I Have the Best Job: A Guest Post by Audiobook Narrator Rebecca Soler

By Rebecca Soler / October 20, 2023 at 2:03 am

Audiobook $19.99

A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart Series #3)

By Stephanie Garber
Narrated by Dan Bittner , Rebecca Soler

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Audiobook $19.99

All those burning questions are finally answered in the dramatic conclusion to the massive Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy. The curse of the Prince of Hearts can hide no longer…

I have the best job. I’m a voracious reader and actress that gets to marry my two loves into the art form of narration. My goal when recording a book, no matter the genre, is to have the listener feel like they are hearing one long lived-in monologue and are not being “read” to. I believe it’s my job to make the characters feel like real people, to keep the stakes high, and to vocally build pace and momentum. Over the years, I have figured out what to avoid (dairy and red wine) and my musts (a LARGE iced tea, green apple, and cozy sweater).

In the 15 years I have been narrating, I’ve learned that there is only one way to do this – prep, prep and more prep. I read a novel on average 3x before sitting down to record so that my narration doesn’t sound like a cold read. Which is something I get asked a lot by audiobook listeners: “Do you read the book ahead of time or is it a cold read?” I know I am a bit type A when it comes to this, and other narrators may not do this. This is my ideal timing for prep, but sometimes life happens, and publishers don’t get the final script until the week before. I have even gotten a script the day before recording due to the extremely confidential nature of the project. (Man, did I hate that).

The first time I read a book through, I create what I call my “org chart.” I read and simultaneously jot down all character names, any descriptions the author uses to describe them, page numbers, and any words that I need to research or learn pronunciation for (especially in the fantasy genre). After my research and contact with the author (ideally), I do a second read.

My second time through is my “mark up.” I assign every character a voice and a color and highlight all dialogue. I also add acting/pace notes for myself and insert any pronunciations that I have researched or received from the author so that I won’t stumble when reading. How do I choose my voices? I am a weird voice collector. I live in New York City with millions of people, and when I hear a unique voice, I file it away in my mental database for later usage. Or I will cast roles thinking of certain characters from fiction, celebrities, or people in my life. In the margins of any of my books, you may see notes like “DMV guy,” “Tio Simón,” “adult Hermione Granger,” or “Irish Drew Barrymore.” To be clear, I cannot do impressions of these people. It’s more like I do my own take on that person. I love it when an author has a specific voice in mind and can share their preferences. This is critical to make sure I am getting the right feel; for example, if there are accents involved, do they want them thick or lighter? I have found when speaking to authors about voices that it is helpful when we have shared references. “Do you see X Character as like a Harrison Ford/Han Solo or more like a Jeffrey Wright/West World?”

My third time reading the text is my “refresher.” The night before I begin, I review the pages that I think I will get through in the booth (on average about 120-150/day) to make sure I know my plan of attack. Each night until the book is done, I do the same refresh of the following day’s pages. I am not going to lie—my brain is a bit fried by the end of the night, and I am physically exhausted from concentrating so intensely and speaking six to seven hours a day. Hence, the large black tea during my sessions. But I also love it.

My favorite part of this process has always been working with authors and hearing their inspiration and ideas for the characters directly from them. I don’t always get access to them, unfortunately, but sometimes I stalk them on social media and send them a DM. That’s how I first met Stephanie Garber.

Stephanie and I connected on Instagram and have been cohorts ever since. I have been truly lucky to have worked with Stephanie since her debut novel, Caraval,in 2018. Remember that very detailed process I just outlined? Well, for every single one of Stephanie’s six novels, I have to do a 4^th read through before recording because I get so sucked into her worlds that I am too impatient to do the “org chart,” so the first time through, I just devour the pages. In fact, Stephanie has received more than one 3am DM with my immediate reactions to finishing that first read. Messages like, “HOW COULD YOU??!!!” or “I hope he gets what is coming to him in book three!” Over the years, I have participated on panels with her and happily recorded and posted excerpts on social media to give her readers a sneak peek into the audiobook process. It has been such a joy for me to be a small part of her world in this process.

In A Curse for True Love, the final installment of the Once Upon a Broken Heart series, Stephanie once again takes her readers on a ride. Run to your nearest Barnes & Noble to grab a copy. I promise you will not regret it. Take it from me, I’ve read it five times.