Today’s post has been dictated with a microphone I have on my computer. So please be understanding if there are errors that pop up in this post.

For the past month, I have been having a conversation with another author keeps asking me about whether or not audiobooks are worth it.I thought I would address this question in this blog post today for any authors who may be reading this. When deciding, whether or not to create audiobooks, it all boils down to one simple question: how important is it for you to get your books out in a format that is easy for people to listen to? (Note: I mean “listen” to. There are people who can only listen to books. They can’t physically read them.)

Not everybody is able to physically read a book. I am one such person. If I spend more than 20 minutes, reading anything, my eyes will give me a lot of grief. I get a headache. My eyes water up. My vision gets fuzzy for a minute. It’s not a comfortable experience, which is why I stopped reading unless I had to. There are other people like me out there in this world who exist, but they aren’t the majority of people out there. If you think to yourself, “There’s no point in making audiobooks, if I can’t make money off of it,” then that’s a fair argument for not creating audiobooks. I won’t pretend that money doesn’t matter. It does matter.

But, to play devil’s advocate, let me ask you this: how much money do you make off of ebooks? How much money do you make off of paperbacks? If you’re not making a living doing this with ebooks and paperbacks, why do you keep making them?

Perhaps, and this is just a thought, the main objection to creating audiobooks could stem from the fact that Amazon is not allowing digitally narrated books on their site. When it comes down to it, I think a lot of authors are still obsessed with Amazon. I think authors decide that if they can’t do something on Amazon, then it’s not worth doing at all. Personally, I think it’s just a matter of time before Amazon will set up a program like Google play has where you can upload your file and get a converted into an audiobook using digital narration. At this point in time, I expect a lot of authors to jump on this. But for now, the question really is whether or not you think having your books an audio form on a platform that is not Amazon is worth it. And a lot of authors will say, “No it’s not worth it.”

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know what I think about Amazon. This is one company that has treated authors like crap. Ever since 2011, I have had problems with Amazon. I have had more problems with Amazon than I have had with any other retailer. That is why I never go into Kindle Unlimited. I have stayed wide this entire time, and I will continue to do so. Even if I end up, making no money at all on my books, I will not jump in the Kindle Unlimited. I will not be under the thumb of a company who has the power to destroy my entire author career. The safest bet is to be wide, to be in as many retailers as you can. If something does happen on Amazon, you have other places where your readers can find you. You don’t have to start from scratch and hope you can build a platform on those other retailers. It’s easier to just do it from the beginning, even if the money isn’t as great.

Google Play, and Apple are offering readers like me, who struggle with reading a book, the option to listen to them. Authors do not have to be exclusive to Amazon, to do a human narrated book where the author hast to split the royalties with a narrator. When Amazon does this, Amazon also puts the price tag on the book. And these books can be expensive compared to e-books. With Google Play, I get to set my own price. Since this is done with digital narration, I don’t have to pay an aerator to do this, and to be honest, I could not afford to pay an aerator, because I no longer make the kind of money that would allow me to do that. The only way I can get my books into audio form. These days is to have a retailer like Google, let me do it for free on their platform. Google takes a cut of the sale when I sell an audiobook and I get the rest. I use draft a digital to get my books and the audio form on apple. Draft 2 Digital takes a cut, and Apple takes a cut, I get the rest. In this case, I suggest a price, and I do suggest a price or I have the e-books for that, but Apple and Draft 2 Digital price it a bit higher. I have no control over that. It’s a small price difference from Google Play, but it’s still cheaper than what you would find on Amazon. I’m not making big bucks over there, but it’s more important to me that I am able to listen to my own books because I cannot longer physically read them. I got into this writing gig so I could read my own stuff. I wasn’t thinking of sales. I am my own customer. The decisions I make about my books, or whether or not, I get benefit from it as a reader.

But your reason for writing may be different from mine, and if it is, then you have to decide whether or not making audiobooks is worth it to you. If it’s not, don’t do it. But please do not ask people like me, who have trouble reading, to read your books, because we can’t physically do it.