How long does it take to record a ten minute voiceover?
Clients who are after a bargain will say "oh it will only take you ten minutes to record". Not so.
Based on the standard of recording three words per second, ten minutes of finished audio (ie edited audio) is about two thousand words. For this we allow an hour's studio time.
It's later than you think
This allows us time to get the voice talent into the right tone and pace and style before starting the read properly. If our client - and our client's client is also listening, this can easily take the entire hour.
It also depends upon how well the script is written. Often, a script will read well on paper but when it is read out loud by the voiceover artist, the client realises that it either doesn't make sense or is repetitive.
Then that section of the script has to be hastily re-written or we need to record an alternative take.
How many alts do you want?
Sometimes we have time to do a second read in a slightly different tone or pace. Or "one for Lloyds" (ie an insurance read) in case their is a click or pop or mis-read word that no-one noticed during the first take.
Then the audio has to be edited (removing mistakes) and de-breathed (the breathing removed.)
When pricing a job you will also need to bear in mind the time that you have taken to market or promote your services. And the money it costs.
You will also need time to put quotes together, negotiate payment, the cost of receiving that payment (via credit card or PayPal etc), prepare the script by reading it in advance and send the audio to the client.
You will need to bear that time in mind the next time you quote for your next voiceover.