The world of opportunity just keeps expanding for indies!
We know how to publish and sell ebooks and print-on-demand, and now audio is the next frontier (along with global markets, but I'll come back to that in another post!)
Why you should care about audio
Audio is booming. Shifts in technology mean it is easy to buy and consume in mp3 format directly through mobile devices. Publishers are doing full scale productions with famous names to lure new readers in. And after all, humans have been listening to stories for millennia. It's how we naturally take in content.
People can multitask while listening to an audiobook which enables people to read on the go. A survey from Bowker found that “47 percent of people who buy audiobooks listen while commuting in a car. About 25 percent listen while working around the house and 23 percent while exercising.”
In this demographic survey of American readers, 15-20% of readers in the higher earning wage bracket have listened to an audiobook, as well as skewing towards the more educated groups. I would propose that many of these people listen on their commutes, heading to jobs that perhaps they would like to escape from!
The survey also showed that 84% of audiobook listeners also read a print book in the past year, and 56% also read an e-book. This means that if a listener enjoys one book, and can't find the author's backlist in audio, they may go find it in print or ebook. This crossover in the market means that audio is a new method of finding potential fans, and since the market is less crowded than ebook or print, you have a better chance at standing out.
Most authors with a publishing contract will find that audio rights are included, but if you haven't signed them away, or you are self-publishing and own all the rights, then you have options!
Producing and distribution with ACX
Authors have always been able to produce and distribute audio themselves, for example, Scott Sigler still does free audio fiction for his audience, and J Daniel Sawyer continues to produce full production audio dramas.
But it has been very hard to produce professional work, and sell it to an audience, without paying a huge amount of money upfront. Self-published authors don't generally have lots of cash, so this has meant most indie books haven't been available in audio. That is, until ACX opened up, first in the US and now for UK authors. Exciting news!
You can read the FAQ at the ACX site here, and here's a full post on the process with ACX from UK based author, Roz Morris.
To add to this, here are some of my specific thoughts:
The setup is very easy in the ACX backend, with a wizard like process guiding you through. You need your manuscript and an audition selection, plus a high quality square image during the production process. Auditioning and choosing your narrator, as well as the actual quality side of listening to and reviewing your audio files are the most time consuming parts of the process.
Amazon has Whispersync technology now, particularly high quality on the Kindle Fire, which means people can stop reading on the Kindle device and start listening at the same place, and then go back into the ebook at the new place when they stop listening. To optimize the chance of your book being accepted for Whispersync, check the guidelines here.
You have no control over pricing, which is quite strange as an indie, since we are used to making decisions about all that. Also, if you choose the exclusive option, which you have to with royalty share, you can't distribute to other audio platforms. Neither of these are a big issue for me personally, but you can of course choose the paid upfront version and go non-exclusive. Or you can do the audio project entirely separately – if you want to do that, check out ‘Making Tracks' by J Daniel Sawyer, and this podcast interview about audio options.
In terms of the money, the royalty share is still a good deal (despite reducing just before ACX opened up to the UK). You can also get a bounty payment for bringing new people into Audible, which can be a good addition. Personally, I love doing joint ventures with other creatives, as both parties are more invested in the success of the finished product.
At London Book Fair, both Bella Andre and Hugh Howey were talking about how good their audiobook royalties are, but of course, they are uber-indies! For most of us, I would expect a trickle, that may turn into a thin stream with enough books and exposure.
Personally, I see this as a longer term investment in a new type of reader, and a way to reach new potential fans. I'm also thrilled to be able to profit share with other creatives in a collaborative process, and I see no downside at all with giving ACX a go!
All that said, as with ebooks and print, you still need to let people know that the books are available. ACX has their own marketing checklist here, and I have expanded on some ideas below (plus, I would love to hear from you in the comments below if you know of any more!)
Marketing Tip #1: Use Soundcloud to create audio clips to embed and share
It's an audio product, so you need audio to promote it!
Your ACX contract allows you to share ~15 mins so take the first chapter, or whatever is appropriate and load it onto SoundCloud, a great audio platform with 100 mins for free before you have to upgrade to the Pro Plan for a reasonable sum.
Create a bio that relates to the author brand you have audiobooks for, in my case, I only do this for my thriller fiction as J.F.Penn. Use the same keywords as you usually would for your books and bio, and upload each excerpt. You can add one buy link to the file so make sure you've added that!
Marketing Tip #2 : Update your website with links to Audible and iTunes
Next, you need to audio-fy your website. (I'm not sure that's a word, but it should be!)
A great model is Bella Andre's audiobook page which includes all her audiobooks and information about her narrator. As Bella has so many, the page is quite busy but still manages to hold all the appropriate information.
Soundcloud has the option for including the cover as part of the Embed code, which I have chosen to do for my J.F.Penn Audio page.
Marketing #3: Get promo codes from ACX and get reviews started through your own email list
Like ebooks and print, reviews are critical to provide social proof and convince people to buy your audiobook. If you already have your book in other formats on Amazon, it will already be linked in some way to the other reviews, but for Audible and iTunes, you need separate reviews.
You can get free review codes from ACX if you email them directly. Then you can use those codes to give away for review copies. I tend to do this through my email list and also through my podcast, since those people are already favoring audio.
There are also a number of sites that review audiobooks specifically, but it's best to search for those by genre, and only pitch those who like books similar to yours. If you are an audiobook reviewer, please do leave a comment below which what kind of books you like, and you're likely to get some new books! You can also use a service like Audiobookboom which offers a paid email list option.
Marketing #4: Promote where audio is consumed e.g. podcasts
Work with your narrator to get an excerpt created, with atmospheric (royalty free) music if possible. You can then use that on your own podcast if you have one, or you can pitch related podcasts to include your trailer. For example, I have included my ARKANE audio adverts on my own podcast, and also on AuthorCast with David Wood and Alan Baxter.
There may be paid opportunities for promotion on some shows, but only pitch if your book is appropriate for the audience.
Marketing #5 : Advertise on your own blog with text links and banner ads
It's easy to include sidebar advertising on a blog, and promoting your own books is a great way to use that real estate.
Remember also to mention that you have audiobooks whenever you do an interview or talk about your books.
For example, I do a lot of podcast interviews these days, and I now always say “My books are available in ebook, print and audiobook formats at the main online stores,” so people know they can get the books everywhere.
Caution: Thoughts on ‘voice' and narration
“You live or die by your narrator,” Bella Andre told me at LBF, and how true that is.
Audiobook listeners are used to a very high quality of sound, and I was discussing this new outlet for indie books with a friend who is blind and only reads on audio. He was excited about the potential influx of new, more varied reading material, and was looking forward to new indie authors.
But he also described his favorite audiobooks as being narrated by famous actors, many more well known than the books they read, for example, audiobooks and the celebrities that were born to read them.
The complication for indies are:
- We (generally) don't write books specifically for audio, or adapt them, so the story may be too heavy on narrative for some audio listeners. Check out this interview with AJ Hartley about Macbeth, written specifically for audio on the differences in writing for audio.
- An audiobook listener needs to like a) the author's ‘voice' in the book and b) the narrator's voice – so there are two dimensions by which a judgement is made
Choosing a narrator can be difficult, especially if you don't listen to audiobooks as a general rule. I listen to podcasts, but rarely audiobooks, and the ones I have listened to have been non-fiction and read by the author. Fiction is quite different, so I recommend trying a few audiobooks first. I have three narrators, Veronica Giguere for the ARKANE series with female protagonist (American voice), Jeffrey Kafer for ARKANE novella One Day in New York, and also Rosalind Ashford for Desecration and the London Psychic series (British voice). These are two very different voices, and I like both for different reasons. Listeners will also have their favorite type of voice and reading pace, with some following narrators from book to book.
Overall, I think getting your books into audio through ACX is a brilliant way to expose your work to new readers, as well as potentially generating another income stream. However, it's best done if you already have a number of books, or the ones you have are selling reasonably well, and make sure you get a fantastic narrator!
I'd love to know what you think about audiobooks in the comments below, as this is a very new part of the business for authors. What are your tips for producing audio? How do you market audiobooks? Do you review audio, and what genre do you prefer? Please do leave a comment below and join the conversation.
Thanks for this, your post is what I was looking for to determine if I should use ACX for my book, Grow Up: A Man’s Guide to Masculine Emotional Intelligence.
I love the idea that launching an audio book is like a re-launch of the book. It gives me another opportunity to market the book.
Thanks for the tips. Do you have instructions on how to grab the 15min from ACX to Sound Cloud for use on website? I can’t figure out how to upload to the site so I can use on my site. Thanks!
Hi Chris
I read your comment and thought I’d help as I’ve recently done just that. Go to your ACX page, projects, click on your book, then ‘produce audio books’ and click on the section you want to use, then download it to your computer. Then upload it onto Soundcloud, and when that’s done, click on your sound cloud name where it will give you the option to embed (this is if you want to put it on your WordPress blog). Or you could just get the page link and share it on Facebook. I’ve done both, you’re welcome to take a look on my site. I just released my audio book and am really pleased with the Audible sales so far.
I hope this helps, otherwise I’ll leave it to Joanna to explain it more eloquently! 🙂
Caroline
Thanks so much Joanna. I love listening to audio books, so when I heard about ACX, I knew I wanted to do it. My first book is in the editing phase with my narrator, and then we will work on the second.
I’ve been looking for some tips about marketing specific to audio (because my narrator and I are doing royalty share, and I don’t want her to be disappointed!) This blog post is the first place I have found some actual tips about marketing (rather than general info about ACX. )
I also read your book, How to Market a Book and I am currently reading your book about Public Speaking. Thanks for all you do to help other authors. I recommend your stuff every chance I get.
Thanks for reposting this on Twitter. My audiobook of Tree Soldier has been out since early July under the old royalty share. Appreciate the tips on Sound Cloud. Will definitely work on that.
I’ve done some giveaways with the codes. May approach some of the book clubs that read my novel with codes for reviews. I definitely want to make sure my narrator gets his share. I’m working on the new novel, but didn’t get a stipend, so finding a narrator is harder this time around with new royalty share. I wish that I was in position to give some money up front for the ones who have sent in auditions. But having my novel as an audiobook is a real thrill.
I’m trying to figure out the cost. How many pages can a narrator read per hour? I know it depends on the pace and mistakes he makes and so on, but I’d use someone’s estimate and advice. 5, 10, 20?
It depends on the type of book really – and cost is by finished audio hour. If you load your book to ACX, it will approximate the length.
Yes, Joanna is correct. Audiobooks are billed per finished hour. Union minimum scale is $225 per finished hour, and higher for celebrity narrators. To get closer to answering your question most narrators will get through about 9,500 words per hour.
Also, as you’re thinking about the expense and saying “I wish I made $225 an hour,” remember that for every finished hour of audio there is about 3-4 of pre-reading, researching, recording, proofing, and editing going into create that one hour of professional product.
I’m recording my own audiobook at the moment, and I can tell you that it is HARD work. I thought I would do more of it but it is exhausting and hard work to both record and edit. So I think those rates are more than fair!
It is hard, but rewarding. I’m happy to help out any way I can either with some coaching lessons on the technology side, or by offering my editing services so that you can focus just on your narration.
What software and method are you using for your recording and editing?
Let me know if I can be of help,
Tim
I wish I had known about your editing services before! I’ve just completed my first audiobook, which I did myself. The recording part was fine, but I spent an inordinate amount of time editing! Depending how this first book goes, I may record some others but will look for someone else to do the editing.
Hello!
I just finished recording and narrating my self-published book and uploaded it to ACX a few days ago. I really enjoyed the journey as it brings the concepting, writing and then performing and editing full circle! BUT it is very hard work especially if you have never heard your voice live in a microphone.
I am wondering if anyone has gotten edits back from ACX and how picky they are? (I cant imagine re-recording as its exhausting and I need to do it around work).
After this one, I will start recording/narrating my second book. Both of my printed books are on Amazon. I will need to get cracking on the marketing my Audiobook(s)Any best suggestions on best marketing strategies for an Indiewriter? I use Instagram mainly but I do also have an Author Facebook page.Thoughts?
Thanks,
Audio is definitely hard work, Bridget! But rewarding as well.
ACX do not give you “edits” as such but they will do a check for various quality issues and you’ll get errors for sound, not for edits in the writing sense. It usually takes a few weeks and then you resubmit the files afterwards. I’ve had issues a couple of times but all for sound things which we were able to fix.
I want to give my audiobook away for free for a limited time to boost reviews. I see finally a solution here by asking ACX for a code that I can share with my viewers.
1. Do I publish and simply email ACX for “codes to give away my audiobook away for free”?
2. Do the codes last forever? Like I said, I’d only want the codes to work for a short amount of time or one-time redeemable arrangement so I can sell it later.
3. If there’s no way around it, can I publish first somewhere else for free and then publish on ACX for people to buy?
Thanks, Joanna, I’m a big fan!
Once you publish on ACX, you will get sent promo codes and you can always ask for more. I’m not sure how long they last, I presume it is a while. You can go read the terms and conditions on their site for more info. You can’t have the book for free elsewhere once it is on ACX and published unless you use the non-exclusive license. All the best!
and I’d suggest you read Audiobooks for Indies by Simon Whistler in order to learn more about it all. Great book!
I am a narrator with ACX, and found this post looking for ways to market. Currently my situation is that only one of my authors seems to be doing much marketing at all (all current deals are royalty share). I wish the other authors were as astute and into the marketing. These are some good tips, particularly the one about pitching to audiobook review groups. Do you recommend Facebook and Twitter? That’s what I’m doing now, but wondered at just how effective it is for others. Thanks!
Oh and yes narrating takes a LOT of time and work, and because of that, most narrators (including myself) really prefer per finished hour if we can get it, especially if the authors don’t market the audiobooks!
Hi, I just wanted to add one point to your section on selecting a narrator. Since these narrators will be recording out of their home studios, it’s essential to learn what kind of recording equipment they use. Voiceover databases like voice123 include each actor’s studio equipment. You can also find that information on the actors’ websites. I’ve recorded many TV voice tracks and radio spots, and I’ve learned that sometimes actors will record their demo reels at a professional studio, but that their home studio consists of nothing more than a USB microphone plugged into a computer. And the difference in the quality of the recording is huge … Also, writers planning to record multiple books might want to invest the time in learning an audio editing software program. Programs like Garageband don’t take long to master, and audio editing can actually be kind of fun … I just did a post on how to select the appropriate voice actor. I’ll paste the link below, though it’s more focused on using the big voice actor databases like voice123 and voices.com.
http://www.davidmossmysteries.com/blog/2015/12/30/how-to-find-voice-actors-for-your-audiobook
Thanks for your many helpful posts.
David
What a wonderful help this is, Joanna! It’s so exciting to learn how to get our stories into more readers’ hands. Many, many thanks.
I have had two of my books narrated and I made Audio books of both. They are Children’s eBooks which I hoped parents would buy and use them at bedtime to ‘read’ to their children when they themselves are too tired to do so. However, when I approached ACX about selling through Audible, they told me they only deal with residents of the United States and the United Kingdom which means I have to find an alternative source of distribution as I live in Canada. Do you have any suggestions?
Also, I would like to record some more of my stories but I know zilch about bit rates, megahertz and all that professional gobbledygook, so I am nervous of trying to do it myself in case the sound quality is not good enough. I know you wrote a blog on doing one of your books which I would like to read but cannot find it again. Could you please identify it for me. I thought I had clipped into EverNote but I think I messed it up. God Lord, I really do sound like what the Irish called A thundering Gobshite!
Many thanks
Barbara (desperately trying to sell some books)
Lots of audio tips and resources here: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/audiobooks/ All the best!