Audiobook Narration

I love bringing book babies to life, and once I started with one, I kept wanting to narrate the next one, and getting better with every take, upgrading my space, getting studio coaching, listening to my favorite narrators like Jennifer O’Donnell, Eileen Stevens, Rebecca Soler, and Saskia Maarleveld, learning more and more about what will make the books better!

What may have started as an endeavor to bring my own books to life, turned into a new career! I can’t get enough of it, and I can’t tell you how excited it makes me to have authors give me feedback about how much emotion they felt in my adaptation and that they even got teary eyed! Melt my heart, that is what makes this job so wonderful!

As a mom, sometimes all the time we get to read a book is through audio in the car, on a run, or before bed, and I love that I can bring more stories to all kinds of readers! From moms to ESL readers and all the fantasy adventure lovers in between.

Audiobook Genres: Fantasy/Sci-fi Adventures and Romance both Adult and YA

Completed Audiobooks:

Demo/Samples of published works

Categories: Fantasy Adventure & Romance

Reviews:

“Stevie Marie was a pretty solid, clearly spoken narrator. Fully enjoyed the audio narration as well!” – Athena (Amazon Reviewer of The Witches of Crannock Dale by Thomas M. Kane.)

“…really love it so far! The other narrator did some neat voices but she didn’t have the emotion you have. There have been times when I got teary eyed. I’ll definitely want you to do the rest.” – Laura (Author of The Burden of Destiny)

“Stevie Marie’s use of different accents in her voice made the characters come to life in a way that I could visualize a cockney or hilt to the different characters.” – Sarah P (5-star Amazon Reviewer of City of Light by Darren Deegan)

“The narrator Stevie Marie is also the author of this book, and although this doesn’t always work in this instance it does as she was able to imbue just the right amount of humour or pathos into the story and brought it to life beautifully.” – Tricia Goodreads Review of Kingdom of Acatalec Audiobook

“…the narration offers a lot of additional information about the characters and the feelings that they are living. Thanks to the involvement of the author with this audio production, S.M. McCoy, a.k.a. Stevie Marie, delivers a quiet, balanced, and entertaining performance. She reads softly, she infuses the events with emotion just at the right time, and she brings these characters to life in a natural and credible manner.” — Review: Kingdom of Acatalec by S.M. McCoy | the Audiobook Blog by Victor Dima from The Audiobook Blog.

Awards!

2024 N.N. Light Book Award Winner for Audiobook Category for Taking Medusa Narration

2024 Speak Up Talk Radio FireBird Book Award Winner for Taking Medusa

Studio Stats:

Equipment

CODN Recording Microphone Isolation Shield with Pop Filter, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

Microphone

Neumann TLM 102 Condenser

Software

Adobe Audition

Studio

My studio has been upgraded to a WhisperRoom with AudiMute paneling, along with high quality 4″ thick ATS Acoustic panels strategically placed to provide a great space for getting the best raw sound! I record using punch and roll for cleaner edits, and even had my studio evaluated with Jim Edgar to fine tune my mastering processes and space. I continually strive to improve my skills with each narration and take pride in bringing more book babies to life.

You can find me with ACX.com (Amazon Audible)

Please keep in mind you should be logged into your author/producer’s ACX account before clicking on these links for my profile as they won’t show up otherwise.

• https://www.acx.com/narrator?p=A3C6UTUJP3C8BW
• Or Email me to request an audition for your book: steviemarieactress @gmail.com

Things to include in your 5-minute audition request:

*Around 600 words or less from your book (pick a scene that has a few characters, or a good feel for your book, think, ‘what would I use for a sample to intrigue people to read my book’)

*Have particular pronunciations for your character names or fantasy places? – include how you want those to sound phonetically —> example Kala (KAW-LAH) or (KAY-LAW) (Eh sound or Aw sound for the letter ‘A’, or long vowel or short vowel, AWW verses AH)

*Have a particular style you’re going for? You want your character to sound a certain way?

Booming, Breathy, Bright, high energy, soft spoken, defiant, snarky, deep, clear, gritty, tough, gravelly, cranky, flighty, authoritative, casual, or clipped, etc.

What age group? Young Adult- preteen, or teen, Adult

*Timeframe – Do you have a deadline?

Keep in mind producing an audiobook can take 4-6 hours to complete 1 finished audio hour. And an average of 8,500 thousand words per finished hour. (and around only a couple hours a day of viable recording time before the voice gets gravelly whether you intend it to or not) That being said the fastest an audiobook can usually be expected to be done is 1 month, but plan ahead as most narrators are booking their projects months in advance, this time frame can be longer or shorter with other projects rolling, and the length of your book. Plan ahead (smiley face) and book your narrator sooner rather than later, even if it isn’t with me.

EXAMPLE: Kingdom of Acatalec was an 85k Sci-Fi Fantasy Adventure with 10 hours 20 minutes of finished audio hours. That’s 8,228 words per finished audio hour.

EXAMPLE: Thomas M. Kane’s Epic YA Fantasy around 97K was 11 hours 48 minutes which is around 8,220 words per finished audio hour.

*Pricing ranges from project to project: sometimes it involves royalty shares, or lump sum, or PFH (Per Finished Hour) Rates. Current rate is $200 PFH + $50 PFH for sound engineer mastering fees. (Discounts available for booking a series/multiple books, or for referrals.) That’s around $25 an hour for my narration time, plus $35 an hour for sound engineering, and $15 an hour for a proof listening.

*Royalty Shares on Audible are Royalty PLUS $50/PFH to pay for mastering and proof listening.

A 50k book will run around 6 hours of finished audio

I narrate solely for Fantasy/Sci-fi/Romance Genres. If your books do not fit in this category, that’s okay, but I’m not the best choice for your book baby. I’m selective about what I choose to narrate, because it is a labor of love, and time that I spend narrating a book means I’m not writing or narrating my own books. I LOVE narrating for indie authors, so if you like my sound and want me to bring your book to life, contact me with an audition request!

To a beautiful new adventure!

Email me at: steviemarieactress at gmail dot com or ADD me as a narrator in ACX to audition for your book!

How to add a narrator in ACX:

First go to “my projects” and “claim your title”

Choose how you’re producing your audiobook: “I’m looking for someone to narrate and produce my audiobook”

Click continue.

Agree to their terms

Fill out your book details, and on option 5, you’ll choose “No, I already have selected my narrator and would like to make an offer right away”

After you add book information, you’ll finally get to the part where you can “Make an Offer”

Click “or, enter the name of the producer you’d like to work with.”

Then find producer by adding my name “Stevie Marie”

Then enter in “How will you pay your producer” Royalty or Per Finished Hour based on the agreed amount I’ve stated above (either $250/PFH Flat fee or Royalty Plus $50/PFH)

Fill out check point dates for completion of audiobook and click submit. (This would be an agreed upon date of completion, please be aware that I narrate part-time, and it is unlikely that I can complete a book adaptation within 1 month of being hired, give ample time for completion.)

That’s how you Add a Producer to ACX! Chat later! And let the magic begin!