How to Negotiate a Hybrid Audiobook Deal As A Voice Actor

First of all, what exactly is a hybrid audiobook deal?

Hybrid deal (noun): An unsanctioned contract whereby the author or rights holder of a book pays the narrator a per finished hour amount in addition to royalty-share to cover the costs of post-production.

There we go! That’s my blog post for the day. Stay tuned next….

What? You want further explanation? Okay, fine.

If you go to ACX, you’ll find that there is no mechanism for a hybrid deal. There is PFH (per finished hour) OR royalty-share. But savvy narrators have realized that you can make a “side” deal with willing authors.

The first step in negotiating this deal is understanding why you would do such a thing and how much to ask for.

The reason you want a hybrid audiobook deal is to cover the costs of outsourcing your post production (editing, proofing, mastering). You are outsourcing, right? If you’re doing the title properly, you are. And this costs money, upwards of $75 PFH for an editor to proof, edit, and master. This expense is often a hurdle for narrators who would otherwise gladly take on a royalty-share title. Who wants to be out a few hundred bucks, not knowing if the book is going to sell? It’s an added risk in an already risky gamble.

Knowing this, you simply ask the rights holder if they would cover that cost. Simple, right?

Yes, it’s simple, but it doesn’t always work for a number of reason. How can you increase your chances? Bullet points coming at ya!

Ask BEFORE you audition. Don’t submit your audition and hope you land it and then ask for moolah. Knowing the book is in the royalty-share bucket, getting the RH’s hopes up, and then asking for money is a good way to tick off an author. We in the biz affectionately call that “Bait and switch” and no one likes it. Bad business mojo. Instead, shoot the author a message BEFORE you audition to see if they are even willing to do it. If not, then don’t bother auditioning. You’ve saved them and you a bunch of time.
Explain the reasons why. This isn’t beer money. This is money specifically used to make their book better through professional editing and proofing. Explain that to them. Say “I have hard production costs of $75 PFH. Would you be willing to cover that to ensure the highest quality produced book?” Very often they will say no, and that’s disappointing. But look at it this way: Do you really want to take on the risk when the Rights Holder (RH) isn’t willing to take on that same risk? How much faith do you think the RH has in the sales potential of their book if they aren’t willing to drop a few hundred bucks on it? Perhaps you’ve dodged a bullet, my friend.
Know how much you want to ask for. Do you want them to cover the entire cost or are you willing to go halfsies?

Uh, now what?

Now you need to have an agreement in writing. Now, I am not a lawyer so I’m not going to advise you whether you need a formal contract or just a paper trail of agreed upon deliverables, but you do need something that indicates what you are delivering, when they are paying you and how much. This is the “side” deal part of it. Explain to the RH that there is no mechanism on ACX for this and they will leave the ACX listing as a standard royalty-share deal. Then when all is said and done, they will also pay you the agreed upon PFH amount.

Note: Do yourself a favor and don’t hit the “I’m Done” button until you’ve been paid! Upload all the files, and then contact the RH and let them know that you’re happy to hit the button once payment goes through.

A word of caution: ACX will not help you with any disputes with a hybrid audiobook deal. The “side” nature of this is unofficial and kind of frowned upon by ACX. But whatever. This is your business, not theirs. Just be sure that you trust the person you are working with and that they are clear on the terms of the agreement.

So go forth and speak words! Know that a hybrid audiobook deal is a common way for narrators to reduce their risk and not be burdened with the necessary costs of post-production.

Thanks for tuning into this week’s blog and be sure to check out what others are saying about voice-over. Don’t be afraid to join the conversation 😉

About the Author

audiobook events Jeffrey Kafer is a full-time SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator and consultant. He has narrated over 500 books in almost every genre for such authors Clive Barker, Steve Alten, Maya Banks, Gregg Olsen and many others. He has 2 degrees in cinema and broadcasting and spent the first part of his career as a video game tester for Microsoft before following his true passion of acting. He’s been on stage since he was 13 (his mom still has the bellhop costume she made) and currently lives in Los Angeles with his family and dog. Visit him at http://audiobookmentor.com or checkout his audiobooks at http://audible.com/jeffreykafer.