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If
your query is not answered below, please send us an email
at audio@penguin.co.uk
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My
friends tell me I've got a good voice and that I should
read for an audiobook. How should I go about it? |
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How
can I get my work published on audiobook? |
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Why
don't you publish more on CD? |
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One
of my audiobook cassettes has broken. What can I do? |
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Where
can I buy audiobooks in the UK? |
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How
do I buy Penguin Audiobooks from outside the UK? |
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Why
are your audiobooks all abridged? |
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I
can't get the audio sample on this website to work. What
can I do? |
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My
friends tell me I've got a good voice and that I should
read for an audiobook. How should I go about it?
We only use actors who are members of Equity, so if you're
serious about reading audiobooks then you'll need to get
yourself an agent. Where possible, we use actors who are
connected with the book in some way - they may have been
in a film or television series of the book in question.
Similarly, having a household name read an audiobook is
obviously a selling point for our product, although not
essential. |
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How
can I get my work published on audiobook?
Most of our audiobook publishing is connected to our book
publishing programme, which means we benefit from the
marketing and publicity surrounding book publications.
We recommend that you contact a literary agent with a
view to getting your work published in book format first.
For a list of agents, consult the Writers' and Artists'
Yearbook (published by A & C Black), which you should
be able to find in your local library. Please note that
we don't accept unsolicited and unpublished manuscripts. |
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Why
don't you publish more on CD?
The market for audiobooks on CD is relatively young but
it's clearly a growing market. Unfortunately CDs are still
more expensive to produce than cassettes and this has
an inevitable influence on publishing decisions. Our own
CD list is still in its infancy (it was launched in September
1999), but the list will increase as the market grows.. |
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One
of my audiobook cassettes has broken. What can I do?
If the cassette was broken when you first unwrapped it,
please return it to the retailer and they should exchange
it or offer you a refund (remember to keep your receipt!).
If the cassette is damaged by your cassette player then
we cannot replace it.
Unfortunately we are unable to offer an individual cassette
replacement service so to avoid damaging your cassettes,
we recommend the following:
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Clean the
pinch roller and head with a specialist cleaner
- cassettes containing cleaning tape only clean
the playback head and excessive use can wear the
head out.
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Prevent
your cassettes becoming de-magnetised - never leave
them near speakers or on top of the TV or VCR.
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Don't expose
your cassettes to extreme temperatures (the cassette
shell is liable to break).
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The most
common cause of a snapped magnetic tape is poor
handling of the cassette - always wind to the end
of the side before removing from the player or turning
over.
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If the cassette
is playing "gibberish", it's either a manufacturing
fault (i.e. recorded backwards) or the magnetic
tape has twisted or tightened. If it's the latter,
fast forward and rewind a couple of times to correct
the tension.
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Avoid the
magnetic tape unravelling into your cassette player
by winding up any loose tape before inserting the
cassette into the player.
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Remember
that cassettes are delicate and can break with rough
use! |
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Where
can I buy audiobooks in the UK?
As well as buying them from your high street or internet
bookshop, including www.penguin.co.uk, you can also order
our titles direct from Penguin Customer Services by phoning
020 8757 4400 (the standard postage and packing cost is
£1.50 and you can pay by cheque or credit card). Penguin
Audiobooks are also available from The Talking Bookshop
on 020 7491 4117 or The Audiobook Collection on 01225
443400. |
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How
do I buy Penguin Audiobooks from outside the UK?
Contact our International Sales Department at 80 Strand,
London, WC2R 0RL, or email internationalsales@penguin.co.uk,
quoting the ISBN and quantity of the title you wish to
order, and include your contact details. |
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Why
are your audiobooks all abridged?
Not all of them are abridged! Many of the shorter adult
and children's books remain unabridged when we publish
them on audiobook, and of course the poetry titles are
also unabridged. Abridging is done for a number of reasons,
including length and retail price. Depending on the length
of the original book, our abridged adult titles are usually
either three or six hours long and will cost £9.99 and
£12.99, respectively (inc. VAT). For many people, this
is a much more convenient length and price than the equivalent
unabridged version.
Our professional abridgers are experts at reducing books
without compromising the story, the style or the subtlety
of the original. Spoken word is very different to the
written word so abridgement can also help adapt the story
to suit the medium. |
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I
can't get the audio sample on this website to work. What
can I do?
You will need Realplayer to hear all our audio samples.
Realplayer is available as a download, free of charge,
from the following website www.real.com.
You will also need a sound-card installed on your computer
and will need to ensure that speakers or headphones are
correctly connected. |
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