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EJ’s Journey into Voice Over English Version Season 4 Episode 10
Episode Title: [ How does a person make a living at this profession? ]
Host(s): ej
Music Intro fades in: Music provided by NEFEX
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Intro track fade In -
Welcome to EJ’s voice over journey where the mic is always on and the learning never stops.
I'm EJ, a voice actor journeying through the world of voiceover — from auditions and coaching to client work. Whether you’re just starting out on your voice acting path or already deep into the journey, this podcast shares real experiences, lessons, laughs, and challenges straight from inside the booth. Let’s bring scripts to life — together — with heart and soul!"**
EJ no seiyuu no tabi e yōkoso
koko wa, maiku wa itsumo on, manabi wa tomaranai podcast desu.
Watashi wa EJ, audishon kara kōchingu, kuraianto no shigoto made,
Seiyuu no sekai wo tabi suru seiyuu desu.
Anata ga seiyuu no michi wo aruki-hajimeta bakari demo, mōtto fukai tokoro made kita hito demo, kono podcast dewa, booth no naka kara takusan no kei ken, manabi, warai ya chōsen wo kyōyū shimasu.
Issho ni, daihon ni inochi to tamashii wo fukikomi mashō!
Intro track fades out content starts
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Segment 1: [ Start at the start / ]
This is another good question and an important one. You do work then you want to get paid. Think about it this way, you record an audiobook of 50000 words. It takes you an hour to read one chapter. You then spend 4 hours editing that one chapter. I dropped a prompt in Gemini asking the average number of chapters in 50,000 word book. “A 50,000-word book typically contains 12 to 25 chapters, averaging about 2,000 to 4,000 words per chapter. However, chapter count varies widely based on pacing, style, and genre”. So that’s a lot of work for you.
Kore wa ii shitsumon desu ne. Sore ni, juuyou na shitsumon desu. Moshi shigoto shimashita node Hooshu o moraitai desu. Go-man kotoba rokuon shimashita. Rokuon 1ji kan dai isshou desu. Goman-go no hon wa heikin nan-shou ka, Gemini ni kikimashita. Gemini wa jyuu-ni kara nijyuu-go made gurai. Shikashi, shou-suu wa peesu, sutairu, janru ni yotte kakarimasu. Sore wa anata ni to tte takusan no shigoto desu ne.
- You must edit the track for pacing / Peesu no tame ni, torakku o henshuu shinakereba narimasen.
- You must edit the track for mistakes even if you use punch and roll / Panchi ando rooru o tsukatte mo, machigai no tame ni torakku o henshuu shinakereba narimasen.
- You must edit the track for unintended sounds like a cat meowing, lawn mowers running etc.. Unless of course you rent a booth. / Mochiron buusu o karite iru baai wa別 desu ga, neko no nakigoe ya shibakari-ki no oto nado, ito shitenai zatsuon o henshuu shite nozoku hitsuyou ga arimasu.
- You must edit the track to make sure what you read is understandable and the context of the passages remains as the author intended. Is this passage supposed to make you laugh, be introspective or make you go “hmmmm”? / Yonda koto ga rikai dekite, bunshou no bunmyaku ga sakusha no ito doori ni tamatareru yuu ni, torakku o henshuu shinakereba narimasen. Kono bunshou wa warawaseru tame no mono desu ka,内省(naisei) saseru tame no mono desu ka, sore tomo "hmmm" to kangaekomaseru tame no mono desu ka?
So as listed above a lot of work and attention to detail. This attention to detail prevents you from doing other projects like commercials that can pay quicker and you can do more often. You need to block out time and create a work flow like recording in the morning when your voice is fresh or some other time when conditions are better like midnight to morning. Then you edit either right after or later letting your brain relax and move from performing mode to critiquing mode. Everyone has their own work flow so you will need to find yours.
Komakai chūi ga takusan kakarimasu. Kono shigoto wa, CM nado no hoka no purojekuto o suru no o sabatageru koto ni narimasu. CM wa Yori hinpan ni shiharamasui. Wākufurō to jikan o yori kōritsu-teki ni kanri suru hitsuyō ga arimasu. Asa ni rokuon shite, gogo ni henshuu suru to ii desu yo.
Segment 2: [ Costs / ]
So to figure the cost you need a formula that can be reused and is standard. I used Gemini to help create mine.
Kuraianto no kosuto o keisan suru supureddoshiito no koushiki o tsukuru tame ni, Gemini de puronputo o tsukurimashita.
When an uninitiated author or client hears the cost they often think you are charging them hundreds or thousands of dollars for a couple days of easy reading. They don't realize that a 50,000-word book is around 8+ finished hours, which translates to roughly 35+ actual hours of hard studio labor once you factor in narration, proofing, editing, and mastering—plus the platform fees. Sending an itemized template can be the right move; it anchors you as a professional business, even if this specific client may not have the budget. Keep in mind you must know when to send that estimate and always make sure you prepare them for when this estimate is coming.
Here is a clear, step-by-step framework built for your podcast, your Substack, and your spreadsheet.
Kurainto ga zukudansu wa rokuon arimasu. Demo Kurainto ga wakarimasen. Wareware wa kurainto e setsumei shinakereba narimasen. Kuraianto wa, hon o yomu dake de owaru kara kantan da to omotte imasu. Karera wa, goman-go no hon ga yaku hachi-jikan ijou no完成(kansei) onsei ni nari, narēshon, kourou, henshuu, masutaringu, sani purattofōmu tesūryou mo kouryo suru to, jissai wa studio de yaku sanjuu-go-jikan ijou no kaishin no roudou ni naru koto o wakarimasen. Koubetsu no uchiwake tsuite no tenpurēto o send-suru (or sonfu-suru) koto wa, tadashii sentaku ni naru kamo shirenai desu. Kono kuraianto ni yosan ga nai to shite mo, pro no birudo to shite anata no tachiichi o kakuritsu dekimasu. Itsu sono mitsumori-sho o sonfu suru (or send-suru) beki ka o shiri, tsune ni mitsumori-sho ga itsu todoku ka o kuraianto ni junbi sasetai koto o oboete ite kudasai. Koko ni, anata no podokkasto, Substack, sore ni supureddoshiito no tame ni tsukurareta, meikaku de suteppu-bai-suteppu na furēmuwāku ga arimasu. Sore wa toransukuriputo ni arimasu. Watashi wa nihongo ni honyaku shimasen ga, Gemini ni irereba, kanari umaku honyaku shite kureru hazu desu.
1. The Podcast & Transcript Script (Audio-Friendly Explanation)
When explaining math on a podcast, the key is to talk through the logic before dropping the numbers so the listener doesn't get lost in "math soup."
Host Script:
"Whenever people ask me, 'How do you actually price an audiobook as a narrator and producer?' I tell them it boils down to four simple steps: Volume, Base Rate, Mastering, and Platform Adjustment.
Here is the exact formula I use:
- Step 1: Calculate Finished Hours. We take the total word count and divide it by 9,000. That’s the industry average for finished audio hours. So, a 122,000-word book is about 13.5 finished hours.
- Step 2: Apply the Base Narration Rate. Multiply those finished hours by your base rate—in my case, $200 per finished hour.
- Step 3: Add Mastering or Post-Production. If you are editing and mastering the audio yourself or hiring an engineer, you add that post-production cost per finished hour.
- Step 4: The Platform Markup. Some Pay to Play Platforms like Voices.com take a commission—often around 20%. To ensure you actually make your target rate, you take your total base cost and divide it by 0.80.
When you put it all together, the equation sounds like this:
$$\text{Total Client Price} = \frac{\le
Thanks for your time.
The music:
Intro NEFEX Changing found on Youtube Music
Outro NEFEX What you gonna be found on Youtube Music
https://www.neffexmusic.com/content-creators
Hopefully you have access to the feed back link.
More of what I do
linktr.ee/ericrjones
https://substack.com/@thevoicetraveler
Audio Technica
https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/microphones/wired/best-for/broadcast/at875r
Focusrite
https://us.focusrite.com/vocaster
Electro Voice:
https://products.electrovoice.com/na/en/re20/
Rode Microphones:
https://rode.com/en/microphones/studio-condenser/nt1a
Our Voice on Demand:
https://www.ourvoiceondemand.com/
Podmatch:
https://community.podmatch.com/share/HX4JU5gfcrJ9wnQe?utm_source=manual
[email protected]
