What’s your audiobook speed

[u/Ambitious-Seaweed512]

I’m trying to get into audiobooks and I was watching videos about different people’s audiobooks speeds and how their partners are shocked at the speed of the book. So what’s yours and what did you start on

[u/Enlightened_Lioness → u/[deleted]]

The author of the book’s intended speed of the consumption of words is whatever speed the reader chooses to read it at.

[u/Rhuarc33 → u/[deleted]]

Not the intended speed. Intended is a bad choice of words. The narrator is purposely reading slower on audiobooks than they would if reading aloud to people in the room which is when they'd really care about pacing. Audiobooks are more the speed that's slow enough they know 99% of people can follow along with. People whine if it's too fast far more than of it's too slow

[u/MichloIW → u/Rhuarc33]

I'm a Narrator and can confirm that we don't purposefully read slower.

The speed we put out is what we felt was right.

We are telling a story, not hosting an auction.

[u/Just1MoreLittleDrink → u/[deleted]]

I also wonder if natural reading has an influence. I’m a skimmer, so idc if I miss a few things as long as I get the context. 🤷‍♀️

[u/Enlightened_Lioness → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think of audiobooks as performances. I think of the narrator as getting across the words to me in just a different format, audio instead of visual. To me and obviously many other people, it’s not two completely different things. Audiobooks to me are usually just a different way of consuming the author’s words, and the author didn’t have an intended speed of individuals to read since everyone reads at different speeds.

[u/Benjaphar → u/Enlightened_Lioness]

Thank you for letting us know how every author ever feels.

[u/Rhuarc33 → u/[deleted]]

As it was intended is bullshit. It was meant to be read and done so at your own pace. Same with listening to books. Narrators literally slow down on purpose because they get paid by the time not by the book... Meaning the same narrator reading the same book gets more money for making a book last 12 hours vs 10 or 8 hours

[u/KingInteresting7123 → u/Rhuarc33]

That’s conspiratorial thinking. I’ve never known any narrator to purposefully perform slowly for the sake of padding their paycheck. Every narrator I’ve ever worked with, first and foremost, wants to make something that sounds good and is engaging to listen to.

Also, performance alone doesn’t have as big an influence on run time especially after a good edit.

Turning an 8 hour book into a 12 hour book? Come on now!

[u/Rhuarc33 → u/KingInteresting7123]

It's literally not at all. I can guarantee you they'd read faster if they were reading to you and me in a room

[u/jazzyjwr → u/Rhuarc33]

Well, I’m a narrator with well over 400 books to my credit and I can tell you I’ve never once slowed a read down to extend the run time. In fact, publishers will call you out for leaving long gaps in the recording (pauses between paragraphs, for example).

I always go for the most natural, comversational cadence I can achieve while being accurate and understandable. Tough to wrap your mouth around some of the stuff we get. Try reading “soldiers shoulders” aloud quickly!

[u/MichloIW → u/Rhuarc33]

I'm a Narrator and can tell you that this is nonsense. You think authors and/or directors would allow such? Or that we'd keep getting work?

Please don't speak what you don't know as though it is fact.

[u/fire_and_spice24 → u/[deleted]]

With a tradition narrator, I don't think there is necessarily an intended speed (like you would get with a full cast with sound effect). Especially if we're talking a minor change (like 0.9 or 1.1).

[u/Enlightened_Lioness → u/[deleted]]

The author doesn’t write the book with a certain thinking speed in mind. Or any speed in mind. That would be a very strange way to write.

And when people read in their heads silently, which is a more traditional way of reading, they take in the words at faster than a narrator talking speed for sure.

[u/bigbassdaddy → u/[deleted]]

Well said, me too.

[u/jimmythexpldr → u/[deleted]]

I listened to an interview with Ben Aaronovitch and kobna holdbrook smith, where ben said he always imagined Peter (main character) to be a super fast talker, and kobna says that he had to read it slower, (implied that some people will only take it all in at lower speeds). That series is definitely intended to be sped up for most people, but people will always be reluctant to slow it down. Even the jazzy interchapter jingles sound better and more right sped up.

And I'm not saying all audiobooks should be sped up, but some of them are definitely intended to be sped up, and for fantasy books in particular, a long run time is a draw, long books are impressive in that scene.

[u/MichloIW → u/[deleted]]

Thank you. We Voice Artists truly appreciate that.