Interview with Sean Pratt: Audiobook Narrator and Coach
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Today\\u2019s episode is an interview with Sean Pratt.\\xa0 We know one another because he was my non-fiction audiobook narration coach.
Sean Pratt has been a working actor for over 30 years. He has been an audiobook narrator for 25 years (aka \\u2013 Lloyd James), recording over 1,000 books in almost every genre and has received 8 AudioFile Magazine \\u201cEarphones\\u201d awards, 3 SOVAS nominations,\\xa0 and 5 \\u201cAudie\\u201d nominations from the Audio Publishers Association. \\xa0
Sean is also the author of \\u201c To Be or Wanna Be \\u2013 The Top Ten Differences between a Successful Actor and a Starving Artist,\\u201d an actor\\u2019s how-to book that talks about approaches and behaviors that separate a thriving actor from a starving artist.
Currently, Sean coaches performers on audiobook narration technique, as well as teaching classes on and writes articles about the business of the Biz. www.seanprattpresents.com
Mentioned in this episode
Website - http://seanprattpresents.com \\xa0
Twitter - @SPPresents
Instagram - @SPPresents
Facebook - Sean Pratt Presents\\xa0
LinkedIn - Sean Pratt
Kenny Pappaconstantinou linkedin.com/in/kennypmusic, elephantaudiobooks.com\\xa0\\xa0
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel A. van Der Kolk
The Death of Expertise:\\xa0 The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters by Tom Nichols
Highlights from the interview
Sean uses his voice to educate and entertain. \\xa0
Sean coaches two different types of narrators:\\xa0 authors narrating their own book(s) and professional audiobook narrators.\\xa0 He commented on both types of narration coaching during the interview.
How did Sean get started training authors to narrate their audiobooks?\\xa0 He was already training authors to narrate their own books.\\xa0 Then, he got the opportunity to do even more of that when Kenny Pappaconstantinou from Elephant Audiobooks asked Sean to train authors to perform their own books.\\xa0 Sean teaches authors how to give the best possible performance.
A narrator needs to consider:\\xa0 Is the performance entertaining?\\xa0 Does it hold the listener\\u2019s attention?\\xa0 Will the listener give you a poor review because the performance was bad?\\xa0 Will the listener return the book?\\xa0 Bad reviews can affect an author\\u2019s career.\\xa0 Casting the right person to narrate an audiobook is important!
What do authors who are narrators need to learn? \\xa0
- Stamina: vocal, physical, and mental stamina are needed to narrate a book.\\xa0 Sean insists authors narrate 2 hours/day to practice. \\xa0
- Rent studio space because of all the different hats a narrator must wear (producer, director, and engineer). It\\u2019s worth the time and money to hire studio space and a director if they can.\\xa0
- Do the \\u201cgap exercise.\\u201d\\xa0 Compare your natural speaking voice to your narration voice.\\xa0 There is a gap there.\\xa0 Try to close the gap.\\xa0 On a scale from 1 to 100, authors should sound >90% entertaining, enthusiastic, and engaging while narrating their own text.
- Authors who are narrators maybe need 1-2 lessons one week apart.\\xa0 They will learn the Gap Exercise, when to breathe, scoring text (entire book), rhythm and melody, basic acting, paragraph colors (color = tone/communicating how they feel about what\\u2019s in the text).
There are several \\u201cvoices\\u201d that must be used in narration:\\xa0 conversational voice, teaching voice, \\u201cvoice of the other,\\u201d and documentary voice.\\xa0 Clarity is part of the entertainment value of non-fiction.\\xa0 The listener can pick up on cues by the type of voice the narrator uses.
How is preparing to be a professional audiobook narrator different from an author preparing to narrate their own book?\\xa0 Professional audiobook narrators need a broad and deep understanding of analyzing the text in order to narrate professionally.\\xa0 Different genres require different approaches.\\xa0 Sean\\u2019s curriculum provides broad exposure to approaching different genres as a narrator.
Audio quality is important.\\xa0 Noises are distracting.\\xa0 Audio quality affects listeners\\u2019 impression of the content in the book (the author\\u2019s idea). \\xa0 Poor audio quality lowers the listener\\u2019s experience.\\xa0 The listener retains less information with bad audio and a poor performance.\\xa0 You know you have a good narrator when your amazon reviews talk about content, not poor audio/bad performance. \\xa0
Audiobooks help authors reach a broader audience.\\xa0 Having an audiobook could have a broader impact on their future as a writer.\\xa0 Opportunities arise for authors who make their books available as audiobooks (ex: speaking engagements).\\xa0 You never know WHO is going to listen to it.\\xa0 It\\u2019s smart for career goals.\\xa0 A Publisher might be interested in picking up the second book if the first was self-published.
Sean knows what it takes to be an engaging and entertaining audiobook narrator.\\xa0 He\\u2019s an effective teacher because he is also a narrator.\\xa0 He has narrated more than 1,000 audiobooks and won several awards.\\xa0 His most recent award is the 2020 AudioFile Magazine \\u201cEarphones\\u201d Award in the category of History & Biography for narrating Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker.\\xa0 It was one of Oprah\\u2019s Book Club books.\\xa0
We discussed Sean\\u2019s change from actor to audiobook narrator and coach.\\xa0 Narrating audiobooks was the next life challenge after acting.\\xa0 Sean likes to evolve.\\xa0 He saw an opportunity to become an audiobook narrator.\\xa0 The current challenge is coaching.\\xa0 Anyone considering a life change needs to consider, \\u201cWill it be satisfying?\\xa0 Will it meet needs I have?\\u201d
Sean has classical theater training.\\xa0 He learned about text analysis, language, voice and diction, breathing, and physical comedy on-the-job.\\xa0 He learned how to approach spoken language like music:\\xa0 melody, rhythm, tempo, and how to speak it so listeners can hear it. \\xa0
In 1996, he was introduced to audiobooks by another actor while working in Washington DC.\\xa0 His first books were fiction.\\xa0 He asked for non-fiction titles and narrated some lengthy ones in the beginning. \\xa0
One of Sean\\u2019s most successful non-fiction audiobooks was The Body Keeps The Score by Van Der Kolk.\\xa0 Sean says there\\u2019s a higher calling in non-fiction audiobooks.\\xa0 He has had a hand in making listeners\\u2019 lives better.\\xa0 Sean has been narrating for 25-26 years.\\xa0 Positive feedback from fans fuels Sean to continue narrating.
Sean started getting serious about non-fiction audiobook coaching 6 years ago (~2015). \\xa0
Sean gave advice for anyone considering a career transition.\\xa0 It\\u2019s easy to live a lifestyle we think we\\u2019re supposed to have.\\xa0 We get handcuffed to it.\\xa0 Then, if our job doesn\\u2019t turn out to be as fulfilling as we thought it would be, we find ourselves stuck, and that\\u2019s a horrible place to be in (feeling emotionally and psychologically calcified).\\xa0 The challenge will be to scale down to open up the space (time and money) to pursue something else and embrace a new challenge.\\xa0 Leaving a full-time job (the devil you know) can be scary.
Sean said, \\u201cLife is way too short to be unhappy.\\u201d\\xa0 If you really want to do something else, find out what it takes to do it.\\xa0 He also said, \\u201cThe only permanent thing in life is change.\\u201d\\xa0 Sean says those who are best able to manage change are the ones looking ahead to the next challenge or opportunity. \\xa0
Sean\\u2019s current challenge is being a nonfiction audiobook narration coach.\\xa0 It\\u2019s unique.\\xa0 He has a curriculum that also includes the business of the business.\\xa0 He has 100 students currently and sees about 23 students/week.\\xa0 He\\u2019s happy with his life, loves teaching, and narrates 25 books/year now instead of 50. \\xa0
Sean wrapped up the interview with some advice for authors thinking of performing their own piece. \\xa0
- Build stamina. \\xa0Read out loud. \\xa0
- Get coaching with Sean or someone else.\\xa0
- Work with an audio engineer and a director in a studio to get the highest-quality audio possible.
- Remember how it can affect your career in the long run. \\xa0
- This could be your gateway to something else. \\xa0