Audiobook Production Trivia 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the average words-per-minute rate that most professional audiobook narrators target for fiction?
- 100–110 WPM
- 130–150 WPM
- 155–180 WPM (Correct answer)
- 200–220 WPM
Correct answer: 155–180 WPM
Most professional audiobook narrators aim for 155–180 words per minute for fiction, balancing clarity with pacing.
Question 2: Which file format is most commonly required for final audiobook delivery to major distributors?
- MP3 at 64 kbps
- MP3 at 128 kbps (Correct answer)
- WAV at 24-bit/96kHz
- AAC at 256 kbps
Correct answer: MP3 at 128 kbps
Most major audiobook distributors, including ACX/Audible, require MP3 files encoded at 192 kbps or 128 kbps mono.
Question 3: What does 'royalty share' mean in the context of ACX audiobook deals?
- The author shares royalties with the publisher
- The narrator receives a percentage of audiobook sales instead of an upfront payment (Correct answer)
- Royalties are shared equally among all contributors
- The distributor takes a percentage of all sales
Correct answer: The narrator receives a percentage of audiobook sales instead of an upfront payment
In a royalty share deal on ACX, the narrator receives no upfront pay but earns a percentage of the audiobook's ongoing sales revenue.
Question 4: What is 'mouth noise' in audiobook production and how is it typically addressed?
- Feedback caused by microphone placement
- Clicks, pops, and lip sounds from the narrator's mouth, reduced by staying hydrated and using editing tools (Correct answer)
- Echo caused by a poorly treated room
- Noise from the recording equipment itself
Correct answer: Clicks, pops, and lip sounds from the narrator's mouth, reduced by staying hydrated and using editing tools
Mouth noise refers to distracting lip smacks and clicks that are reduced by drinking water before sessions and manually editing them out in post.
Question 5: In audiobook production, what is a 'chapter header' or 'chapter slate'?
- A physical clapboard used on set
- An audio announcement of the chapter number or title recorded at the beginning of each chapter file (Correct answer)
- A metadata tag embedded in the audio file
- The title card displayed on streaming platforms
Correct answer: An audio announcement of the chapter number or title recorded at the beginning of each chapter file
A chapter slate is the narrator's spoken announcement of a chapter title or number, typically included at the start of each chapter's audio file.
Question 6: Which phenomenon, where a narrator unconsciously adopts the accent or speech patterns of a character over a long recording, is known as what?
- Vocal bleed
- Accent drift (Correct answer)
- Character creep
- Phonetic spillover
Correct answer: Accent drift
Accent drift occurs when a narrator gradually shifts toward a character's dialect during long recording sessions, creating inconsistency.
Question 7: What is the primary reason audiobook narrators are advised to record in a treated acoustic space rather than a raw room?
- To improve microphone sensitivity
- To eliminate reverb and reflections that would make the recording sound unnatural and unprofessional (Correct answer)
- To boost the low-frequency response of the narrator's voice
- To comply with union regulations
Correct answer: To eliminate reverb and reflections that would make the recording sound unnatural and unprofessional
Acoustic treatment absorbs sound reflections and reverb, producing a dry, intimate sound that listeners expect from professional audiobook recordings.
Audiobook Production Trivia 4
What is the average words-per-minute rate that most professional audiobook narrators target for fiction?