How to address Rights Holder micromanagement
At some point, you are likely to encounter a Rights Holder that wants to control every aspect of your performance. This generally occurs when they are new to audiobook production and don't have a realistic perspective/understanding about how it works. I encourage you to respectfully and professionally respond to their concerns. Following are a few resources that may help you with that message:
Actor and narrator Colin Firth shared this wonderful bit of knowledge from his exchange with author Graham Greene when recording his book, The End of the Affair.
Author RC O'Leary shared his experience as a Rights Holder in this great blog post. It addresses managing expectations, giving over the project and trusting the narrator, and teamwork.
http://www.rcoleary.com/blog/what-happens-when-your-audiobook-ends-up-sounding-a-lot-different-than-expected
Jeffrey Kafer, noted narrator and lovable curmudgeon, shared this excellent, diplomatic and accurate response:
"My job as an actor is to make
choices while recording. These choices may differ from what you hear in
your head. This is the beauty of art and should be celebrated.
Therefore, I won't be making any artistic or directorial changes as they
weren't organic to me when recording and as such, will ring false to
the audience. Thanks for understanding and respecting the craft and
expertise for which I was hired."