A manuscript that reads cleanly on the page can still create real problems for a narrator, unclear pronunciation, ambiguous formatting, visual elements that don't translate to audio, so preparing it specifically for narration before recording begins saves time, cost, and avoids awkward fixes later. This preparation is separate from your usual editing and proofreading pass, and it's easy to overlook if you've never produced an audiobook before.
This is part of the Complete Guide to Audiobook Production.
Any name, place, invented term, or foreign word that isn't obviously pronounced should be documented clearly for your narrator: character and place names, especially invented ones common in fantasy and science fiction, technical or specialized terminology, foreign words or phrases, and any word with more than one common pronunciation where you have a specific preference. A simple list with phonetic spelling or a reference audio clip (recording yourself saying it, for instance) removes ambiguity that would otherwise require back-and-forth during recording, or worse, an inconsistent pronunciation across the finished audio.
Some formatting choices that work fine in print or ebook become genuinely ambiguous in audio:
If your book includes multiple first-person narrators, epistolary sections (letters, diary entries), or other structural elements meant to sound distinct, flag these clearly and think through, in advance, whether a single narrator can convincingly differentiate them or whether the book might benefit from full-cast narration. See Single Narrator vs. Full Cast
Make sure the manuscript being used for narration is your final, fully proofread version, not an earlier draft. Errors that are easy to skim past silently on the page (a repeated word, an awkward sentence) become much more noticeable when read aloud, and fixing them after recording has begun is far more disruptive and costly than catching them beforehand.
Beyond pronunciation, give your narrator or production team a sense of tone: is this book meant to feel warm, tense, comedic, literary? Are there specific characters whose voice you have a strong mental picture of? This kind of direction helps a narrator make informed interpretive choices rather than guessing, and it's much easier to provide upfront than to correct after a full chapter has been recorded a certain way.
Not everything in your print or ebook front matter needs to be read aloud. A copyright page, for instance, is often abbreviated or omitted in audio, while a dedication or author's note might be included if it adds something for the listener. Decide in advance what should be recorded, rather than leaving it as an afterthought.
Getting Ready for Narration?
Entrada Publishing can help you prepare your manuscript and coordinate the full narration process, including sourcing and vetting narrators.
A list of how to correctly say any name, place, invented term, or unusual word in your book. Yes, it's genuinely important, since it removes ambiguity that otherwise leads to inconsistent or incorrect pronunciation in the finished audio.
It depends on the book and the decision you make with your production team. Some footnotes are read aloud, others are integrated into the main text, and others are omitted, since audio has no direct equivalent to flipping to a footnote.
Always your final, fully proofread version. Errors that are easy to skim past on the page become much more noticeable read aloud, and fixing them after recording has begun is far more disruptive than catching them beforehand.
Character and place names (especially invented ones), technical or specialized terms, foreign words, and any word with more than one common pronunciation where you have a specific preference.