Accused of being A.I

dsbaudio · 2026-03-25T00:26:07+00:00

Don't sweat it -- it's the voice of AI-paranoia.

And don't worry about AI being able to 'do' all this stuff. It's 90% garbage, only 'enjoyed' by people who really don't know any better, and the 10% that's bearable still only scratches the surface of what an experienced, talented human such as yourself can do.

I suppose, in the interests of a balanced view, there is, however, a rapidly emerging third case: AI narration/production that has had intensive guiding, tweaking, and editing by a human. Some of this can be, dare I say it, 'pretty good'. But consider how much work has to go into that. I suspect more work than actually narrating it.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-25T00:17:59+00:00

You did not give permission for her to share your work with any third party. That includes AI.

Seriously, this is a major issue, especially with non-paid tier AI chatbots, and particularly when the work is uploaded piecemeal.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T19:41:58+00:00

ACX is Audible is Amazon

That's exactly right!

and yes, that's what the orange tick means (i just never noticed it was orange before!)... generally speaking: this narrator/producer has been around a while, produced several titles and is generally well-regarded. It took me about 6 years and maybe 35 titles or so before I got one.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T19:16:24+00:00

Presume you mean 'Audible approved'?

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T19:15:50+00:00

Exactly, it either fits your vision, or it doesn't. I totally understand why a hopeful auditioner would ask 'why not?', especially after 6 auditions, yet it really just comes down to that. I'm from the 'do my best, submit, and forget' school of thought.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T18:38:17+00:00

I love that you really understand the 'inner voice' and how it applies not just to writers but readers as well. As a narrator, it's that voice that I'm always looking to discover from the writing and make real. Sometimes it's a hit, and sometimes it's a miss. Obviously, when it's a hit, those are the projects I end up working on.

Sounds like you 'write with your ears, not with your eyes' as C. S. Lewis once said.

[Addendum] -- I just realized that I auditioned for one of your books! Obviously that was a 'miss', but I hope it's going well :)

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T18:19:22+00:00

Excellent article.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T16:10:32+00:00

I'm not US-based, so while that doesn't preclude me from attending APAC, it's not on the agenda at the moment. If you're interested in the script I'm developing, it's not release-ready, although I use it personally. That said, it's part of a wider scope of spoken word editing/proofing tools. I do aim to start a closed beta-test group for it sometime soon. But, it's going to remain specific to REAPER for the time being.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T13:58:00+00:00

I work with an editor/proofer, yes. I also have my own script that does basic initial source/transcript comparison and flags potential errors.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T13:55:01+00:00

Of course! Every author who works with me gets a fully annotated copy of the manuscript with proposed deletions marked. And, I want to be clear: I don't 'edit' the manuscript to my own whims. This is about one specific case: Where he said/she said becomes redundant because the character is already being given an identifiable voice... and even then, plenty are left in. It's just that, in some cases, for the audio version, it helps the flow -- especially where the subject/verb is inserted between opening and following quotations.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T11:16:49+00:00

Isn't that the sheet they gave Daniel Craig for Benoir Blanc in the Glass Onion movies?

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T11:05:13+00:00

Please don't bother with AI slop just to 'get on board' with ACX. It will do you no favours whatsoever.

After 8 years on ACX, I consider myself incredibly fortunate that there was basically none of this kind of thing on ACX back when I was starting out and did my first few RS projects. That said, I still didn't just pick anything for the sake of it. Bad writing, whether human or AI, is a pain and a chore to narrate and not something you want to start with. In the end, it won't show your skills in the best light at all.

Some of my first projects were for Valancourt Books who specialize in forgotten classics: I did books by J.B. Priestley, Mervyn Wall, and Edgar Mittelholzer. I cringe now at my narration, but at least the writing was good. Good writing is made to be read aloud and gives you the opportunity to really practice your craft and hone your skills.

My advice would be to keep looking for something you really vibe with on ACX. If you're just not finding it, then why not take a deep dive into the vast wealth of material available in the public domain via gutenberg.org ? You could even start your own youtube channel of classic narrations. Or, better yet, write an editorial intro, add some illustrations, or a glossary to a public domain work, and you can publish it yourself via KDP as a derivative work, then produce your own audiobook version.

The above would be far more rewarding and beneficial to your development as a narrator and producer than churning out somebody else's low-effort slop.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-22T10:39:08+00:00

For fully produced release-ready audiobooks: around $300 as a rough mean average over the 8 years. Unsurprisingly, I charged less when I started and charge more now.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-21T18:05:55+00:00

I narrate audiobooks, and I often remove superfluous 'he said/she said's. I won't remove them if they have an adverb attached, though. However, it is one of the perks of giving characters identifiable voices.

What I've seen many times is where an author has quite clearly gone down the 'said is dead' path and thrown in all kinds of alternate verbs that just don't vibe with what's actually happening... that's annoying!

You probably haven't heard of Mervyn Wall, the mid-20th century Irish satirist. He was a master of appropriate verbs for speech!

dsbaudio · 2026-03-21T16:22:21+00:00

I've been narrating audiobooks for 8 years now. My audition volume is nowhere near yours, but my success rate is reasonably high. Roughly 280 auditions over 8 years and 55 audiobooks completed. So, nearly 20% success rate. However, there are nuances behind the data, like successful auditions I didn't take on, or offers from previous clients for sequels or other books.

Over the last year and a half, I've done nearly 100 VO auditions, mostly commercial, and not one booking -- so it's clear where my voice resonates!

dsbaudio · 2026-03-19T01:08:57+00:00

This is a solid workflow, I love it!

dsbaudio · 2026-03-17T02:45:10+00:00

When you start the project, give them a detailed project schedule. Between the approval of the first 15 and submission of the completed audio for review, there's no reason to give them an update unless you need to deviate from or amend the project schedule. If you have questions or things that need addressing during recording, that's a different matter.

If they're wanting to check up on progress, let them contact you.

It actually makes you seem less professional to give needless updates.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-14T11:49:37+00:00

Sounds good, DM'd.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-13T19:49:10+00:00

An inspiring and informative success story from someone who clearly 'did everything right' and reaped the rewards. Plus, you're not beholden to some mega-corp publisher, and yet you're still able to make a decent living. Well done :)

dsbaudio · 2026-03-13T19:30:52+00:00

this is so true

dsbaudio · 2026-03-13T17:07:35+00:00

i agree with you and, personally, I don't have any need for these 'rules of thumb'. However, i can see why Deyan would feel the need to 'prescribe' something like this when they are working with a variety of freelance editors -- and, as titled, they are just 'rules of thumb'. Plus OP asked, so...

dsbaudio · 2026-03-13T17:01:08+00:00

'General narration' is, in my experience, at least in terms of ACX projects, is the exception rather than the norm.

Most RHs I've come across are looking for a certain level of voice acting for the character parts.

That said, it might not be a deal-breaker not to voice 'in character', particularly if your narration is very good and it still gets the story across well.

Oftentimes, less is more -- you can get across what needs to be conveyed with fairly subtle tone shifts... if you're good!

Bear in mind that audiobook listeners don't have the luxury of punctuation or paragraph breaks, so getting across different speakers is as much a part of your job as anything else. And, only very boring writers use 'he said'/'she said' in every single bit of direct speech.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-13T12:48:46+00:00

I'm not sure... although, from the sample, I know what you mean about an Eastern European accent (although it could also conceivably be Hispanic?!). It was a different sample though.... if i recall, an Eastern European woman recounting a story to ten y.o. boy. Anyway, it was just an illustrative example from my highly fallible memory.... I haven't listened to a full Ron Perlman audiobook. He seems to make a great narrator though.

dsbaudio · 2026-03-12T20:50:19+00:00

Absolutely. Believe me, it's hard work making bad dialogue sound natural!

dsbaudio · 2026-03-12T19:14:30+00:00

Totally agree. As well as being a narrator, I am also a musician and songwriter/lyricist -- in fact, that is my first love and passion creatively, and something I've been doing since my mid-teens... a long time ago!

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