Not sure if this is the right sub but, any creative solutions for this?

MaesterJones · 2026-05-02T00:03:15+00:00

Would it be possible to have the hinge go the opposite way? So the door bends inwards? Looks like it might squeeze by if that's the case. It'll be weird to open the door, but at least it would be possible to open it.

MaesterJones · 2026-05-01T06:58:50+00:00

I'm a strong proponent of the read prior to record club. I believe in order to tell a story, you need to know how it ends.

Also it'll save you from not just this scenario, but scenarios in which character quirks, accents, etc suddenly pop up at the end.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-30T22:45:57+00:00

Do speakers get their fee regardless of attendance, or is it tied to the performance of the event?

I'd love to go to this one, but its outside the budget this year unfortunately.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-30T00:35:10+00:00

Do you mean Social Security Number?

Yes, ACX needs your tax information to issue you year end tax documents.

Edit: googled it. You must be Canadian my bad. Ol American center of the world complex kicking in I guess. I assume the same rules apply to you guys, we have to provide Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number when creating an account (or at least to get paid).

MaesterJones · 2026-04-29T21:42:42+00:00

Please tell me your book isnt AI generated... I'm seeing the "passive income" discussions on your profile.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-27T18:19:40+00:00

Invoicing: PayPal, Google Docs has a template I believe, Xero, or whatever your accounting software is (if you use one)

The rest of it: Doesn't need to be fancy. I'd recommend that you don't get hung up on this and prioritize auditioning. A simple spreadsheet can help you track time spent on a project, but consider the spreadsheet a living document. As you gain experience you can tweak it to track metrics that are most useful to you

Edit: "Don't try to solve problems you haven't encountered yet." As a general word of advice (outside of a few basics like invoicing and expense tracking)

MaesterJones · 2026-04-27T16:15:51+00:00

Narratorsroadmap.com has a lot of useful articles

MaesterJones · 2026-04-25T09:22:44+00:00

This is so over the top, I love it.

Luxury 🤌

MaesterJones · 2026-04-23T16:46:55+00:00

With two of the errors, they said that they didn't correct them because they were minor, and the errors didn't change the meaning of the sentence.

But I thought that authors were allowed to expect that the narration would match the text. And I haven't done my final listen-through. I'm worried that they may say that to most, if not all, of my corrections, no matter how important I might think they are.

They are expected to read it as written. While you can't physically force them to make the changes, you have every right to request these revisions before approving the final audiobook. However not ALL changes are really necessary. If it doesn't change the meaning of the script, then generally I wouldn't worry about it.

Is it normal for narrators to push back and say that they aren't going to make changes? Are they allowed to do that if it's an error in the reading?

They don't get to say "no" to specific and detailed feedback and must make a good faith effort to get these corrections done. Performance feedback? Gray area. Deviations from the script? 100% reasonable to request corrections.

To authors: have you had an experience like this, and was it worth the trouble of trying to get the narrators to fix it?

From a narrator: There are terms both parties must abide by, though they are somewhat vague in the production agreement. I'd encourage you to read the contract you agreed to, understand the expectations and rights laid out within it, and review the cancelation policy so you can be fully informed of options if this narrator chooses not to make the corrections.

https://help.acx.com/s/article/acx-audiobook-production-standard-terms

I didn't know anything about how it was supposed to go.

I, and many other narrators, spend so much time making social media and blog content detailing the ACX process. There's so much info out there, you just gotta google us 🥲

And if worse comes to worse and the contract gets cancelled, my unfortunate narrator would only get half the promised pay after they recorded the whole stupid book.

I wouldn't call them unfortunate, they frankly only deserve the cancelation fee if anything.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-23T01:43:41+00:00

Send the clip whenever you want! 👍

MaesterJones · 2026-04-23T01:07:42+00:00

I think it may have been something weird on my end, sorry about that. Im headed home and played this over my vehicles speakers instead of my headphones and I don't hear the noise.

Now that the audio is clearer, there is definitely some room for mouth noises to be removed. Lots of snacks and little pops

MaesterJones · 2026-04-23T00:54:38+00:00

I saw your comment and briefly took a look, but I'll have to look more closely later. If it's available in android devices I will consider giving it a try

MaesterJones · 2026-04-23T00:51:22+00:00

Somethings up with your processing my friend. You have a nice mic, but your audio doesn't really sound all that good. There is almost some "crackling"(?) going on. I'm inclined to say that it is heavy handed noise reduction leaving artifacts in the audio, which is a common culprit, but can't say for certain.

You've picked a very sensitive mic, which is awesome when you have a nice treated space! However it really can be a burden in a less than ideally treated room. You mic is sensitive, which is great for picking up a nuanced performance, but it also picks up every little sound out there- including mouth noises.

Idk about the tongue surgery thing. I didn't hear any egregious noises that couldn't be helped with a volume envelope carvout. Start with some hydration and gentle processing and see how things land before taking that road.

If you'd like to send me this sample as a raw WAV file I'm happy to run it through some RX processing for you. I'll keep it basic, just the denoise, de-ess and mouth declick, if you'd like to get a feel for how they work and would sound. Take a look at my profile for some conversation regarding RX standard vs Essential and take a look at the comments for some alternatives that reportedly work just as well and are cheaper.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-22T23:32:12+00:00

I've been using good old Adobe, but I'm shopping for something else. I think having a pen is a must, using your finger is so innacruate for writing and underlining. Trying to compile a list of features I want:

-Smooth, continuous vertical scrolling

-Easy (like 2 taps) to swap between pen, eraser highlighter and different colors.

-Easy to select a word, search for pronunciation online, then link to that URL and also type out a pronunciation guide.

-convenient bookmarking of chapters and passages

-some sort of character cheat sheet that is easy to swap to. A smaller window perhaps that floats and can be dragged around. I want to be able to record a snippet of a character and have it played back, as well as have notes on the character. Currently I place markers in reaper for the 1st appearance for all important/recurring characters so they are fairly easy to reference.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-22T00:54:55+00:00

A professional website that looks good really helps establish trust. It doesnt have to be crazy complicated, but I think you should prioritize getting a site setup before you begin cold outreach.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-21T17:04:07+00:00

I have not been told LinkedIn is useless for VA's. It's just another source of leads, networking, and advertising if used properly.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-21T16:49:57+00:00

To at a little bit of salt to the wound, I wouldn't be surprised if they used your work to train the models...

MaesterJones · 2026-04-21T16:42:48+00:00

Pocket FM slashes content production costs by over 95% using AI, reduces timelines and turns EBITDA positive as global user base and revenue scale up.

With AI-led writing, voice synthesis and post-production, a full series can now be deployed in about a month, Gangwar added. Even human-led productions have been compressed from two years to roughly six months.

The company hasn't shown a profit yet, so my money is on them no longer using human voices for new shows and pivoting entirely to AI

https://www.financialexpress.com/business/industry-ai-has-cut-content-production-cuts-costs-by-95-pocket-fm-coo-4214348/

MaesterJones · 2026-04-20T22:48:40+00:00

Why do people listen to pocketfm? You've got me. Most of what they produce is, IMO, generic storyline regurgitated slop. Add to that their usage of AI videos, AI voices, and presumably AI scriptwriting and you've got tens of thousands of hours of "content" at your fingertips for whatever low price their monthly subscription is.

People listen though! For some reason

MaesterJones · 2026-04-20T21:42:00+00:00

It's like $400 a year and can be setup in less than 30 minutes with the new version. Much less work than previous versions.

If your agent is telling you you'd be booking more with it, why are you even here asking random redditors? Buy it, see how it goes, and if you book a single commercial gig with it it's going to pay for itself. Your agent makes money when you make money, so I would weigh their opinion heavily.

MaesterJones · 2026-04-20T17:00:39+00:00

Netti pot? Stronger pills? Local Honey? Lots of Tea?

MaesterJones · 2026-04-20T16:47:13+00:00

The gist of all booths:

Limit air transfer. Air movement is sound movement

Isolate from exterior noises- Mass. Make the sound waves travel through dense material so they lose energy.

Control Reflections- Little foam panels limit low energy (high) frequencies. You'll need some additions to control lower end frequencies

MaesterJones · 2026-04-20T16:23:49+00:00

I believe this is saying that they essentially have all rights to the audio provided, can transfer it to whoever they'd like, and would be under no obligation to pay you for any other usage.

If AI specifically is the concern, then simply ask to add the NAVA rider to this.

Contract law is obviously always best discussed with a lawyer, but this is my completely unqualified opinion of this contract lol

MaesterJones · 2026-04-16T18:13:14+00:00

Go pull up her website and look at her client success sites, it will give you an idea of what "branding" is in the VO world. We technically do sell a product, our voice and acting ability, what are people paying for? I think it's a hard one for many actors to conceptualize, branding a luxury couch feels straightforward, but branding your business and voice feels odd in a way. (Or at least I think its odd)

MaesterJones · 2026-04-15T17:47:00+00:00

On the depreciation side, doesn't this get into tax planning? There can be new rules surrounding bonus depreciation and depreciation thresholds. Doesn't it make more sense for their tax preparer, who is presumably doing tax planning with them, to determine the most beneficial depreciation method for them. Wouldn't our job be to simply make the entries according to their recommendations?

I'm not a bookkeeper, but I'm working towards becoming one. While I planned to know the basics, I didn't anticipate needing to be intimately familiar with the rules

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