The Independent Author's Guide to Audiobook Production: A Professional Narrator's Secrets for Success on ACX

by Michael Burnette

Thanks to a revolution in the audiobook production business, audiobooks are now well within reach of independent authors. In fact, through ACX, the Audiobook Creation Exchange, you can have your book turned into a professional quality audiobook with, amazingly enough, no upfront costs at all.It can be hard, though, to recruit the right narrator for your audiobook -- the web is full of stories from authors who tried and failed. And what is your role in the process? Are you going to have to drop everything and manage the production of an audiobook? (Spoiler alert. No, you aren't, but there is a little work for you to do.)Now, an experienced, full-time audiobook narrator walks you step-by-step through the process and takes you to the other side of the microphone to reveal the strategies and tips that will attract the best available talent on ACX to create a winning audiobook for you.I'll show you the key elements -- I call them the Three C's -- that will convince me (or another fabulous narrator) to produce your audiobook. I'll tell you what to include in your book's listing on ACX and what not to include.I'll walk you through exactly how I evaluate a potential project, how you can evaluate potential narrators, and how to promote your audiobook for best results. I'll even give you a backstage tour of how an audioboook is created, from pre-production to final quality checks.You'll learn about the various ACX contracts for authors, and how to choose the right one.You'll find out how narrators are paid.Should you narrate your book yourself? I'll teach you what's involved, and how to make that decision.What do you listen for when you listen to a narrator's audition? We'll cover that. On the audio edition, I even give you audio examples.From your first log-in to the ACX platform through the post-production process and promotion, we'll cover it all, and all in about two hours! Two hours from now you could be well on your way to easily adding another revenue stream to your bank account, with no upfront investment, all from work you have already done when you created your book!I'm an full-time professional author and audiobook narrator, and have delivered over 200 hours of finished audiobooks on the ACX platform.

64 pages, Paperback

Published June 6, 2017

Reviews

[B. Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps you've just finished your first book, or you are someone with aspirations of becoming a voiceover artist or narrator. This small book will provide all the guidance you need to get started with Amazon's ACX (acx.com) audiobook platform. Michael Burnette, a "producer" in audiobook creation lingo, walks you through creating an account on ACX, claiming your ownership of your copyrighted materials, and the steps necessary for obtaining a producer for your audiobook production.

The thing that earns this guide five stars is Burnette's many suggestions for how best to attract a producer, how to engage with them, and how best to NOT make them crazy in the process. There is a disconnect between being an author and having your book produced. As an author, you have complete control of the content (with the help of your editor, of course). Audiobook product is different. You audition producers like Burnette, select one, then the producer has creative control over how your characters sound, the pacing of the story, and a million other elements. Burnette points out that your audiobook might not sound the way it did in your head. It might sound better! Give it a chance.

With little more than your time spent, you can write and release a book through the Amazon publishing system. Perhaps when you published your work you didn't quite know how it would make money. But, the art is the thing, right? Not for producers. This is their day job. They need to get paid. So, you better have a good idea how this is going to be worth their while, or you're not going to get a producer. Burnette describes in some detail how he peruses the request for audition list, and he gives insights how he selects his projects. This is gold. Pay attention.

I have both the Kindle edition and the audiobook (read by the author). Listening to him describe how the audiobook creation process unfolds was instructive, both for content, and for hearing how he presented the material. If you're seriously considering this route, I highly recommend giving Burnette a listen.