Good Aural -The Audiobook Podcast
Good Aural is a podcast about what makes an audiobook work.
Hosted by award winning narrator Brenda Scott Wlazlo, this podcast breaks down what actually makes a performance land. We cover everything from character and chemistry to pacing, prep, and the moments that make listeners stay.
For narrators, actors, audiobook fans, and anyone curious about the industry, these short episodes are honest, practical, and rooted in real experience.
Episodes
28 episodes
Episode 27: PRH’s New RS+ Model: Opportunity or Dangerous Precedent?
Penguin Random House and SAG-AFTRA have created a new limited RS+ model for roughly 200 backlist titles.But the agreement has sparked a much bigger conversation about rates, full-production labor, revenue sharing, transparency, and what ...
Episode 26: The Plight of the Workhorse Narrator
Audiobooks are getting bigger. Celebrity casts, splashy productions, behind-the-scenes videos, mainstream press. And honestly? That’s exciting.But as audiobooks become more visible, I’ve been wondering whether the career audiobook narrat...
Episode 25: Maintenance Mode: Your Career Has to Survive Your Life
Well, I’ve got some news. I’m pregnant! I’m thrilled to finally be able to say that out loud. I am also deep in the first trimester, and holy cow, it has kicked my butt.I’ve spent most of September doing the absolute bare minimum. I’m ge...
Episode 24: You’re Not the Star (And That’s Actually Good News)
In this episode of Good Aural, I’m looking at audiobook production through my theater brain and talking about what changes when we stop thinking only like performers and start thinking like members of a much larger creative team.
Episode 23: Who Gets to be an Audiobook Coach?
There is a LOT of discourse happening right now about who is actually qualified to coach audiobook narrators, and I have thoughts.Because on one end, we have incredibly experienced, prolific narrators whose advice may not always apply to...
Episode 22: Trying to Sound Sexy: What Romance Narration Is Really About
What makes a romantic scene genuinely sexy in audio? For me, it begins with character. What does this person want? What are they afraid to reveal? What changes between these two people because of this encounter? What it doesn't invo...
Episode 21: You Can't Act Genre...Can you? (Re: the Convo on Character Choices)
Today, I’m revisiting character work and giving my friend Steve his due ;)After my last episode on nuance and character choices, Steve, who is both a character actor and a dialect coach, pointed out that genre changes the conversation. A...
Episode 20: BookTok and the Audiobook Industry (Does Your Follower Count Matter?)
Lets talk BookTok. What began as a giant virtual book club is now a major marketing force. Publishers watch it, authors build campaigns around it, and
Episode 19: When should you raise your rates and how do you do it without panicking?!
When should you raise your rates and how do you do it without panicking?!In this episode, I’m opening up the hush-hush conversation about money in the audiobook industry. We’re talking about underpricing, scarcity, ongo...
Episode 18: Ethics and AI (A Creative Industry's Dilemma)
AI use is everywhere. But what does that mean exactly? Did someone use a tool to correct grammar? Did they have it look for redundancy in their writing or did they use it to create a cover, write AND narrate their book? In this epis...
Episode 17: The Duet Narration Disconnect (What Multicast Audiobooks Are Missing)
This week, I’m talking about the production problem behind duet narration, what audiobooks could learn from audio drama, and the small changes that could make these performances feel FAR more connected. I’m also asking what happens when the che...
Episode 16: Finding a Door Into Difficult Stories
If you're in this industry long enough, you'll get THAT book. That one that challenges your tongue and breath control, the one that didn't get the full editor pass, or the one where the characters and you just don't seem to click. A...
Episode 15: My Biggest Prediction About Audiobooks
Audiobooks are more popular than ever and that means that companies are going to compete to keep the consumer attention on THEIR platform. What does that have to do with us? A lot. In this episode we deep dive into my predictions ab...
Episode 14: Ignoring Bad Reviews Is Not Good Advice
In today's internet landscape, just "Ignoring bad reviews" isn't a viable solution to engaging and building your community and brand online. So, what do we do? How do we wade through the trolls and criticism to create our online presence and be...
Episode 13: That Growly Voice Is Hurting You (Why Pitch Is the Fastest Way to Break a Character Voice)
My social media feed has been filled with narrators showing off their deepest, growliest, most rumbling male voices. Some of them sound incredible.Buuuuuuut there’s a difference between a voice that sounds impressive for 30 seconds and a...
Episode 12: Why Everyone Else Seems Ahead of You (And Why That’s Not True)
Feeling like everyone all of a suddenly took a masterclass in Canva while you slept? Same.This week, I’m talking about the comparison trap, creative block, scarcity mindset, and what happens when watching everyone else succee...
Episode 11: Reading Between the Lines: Narrating Queer Romance
his week, I’m talking about queer romance in all it's history, subtext-y, glory. We cover the stories that had to be coded for generations, and the ways those roots still show up in the books we’re narrating today.From sapphic romance an...
Episode 10: How Hormones Affect the Female Voice
Ladies… have you ever noticed your voice feels a little strained, tired, swollen, emotionally overworked, carrying things it technically shouldn’t have to carry? Weird how that happens. 🙂But truly. This episode is definitely about estrog...
Episode 9: The Hidden Burnout Behind Avoidance
This week, I’m talking about the emotional side of creative work that I think a lot of artists quietly carry around but rarely say out loud.The weird shame spiral that happens after a bad review, an awkward coaching session, a communicat...
Episode 8: Audible's new Royalty Share + Virtual Voice Push - Let's talk about it.
In this bonus episode of Good Aural, we’re talking about the ACX and Audible royalty changes, why narrators are freaking out a little bit, and what this industry shift could actually mean for your career moving forward.<...
Episode 7: Your Nervous System Doesn’t Know It’s Fiction
As audiobook narrators, we spend hours embodying fear, grief, rage, trauma, heartbreak, panic, and vulnerability in order to make stories feel real for listeners. But what happens when your nervous system starts responding to those emotions too...
Episode 6: You're Already the Expert. Act Like it.
Everybody keeps asking how to break into audiobooks.Wrong question.The real question is: what makes you impossible to replace?In this episode of Good Aural, Brenda talks about the biggest care...
Episode 5: Time, Energy, and the Listening Toll (No One Tells You This Part)
Everyone says audiobook narration “takes time.”But no one really explains what that means.Not just the hours in the booth, but the mental load. The second-guessing. The way your day has to shift to make room ...
Episode 4: The Advice Is Outdated (And It’s Holding You Back)
If you’ve been told that breaking into audiobook narration is as simple as reading in a closet, making a sample, and hopping on auditions… we need to talk.Because that advice isn’t wrong. It’s just incomplete.