Dr. Charles Igel
“Narration is Breathing Story into Life.”
Curriculum Vitae
“The artist when he paints a picture has a pallet, has a brush, a canvas. A narrator’s brush is his voice… A narrator has to have an emotional pallet of a wide range of feelings from which he can draw his vocal brush and paint a picture which ultimately is hung in the mind of the listener.”
- George Guidall
For most of my adult life, I’ve studied, practiced, and taught the craft of storytelling and teaching. This started, as most good stories do, with a moment of dissonance. As a scholar with a bias toward the analytic, I approached teaching as a logical exercise. Surely my students would be just as engaged as I was by facts and data, right? Well, it turns out, no.
Over time, and perhaps with a little resistance, I came to realize that the human mind is not a logic processor; it’s a story processor.
Whether we realize it our not, our world is inexorably shaped my the stories we tell ourselves and those we’re exposed to. Even when stories are factual, perspective and delivery will shape the way they land. It turns out that story isn’t just something we do with our free time, it is central to our humanity.
So, what does this have to do with narration? Put simply, good narration is storytelling; noteworthy narration is storytelling with a purpose.
No voice is right for every project. Fortunately, there a many great narrators out there. Each brings their own voice, skill and experience. What the good ones have in common is an understanding of how to tell a story.
What sets my narration apart is a blend of formal training, life experiences, and of course a long storytelling background. I’ve been blessed with an abundance of experiences over my life. I’m a graduate of the University of Virginia and a published scholar. I live in beautiful Denver, Colorado where I narrate from my home studio, write, teach, and study acting and audio production. I’m a US Army veteran, climber, sailor, and avid traveler. I combine all of this with an abiding appreciation for the letters, arts, and sciences to animate my narration. Storytelling is my passion, my profession, and my craft.
Your story deserves to be told with authenticity. Just as an actor brings a script to life, my craft involves animating your story with purpose and authenticity, connecting to the listener beyond the written word. You write the story, I’ll breathe it into life.
Storytelling
Projects
FAQs
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Yes I do. In fact, I’ve produced most of my projects to date. That said, as the old saying goes, production is the enemy of creativity.
A big part of the listening experience is having another human tell a compelling story. The variation in tone, emotion, and pacing, and even the occasional imperfection, is what engages the listener.
So I approach production with a light touch, focusing on my delivery so I don’t have to muck around with excessive production to make an engaging product.
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I narrate under Pay for Production or Royalty Share/Royalty Share Plus contracts.
Pay for Production
Under Pay for Production (P4P), I am paid upfront for narrating/producing the audiobook. My typical rate is $250 USD per finished hour of audio. This is negotiable under special circumstances. This rate is consistent with the American Actors Union (SAG-AFTRA) base fee for Audiobook narration.
Royalty Share/Royalty Share Plus
If you are on the ACX platform, I can contract under Royalty Share or Royalty Share Plus. Here, I agree to take no upfront fee to narrate/produce the audiobook. In exchange, you (the author/rights holder) and I (the narrator/producer) will split royalties for all audiobook sales for 7 years after its release.
Under Royalty Share Plus, I receive an agreed-up reduced per finished hour payment upfront, and then will continue the Royalty Share scheme described above.
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A voice is only as good as the equipment carrying it. And I’m very particular about how a final product sounds. I work from a dedicated home studio in Denver, CO. The studio is fully sound treated, designed for neutral sound balance (-65db noise floor), and outfitted with high quality recording and mastering equipment.
Recording Equipment
Shure KSM-32 or Rode NT1 5th Gen Condenser Mic with ProCo Quad XLR cables, Volt 276 Audio Interface, Behringer Xenyx X1003B Analog Mixer, JBL 7Series 5" Monitors, and DT770 Pro Headphones - all running through a Power-1 Power Conditioner to reduce electronic noise and interference.
Processing/Mastering
Adobe Audition DAW, Izotope RX11 Production Suite, and the Pozotron content editor running on MacBook Pro with M2 processor.
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Absolutely!
My studio is equipped with a conferencing camera and I have access to all the standard platforms - Zoom, Google Meet, Brave Talk, Source Connect, FaceTime, etc.
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Yes I do!
You’ve put a lot of effort and creativity into writing your book. And bringing your project to market as an audiobook can be daunting. I regularly help new/independent authors navigate this process.
If that’s you, connect at info@charlesigel.com or reach out on social. I’ve been a teacher my whole life and I’m pretty good at helping people learn new things :)
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"Thanks for the update and for catching that issue-I appreciate your attention to detail!"
Nat Smith, Turiya
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"It’s been a pleasure. Thank you, Charles. And yes - would love to keep in touch about future projects."
Anna Henkins Schmidt, Where We Land
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"Charles, your voice is so calming. It's perfect for the guided meditation. Just what I was looking for!"
Katie Hendrick, Prosper Money Coaching
