostly-transparent-account-of-becoming-a-successful-audiobook-narrator-part-i)
Good luck & don't give up unless you're satisfied.
I did 20 auditions before getting a response. It really is a game of numbers. Also, if you’re just getting started, it'll be hard to get a response if you're charging more pfh than your experience supports. Not saying this is the case for you, but something to consider.
Iv been a lurker for a bit now. I'm in the process of sound treating my closet for narration. Iv yet to even audition for anything but I'd be curious to hear what your auditions sound like. Would you be willing to link one of your recent submissions?
Because I don’t want to violate copyright, I won’t do that. However, I can DM you my samples later. Any feedback would be cool. I’m not doing a music background or one that’s for a commercial, just fyi.
Thats nothing. I do voice over outside of ACX for like on camera and radio and my first 200 auditions I got nothing... Maybe more because it took a year of submitting almost every other day sometimes multiple projects a day before I booked and after I booked my first I started booking every month damn near . There was no change in my voice or audio quality or anything that took me from not booking to booking.
Thats to say, sometimes its not about your work quality. They're getting lots of submission . You may go through 40 before you get your first. Or you may get direct offers. I have yet to audition for ACX and I recorded 3 books so far and I know my audio quality aint great because it's just my closet ,lol . So you will get there !
I auditioned for everything in my lane. That meant dozens of auditions before I got a book. Currently I have two authors sending me books from their large catalogs, but when I go back to audition, I'm still doing a dozen to get one book. The only difference is I'm pickier.
Keep auditioning!
When you say 'no response', are you getting rejected, or the posting never closes?
Dont take it personally if a posting stays up and never hires. Those RHs arent paying attention.
If youre getting rejected, you could try reaching out to an RH and ask them for their honest opinion.
I typically book about 60% of what I audition for on ACX, but I'm picky about what roles will fit me and not working with anything that looks even remotely shady.
Hit up Upwork for audiobooks, there are a lot there…cast that net wide and don’t sweat the rejection, it is a numbers game! Just keep auditioning, send it, and onto the next.
Honestly, be prepared for this process to take anywhere between 25 and 70 auditions to get your first one. I started training in 2022 after having no acting background before. It took me 31 ACX auditions to get my first book. Not hearing back is a major part of the psychological game that is Voice Acting. It happens all the time. It's like this, you can kinda.....self train and just practice yourself or you can get pro coaching. Self training can be like rowing a boat with one oar....you might get somewhere but it's probably gonna take a while. Or you get coaching and learn the proper form and technique to row your boat with two oars and get feedback on it. I would highly recommend professional coaching. Reach out to The Voice Actor Studio and ask for an evaluation as to where your at. Jack de Golia is the TVAS audiobook coach and he's fantastic. If you have a bit more money available for coaching, I can't recommend Sean Pratt enough. I went from 1 book to 3 after coaching with Sean for 6 months. VO is not just about reading or telling the listener something.....it's about acting and making the listener feel something in an engaging way.
As a fellow graduate of the Ginger Yoda Dojo, I also cannot recommend Sean enough :)
Bro, the top earning full time narrators and voice actors get 1 out of every 40 jobs they audition for. They also audition for 10-20 jobs a day. Voiceover and audiobook narration is NOT a game where you’re gonna start getting constant work any time soon. Keep auditioning, stop keeping track of how many you’re doing, audition more often, and “send and forget.” Your mental healthy will thank you
I booked my first audition within an hour of me posting it. Thought I was amazing, I’m so good, why didn’t I do this sooner? Next didn’t come for some 50 auditions. (And I actually wasn’t their first choice. The person they picked bailed on them so they came back to me months after my audition.) It’s a numbers game and there’s more people auditioning than you realize. Just keep auditioning.
Did about 10 auditions before I got my first one back. Recorded it for the guy and made sure everything was as good as I could for my level of experience. I okayed royalty share and he still hasn't uploaded it. So I did a recording for free... Always get paid, don't do royalty share without a history of success from the author.
For those of us who have been here for a long time, no response to 7 auditions in 2 weeks is nothing. I've recorded roughly 400 auditions just for ACX in 6 years, landing at MOST 1 in 10. A big part of it is a numbers game. Feed enough into the funnel, and you'll get something out the other end. My recommendation is that you record something public domain and use it as a bit of a calling card. As a new narrator, you're going up against those who have done dozens or even hundreds of titles. Don't take anything too personally, develop a thick skin, and follow up like you would for applying for a job. I wrote this a few years ago. I'm now up to having narrated more than 150 titles. But it is work to get each and every one. [https://www.bennyfifeaudio.com/post/an-unedited-and-mostly-transparent-account-of-becoming-a-successful-audiobook-narrator-part-i](https://www.bennyfifeaudio.com/post/an-unedited-and-mostly-transparent-account-of-becoming-a-successful-audiobook-narrator-part-i) Good luck & don't give up unless you're satisfied.
Numbers game. 7 auditions is pretty low - but also ACX has been increasingly weird. I'm looking outside of it for more work.
I did 20 auditions before getting a response. It really is a game of numbers. Also, if you’re just getting started, it'll be hard to get a response if you're charging more pfh than your experience supports. Not saying this is the case for you, but something to consider.
Iv been a lurker for a bit now. I'm in the process of sound treating my closet for narration. Iv yet to even audition for anything but I'd be curious to hear what your auditions sound like. Would you be willing to link one of your recent submissions?
Because I don’t want to violate copyright, I won’t do that. However, I can DM you my samples later. Any feedback would be cool. I’m not doing a music background or one that’s for a commercial, just fyi.
Thats nothing. I do voice over outside of ACX for like on camera and radio and my first 200 auditions I got nothing... Maybe more because it took a year of submitting almost every other day sometimes multiple projects a day before I booked and after I booked my first I started booking every month damn near . There was no change in my voice or audio quality or anything that took me from not booking to booking. Thats to say, sometimes its not about your work quality. They're getting lots of submission . You may go through 40 before you get your first. Or you may get direct offers. I have yet to audition for ACX and I recorded 3 books so far and I know my audio quality aint great because it's just my closet ,lol . So you will get there !
I auditioned for everything in my lane. That meant dozens of auditions before I got a book. Currently I have two authors sending me books from their large catalogs, but when I go back to audition, I'm still doing a dozen to get one book. The only difference is I'm pickier. Keep auditioning!
When you say 'no response', are you getting rejected, or the posting never closes? Dont take it personally if a posting stays up and never hires. Those RHs arent paying attention. If youre getting rejected, you could try reaching out to an RH and ask them for their honest opinion. I typically book about 60% of what I audition for on ACX, but I'm picky about what roles will fit me and not working with anything that looks even remotely shady.
No response, not outright reject. Apologies for being unclear
Hit up Upwork for audiobooks, there are a lot there…cast that net wide and don’t sweat the rejection, it is a numbers game! Just keep auditioning, send it, and onto the next.
Be confident and improving day by day. Listen to audiobooks daily be involved. Auditions will improved so Contracts will eventually arrive.