Support for Indie Authors discussion

I'm interested in exploring this avenue of author revenue. Has anyone sold their books in audio format? How did you do it? Did you record your own, or did you pay someone to do it? Thanks in advance for your input!

I know that it can cost up to $400 per recorded hour. I've been looking to do the same myself. Of course, my ultimate goal would be a full cast recording, though then you're talking upward of $1000 per hour or more. Personally, if I knew they would sell, I would invest. But sales have been slim for a while. Perhaps when my series is more established, I will make this leap. You can invite a variety of readers via ACX.com to work for 50% of your royalty, but to me that seems a bit too risky on their side of things, so it will be a great challenge to get a reader for a relatively unknown product. So weigh out your options accordingly.

I was also told that due to editing to remove breaths and clarify recording, a single minute of recording can take up to an hour, so it's a mighty beast of a project.

Iffix wrote: "I was also told that due to editing to remove breaths and clarify recording, a single minute of recording can take up to an hour, so it's a mighty beast of a project."

It all depends on your production goals. Another author posted his experience with his audio but in another thread (I can't recall if it was this group or another), and I think he got a shorter novel produced for about $100 out of pocket.

I believe he went thru ACX, and put out a straight bid (not revenue share). A key point I recall being mentioned is the bid is for finished hours, not hours of worked to create the finished hour.

If you are willing to do a straight read with a single voice actor, it does seem you can get it done for a reasonable price. Or it can be quite elaborate, which gets expensive.

Personally, I don't find audio books appealing so I have no idea which sells better. Some people have been asking us to out out an audio book, so we might explore this option in the future.

If you're on a budget, you could probably improvise a sound booth by soundproofing a cupboard with duvets or something, get a fairly decent mic for cheap and use a free program like Audacity for editing. I've thought about doing it myself, but haven't got round to it yet.

Yeah...I'm always thinking about it. My music PC needs repaired right now, but otherwise I've got a full recording studio (used to do a lot of music). But because of that I know how much work it would be.

And I know how I am with projects like that. I'd start with the idea of just recording the read myself, nothing fancy. Then I'd start processing my voice differently to make it sound different for the various characters. Then I'd add a sound track. Then I'd want to add special effects...And then it would become too overwhelming and I'd never finish it!

I got lucky! The independent publisher I used for Everyone Dies at the End has narrators for their weekly release schedule. I'llhave to report back once it's on audible.com

Owen wrote: "Another author posted his experience with his audio but in another thread"

Not sure if this is the thread you are referencing:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2348022-fyi-my-audiobook-royalties---april-2015


My suggestion, is to go professional via ACX if you can. You have to be careful on cost though. I believe there are many narrators who will accept $50 per produced hour and the quality is fantastic.

In regards to sales, I am of the opinion of that I want my short stories in as many places as possible. My audiobooks sell about as much as my Kindle books enrolled in KDP. Neither are astronomical amounts [Selling 2-3 books a day total across all platforms], and who knows the future with new Amazon changes.

By the way, I consume A LOT of audiobooks. I always skip self-narrated ones. I've been burned too many time by speech impediments, "umms", and background noise.

I'm actually curious about this myself lately. I know an author friend of mine has all her books in audio form via ACX. I've asked her if it's worth it and if she sees any sales and she says it's about the same but does it a decent amount of a spike at times as well. She also said it was worth doing for your books as it serves as another market for your books to sell.

Despite all this I'm still skeptical on whether or not it's worth looking into.

My book is actually in editorial review at acx and should be up and running within 2 weeks. We placed our project up for audition and let the talent come to us. Because our narrator had such great pfh rates we decided to forego royalty sharing and just pay her out of pocket. Our total experience was absolutely amazing, even though there was a technical glitch on the acx end of things - the issue was easily resolved. I can't wait to add this final venue for my book although lots of sales are unlikely. I think it increases the professionalism of my book and gives me yet another authentic author experience. The process was nearly effortless and our narrator is now someone we are proud to call a personal friend, and all for $360!

Libby
What do you mean by "don't qualify' for acx?

Oh, I see. I didn't know that. I would definitely check the forums there and try to locate a customer service number.

James wrote: "In regards to sales, I am of the opinion of that I want my short stories in as many places as possible. My audiobooks sell about as much as my Kindle books enrolled in KDP. "

This is very intersting. I've just published a short story and I think the same as you: I'd like to have it for sale in as many places as possible.
A friend of mine suggested having it recorded as well. I am incline to look into it.
Thanks so much for the insight :-)

Tara wrote: "The process was nearly effortless and our narrator is now someone we are proud to call a personal friend, and all for $360!"

Uhm... that's not cheap... but it's still less than I payed for the cover ;-)
I really have to look into this. thanks for sharing your experience.

Lol no, $360 is not pocket change but her skill level was second to none. Narrators with more titles to their credit charged more than triple her pfh rate yet they were not quite what we wanted. Our book is non-fiction and the tone and delivery had to be just right given the subject matter. When we listened to the first 45 seconds of her audition reel we looked at one another and just started smiling from ear to ear. She was flawless.

We realize how lucky we were to find such great talent. I don't think I will be so fortunate so easily when I finally publish my fiction. But I am also an avid audio reader and the narrator can make or break a book. Like they say, nothing Costs more than an amateur.

Tara wrote: "Like they say, nothing Costs more than an amateur."

I have never heard that, but goodness! that's so ture!

Lol I learned that lesson on fiverr ;)

The price you paid for the narrator seems very reasonable. My background is advertising and I have done a lot of TV and Radio. How much was the studio time, if I may ask?

$360? Is that a standard price? I have no idea how audio books work but does it cost money to convert your book and to you have to pay a narrator personally?

I don't know that I would ever record my own. I've heard myself recorded. Haha.

As for having someone else do it, I will. It'll be in the future when I can afford to pay out of pocket.

What I'm hearing is that I shouldn't use Dragon Naturally Speaking or some other computer reader as the narrator for my book? So much for cutting corners. :)

$360 is not necessarily standard. We were very fortunate to have gotten such a talented narrator at that rate. Also our book was only 38K words, more or less, so ended up being a 4 hour read. PFH means what you pay for the project based on each recorded hour of audio, not how many hours it took to produce that one hour of audio. For example, if a narrator (called a producer) charges $200/pfh and your recorded novel ends up being 8 hours long then you will pay $1600 total. It probably took him 45 hours to rehearse, record, edit, mix and master the book but that is all built into the pfh rate. With acx you don't paya penny more thanthe pfh. There is no additional charges for studiotime, mixing, editing etc. The narrator is responsible for buidling those fees into their own pfh rate, whichthey set, not You don't have to convertthe finished book to any particular format. The narrator does that when they submit the finished product to acx. Acx then makes the product available on the platforms you have selected. It is an extremely easyprocess and almost 100 times easier than actaully uploading and publishing the ebook itself.

sually the higher the pfh the better the talent, although I have certainly come across contradictions from time to time. If you use a narrator who is not endorsed by Audible you will pay significantly less. This doesn't automatically mean the narrator lacks skill or professionalism. It could mean he/she is a beginner and doesn't have enough titles to their credit, for example. ACX gives you lots of search filters when you're trying to find the right producer. I recommend using as few of them as possible so you don't exclude someone who could end up being an unexpected treasure.

We auditioned narrators by submitting a production sample. Basically we uploaded a 15 minute excerpt from the book along with a description of what qualities/impressions we felt embodied the essence of our book. Within 3 hours we had 7 audition usubmissions. Number 5 was our miracle worker! The hard part was messaging the narrators we didn't choose and notifying them of our decision. It is not polite to tell them who you chose but it is also considered impolite not to give the narrators helpful feedback or an explanation of why they weren't a good fit.

I'm using a high quality Blue Yeti microphone and the audio program Audacity to record my e-book. It is somewhat tedious but I have done similar things before, since I was in broadcasting a number of years. Am only doing it because I've had a bunch of requests for it. After I get it uploaded there probably will be few takers.. Ha...

James
Congrats on having the skill and initiative necessary for such an undertaking. Would you consider blogging about it? I personally know three writers who would follow your progres as they are considering producing their own books, as well.

@Libby: I just tried ACX. I'm from Europe and ACX instantly dumps me telling me about the US/UK restriction. "Hopefully they will extend their services..."

Tara wrote: "$360 is not necessarily standard. We were very fortunate to have gotten such a talented narrator at that rate. Also our book was only 38K words, more or less, so ended up being a 4 hour read. PFH m..."

I was so encouraged by the description you gave that I decided to go ahead with the process myself. There is certainly some beginning talent offering a very competitive rate and with a good degree of skill. It is really quite exciting listening to other peoples interpretation of my work.

Though, I think I will hate having to write rejections to the narrators who have for no reason, other than just my personal preference have been unlucky.

Anthony that is awesome! I think you will truly be pleased and surprised at how seamless it all is. And yes, it was a thrill to hear my book read by a pro. I thought, hey this really is a good book lol.

As for the rejection letters, it is no fun but these are pros and they want feedback in order to grow. Try to focus on how their vocal strengths send a message that is not quite what you envisioned for your book. This is better than telling them they weren't good enough. The criticism sandwich works well. The target demographic for my book is millennial moms and I did a lot of research to understand how they think, what they want, what they respond to etc. i wanted my narrator's voice to convey this. Many people who submitted audition reels to me sounded older, confident and capable. I didn't want them to think they didn't get the job because they sounded too old or too strong. I told them that my audience responds better to a mixture of confidence and vulnerability/approachability. I also shared a snippet of my research so they could see how I arrived at my decision. It's just business but there's always room for kindness.

With ACX, you can hook up with a narrator. Some you have to pay, but there are people who will do it for a royalty share. That's what I did for my book Vision of Shadows. Amy Hilburn did that and she's working on another book, and then the Vision sequel. Vision of Shadows

Tara wrote: "Anthony that is awesome! I think you will truly be pleased and surprised at how seamless it all is. And yes, it was a thrill to hear my book read by a pro. I thought, hey this really is a good book..."

Hi Tara,
Absolutely,
How did you research your readers expectations?

Vincent wrote: "With ACX, you can hook up with a narrator. Some you have to pay, but there are people who will do it for a royalty share. That's what I did for my book Vision of Shadows. Amy Hilburn did that and s..."

Well, I have two works. My short is about 2hours read. I am offering cash for that.

My novel, is about 8hrs and I have offered a royalty share for that. I cannot afford to fund eight hours of recording.

I read articles, surveys and stats based consumer reports about how parents>moms>millennials shop, think etc. i learned a lot, such as the fact that this demographic is aspirational- they don't mind looking at successful models in order to make decisions whereas the generation of moms before them were more likely to prefer their own methods and only adjust them if the outcomes were unsatisfactory. Millennial moms had 9/11 babies quickly followed by recession babies so, again, a different approach.

All of this helped shape the tone of my book, if not the content. The result was a parenting guide that was based on several assumptions - parents want to raise well-adjusted, accomplished children and are proactively seeking the tools to do so, parents need knowledge gaps to be filled in (they don't want to feel lectured) and parents like a conversational, convivial relationship with influencers. There's more but I won't bore you.

So it was important that the narrator convey this - authoritative enough to inspire confidence but warm enough to imbue the listener with her own confidence.

I have lots of actor friends, so one of these days might give it a go ...

Sorry all been busy, but,,,

Wow! I mean wow! wow! wow

It's like a drug. People queueing up. Complimenting your work, reading like a pro. All the different accents.

I've landed a great voice for Andrea.
I've got Robbie down to two voices.

It's intoxicating!

Telling people they haven't got it is unpleasant. I decided quickly not to dangle more than two and be positive firm and direct.

I set up an audiobook account with Amazon, but halted when I reached the place where you select a narrator. I doubt if my own voice is good enough, and hiring a narrator would probably far exceed any profits I make. I no longer remember how to get back to that account (I guess I could find it if I tried hard enough), but I don't foresee any audiobook versions of my novels anytime soon. For me I think it would be just an ego thing, and that's something I'm not willing to throw money at.

That's what gets me Ken. I'm not made of money and I simply can't afford to pay someone to narrate my book. I wish I knew Morgan Freeman and he did it as a personal favor to me :)

Justin
You could always do a 20/20 royalty split with the narrator and pay nothing upfront. Another incentive is this gives the narrator a reason to help promote the project on his/her own behalf.

Ken wrote: " For me I think it would be just an ego thing, and that's something I'm not willing to throw money at. "

Yes. That is a concern I have. So far as, an indie author, I am in the overall minus, and continuing downward.

I am paying "Student rates." That is I can't afford a pro, but I may be able to net a talented student. I coudn't afford to fund 8.5 hours at Pro rates $200-400, It is out of the question.

But I have decided to offer a 50% royalty deal with the "winner" for my full book.

I have funded my "two hour" at $100 per hour. $200 dollars.

When the ego trip ends and the audiobook is live and sales are back to the trickle, drip, trickle, trickle, drip, drip. I might come off my "legal high."

Though, I still think I got lucky with my voice for "Andrea."

When the ego trip ends and the audiobook is live and sales are back to the trickle, drip, trickle, trickle, drip, drip. I might come off my "legal high."

A fool and his money are easily parted!

20/20..You mean 50/50? lol. Yeah that would definitely be a better solution.

Follow up. My short story has completed the process. The narrator was experienced and did a very good interpretation of the work. Now, it isn't live yet. So, I don't know how well it will sell.

The whole experience is one almighty BUZZ!

Hearing my book being read was like the thrill of seeing my book in print. We all know that feeling.

On a more sobering note: I think that, yes, it does open a new market for the book. but It will face the same challenges that the book faces.

1. The market is flooded.
2. Nobody(almost) has heard of "Anthony J. Deeney."

Add tp this that audiobooks are so expensive by comparison to ebooks, I think they will sell like paperbacks. For me this is hardly at all.

There is one other issue that I think might be very important. Self publishing is so flexible and free. This is not like that at all. It can be relatively expensive and the ebook is locked in to ACX for seven years! I own the recording, but I can't go anywhere else with it.

I would now advise readers to "keep your powder dry!

'course if things change, I'll let you know.

Justin wrote: "20/20..You mean 50/50? lol. Yeah that would definitely be a better solution."

ACX offer 40% royalties so a 50/50 split is 20%/20%

ACX allows you to do a royalty split with narrators and this means there is no upfront cost. It looks like a royalty split would be the cheapest option if you're just starting.

Unfortunately finding a reader who's willing to do a royalty split on ACX is very nearly impossible, partly because the reader usually still has to pay studio recording fees. (It generally takes 10 minutes to edit 1 minute of reading.) But it sounds great on the surface. If you're already selling thousands of copies, the reader may be more willing.