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How a 57-Year Old Air Traffic Controller Became an Audiobook Superstar

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  • Tia Marlier January 12, 2015, 11:56 am

    This was really insightful – thanks Dan! I’m already on your email list. Looking forward to the next videos about this subject. When might another ACX Master Class be happening?

  • Tia Marlier January 12, 2015, 12:11 pm

    This was really insightful – thanks Dan! I’m already on your email list. Looking forward to the next videos about this subject. When might another ACX Master Class be happening?

  • Larry Miller January 12, 2015, 7:30 am

    Dan, I’m intrigued about your ACX Masterclass. Your grads are getting booked — a lot! By independent authors on ACX, I presume. But is anyone making real money doing this? I’m not on ACX. I did an audiobook pre ACX and was paid fairly for it. It was a big studio production for a big publisher. But under the risk sharing model, is anyone getting paid?

  • Kay Shelton January 12, 2015, 8:00 am

    Great video. I especially like the fact that several of your students agree that the editing part is no big deal!

  • Rich Peterson January 12, 2015, 4:57 pm

    Nice. Looking forward to the next video

  • Dick Marendt January 12, 2015, 9:30 am

    As the great marketer you are, you’ve left me wanting to know more. Now! Eager to receive the next installment. Really. No joke.

  • Tom Darrah January 12, 2015, 9:59 am

    Dan:

    1. How much does this course cost?

    2. Are the classes conducted strictly online?

    TD

  • Don Colasurd Jr. January 12, 2015, 6:07 pm

    This is what its like. Love it, great job

  • Dirk Thompson Hunt January 12, 2015, 10:15 am

    Great video Dan. Can’t wait for more information.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 10:59 am

    @Larry Miller Yes, some people definitely are doing well with Royalty Share. Most aren’t, because they don’t research the authors & titles before deciding whether to accept an offer. In our next video, you’ll hear from one of our students who had a Royalty Share on what became a best seller.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 11:02 am

    @Kay Shelton Glad to hear that! It’s so frustrating to hear a few people trying to scare voice actors away from audiobook narration because “the editing takes so long, is so awful, etc.” I’ll go into more detail regarding editing in our next video.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 11:04 am

    @Dick Marendt Oh, pshaw! Thanks for the compliment…and for saving the day 13 years ago when the A/V didn’t work at my Arkansas Broadcasters Association Convention session.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 11:11 am

    @Tom Darrah Great to hear from an old OBITS/O’LINERS subscriber!

    Answer to Question #1:
    A) How much you got?
    B) Okay, seriously…We’ll wait for all the class details to be made public before publicly announcing the tuition cost.

    Answer to Question #2:
    Yes and no. We teach via live teleseminar classes (teleseminar = “great big telephone conference call;” all you need is a telephone). I guess you really can’t call the teleseminar classes “online” — unless, perhaps, you’re calling via Skype.

    But all the class calls are recorded and everyone gets mp3s of everything. So if someone can’t make a class live, they’re covered. While most students do attend most or all of the calls, there always are some who never can make the live call and instead wait for the mp3s a few hours later.

    There’s also a whole bunch o’ video training that demonstrates any element that someone might find even a little bit confusing, all of which is delivered online and “on demand” for students to access whenever they wish.

  • J Rodney Turner January 12, 2015, 11:22 am

    wow, Dan, you made me lol a lot cooler than I really am

    …and, we do first grade homework now 🙂

  • Tanya January 12, 2015, 11:38 am

    I’m very intrigued and look forward to the next two videos. A couple of questions: are you saying the audio editing software is free and, if so, why does ACX recommend Pro Tools, Audacity, etc.? Also, are you advocating the punch and roll method of editing or do you leave any room for those of us who might want to use TwistedWave?

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 12:20 pm

    @J Rodney My understanding is your daughter now is doing first grade homework, but you’re still trying to tackle the kindergarten work.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 12:29 pm

    @Tanya I assume ACX recommends a variety of software as an aid for people who don’t know anything about audio recording and editing. Audacity, by the way, is free.

    are you advocating the punch and roll method of editing

    We teach a much faster way of editing audiobooks than the traditional punch & roll method.

    Of course, you can edit any way you choose. But narrators/producers who stick with the traditional punch & roll also tend be the people who complain about how awful the editing process is.

    I’ll make sure spend more time discussing audiobook editing in our next video.

  • Jennie January 12, 2015, 2:28 pm

    Was anxiously waiting for the next class to start and after watching the video that desire has only escalated.

    Cheers!

  • Marc Gold January 12, 2015, 4:48 pm

    Well, this certainly seems like something worth pursuing. I went ahead and joined the email list so I’ll know when the next video is up, but I was wondering when you think you might offer the class itself again. Hopefully it’ll be sometime relatively soon. I just started out as a professional voice over talent, so I’m trying to jump at every opportunity to get ahead that I can.

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 4:57 pm

    @Marc Gold: We’ll be offering the class just once in 2015…very soon. Glad to hear you joined the mailing list, so you’ll be notified of each video…

    …and you’ll also receive advance notification of when we’re about to open registration. (So if we sell out, you’ll be there early enough to get in.)

    Thanks

  • Dan O'Day January 12, 2015, 4:58 pm

    @Jennie: Escalating people’s desire is what we’re all about. (Okay, guys, that’s just a small joke.)

    Looking forward to having you in our class!

  • Rich Peterson January 13, 2015, 8:53 am

    Nice. Looking forward to the next video

  • Cynthia January 13, 2015, 5:57 pm

    I’m interested in learning more, Dan . When I retired as an elementary school administrator in 2013, I announced I wanted to combine my love for reading to others with my experience as a broadcasting technician. As a result of many years in both professions, I have neither a fear of editing voice nor reading aloud. My fear is not being successful because I’m unable to create an ideal environment in which to record. I live in an apartment in an urban area, and I can hear the sirens and subway, with the windows closed, two blocks from where I live. Does your course also include a way to build a studio without ‘spending an arm and a leg’?

  • Dan O'Day January 13, 2015, 10:32 pm

    @Cynthia: Although in our class we do explore various methods of blocking out unwanted noise, the environment you describe sounds as though it would be very difficult in which to record audiobooks…regardless of how much you spend on your in-home studio.

  • Shann D Ruggles January 14, 2015, 8:56 am

    I have Never Conceived of Anything Like This Before. I Always Thought That People Who Read For AudioBooks Were Some Kind of Etherical Quality, Unreachable Types Who Didn’t Circulate in Mainstream Society..

  • Shann D Ruggles January 14, 2015, 12:42 pm

    I have Never Conceived of Anything Like This Before. I Always Thought That People Who Read For AudioBooks Were Some Kind of Etherical Quality, Unreachable Types Who Didn’t Circulate in Mainstream Society..

  • Shann D Ruggles January 14, 2015, 2:01 pm

    I have Never Conceived of Anything Like This Before. I Always Thought That People Who Read For AudioBooks Were Some Kind of Etherical Quality, Unreachable Types Who Didn’t Circulate in Mainstream Society..

  • Shann D Ruggles January 14, 2015, 6:51 pm

    I have Never Conceived of Anything Like This Before. I Always Thought That People Who Read For AudioBooks Were Some Kind of Etherical Quality, Unreachable Types Who Didn’t Circulate in Mainstream Society..

  • Nadja January 16, 2015, 2:55 pm

    Hi Dan,

    Sounds great & I do already have some vo work under my belt (Discovery Education – The Incredible World of Spiders ;-), but my concern mirrors Cynthia’s as I currently live in a studio in Hollywood, limited space & can be noisy, if you could address that in more detail, that would very much be appreciated. Thanks!

  • Dan O'Day January 16, 2015, 3:56 pm

    @Nadja: You definitely need access to a quiet recording space. Harlan Hogan’s Porta-Booth is very helpful for a normal home work environment. Then there are Whisper Rooms, which are pricier.

    But there’s no such thing as “soundproofing” a home or office environment. You can only minimize outside noise. Even with a Whisper Room, when a plane flies directly overhead or an emergency siren wails on the street outside you’re building, you’ll find yourself pausing (and trying very hard to be patient) for the noise to pass.

    When I recorded the video you watched, I’m sure I had to pause a couple of times as a siren or loud motorcycle went by. Otherwise, however, the outside noise from my calm neighborhood wasn’t a problem.

    To be clear: Most ACX audioboook narrators do record from home. But if you’d be recording in a tiny apartment in a noisy building (not unlikely, because “tiny apartment” suggests “lots of neighbors”) in neighborhood that is very noisy round-the-clock…

    Well, this might not be the right time for you to pursue audiobook narrating.

  • Nadja January 16, 2015, 5:39 pm

    Thank you Dan for such a thoughtful response.

  • Shann D Ruggles January 19, 2015, 9:01 am

    I have Never Conceived of Anything Like This Before. I Always Thought That People Who Read For AudioBooks Were Some Kind of Etherical Quality, Unreachable Types Who Didn’t Circulate in Mainstream Society..