How many voices does an audiobook need?
Count the parts that carry real dialogue, not every character who speaks once. Most novels are well served by one narrator; books whose scenes turn on argument between two or three principals earn a small cast.
Work it out yourself, free
The Cast List →Free: paste a scene and every speaking part is named, weighed by its share of dialogue, and counted into the voices your build needs.
Deciding from your own pages
Weigh each speaking part by the share of dialogue it carries. A part holding under a few per cent of the spoken lines rarely justifies its own voice; the narrator can hold it without confusing a listener.
Where two principals trade long exchanges, a second voice stops the listener from doing the work of telling them apart.
What voices cost
Voices are priced at 1% of the word count for every 2 voices, and blocks always round up — three voices is charged as two blocks.
The rate is identical on the film edition and the audio edition, and it is always drawn off the word count rather than off the base price.
Casting before recording
The registers of this house can be heard before any of them is hired. Listen first, cast second, record third — recasting after a recording is the most expensive kind of change there is.
Asked and answered
- Is a full cast audiobook better?
- Better only where the book's scenes turn on exchange. A single strong register beats a crowded cast in a book carried by interior narration.
- How much do extra voices cost?
- 1% of the word count per 2 voices, rounded up to the next block.
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