Pozotron Resources

Tips for Reducing the Hidden Time Costs in Audiobook Production

Pozzy

Every narrator knows that the performance in the booth is just one piece of the larger puzzle of audiobook narration.

There’s a whole world of hidden tasks, like emails, manuscript prep, pickups, file management, and administration. These tasks can add hours (or even days) to each project.

The good news? With the right systems and the helpful tools, you can streamline much of this behind-the-scenes work and keep your focus where it belongs: telling the story.

Prepping the Manuscript

Before you record a single word, you have to know the book inside and out. Manuscript prep isn’t just reading ahead; it’s detective work.

Spotting tricky words: Place names, jargon, new-to-you words, or invented fantasy terms all need attention. You may need to do research or contact the rights holder to ensure accuracy.
Character notes: Ages, accents, relationships, and personality cues help you make realistic choices for how to voice them.
Emotional pacing: Marking big scenes or POV shifts prepares you for the performance changes that follow.
Typos or formatting quirks: Catching these early avoids confusion when you’re in the booth.

How to Save Time in Prepping:

This stage can take hours, but it saves you from mistakes and the need for endless pickups later. Tools like Pozotron’s Pronunciation and Character Guides can dramatically reduce prep time by automating word lists, pronunciation suggestions, and characters. Whether you use Pozotron, spreadsheets, or the manuscript itself, proper preparation will save you time in the long run.

Email and Communication

Communication is essential, whether you are working with indie authors or publishers. But every back-and-forth takes time:

Answering questions about the process.
Asking for pronunciation help or clarifying details.
Sending checkpoints or sample clips for approval.
Confirming deadlines and delivery formats.
Collaborating with a co-narrator

How to Save Time in Communication:

A single book can generate dozens of emails. One way to reduce this is to create email templates for common messages.

When working with an Indie author, having a standard welcome packet can be a great way to save time and answer questions up front. We’ve even got an email template to send to introduce your Indie authors to Pozotron for collaboration.

Pickups

Even with meticulous prep, pickups are unavoidable. Proofers or rights holders may flag missed words, misreads, or mispronunciations that need fixing. Recording and editing pickups requires time, careful matching of tone and energy, and proper file management.

How to Save Time on Pickups:

Pickups are one of the biggest hidden time sinks because they come after you think you’re finished. Building time for them into your schedule can help keep the process efficient. Some narrators choose to pre-proof their audio before sending it off to editing. This is a personal choice in your process, but it can help you manage your time more efficiently.

Pozotron is a great tool for proofing and finding those needed pickups. Our AI-powered proofing algorithm matches your manuscript text to the narrated audio to catch mispronunciations, inserted words, missed words, and long pauses. And to help even further, you can export DAW markers to insert those pickups back into your project easily.

File Management and Delivery

Behind every finished audiobook are dozens (sometimes hundreds) of audio files. Organizing them is not glamorous, but it’s crucial.

Tracking versions: Raw takes, pickup files, edited chapters, and final masters all need clear labeling.
Delivery formats and specs: Different publishers or distributors may require different specs and file delivery systems.
Backups: Losing files to a hard drive crash or accidental deletion can set you back days.
Character Voice Files: Keeping track of character voice files for easy access.

How to Save Time with Audiobook Files and Delivery:

Having a clear organization on your computer is essential. You should be familiar with the location of all files for each project and be able to access them quickly. Create a system that’s easy to navigate and remember. It may also be helpful to keep a file of each publisher or distributor's specs and file delivery methods that you can easily refer to.

You can utilize Pozotron’s Character Voices Guide to keep track of your character voices. Or create a Custom Character Guide saved in your Pozotron account, which you can refer back to across multiple projects.

Consider having two forms of backup for your files. If your computer crashes or one of those methods goes down, having a secondary backup will save you time and frustration.

Administration and Business Tasks

Beyond the book itself, narrators are also running businesses. This includes:

Drafting and sending invoices.
Tracking income and expenses for taxes.
Marketing tasks such as updating websites or social media.
Reaching out to publishers or authors.
Attending networking events.

Even while working on one book, you are often completing tasks for the previous book, such as invoicing and doing work to secure the next project, including outreach and marketing. Each task may seem small on its own, but together they add up to hours each week.

How to Save Time on Admin Tasks:

Using templates, automation tools, or setting aside one “admin day” a week can help you stay on top of the business side without it bleeding into performance time.

Get a System in Place

One of the best ways to stay on top of all the hidden time costs is to create a system that works for you. Organization isn’t glamorous, but it’s what keeps projects on track and deadlines realistic.

Use a project board: Whether it’s a simple spreadsheet or an app like Trello, Airtable, or Notion, a central place helps you see where every project is in the pipeline.
Rely on your calendar: Scheduling is more than just deadlines. Blocking out time for prep, admin, and pickups helps prevent overbooking and gives you a realistic view of your week or month.
Know your pace: Every narrator works at a different speed. Tracking how long it actually takes you to prep, record, and complete pickups gives you a baseline for setting future deadlines you can realistically meet.

By building a system and sticking to it, you protect yourself from overwhelm, avoid missed deadlines, and keep both clients and proofers happy.

Pozotron Can Help

Thankfully, narrators don’t have to tackle all of these hidden tasks alone. Advances in technology have made the work more manageable. Pozotron can help you:

Prep smarter: Flag unusual or foreign words, generate pronunciation lists, and pull character mentions for you.
Proofing easier: Let Pozotron find those misreads so you can focus on the other important things like characters and pacing.
Stay consistent: The Character voice guide can help keep performances uniform throughout the book or series.
Collaborate easily: Typo reports and project sharing make communication with authors smoother and faster.
Save time overall: By automating repetitive parts of prep and QC, tools like Pozotron free you up to focus on the creative work.

Technology doesn’t replace narrators, proofers, or engineers; it lightens the load, helping to juggle all the hidden tasks without burning out.

Every Hour Counts

Audiobook production is far more than reading aloud. Manuscript preparation, email management, pickups, file organization, and administrative tasks all require time and attention. These hidden costs can be draining, but with helpful systems and supportive tools, they don’t have to overwhelm you.

At Pozotron, we’re here to help narrators work smarter, not harder. Our tools streamline the unglamorous aspects of production, allowing you to spend more time where it matters most.