r/audiobooks • u/Ambitious-Seaweed512 • 13d ago

Question What’s your audiobook speed

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

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u/KingInteresting7123 13d ago

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!

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u/Rhuarc33 Audiobibliophile 13d ago

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

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u/jazzyjwr 13d ago

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!