A FEW AUDIOBOOK COMPANIES

Spoken World Audio.com

We hope you've enjoyed your visit to our home on the web, and maybe even bought a few of our wares. As you have no doubt gathered, we are open and eager to speak with anyone equally passionate about audiobooks and radio productions. So, do please get in touch and say hi...tell us what you like, what you'd like to see more of, if you have something for us to produce or sell, or if you have a voice just screaming out to be part of our audio world. here's the who and how:

General Enquiries

info@spokenworldaudio.com

Customers/Downloads

downloads@spokenworldaudio.com

Suppliers

suppliers@spokenworldaudio.com

Authors/Readers/Publishers/Volunteers

getinvolved@spokenworldaudio.com

Postal Address

We much prefer electronic communications (including scripts and showreels) but if you simply MUST send us something by mail then here's the address:

Spokenworld Audio Ltd, 17 Leicester Road, East Croydon, Surrey. CR0 6EB

Strathmore Publishing

Strathmore Publishing began in 1995 offering editorial and production services to authors and publishers, but soon added audiobooks, and then over nearly fifteen years has become a one-stop shop for communications of all kinds. We provide writing, editorial and production services in both printed and sound media for everything from 10-minute keynote speeches to 400-page books, DVDs, 30-second ads for national radio, podcasts, building and exhibition signage, guidebooks, magazine ads and conference presentations.

Our staff have backgrounds in book publishing, radio and television, teaching and music, and we have an address book which allows us to offer expertise in all the other things you need for effective communication – photographers, composers, instrumentalists, readers, picture researchers, editors, indexers, abridgers, scriptwriters, speechwriters, illustrators, artists.

Our clients include the Orion Publishing Group, Random House, Faber & Faber, Penguin Books, Quercus, Simon & Schuster, City & Guilds, the British Library, the British Museum and Dulwich College, but we have also worked for a wide range of private individuals and smaller organisations. What our clients have in common is that they want a personal, adaptable service which knows how to source an unusually diverse range of talents, resources and products.

We have a state-of-the-art studio in Clerkenwell where we record most

of our own productions. It is available for hire at competitive rates and many independent producers have used it for audiobooks and radio programmes.

address:

41 Kingsway Place

Sans Walk

Clerkenwell

London EC1R 0LU

telephone: 020 7324 0100

fax: 020 7324 0105

contacts:

Nicholas Jones (managing director) nj[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Elspeth McPherson (production director) em[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Talitha Minchin (design and print manager) tm[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Susan Slade (administration manager) ss[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Tessa Trench (administrative assistant) tt[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Jordan Killiard (engineer) jk[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Pat Saunders (office manager and director) ps[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

Jenny Leow (producer) jl[at]strathmorepublishing.co.uk

WHITE HOUSE SOUND LTD

- Audio Books and Voice over specialists

White House Sound, has over 40 years experience in the sound recording business, and supported by the combined knowledge of the company's industry-leading Producers and Engineers, we promise the most competitive and quality guaranteed product available from any independent studio.

WHITE HOUSE SOUND can provide:

Audio Book Recording for Adult and Children's literature

Audio Book Pre and Post Production

Voice Over Recording with Pre and Post Production if required

Corporate Systems e.g. Telephone Answering & Alarm Systems

Music and Sound Effects to complement recordings

Casting of Narrators and Voice Over Artists

Mastering to CD - DVD - Computer

Post Production Proof Reading & Digital Editing

Voice to Vision - Film & Animation

In-House Duplication of Audio DVDs, CDs, Cassettes - On body printing included

WHITE HOUSE SOUND offers the complete package from start to finish, using the very latest digital equipment and recording techniques in a professional, comfortable and pleasant setting. The recording suites are spacious and can accommodate more than one person, with the largest capable of hosting up to a maximum of six people at any one time.

White House Sound Ltd

24a - 26 Brookfield Street

Syston

Leicester LE7 2AD

Studio Phone: 0116 2609401

Studio Fax: 0116 2605401

Email: info@whitehousesound.co.uk

Michael F. Hester - Managing Director

Kay I. Hester - Director & Company Secretary

Mark Graham Anderson - Director & Technical Advisor

Carolyn Oldershaw - Senior Producer

Peter Monk - Senior Engineer

Voiceover Tips

 Get a GOOD demo together. The best demos will have work thats already been broadcast.  First impressions last! If you send out a weak demo you might not get a 2nd chance

 Do listen & learn from other voiceovers on radio and TV. Ask yourself "can I do it like that?"

 Record yourself and ask yourself if your voice and style is suitable for that brand.

 Did it take you 20 takes to get it right? If it did, clients might not call you back. Learn to be efficient.  Be prepared to work under pressure. More and jobs these days are last minute.  Be available. Your own studio and quality equipment will make you more desirable.

 Have a good attitude. It's the best job in the world. A good reputation will work wonders for you.  To make the most of the industry seriously consider working full time.

 Are you prepared to wait to be paid? You will have to learn to be patient!

 And the best tip? Respect and enjoy the freedom of working for yourself.

Thank you to Guy Harris for these tips - www.voiceoverguy.co.uk More hints and tips at www.thepips.co.uk

Voiceover Demo Advice

Demo NOT

Twitter--

(From the Voice123 staff)

I would like to quickly mention: What is NOT a demo?

A fast recording done at your desk, and edited with online software.
An announcement of what you plan to do in the industry.
‘Spoken word’ and poetry recordings.
A statement of who you are, and why you want to be in voice overs.
Recording something on your mobile phone in a closet.

I get this out of the way because since March 2009, a date I began keeping records as to ‘how many’ demos were approved/disapproved during quality assurance at my job, I realised I had listened to over 60,000 demos.

I began working for an online casting website in July 2007, and at that time did Quality Assurance by myself for the next year and a half, 10 hours a day. Even though I really sympathise with those who want to be in voice overs, and do not know how to get their first demo, it still needs to be done the professional way, if one is expected to have any chance of getting work.

You would never see a chef serve canned ravioli while stating, ‘Don’t worry. This is just for now, until I get out of cooking school’, and you should not do the same to yourself as a voice artist. Why? A poorly made demo has the following affect on those listening:

Makes clients feel bad for you
Makes clients annoyed
Gives them a reason to keep searching
Gives them a reason to remember not to look for you again
Serves as one big 24-hours a day/7-days a week campaign announcing you are not ready

When the idea of reading a sample script and recording it comes to my mind, just remember this is a way to “practice”. Practice recordings rank up there with a filmmaker recording a dog on a skateboard and uploading it to Youtube.

It is not a professional representation of your work. Even if you did something to get many listens, views, etc., it will be short-lived publicity for the wrong reasons.

Radio Journalist

Journalist Tips – Helping you take the next step in radio

One of the most competitive roles in radio is that of Broadcast Journalist. There are a good number of Broadcast Journalism courses right across the UK and that means every year there is an influx of new journalists that wish to work in radio.

Below are a number of tips from Liz Summers, a broadcast journalist with five years experience in broadcasting plus a BJTC accredited MA in TV Journalism and a BA (hons) in Media Studies. Liz has worked for a number of different radio stations across the UK and is currently reading the news on the breakfast show at Heart Cambridge.

If you’re sending off CV’s to stations make sure your spelling and grammar are perfect. If you can’t get those things right editors will conclude that you won’t make a very good journalist!

Find out the name of the News Editor at the station you’re contacting. I’ve known editors to throw brilliant CV’s straight into the bin even before reading them just because the covering letter wasn’t specifically addressed to them.

Take time to construct an exceptional CV that will make you stand out from the hundreds of other people wanting a job. Ask media professionals, friends and family for advice – think of yourself as a brand and sell yourself but don’t come across as arrogant.

Read, listen and watch the news every day – you need to live and breath news and current affairs.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you’re learning, journalists should be confident and inquisitive.

Take on board constructive criticism from those that you respect BUT learn to brush off negativity from others – you need a thick skin in journalism.

Print off radio news bulletins from the internet and practice reading them to yourself and others.

Listen to the way newsreaders on TV and radio use pitch and tone to add light and shade to a story.

Get as much work experience as possible. Not only will you learn a lot, you’ll also meet the right people. Everyone has a degree these days – you need something to give you an edge.

Don’t expect the work to come to you just because you’ve done a degree!You need to be VERY self motivated. Make a list of the companies you’d like to work for and write specific covering letters and CV’s for them – remember for every job that is advertised you’ll be competing against lots of other journalists. Create your own opportunities, don’t wait for them to come to you and you’ll get where you want to be a lot quicker!

DON’T GIVE UP!!!!! I know you’ve heard it a million times but seriously if at first you don’t succeed try, try, try again. Passion and determination will take you far and I’m a big believer that hard work is never wasted even if it doesn’t seem like it immediately.

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