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Your book is not just a physical book or an ebook. There are plenty of other subsidiary rights that you can exploit and audiobooks are high on the list because of the rise in popularity of listening during commutes or workouts, and the increased penetration of smartphones. In today's interview, we explore how you can get into this market.
In the intro, I talk about my own audiobook deal, how I'm progressing with my latest book, Desecration (it was called Hunterian) and the problem of titles for a new series, and some of the updates in the publishing world. I also mention this post on meta-data and discoverability, the London Book Fair and the Non-Fiction Writer's Online Conference, which I am speaking at.
J. Daniel Sawyer is the author of 13 books across sci-fi and fantasy, mystery, non-fiction and a lot of short stories as well as being an award-nominated podcaster, audio producer and voice-over artist. Dan's latest non-fiction book is ‘Making Tracks: A Writer's Guide to Audiobooks and How to Produce Them‘.
What's so special about audio anyway?
Dan talks about listening to stories as a child and how magical it was to have a movie play in his head based on words that were read aloud. Human culture began by sitting around the campfire telling each other stories, and now it's keeping commuters entertained, or what you might listen to at the gym that's driving the growth in this market.
What's the difference between an audio podcast and an audiobook?
In terms of fiction, it's the delivery format. For an audiobook, you divide the audio into chunks and it goes into the store as a complete product for sale. As a podcast, it needs to be a standard length per episode, usually 20-30 mins (average commuter time) and people subscribe and get each episode. Podcasts are usually free, and audiobooks are paid. Podcasts are really a fan service and the conversion rate to paid fans is pretty low. But some authors have done a great job of creating a hardcore audience who become evangelists for the author. Dan is one of them, Scott Sigler would also be a great example.
Dan's book Making Tracks includes a lot of the business end of audiobooks e.g. what markets you can consider in order to actually make money at this.
What are the technical complexities of creating an audiobook?
The book includes the details of what you need to know about the technical side of audio, all the way from one-person, single-read to full production audio with multiple actors and sound effects. But you don't have to get too technical.
One good example is Nathan Lowell who uses no special studio or equipment for his podcast fiction. The audience will engage with the story as long as the production quality is consistent over all. There is a connection between the audience and the author as a reader, and this can happen even if you have a professional read the book. The audio is another interpretation of your work. Having it read aloud is different to someone reading it on a page. There's an interpretative filter, so it is an artistic choice.
What's the difference between reading and performance?
This is just as important for authors who want to read at a festival or live event, as there is nothing worse than monotonous reading. It bores the audience and puts them off your work. Dan demonstrates with a few lines of his own work how your tone, emotion and expression can change the effect of the book.
“I hate my voice”
This is a typical reaction to the suggestion of reading your own work. But the voice you hear in your head is not what other people hear. The sound YOU hear also includes the bone conduction in your head. You can modulate the way you speak and also change the type of mic you use e.g. use a dynamic mic.
You can read in different voices as a single-read (if you can), or just read it however you like, and the audience will get used to it! Dan demonstrates some techniques.
How do you find a voice artist if you don't want to read it yourself?
You can use ACX or look into the voice-over industry and there are a lot of sites out there. If you listen to audiobooks, note down the talent you like and since they are all freelancers, you can often get that person to read if you can afford them. You can also go to a local college or community theater and get a young and hungry actor. Make sure you pay for their time, but you can get a good deal that way.
What about editing?
Essentially, you will always make mistakes while reading. A single read when you're really good will take about 4: 1 editing time. So for every finished hour of audio, you need at least 3 or 4 hours of production. If you're just starting out it can be more like 10 hours production to 1 of finished audio. This is why it can be expensive to produce good quality audiobooks.
What is ACX and is it a good idea?
The Audiobook Creation Exchange is a marketplace for audiobook creation and production, where you can find voice talent and producers for your books. It does tie you into 7 years of being limited to Audible.com which distributes through Amazon and iTunes (at the moment) so you miss out on other physical markets. But it can be a cost effective way of getting your book into audio format because you can do it as a profit share based on royalties, which are on a sliding scale.
Unfortunately, it is NOT available to authors outside the US. I have emailed them about this and there are no immediate plans to expand. But there are other companies online that aggregate audiobooks for distribution so check out Dan's book for a list.
Dan warns of ACX's exclusivity. It ties you to Audible which is only online and there are a lot of other markets, including physical truck stops and gift shops/bookshops and that type of distribution that Audible doesn't cover. Dan has a lot more information about other distribution options in his book so check that out before you jump into Audible/ACX. Also, the exclusive deal with iTunes expires in the next few years so even though Audible has most of the market now, it may change in a couple of years time.
Is it worth doing?
Audiobooks are the 3rd biggest chunk of income that any writer can get. Try not to sell the rights even if you get a book deal. If you retain those rights, it can be a long tail, long-term income stream. The market is growing fast and the number of audiobooks is a lot less than the number of physical or ebooks you are competing with. The growth curve is steady and persistent for audiobooks. Some people will never ‘read' your work but they will consume through audio as the only time they have is while doing other things.
Dan and I get very excited about the possibilities for authors and exploiting rights for our lifetime AND onwards after our deaths. What used to be considered a failure in traditional publishing terms is now a pension for us in the long term.
I'm very excited about the potential for audiobooks. How about you? Please leave a comment or question below and Dan will pop in to answer.
You can find ‘Making Tracks' on Amazon and other online stores right now.
You can find Dan's books, audio productions and more at JDSawyer.net and on twitter @dsawyer
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1 2 3 4 Next »This today is very timely because I have a book that even bookstores tell me to audio produce! So thanks. The work is a poetic history of science with scientific notes linked to superscript numbers so would you have any suggestion as to how a possible listener might obtain those notes if they wanted them, because obviously if they heard the lines they would not be 'seeing' the notes related to them?
A free PDf from a website is one idea, or could one include them in print form, and if so how? Economically?
There are a few ways to handle footnotes/endnotes in an audiobook
1) Ignore them, and put a note in the front of the recording to the effect of "This recording has been abridged to remove the scholarly footnotes."
2) Incorporate them as if they are parentheticals within the body text. For this and the next suggestion, having a separate actor read your footnotes can help set them apart.
3) Say "Footnote 1:" and read the text of the footnote when you get to it in-line. Then, in post production, add an EQ filter that sets the footnote voice apart from the regular voice. When doing this, it's often adviseable to move the footnote to the end of the sentence or paragraph, so as not to interrupt the text flow. If there are multiple footnotes in a line/paragraph, preface by saying "Footnotes for this line/paragraph"
4) Read the footnotes at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book, including a brief quote from the body text at the beginning of each to set the context
5) Include a PDF with the scholarly notes on the CD and/or linked to from within the audiobook, and mention it at the beginning. To whit: "This book contains numerous scholarly footnotes. They are available to you in a PDF, which you can download for free at http://yoururl.com/yourpdf.pdf. You will know when to look for a footnote when you hear this sound effect: [play sound effect]."
Those are the ones that occur to me off the top of my head. I'm sure you could come up with a few other options. The trick is to pick the option that will be most congenial for your audience.
Best of luck!
-Dan
Thanks Dan. Very speedy and helpful reply. Managed to copy it for safekeeping.
This was a very interesting read. There are few articles on audio recording, this is a fantastic and useful interview. Good work Joanna.
hi Joanna,
I'm an enthusiastic producer/narrator of my own podiobooks, and plan on releasing all of my titles this way. I've got one out, working on number two, with three more on the way after that.
My theory is this: I can sell a handle of audiobooks on Audible, or I can give away thousands of free copies on podiobooks. Which is more likely to result in overall market growth?
That is, of course, the existential question here. YMMV.
Couple other things:
Yes, you *can* use ACX from outside the US. I'm a long-time expat US citizen, and was told 1) as long as I had a mailing address in the US (even a mail forwarding service to send me the cheque) I could use ACX, and that 2) if you weren't a US citizen you just needed an ITFN or whatever that number is you need for the IRS (plus the bogus mailing address).
That assumes, of course, ACX/Audible is the best route to go; I decided it wasn't right for me.
I agree with you that good audio can lift you out of the sea of swarming self-pub authors. As Dan ponts out, though, self-producing and self-narrating are not for everyone. It is a MASSIVE TIME SINK. However, if you've got some technical nous, and some acting chops, and the enthusiasm to make it work, I think connecting with readers directly (not through another narrator's interpration) will, in the end, will produce, in the end, the best market growth.
As always, my $0.02
Jens
Exactly - you need a mailing address in the US which most of us outside the US don't have! I'm not happy using a bogus one and I emailed Audible about this and they said it wasn't open to people in the UK etc.
Personally, I decided to go with a deal with a pro reader that would get me into Audible - and not a free podcast - because I don't want to spend the time narrating and producing. I might try it with a smaller project e.g. novella but not for a full length book.
hi Joanna,
Perhaps "bogus" was a poor word choice. There are scores of mail forwarding services that will forward your US mail anywhere in the world for a monthly fee of around $20. For instance, expats living South America rely on these services, because many online retailers refuse to ship south of the border.
Note that ACX asks for a mailing address, not a residential address. As such, I don't see anything immoral or illegal by providing them precisely what they want--a mailing address, nothing more.
cheers
Jens
I was looking this up on the Audible site, and this is what I found:
"I live outside of the US and cannot provide a W9. Is ACX open to me?
At this time, ACX is open only to residents of the United States who have a US mailing address, a valid US Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and have or can submit Form W9. For more information on Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN) please visit the IRS website. We hope to open up to a wider global audience in the future."
Let's hope they open it up SOON!
hi Belinda,
When I spoke to ACX on the telephone, I specifically asked them why they were telling me one thing and publishing the exact opposite on their website. I pushed the issue and demanded to speak to a supervisor. I wanted to be absolutely clear on this point. (This conversation took place in Dec 2012).
Supervisor confirmed that as long as an author / producer / narrator / whoever can produce a US mailing address to send the cheque, and provide the tax ID number, they were cool with it.
For whatever reason they want to discourage international authors. Why they would want to do that I leave to your imagination.
cheers
Jens
It is a nuisance, Jens. And I have an EIN, but not a TIN, so that rules me out anyway.
What a shame they removed the option from CreateSpace but failed to allow for the rest of the world in the replacement solution.
Jens --
There are ways to get into Audible, Amazon, and other smaller online retailers while still having your book available for free through distributors like Podiobooks or through podcast. I cover all these, and discuss the Audible policy, in the book. The choice ain't either/or.
And yes, it's a massive time sink--but there are several ways to tackle it that make business sense for the author-entrepeneur.
-Dan
Dan,
You are right. The key, as far as I can tell, is to avoid using a Creative Commons License on your podiobooks. From what I understand, Audible won't touch Cory Doctorow or anyone like him with a ten-foot pole.
Of course, the other thing to consider is that the standard on Audible is much higher than on podiobooks, and the learning curve for audiobook production is monster steep. As far as I can make out, listeners on the two sites can be broken down as follows:
Podiobooks = glass half full
Audible = glass half empty
I can get serious market traction podcasting my first couple of novels, but I think it would be fatal to put those recordings on Audible. Why? Because, to be completely honest with you, I'm just not good enough.
Yet. :)
How many books did it take for you to reach a professional-quality level of recording + narration technique (that is, good enough to charge people for your V/O work)?
Jens
It's hard to answer directly. My first audio dramas were done when I was 8, on a tape deck and live effects. I recorded audiobooks for a sick brother at 12, again on a tape deck. But my first attempt at high-level production was an internet abomination (thankfully now lost to time) called "Bevis and Butthead vs. Darth Vader" in 1998. After that I took a left turn into film for a while, writing/directing/producing and also apprenticing in sound engineering on the side. I did a lot of concerts, mixed a lot of independent films, mic'd a number of stage productions. I came back to audiobooks in 2007 with my first podcast, and from there I started hiring out exclusively for audio instead of for both audio and video.
I suppose, if you put it all together, I've got about 10-15 years aggregate under my belt doing this stuff. As far as how quick you can go from zero to pro? It depends on your background. A lot of things you may have done before (drama classes, high school marching band, reading to your children) may have given you a lot of practice training your voice and your ear, so you could get good very fast. Or, you might not have any of that in your background and you need to do it the hard way.
The tech, though, is the easy part for audiobooks. It's very easy to get right on a single-read, you just have to know what to pay attention to--which is why I start first chapter off with the line: "The first question everyone asks me is 'What microphone should I buy?' It's the wrong question." I then answer that question in a chapter called "The First Question Everybody Asks" about halfway through the book--AFTER talking about performance dynamics, studio design, business and legal considerations, and budgeting. The tech takes up about half the book, and it looks daunting at first blush because it's a foreign language to most people, but it actually is WAY easier than it looks. It's like the difference between painting a painting and assembling a jigsaw of that painting. The painting part takes years of practice and creative refinement--the puzzle just takes a little persistence and learning the technical skill of spotting how pieces fit together.
Hope that helps :-)
-Dan
Thanks for sharing so openly and honestly Dan - we are all appreciating your vast knowledge of this topic (which most of us are confused about!)
You're most welcome :-)
Ah man... getting it right on the first read... I wish! :)
Another great idea Joanna. I just don't know how you come up with them all. As usual I am reading all the great stuff you provide instead of getting on with writing my next book. When you first read about producing an audio book you think "no worries, that would be easy". But from what you say it is not that easy and I believe you. Now what I have to do is look at my contract again. I bet I don't even have the right to make Digger's Story into an audio book.
Definitely check your content Brian, because (dare I say it!) there might be some older people who would appreciate an audiobook of your history books :)
I seem to remember you have a good voice as well - perhaps you could do the read!
In terms of ideas for the blog, I have so many I am already booked up 3-4 months in advance. There's so much to learn in this environment :)
Thanks Joanna and Dan. This is good timing, as I'm looking at all these issues right now. It's giving me a little teeny tiny headache, I have to say... ;-)
What's the story with CreateSpace and audiobooks? They let us do music CDs but not audiobooks. :-(
Yup, that's true. They used to, but then Amazon bought Audible, and the policy changed. However, there are a number of excellent POD services (that also print packaging) of various scales and price points, and with access to various distribution channels, which I cover in the business section of the book :-) There IS print-on-demand available for audiobooks, and physical distribution you can plug into Amazon as well as into brick-and-mortar outlets.
Glad you found it useful! And fear not, that headache will pass. It's much less complicated than it seems at first.
-Dan
Thanks Dan, I'm checking out your book. :-)
On the "microphone" topic... I've been really surprised how good the voice recordings on my iPhone 4S are. (and I used to work in radio and tv, so I'm not saying that as a complete loon...) (I'm only a partial loon -- parts of me are missing)
I almost reckon if I got in a cupboard full of blankets, with a light that didn't hum, and put the phone on "flight mode", I'd have quite a decent recording!
Belinda,
I wandered into a local guitar store couple months back and the guy behind the counter actually suggested using an iPhone. He said it was as good as anything out there, he knew musicians who did jam sessions and recorded to their iPhones.
Of course, you can achieve a higher quality of recording with a condenser mike, but at the end of the day (and I suspect Dan would agree with me) the quality of the read is the most important thing.
For what it's worth, I use a Zoom H4N + Rode NT1-A and edit/master in Audacity in Linux.
cheers
j
Do some tests, see if it works! Just remember, it's not just the mic--it's also the sampling and encoding. Only way to find out is to give it a try.
Good luck!
-Dan
Forgive me if you've addressed this already: How do you get your audio book (assuming you record/edit/produce it yourself) on Audible.com, itunes and Amazon if you don't go through ACX?
Dan mentions that there are a whole load of distribution options you can go through for this - too many to discuss but they are in his book. So record and produce as usual and then use one of these other distributors.
Depends on the size of your catalog. If you've got a good sized catalog (50 titles or better) you can approach them directly as a publisher. If you're a smaller player, you can go through any number of aggregators and distributors, all of which offer different (often negotiable) terms. Some of them (like Overdrive) require you to be a certain size before they'll look at you. Others (names escape me at the moment, but I think Big Family is one) aggregate small presses and will deal with you even if you've only got one book in your catalog. I list a few of them in the book, as well as discuss how to find them and how to approach them at greater length than I can here.
Hope that helps!
-Dan
Dan, thank you for mentioning my audiobook distribution company (we distribute digital format only - no hard copy such as CDs.)
The company is Big Happy Family, LLC.
The website is http://www.bighappyfamilyaudio.com
Feel free to take a look at the site and to email me with any questions you may have about what we do.
Meantime, to those of you thinking of recording your own audiobooks, please know that there is almost certainly a discernable difference between an audiobook recorded in an appropriate studio, by which I mean as soundproofed as possible and with good equipment and in a room which is not too big for spoken word, versus one recorded to an iPhone. A professional audiobook has to meet a high standard of production in order to compete with the other programs out there. It has to have a good sound quality, not tinny or echoey, with extraneous noises edited out, including mouth noise, page turns, sirens, dogs barking or panting, lawn mowers, and so on. If you have listened to an audiobook from a top publisher, you will hear...just the audiobook, for the most part. You will not hear other things and that is both to make an enjoyable listening experience and to keep distractions, such as unwarranted noises, from taking the listener out of the listening experience.
An audiobook which does not sound good enough to my ears is one that we will not be able to distribute.
This isn't meant to discourage anyone but only to apprise you of the state of the audiobook business. It isn't rocket science but there is a high bar, albeit one which is attainable.
Pleased to meet you, Jessica! And yes indeed, you make a hugely important point. The very reason I spend fully half the book on professional standards, studio design, and distribution before ever getting into equipment and editing.
Mouth noises, background noise, clothes ruffling noises and page noises (I've got a job fixing a bad recording for a client right now who'd rather fix than re-record--he recorded in his kitchen on his iPhone. On the one hand, I'm surprised by how good it is. On the other hand, I can hear the room, the refrigerator motor, the rustle of his clothes, the papers he's shuffling--he's paying more for the cleanup than he would if he hired someone else to read his book for him in my studio, and way more than if he paid for studio time to re-record it himself. I've told him this, but he's got the money, and would rather try to save the bad recording). Other things like electronic noise floor, word delivery rate (too fast and you lose your audience, too slow and you put them to sleep), inflection range, etc. are all important.
The good news is, they are all quantifiable. Each one of those things I just listed has a specific technique and/or a number associated with it, and once you know what those are it only takes a little practice to nail it.
All the best!
-Dan
Thanks, Jessica and Dan. So many sounds going on in the background that we're just not aware of.
I've bought your book Dan, and I'm looking forward to seeing what solutions you have to suggest. :-)
My blanket-filled-cupboard idea was based on many a soundbooth I've been in waaay back when I was a journalist... size of a phone booth, walls lined with egg-carton shaped foam, v expensive v directional microphone. The headphones so you could hear yourself speaking were very important to the quality of the read, and that would have to be the hardest thing to simulate in the iPhone idea... although I'm sure someone has made an app for it!
I'll definitely do a spotcheck for panting dogs if I ever go ahead with my blanket-filled-cupboard idea. ;-) (actually, I really would have to do that... I have an elderdog who snores, and frequently makes unauthorised audio appearances on my Skype meetings!)
Do you think readers get a buzz out of hearing the author read their own book? Do you think it's better to have a pro do it? Someone not attached to the characters?