Getting started with an audio sample is broken down step by step in this guide for total beginners. We will discuss the content, quality, and format requirements needed to upload a narration sample to the Audiobook Creation Exchange. ACX is a popular platform for audiobook narrators, and Audacity is one of their recommended DAWs.
ACX is the Audiobook Creation Exchange– a platform for creating audiobooks. Audacity is a free software to record and edit audio.
Audacity is well know because of it’s simplicity and effectiveness. It doesn’t take long to learn the basics. To help you, there are hundreds tutorials online, like this one. They also have a helpful wiki page.
To upload audio from Audacity to ACX, it must meet certain requirements. The complete details of which are can be found here. I’ve loosely grouped them as content, quality, and formatting requirements and they are discussed below.
The content requirements of an ACX upload are:
Tip: Record 20-30 seconds of room tone at the beginning that you can use (if you have to) to replace any noisy room tone later in the piece. You can always delete what you don’t use.
Your sample must meet certain quality requirements, some of which are affected by the settings you select before recording, and others by how the sample is edited in post production. Note that many DAWs (including Audacity) automatically record in .wav format.
Before starting a recording, set parameters to:
Editing/Post production:
>>>To format your recording, Audacity has a step by step guide to Audioook Mastering that is full of very detailed information to help your sample meet the criteria.
Here is a helpful tutorial video about editing to demonstrate how to meet these requirements in ACX.
You can also download a free ACX Check Plug-in to double check your work (here is a link for how to install plugins).
After recording and editing, a sample must meet format requirements to get accepted by ACX. This formatting happens when you export your file and is simply a matter of selecting the right options when they pop up.
If that all sounds like gibbledee-garb to you, don’t worry. I’m right there with you. ACX provides a glossary with some of the terms used above, as well as a series of video tutorials.
The last step is to upload your new sample to your profile and you are ready for action!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission or compensation if you click through and/or make a purchase. The opinions and recommendations expressed here are my own.
I've had the travel bug for as long as I can remember. My hope is that I can help others find their own adventure.
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
― Calvin Coolidge
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The backpack is the automatic go-to for many travellers. But should it be?
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission or compensation if you click through and/or make a purchase. The opinions and recommendations expressed here are my own.
I've had the travel bug for as long as I can remember. My hope is that I can help others find their own adventure.
― Robert Louis Stevenson
Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes
