Requesting Reviews on Pat Fraley's Billion $ Read

Randy Stewart

Figured if some of the Pro's visit this forum, they might have an opinion or two regarding Fraley's offer.

Received this, via e-mail, from voices-com. It's an offer for Pat Fraley's Billion $ Read. Any comments on the author or this particular publication is appreciated!

AD FOLLOWS:

There are no better possibilities for voice performance in the country than the bustling Audiobook Market.

patfraleyteaches
Billion $ Read
How to Make Money Reading and Recording Books

A 50 Page Workbook and 2 Audio CDs
More than 2 Hours of Recorded Information, Demonstrations, and Interviews

Workbook and Companion CD Highlights:

Performance Skills (reading aloud for audience affect, tempo and volume, energy and storytelling, diction, expressiveness, and character voice separation)
How to prepare your Audiobook Demo and step by step guide to making submissions
Rare and exclusive interviews with Frank Muller,
"The Valentino of Audiobook Readers"
Reading the Audiobook (preparation, research, rehearsal, direction, performance,
and recording)
The Business of Audiobooks (researching the audiobook publishers and networking)
Money Matters and Bidding (finished hour cost, bidding a book to read)

Cost: $79.95$$$Introductory Sale Price: $69.95

Bret Brizzee · **Voice Talent** Joined: 31 Mar 2007 Posts: 60

Julie William's forum has a ton of information on the title. (See the top three threads in the forum.)

I can tell you that Pat is probably one of the best VO instructors in the U.S. I own a large number of his workshop CDs, and they are phenomenal.

Randy Stewart · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007, 18:51 (GMT) Post subject:

Thank you for the link Brett. I didn't know about that site to begin with. Great information on the industry throughout the site.

Brice Lewis · Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007, 20:21 (GMT) Post subject:

I was one of the reviewers for "Billion$ Read", and I can say that it's well worth the money. It's by no means a replacement for a seminar or training with Fraley, but I found stuff in it that I'll be referring to again and again.

Bettye Zoller · **Voice Talent** Joined: 03 Aug 2003 Posts: 163

Never let a book or audio replace live workshops. I too have audiobook CD instruction programs and many others do too and Pat's new product I'm sure is fine. However, as your posts say here, a book or audio should not replace workshops. The interaction and the instructor and the individual help (never attend or spend large sums of money on auditoriums full of people!...try to attend workshops with twenty five or fewer participants!) are so vital to a newcomer or anyone who seeks growth. Watch my site for audio book narration workshops and other topics and watch other coaches' sites too for educational events in your area that you might attend. Just a word to the wise...you can read all the books on acting or voiceovers in the world and it is no substitute for workshops and being in front of a microphone or on a stage!!

Lance Blair · Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007, 04:39 (GMT) Post subject:

Wow. Another post schilling services disguised as "advice".

"Watch my site"? Unreal...

Bettye Zoller · **Voice Talent** Joined: 03 Aug 2003 Posts: 163

I taught with pat Fraley in Vegas in March at Voice 2007. As a fellow colleague I have the right to talk on this forum about him and audiobooks. In fact, I taught audiobooks at that seminar while Pat taught cartoon voices. Stop being so negative/ If you don't want to read my post don't read it. Otherwise, you're tiresome.

Michael Strah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 12 Jun 2005 Posts: 29

In all fairness it was flagged with "AD" in bold, no?
But I hear the complaint as being a thinly disguised plug.
I, for one, don't care if people plug their offerings on here, like ads in a newspaper I don't read them all. But I can see the point that our friend from Atlanta is making.

I am much more interested in the "Valentino of audio books" quote. Borderline whopper there. Spoken word in cinema began around 1927 or so in a major way. Valentino died in 1926. Did he ever speak on screen?
Or is it supposed to be the "fine silent film actor who brought much to the craft" and the author is then the equivalent (less the "silent") for audio books?

How about the "Sir Laurence Olivier" of audio books?
YEAH...YEAH...that's the ticket!