Episode 28- Through the lens of a producer: an in-depth guide to audiobook production

In this show, Yuliya chats to Tamsin about the most challenging and the most fulfilling aspects of an audio producer’s job, how having a professional producer can benefit the production process of audiobooks, and what do publishers, or self-publishing authors need to look for in an audiobook narrator when it comes to casting and choosing the right voice.

Tamsin explains what the work of an audiobook producer encompasses- from royalties, manuscripts, book preparation, castings to recordings, production, and post-production. She brings us back in the days when the audiobooks were just taking off, sharing her memories on how her journey as an audiobook producer started off, what producers were looking in a good voice, and how the casting process has changed since then.

“As soon as you make a choice about the accent of the narrator, you make a statement about the book. “says Tamsin.  And there are so many things you need to consider when you are casting the right voice for your audiobook as this can be a break or make moment. Tamsin explains in detail about all the aspects you need to analyse before making that choice. She talks about the importance of creating an atmosphere of trust, creativity, and teamwork quickly upfront.

If you are a voice actor, you would be delighted to hear the best tips you could get from a highly experienced producer including tips on how to prepare for your recording session, how to warm up, what to eat and drink, what to wear, and how to prep your characters and pronunciation guides.

So whether you are a publisher, or self-publishing author, a producer or voice director, an experienced or aspiring narrator or simply someone who is passionate about storytelling and the world of audiobooks, take a listen to this podcast which is full of incredible insight, packed with good humour and priceless tips for anyone working in the industry.  

 

Host/Producer/Editor: Yuliya Stancheva

Guest: Tamsin Collission

 

Tamsin has been working as a freelance audio producer/director for over 20 years, having produced over 400 audiobooks to date. She has worked for many of the UK’s leading publishing houses and have been a regular contributor at Audible UK since 2015.  She has directed some of the finest writers and actors in the country, across an incredibly wide range of material, from the Quidditch World Cup Championships to the complete Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf in the original Old English.  She has just directed All the Sonnets of Shakespeare for Cambridge University Press, read by Kenneth Brannagh and Lolita Chakrabarti.  During Lockdown she directed a dramatisation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park for Audible, home-recording 14 actors scattered across the UK, and a new audiobook of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, performed by Hugh Grant.  She is just finishing off an unabridged reading of Tolstoy’s War & Peace, and has directed Audible’s Christmas 2021 headline drama production.

Tamsin teaches and directs at leading UK drama schools, including LAMDA and RADA, where she is an Academy Associate. For further details, visit her website at www.tamsincollison.co.uk.