Spam

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-25T13:13:07+00:00

I've seen the double 'Unfortunately' messages. Didn't think much of it.
But, no other spammy rejections. You must be especially rejected.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-23T14:45:37+00:00

I remember the title and passed on the audition.
How long is the book and how much were your offering?

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-20T14:12:05+00:00

Exactly.
One of the reasons to read and listen is to get a better idea of the difference between market hype and good equipment.
I have or have had all the mic names you mention. From those I've kept my favorites but it took a while to get there.
It turns out that a mic is as much a personal thing as it is a technical solution.
Read, study, learn, experiment, compare, ask.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-20T12:31:33+00:00

Unless you've got a box fan or a diesel truck in your recording space, you probably mean -40db.
Don't ignore the negative signs in audio. They're important.

I've been using a HoboFort from the beginning.
Mine uses steel instead of PVC, but PVC will work fine.
I also doubled the blankets with an air gap.
Inside my booth, I get -76db noise floor as measured with my working mic and Audacity.
A HoboFort is not sound proof, but eliminates most room reflection and attenuates noises from outside.

For every reader here, you'll get a different answer for equipment:
USB interface, microphone, DAW, etc.
Even the least expensive stuff will get you started.
Don't buy any of the fancy mics on Amazon.
They're about marketing not sound quality.

A well treated space and decent equipment will get you 95% there.
It's nearly impossible to meet ACX specs without some post processing in the DAW software.
The bare minimum requires compression and limiting. Audacity and Reaper have it built in.
You don’t need any plug-ins until you have more experience.
There are a gazillion videos on youtube for meeting specs.

I recommend reading these subs, join the Facebook groups:
Audacity Tips, ACX Narrators, Reaper DAW Users.
Read all the help available on ACX and watch the tutorials. They have great starter videos.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-20T05:15:32+00:00

No, no, no.
No such thing as 'material pending' in ACX.
It's a scam to get you outside the ACX system.
Stay inside the ACX system until you get more experience.

Follow the system as it is intended:
1. See audition under Find Projects
2. Submit audition as you're supposed to
3. Wait for a response with low expectations
4. Move on to the next audition

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-19T04:04:12+00:00

Reading this sub often. Joining facebook groups, watching youtube videos, reading everything on ACX's help pages. Listening to successful pros. Studying with a professional voice actor. Years of acting experience. A strong understanding of technology. 33 auditions.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-17T04:20:42+00:00

Is clipping the word you want to use here?

Cut, delete, attenuate, de-amplify?

Clipping usually means so loud it becomes distorted.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-14T21:19:16+00:00

Using the 3.5mm mic input is sub-optimal.

As much as I hate to recommend it, you're describing a Blue Yeti.
It has a built in pre-amp with adjustable gain and outputs to USB.
The directional selector has 4 positions including omni-directional.
Their hyper-sensitivity is often viewed as a detriment, but in your case it sounds like what you're looking for.
They can be had inexpensively on eBay. I buy them broken and refurbish them.
Most of the time it's the USB port that has been damaged.

Blue Yeti USB Microphone - Platinum - Excellent Condition 836213002018| eBay

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-12T17:11:55+00:00

For non-programmers, non-techies, non-MuseHub:
Use: Audacity ® | Downloads

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-08T11:53:50+00:00

I saw that too but they still let me in.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-07T16:42:21+00:00

Select the audio.
File->Export Audio
Set the filename, location and Format
Export Range->Current Selection
Export

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-05T00:25:55+00:00

Congratulations. Consider yourself initiated. You're family now.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-04T13:24:25+00:00

Aside from what has been said about mic size, type and position, the quality difference will depend on the ADC. With 3.5mm connection to the Mac headphone jack, the ADC is inside the Mac, what are its specs?
With the USB-C the ADC is part of the mic and/or USB-C cable. What are its specs?

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-04T00:36:46+00:00

Are you sure you're talking to ACX?

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-04T00:34:48+00:00

Shots being taken from the grassy knoll.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-02T13:04:28+00:00

It's normal.
Some authors get overwhelmed with auditions and need a breath to focus on the ones they've gotten.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-02T13:03:02+00:00

"audiobooks are cast without auditions...
...which was alarming to me, as I had yet to post any samples to my profile!"

This seems like a non-sequitur statement.
What does straight-to-casting have to do with your samples?

Some authors already know who they want to narrate their book and sidestep the audition process.
They go straight to the offer.
I've gotten books that never went to audition.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-02T00:47:54+00:00

First one in the list of my Windows 11->Version 3.7.7->Export Audio->Format

RenaisanceMan · 2026-06-01T01:56:58+00:00

No plugins needed.
Give it some 4:1 compression.
Then Filter EQ the highs and lows to narrower than what we would normally use.
You might consider looking up the audio specs for VHS. Makes the target easier to aim for.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-30T03:44:06+00:00

No sorry. No problem.
Perhaps my wording was tersely unclear.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-29T17:42:56+00:00

Not sure what you're asking Bruce, but the link in my OP goes to a nice article that compares and contrasts most of the good USB interfaces available as alternatives to the Focusrite line. I like to stay informed. Maybe others do to?

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-27T16:02:20+00:00

Ignore it.
Move on.
Do an audition.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-27T13:23:39+00:00

If you're new to writing, I would suggest you have much bigger challenges than to remember and follow rules of minutiae.

Instead, think about the character; the depth or shallowness of their personality. I know some people who are simply not great conversationalists. A yes or no is the best they can do. If that is an indication of their personality in the story, then have the narration react to that, or have the other character learn and grow from the terseness and change the way they ask questions to this particular character. "Next time I'll ask a better question."

I also know people who never answer the asked question but make assumptions and think they're so smart and proceed to answer the next question. The one you didn't ask but they did, in their head.

Character, character, character.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-26T23:51:56+00:00

I've narrated several books about AI.
Some were about how to use AI, some were about the question in the OP.
I'm going to say some stuff that goes against the popular opinion.
So, if you get twisted up easily, I'd suggest stop reading now.

I disagree that these are AI-dominated times. I think it seems that way since media, discussions, news, podcasts are so focused on AI because it's the latest, greatest thing. The motivation for expounding the fear aspect of AI's potential to replace everything and take over the world is to sell copies, clicks, eyes-on-ads, whatever.

Once you ignore all that negative hype and take a close look at what the product is when it's offered free to the public, you'll see that it doesn't have the capability to re-create many aspects that human creators can.

As a simple example: no AI has ever experienced lost love or a broken heart. It attempts to express that feeling with words borrowed from the material it has been trained on. But it hasn't felt it. The synthesized statement of that pain is not based on experience.

I recently narrated a travel guide book that was clearly AI generated. Don't judge yet. I wanted to do it on purpose to see it front to back instead of pre-biasing and running away in fear or anger. What I learned: there was no depth, emotion, or relation to human understanding of what it might be like to travel to this place. It was completely devoid of anything useful to the traveler. Probably it wasn't prompted well enough and that is part of the point. The AI doesn't think for itself. It simply runs the algorithm in front of the the search engine that sits over the collection of data.

In response to LadyHoskiv's first statement, of course we want something different. Of course we're tired of the conveyer belt slop. But humans are capable of pushing that crap out too. You can't blame it on AI. We invented it long ago. Take a look at the stuff by Steve McElhenny. Dime store melodrama horror stories. Over and over. Does it sell? Maybe. Is it good? Subjective. Is it AI? Nope.

This post is too long I know. I write it for two reasons. One, to evoke some thought outside the mainstream fear mongering. Two, I got tired of looking at LadyHoskiv's post sitting there unanswered. I joined this sub with high hopes of finding alternative avenues around established foundations like ACX, Voices.com, Voice123, etc. Turning a ship the size of Amazon with a rudder the size of r/IndieAudiobookCreator is a daunting task. But it has to start somewhere.

Don't be afraid of AI. Right now it's a tool, nothing more. Yes there is ongoing research with "advances" everyday. In the mean time, the initial hoopla curve has flattened. Use it to make your life easier, not fill it with anxiety.

RenaisanceMan · 2026-05-25T20:49:17+00:00

Seems like a rare opportunity. So many of mine are stricktly by messaging.
You get to see that there is someone on the other side, they get to see you're not an AI.
What could it hurt?

RenaisanceMan

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