How exactly does that happen, especially when you have a lean-to-zero budget?  This article walks authors through the broad strokes of what they need to decide when embarking upon this next authorial step.

The Market for an Audiobook

I doubt that I need to mention how popular audiobooks have become. 

The obvious catalyst behind this was the pandemic. We sought out new sources of stimulation while we were spending more time at home than ever before. However, as I’m sure you’d noticed from your pre-pandemic book club, commute, or surprisingly entertaining exercise sessions, stats show that audiobook usage was on the rise prior to Covid-19. 

What might have been once considered a trend or novelty now has an assured place in the market, with sales projections forecasting steady growth over the next five years. 

If you’ve ever wanted your words spoken dramatically into the minds of your readers, now is the time to start producing your own audiobook.

First Steps in Making an Audiobook

The most significant change in the field of audiobooks is analogous to print on demand (POD) publishing. With POD, a book isn’t printed until a reader orders it, thereby optimizing the entire process of publishing. No more piles of books destined for the clearance bin.

With audiobooks, companies have found a way to facilitate the initial investment an author or publisher would otherwise need to make. There are a couple of ways to do this, which you have to consider as project manager. The least expensive upfront way of going about this is to hire a pro narrator from a company’s resource pool and then split your royalties between author, narrator and distribution company when the audiobook is purchased. 

Here one should note that you will be in cahoots with Findaway or Audible’s Audiobook Creators Exchange (ACX) for 7-10 years, but more about that later.  

Often Overlooked

While most authors assume that money is the stumbling block keeping their projects from going audio, it is often insufficient time blocked out that becomes the downfall of many audiobooks-in-progress. As a rule of thumb, please take into consideration the fact that even a shorter work that takes about 2-3 hours listening time, can take 40-60 hours to actually produce, and that is when you know what you’re doing.

Now, I’m not trying to dissuade you from embarking on this project. I just wanted to give accurate time estimates so that you know what you’re getting into. 

Plan your audiobook over the course of several months, the way that you wrote your manuscript, and definitely take advantage of those times of the year that are a bit slower for you and your family.

Please note that even for authors who have overseen every aspect of bringing their book into existence, from that first draft to cover creation and advertising, the audiobook end of things is traditionally regarded as more difficult and time-consuming than self-publishing a print or digital book.  

OK, time is more of a factor than I’d thought. Now what?

The next thing to do is educate yourself about the differences between the major distribution companies, Findaway and ACX, and decide what is in your best interest.

Kindlepreneur’s recently updated article does a nice job of explaining how these two entities shake out in terms of practicality. If you would like a cursory comparison of smaller audiobook distribution companies, scroll to the bottom of the page here. 

Traditionally, ACX is considered a more exclusive distributor, while Findaway has the potential to put audiobooks into the ears of a wider audience. Having said that, it is worth knowing that Audible accounts for 41% of the audiobook market.

So, decide what the goals for your audiobook are. Are you doing this mainly to add an additional source of income to your writing or are you thinking it would be more advantageous to grow your audience? Do you want to be able to sell your audiobook on your website? Are you doing it because you’ve found that audiobooks often add the elements that can’t be woven into a manuscript? Research accordingly.

Pro tip: You can distribute to Audible through Findaway. Several blogs have documented the advantages and how to go about finessing this.

The Money

The bottom line here is that you can produce a professional level audiobook book without investing any money up-front. If you or a friend (or perhaps your child) have podcast equipment and software, start here.

Otherwise, plan on budgeting about $2,000-$4,000 USD. All authors are highly encouraged to at least explore the possibility of having a narrator record your book. Voice actors are paid in price per finished hour (PPFH), which means that if a narrator charges $200/finished hour and the book you end up putting out into the marketplace spans 4.5 hours, then your narrator would receive $900. Remember that each finished hour has several hours of preparation behind it, even if you are narrating your own book.

Moreover, unless you want to learn how to work with new software, investigate and purchase new equipment, audio editing should be part of your basic budget. Certainly, if you’ve written a book, you can most likely learn these new skills. After all, you’re an author—you build worlds! The question is whether you want to take time away from your writing to learn these things. 

Be forewarned that the audio quality must be rendered at a professional level, with regard to specific file formats, decibel levels, and file organization.   

The Process In Action

If you’d like to see the process of recording a book in action, I’ve chosen Abbie Emmons to show you the behind the scenes work entailed. She and her sister, Kate, are both successful (yet very different) independent YA novelists. They are not only young professionals, doing what they can with the resources available, they are also great examples of how to approach what can be a wonderful career with all of the enthusiasm and humor that comes from a life spent creating, supplemented by lots of on-the-job-training.   

Conclusion

Creating your own audiobooks has never been easier. However, that doesn’t mean the process itself is an easy one. There are many articles walking authors through the production process once one has decided on a distribution company. 

The purpose of this article has been to elucidate how one goes about initiating that process and present considerations often overlooked in the many “going from text to audio” resources out there.

Remember, the important part of this process is the connection to the reader. At worst, you don’t want to ruin someone’s favorite book because of mediocre delivery. At best, you can give your reader an unforgettable experience that is absolutely priceless. After all, who hasn’t fallen in love with Frank McCourt reading Angela’s Ashes or been touched by Stephen King talking to you as if you’re personally enrolled in his On Writing class?

Tell us in the comments: What books have been given even more life by their audiobook performances?

Melissa Haas is the author and illustrator of Catula: The Misadventures of Dracula’s Cat and The Night Before Christmas (NOW WITH CATS), among others. Follow Catula’s whereabouts on Instagram @CatulaTheCat. If you’re interested in downloading free coloring pages or seeing Margaret Atwood with a blowtorch, check out her newly renovated website www.MelissaHaasCreates.com.  

The post Turning Your Indie Book into an Audiobook appeared first on DIY MFA.

1. Audiobooks help you read more

Maybe you listen to audiobooks already, and if this is true, it’s undoubtedly improving your writing. Reading is essential for authors not only to learn good writing, but also to stay up to date with publishing trends. If you want to sell your work, it helps to be aware of what’s selling. It also helps find accurate recent comp titles when pitching your books.

Audiobooks are a great way to get more books into your brain. A UC-Berkeley Gallant Lab study found your brain creates meaning from words in the same way whether those words are read or listened to. Sure, keep reading print or ebooks too, but if you have an audiobook on while you drive or do the dishes, you’ll likely end up consuming more words, and I am a firm believer that authors should read deeply and broadly. Fall asleep reading nonfiction in print? Put it on in the car. Prose too dense to get through on the page? Try listening!

The more books you read, the better your understanding of what makes good writing will be, so pop on your headphones and get reading!

2. They support authors and publishing

Audiobook sales increased in 2020 and are becoming increasingly popular. As the publishing industry continues to shift and evolve, it will likely continue to rely on audiobooks to thrive. Libraries, too, deal increasingly in digital content, and audiobooks are a big part of this. When you buy audiobooks or borrow or request them for your library, you are supporting the industry as a whole, which makes it a more viable space for your own work. A rising tide lifts all boats, and writers’ support for one another is essential.

3. Audiobooks can help you find your voice

In addition to letting you read more, audiobooks are one of the best tools for finding your own authorial voice, as they let you listen to literal voices. When you read text, you likely still hear your own voice saying the words in your head. Hearing audiobook narrators helps distinguish between different authors’ work.

Neil Gaiman, in his Masterclass, recommends the following exercise for finding your authorial voice: Attempt to write a paragraph about the same event in the voice of several different authors. Then, write it in your own voice.

To add an audiobook twist to this exercise, listen to a clip of an audiobook from each author before you attempt to imitate their voice. After you write it, see if you can imagine it in that narrator’s voice. Make any adjustments you need.

When it’s time to write in your own voice, do so and then read it aloud. Does it sound right in your own, literal voice? How does it differ from the narrations you listened to and imitated?

4. They can help you find your characters’ voices

Many audiobook narrators are excellent at using variations in their voice for different characters’ dialogue. Some use full casts or different narrators for different points of view. It can be easy to let your characters blur together, becoming indistinct from one another, but even minor characters should have unique voices and quirks.

As you listen to audiobooks, pay attention to the shifts in narrators or in a narrators’ voice. What shifts in the authors’ writing do these reflect? 

5. Audiobooks can help you learn to write with rhythm

Finally, as an author, you don’t just want the meaning of your writing to be clear. You want it to sound good in readers’ brains or aloud. When you hear prose aloud, you hear the rhythm of the words and sentences and, thus, are more likely to listen for these in your own writing. 

I was first introduced to this concept when I read Gary Lutz’s essay, “The Sentence is a Lonely Place,” but the how didn’t click until I thought about Lutz’s charge to “combin(e) the acoustical elegance of the aphorism with the force and utility of the load-bearing, tractional sentence” while listening to an audiobook.

As you listen, pay attention to the way the sentences sound. Are they clipped and bouncy? Soft and rolling? Lutz describes words that “fizzed and popped and tinkled and bonged.” How do you want your sentences to sound? The actual sound of your work should reflect the feeling of the scenes you’re writing.

Try listening to an audiobook without paying attention to the story. I do this sometimes as I’m falling asleep, letting the words of a book whose story I’m not necessarily interested in absorbing wash over me. Can you hear the words as they flow? Do the sentences sound smooth or choppy? Does a rhythm begin to emerge? Can you hear the rhythm of your own writing? Are there words to add that make it better? Words to take out that break the flow?

Audiobooks, especially modern ones with professional narrators or full casts, are a fun, entertaining way to read. But more than that, they can be used as a tool to keep you up to date on the publishing world, support fellow writers, and take your craft to the next level.

Becca Spence Dobias lives in Southern California where she writes frantically as her children sleep. Her short stories have been featured in two Writing Bloc anthologies, Inlandia: a Literary Journey, and A Short Guide to Finding Your First Home in the United States. Her debut novel, On Home, will be out August 24, 2021 from Inkshares. You can pre-order your copy on Amazon or Bookshop.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways Audiobooks Improve Your Voice as an Author appeared first on DIY MFA.

While listening to books doesn’t provide the same experience as reading them, it has a surprising number of side benefits. The most obvious is that audio is convenient for multitasking. With the Audible app on my smartphone, I can listen while I wash dishes or even take a shower. Rather than a substitute for reading, it feels like a book-lovers version of television, a play for my ears alone. Far from “ruining” my interpretation of a book, the narrator’s version is sometimes more enjoyable than my own. It’s also fun to listen to books I already love, and get a second chance to spend time with the characters.

Over time, I’ve learned that choosing an audiobook requires its own set of criteria. First of all, the book needs a strong narrator. A poor narrator feels like an annoying barrier between you and the material, but a good narrator brings the words to life. An audiobook also needs to have high entertainment value so that it can hold your attention while you’re doing something else. Finally, audiobooks can’t be too complex or thickly worded, because it’s easier to lose the thread of a story while listening. (Translation: save literary fiction for your nightstand.) I went for diversity in the following list, because when you’re exploring a new book medium, it’s fun to explore different genres, too!  

Five Books For the Audio Newbie

Harry Potter 

By J.K. Rowling Read by: Jim Dale I toyed with the idea of leaving this book off the list, because Jim Dale’s talents seem so widely-known, but it felt wrong to leave out such a masterpiece. The Harry Potter series stands on its own, of course, but Jim Dale’s reading takes it to a whole new level. His ability to master literally hundreds of characters’ voices and keep them consistent throughout the seven-book series is nothing short of astonishing. I listen my way through the series at least once a year.  

Bossypants 

By: Tina Fey Read by: Tina Fey This memoir had me laughing out loud in the car; I swear it put me in a better mood for work each day. Tina Fey reads in her trademark dry manner, but she also shows great passion for her content. As a bonus, the audio includes clips of the Saturday Night Live shows where she played Sarah Palin. (I similarly enjoyed listening to Amy Poehler read her recent memoir, Yes Please.)

The Bride Quartet series

By: Nora Roberts Read By:  Various actresses I don’t typically read romance novels, and I don’t think this series would have impressed me if I’d picked up the paperback. But via audio, the books turned into performances of a modern fairy tale, and I became completely engaged by this story of four unique women who live and work together in the bridal business, celebrating their friendship and falling in love.

Every Last One

By: Anna Quindlen Read by: Hope Davis I listened to this book several years ago, and it still tears my heart out to remember it. This is an exception I found to the “no literary fiction” rule, because the story is so harrowing that my attention was riveted at all times (which was probably not so great for my driving). I’m not going to give away the plot, but be prepared for a lot of gasps and maybe a few tears.

The Tipping Point 

By: Malcolm Gladwell Read by: Malcolm Gladwell I refrained from listening to nonfiction (except memoirs) for a long time because I assumed it wouldn’t meet the required entertainment level. This is another prejudice I regret, since I’ve since found plenty of nonfiction audiobooks that keep me just as engaged as fiction. Gladwell’s books are particularly good choices, because he uses fascinating true stories to illustrate his points. I also find his voice very melodic, even soothing.   One final tip: When choosing your audiobook, make sure to check whether it’s abridged or unabridged. I have yet to listen to an abridged version that didn’t leave me flummoxed at best, frustrated at worst. Happy listening!

……………….

Leanne Sowul is a writer, teacher and musician from the Hudson Valley, NY. She blogs about writing, reading and the love of words at Words From The Sowul. Contact her at leannesowul(at)gmail(dot)com, or follow her on Twitter @sowulwords.

The post #5onFri: 5 Books That Make Great Audiobooks appeared first on DIY MFA.