APA December Online Speed Dating

Lottery-chosen narrators will present themselves and their skills to audiobook producers online.

Open to members of the Audio Publishers Association: Lottery-chosen narrators will present themselves and their skills to audiobook producers online using Zoom for short introductions. Unlike our in-person Speed Dating sessions, this will not be one-on-one with each publisher, but there will be a wide range of publishers and producers dialed in and listening to your pitch. To be entered into the selection lottery, a prospective Speed Dater will register at www.AudioPub.org, create a profile on Erggo.US and upload a clip to the profile for evaluation. You must not have participated in APA Speed Dating for the past 2 years to be eligible.

Candidates must be registered and have created their Erggo profiles (complete with uploaded clips) by October 31, 2019.

The final list of participants will be selected no later than November 15.

FAQs:

What should my clip include?

Your clip should be short (maximum 5 minutes), just one source, and should highlight your best skills – include dialogue and/or accents if that’s what you do well, but don’t feel you MUST include those.

Which publishers will be participating?

We won’t know until the week before the event, but we expect to have even wider participation than our in-person Speed Dating. Selected narrators will be sent a list of the attending publisher/producers. You will not be speaking to publisher/producers one-on-one, but rather presenting your skills to ALL the publisher/producers simultaneously.

I’ve never used Zoom, how will that work?

The selected narrators will be invited to a Zoom test session before the actual event to work out any issues with access, video and audio. We encourage you to try out Zoom for yourself first – call a friend and get a sense of how it works.

What will I need to complete my Erggo profile?

Before you create your profile, gather what you'll need:

- a great photo - an appealing, straight-on shot.

- urls for on-line press about you. (Think self-promotion.)

- urls for websites you constantly use in your work. (Think dictionaries, pronunciation databases, etc.)

- your social media links.

- audio clips you'll want the APA judges (and potential clients) to hear. (We recommend that you select your three strongest performances.)

Does it have to be perfect the first time?

No. You'll be able to edit your Erggo profile any time you'd like. Just click profile in the lower menu bar, then settings. You can make all the changes there.

How do I subscribe to the speed-dating event?

You can subscribe to the event once you’ve registered as an Erggo user. When you’ve completed the sign-up and activation, click on events in the menu bar. In the “enter event code” field, type the code you received in the APA registration email. Click “go.” That’s it. You’re in!

Why does my photo load sideways or upside-down?

If you create your profile from a mobile device, the photo may load incorrectly. Here’s a link that will help.

I can’t activate my account, because I never received an activation email. What do I do?

Some mail clients grab the activation emails in spam filters. Have a quick look in the junk folder. When you find the Erggo email, just click the activation link. You’ll be all set.

I’m having trouble uploading samples to my profile. What’s happening?

There are file restrictions on samples: 10MB limit on MP3, WAV, FLAC, and MOV formats. If you try to upload larger files or other formats, the system will reject the activity. Our advice: Use MP3 files smaller than 10MB.

I’m STILL having trouble uploading samples to my profile. What’s going on?

Browser extensions (like AdBlock or Dashlane) can interfere with uploading files to your profile. Try disabling extensions, or in Adblock, whitelist the Erggo site. That should do it. (BTW Whitelisting should also clear up problems you may have with activation emails redirected to junk folders or spam filters.)

Any other questions?

Ask them in the comments section at the bottom of this page. We’ll answer them as soon as we can.

Join or start the conversation

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Responses

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Sara Morsey • October 23, 2019

same question as Tom Jordon below...not sure I'm registered (but think I am) final step tripped me up. thanks
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Suzanne Barbetta • August 27, 2019

I already had 4 clips connected to my profile (created a few months back). Looking at Janet's response to Sarah below, is it beset to take current clips down and replace with the single 5 minute demo required for speed dating? Or just replace the first clip with the speed dating clip?
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  AuthorJanet Benson • September 05, 2019
  
  Hi Suzanne - sorry for the late reply. You don't need to replace your existing clips if you're happy that the first clip is a good representation of your work... although originally APA Speed Dating asked for a "demo reel" kind of presentation, over time we've realized a clip is just fine. No points deducted for EITHER presentation - demo or clip. And remember, it all comes down to the lottery in the end (so we hope people aren't agonizing over their demo/clip).
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Tom Jordan • August 21, 2019

I have activated my erggo account, filled in my profile, and uploaded my clip. How do I know if I'm entered into the APA Speed Dating lottery? The "I'm Subscribed" box is whited-out, not highlighted, so it looks like it doesn't recognize I'm in there yet. The instructions to register for that event don't match the "Events" page links and options on erggo. Thank you.
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  John McElroy • August 22, 2019
  
  Hey, Tom. You're all set! I see you among the fast-growing group of narrators. The box is grayed-out, because you're subscribed. Good luck!
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    Tom Jordan • August 22, 2019
    
    Got it. Thanks John. :)
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Todd Menesses • August 17, 2019

For some reason my profile on Errgo won't go live and it won't let me back in, however it says I'm signed up for the online speed dating event, how is that possible?
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  John McElroy • August 20, 2019
  
  Hi there, Todd. We've responded to you via email and chat bubble. Hope you received those messages. In the meantime, Janet and I have added some material to the FAQs, regarding checking your spam filter and noting upload restrictions. Hope that's helpful.
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Sarah Goer • August 14, 2019

Hey there! So, I see that we can upload 3 or 4 clips, but I also see that we're supposed to submit one demo of 5 minutes or less. Where/how do we submit the demo? Thank you!
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  AuthorJanet Benson • August 14, 2019
  
  Hi Sarah, Janet from APA HQ here. I think we at the APA have been mistakenly using the word "demo" when what we want is a "clip" - so we're editing our language (and thanks for pointing out the discrepancy). You can assume that the reviewing producers will listen to your first clip.