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How to Get Started on Audible?
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Quantum
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Sep 24, 2016 04:39PM
What is audible? Can you just record a narration of your book in your own voice and you're good to go? What's the market like?
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Audible is an Amazon owned audiobook vendor. Titles can be produced independently or through collaboration with in-house producers but all projects are uploaded and managed through ACX (Audio Creation Exchange). I produced my book through them and it was a wonderful experience. ACX makes everything easy and I used in-house talent for my narration.It is certainly possible to record your own titles but I advise against it unless you've had vocal training. A pleasant voice isn't enough. Phrasing, enunciation, pronunciation, breathing, timing, editing and mixing are just the basic skills you need. Acting, expressing and emoting are extremely important as well and you'd be surprised how many authors assume they are the best people to bring their books to life just because they wrote them. As a years long Audible member I can tell you that poor narration is unforgivable to listeners. They will return the title, purchase the text version and leave a scathing review. It's not worth taking the chance unless you've done extensive beta testing on a 15 minute sample narration.
I could ramble on about this topic but honestly it is easier for me to answer specific questions than it is to essentially write a novella lol.
I confess I have listened to so few audiobooks...and that was like 20 years ago anyway (back when they were on cassette tapes lol).My question is, do the voice people read it exactly how you wrote it or do they skip things like dialogue tags?
I'm in the finishing stages of prepping the audio version of my book now. I can send you a great article about doing it yourself if you have the equipment and/or are so inclined. I would love to narrate mine, but I don't have the equipment to do it justice, in my opinion. Plus, there's something to be said for someone who is a trained voice actor taking a crack at it.In light of that, the other option (and the one I chose for The Bulls of War) is to post a sample script through ACX, then voice actors can download it and post their auditions. It's pretty amazing, as you specify the gender, tone, style, pitch, accent - I specified a resonant, story-telling British gentleman in his 50s, to which I received two dozen auditions in two weeks.
Note that the lowest price per hour is $50. You can also try to cut a deal where you pay them nothing in cash, but instead pay them a percentage of your royalties. I chose the former approach, because it's one and done and I have faith that the audio version will outsell the $50/pph outlay. I also wonder if actors would actually go through the many hours of recording and production just on the promise of the royalties of an unproven indie author. I'll never know now, but I still wonder.
Tara wrote: "Audible is an Amazon owned audiobook vendor. Titles can be produced independently or through collaboration with in-house producers but all projects are uploaded and managed through ACX (Audio Creat..."I should have refreshed this thread and read Tara's perfect response before writing mine! :) But in any event, I second everything she said. ACX is amazing, so long as you don't mind being tied to Amazon even further.
Wow, great info, thanks. How many hours does it take?
Marie wrote: "I confess I have listened to so few audiobooks...and that was like 20 years ago anyway (back when they were on cassette tapes lol).My question is, do the voice people read it exactly how you wrot..."
What is a dialogue tab? *sheepish grin*
My narrator was awesome and lucky for me her instincts were spot on. You will know from their audition reel whether or not they have 'it' or not. As soon as I listened to Madonna's reel I emailed her immediately and told her she had the job. When a reviewer mentions how great the narrator's voice was I feel so proud on her behalf!
Marie wrote: "I confess I have listened to so few audiobooks...and that was like 20 years ago anyway (back when they were on cassette tapes lol).My question is, do the voice people read it exactly how you wrot..."
Neither have I, Marie, but that's by far the fastest growing medium for book consumption, so I thought it was worth it to invest in. The actors read everything, tags and all, and emote/act for the actual dialogue. Some even add subtle sound effects and music if you want them to.
You should post your sample and see what people do with it, as I'm pretty sure you're not obligated to anything until you accept someone's audition (it's been a little while since I went through that part, so I can't recall the specifics).
Marie wrote: "Wow, great info, thanks. How many hours does it take?"Depends on the style you choose for the narrator (slow and steady, or normal, or even fast-paced) and the length of your book. My book is 135,000 words, which ACX estimates to be a 15-hour Audible file. My narrator annunciates everything very clearly (per my request), so I think mine will be closer to 16 when it's all said and done.
Marie wrote: "Wow, great info, thanks. How many hours does it take?"The time it takes depends on the length of your book. I don't remember the exact formula but I'll use my book as an example: 38K words = 4 hours.
This determines your pfh or per finished hour rate. Pfh is used to calculate payment and this figure is calculated by ACX and is part of the initial contract. You and your producer will know exactly what the amount is before the contract is even signed. This is great because now there is no danger of a rate change. Producers don't get cheated and authors (rights holders) aren't held hostage by unscrupulous producers. The pfh includes the time it takes the producer to record, submit chapters for review, edit and mix the final version. Not bad!
Dialogue tags are "Mary said" "Jack replied" "she answered" after the quoted dialogue. The reason I ask is that I have seen audible listeners complain that authors use too many tags (because it sounds extraneous in the audio version, but may belong nicely in the print version).
Just for kicks, I read some of my book out loud yesterday and definitely stumbled over the tags. I wonder if the voice people are cool with abridging these as they see appropriate or is that forbidden? Haha.
I agree E.M. that audible is the next big thing and we should get on that before the market is flooded.
E.M. wrote: "Marie wrote: "Wow, great info, thanks. How many hours does it take?"Depends on the style you choose for the narrator (slow and steady, or normal, or even fast-paced) and the length of your book. ..."
Your rate is locked in once the contract is signed. The narrator's delivery style is an artistic choice but will not result in higher rates for you, just a longer book perhaps. I love this feature about ACX - no worry creation and collabortation.
On another note I am irrationally excited about Bulls of War coming to Audible! I am staking my claim on one of your review codes! That reminds me...the absolute best time to promote your audio title is while it's in production. There is even a social media update bar on the ACX projects page.
Tara wrote: "E.M. wrote: "Marie wrote: "Wow, great info, thanks. How many hours does it take?"Depends on the style you choose for the narrator (slow and steady, or normal, or even fast-paced) and the length o..."
Haha, thanks, and great point about promoting it now, I will definitely begin doing more of that. If the Amazon police won't arrest me, I'd be happy to send you the "First 15 Minute" read that I received from the narrator (and Marie/Alex, you too if you want to hear what the early stages are like). The guy is really fantastic, literally perfectly annunciating the made-up language I created for the Valogarians. And I have my own irrational excitement at the moment - Bulls is #2 in one of Amazon's fantasy rankings, with today my best Countdown sales day yet!! Dying for number 1!
Sure! You have my email address.
I am definitely doing Audible once my book is finished. I am actually going to offer a free audio download/stream on my website of the first 6 chapters next week.
Luckily my wife has done television and radio and has a great voice and can edit audio files as well.
There are a few apps for audio books. Overdrive is one I have downloaded on my mobile phone which I use to 'borrow' audio books from my local library (for free). I would suggest you give this a go and try a few different books. You will soon get a feel for the difference in quality that a good narrator can offer. And believe me, it makes a great deal of difference as a 'reader' listening to accents, emotion, charisma and style, as opposed to a monotone voice just reading words.
Michael wrote: "I am definitely doing Audible once my book is finished. I am actually going to offer a free audio download/stream on my website of the first 6 chapters next week.
Luckily my wife has done telev..."
Check ACX's distribution terms of service before you put your chapters online. If they have an exclusivity clause you may not be able to list more than 10% of the book to the public for free. This is the case with Amazon and KDP Select as far as digital rights are concerned. Since Audible is owned by Amazon there may be a similar clause in place. I don't know one way or the other but you definitely want to be sure before you contract with ACX. Let us know what you find out!
How much does it cost to produce an audio book?If anyone has a full set, how are the sales of audio as opposed to ebook?
Good question, NikThe cost will vary widely. Quality narration can cost upwards of $200-$400/pfh. Of course there is a range and it is quite easy to find excellent narration for as little as $50/pfh. An author may also find his own narrator or produce the title himself which would minimize costs immensely.
ACX has two options when it comes to hiring voice talent. You can pay upfront and in full and keep 40% of sales or you can hire voice talent without any upfront costs and pay them 20% of future royalties in perpetuity.In the case of the latter ACX will pay the narrator a small stipend and the project gets underway. There are advantages and drawbacks to both options. I chose to pay my narrator upfront because her pfh rate was so reasonable. She was an ACX contractor but not Audible approved. This sounds worse than it is lol. It simply means she doesn't have enough titles to her credit to be Audible approved or she may opt to keep more of her earnings and work under her terms. It certainly is not an indication of skill. She turned out to be absolutely wonderful.
As for sales that is a tricky one. It is far more challenging to market your audio title, in my opinion because the infrastructure to do so is not as established as it is for print and digital titles. I feel sure this will change as Audible continues to dominate but for now marketing and promo is very much up to the authors. So you promote where print and digital is promoted and you hope people notice your title is also available in audio form. Audible does not support any in house promo efforts, there are no giveaways or discount days etc. So it's all up to you unless you are lucky enough to be featured by them for a promo or spotlight. If that happens your ship has come in lol. Having said that I have been really fortunate so far with my Audible sales. In July and for part of August my audio outsold my digital and print versions put together. I have no way of explaining this. It is possible that my digital promo push around July 4th weekend gave me some bleedover to audio sales. It is also possible that I had some back to school bump because my book is about parenting. I have no way of knowing for sure what happened. Audible listeners are very picky and reviews mean a lot more than they do elsewhere, I believe. Audio title cost a lot more so people want to be sure before they buy or use their valuable credits on a title. But they are also quite loyal, yet another reason to keep writing and create a decent back catalog.
Thanks for the info, Tara!I remember the times when all the once- banned movies started to flood former USSR and no matter whether a female or male actor, all were translated by the same dude with a really unpleasant nasal voice. So unpleasant, he became a gimmick a few years later..
I wonder whether there is market for a narrator with a heavy Russian accent, if I do my own stuff? -:)
NikI believe there is a market for every vocal delivery type. Familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of voice production and the equipment needed to record and edit material. Produce a sample chapter and find beta listeners to give you detailed feedback.Also if you are curious about industry standards go on the ACX site and filter narrators by gender and voice specialty (Russian, Eastern European etc). Listen to these samples and see what qualities make them successful, especially if they are getting lots of work.
Thanks, Tara, that's an entirely new world to master -:)Are sales sizable enough to justify an investment?
Tara wrote: "Check ACX's distribution terms of service before you put your chapters online. If they have an exclusivity clause you may not be able to list more than 10% of the book to the public for free."I would offer it on my website, not on Audible. And I dont think it would matter anyway, with the 10% you speak off. Im planning on having 65 chapters, so it would be within the range even if I did.
As Ive mentioned in other posts, it is imperative that authors drive traffic to their own websites/blogs rather than driving traffic to Amazon or Audible. When you eat off of Amazon's plate, you let them decide how much food they will give you.
Im not saying selling through Amazon is bad, Im just saying you want to be able to develop your own traffic/visitors/fans that will join your email lists and be loyal readers. Once you have their email addresses, you can drive them anywhere to buy just about anything you want to sell them, not just books.
Audible is popular with a lot of readers. I see it come up often in the GR club reads. I don't listen to them myself. I like to read at my own pace and the dialog tags can really slow things down. On the other hand tags do keep things organized so there is no doubt the speaker.The voice is important of course. Some complaints I've heard were of men reading the female characters and using 'high breathy voices,' so that would be something to consider. That was for several popular big five publications.
M.L. wrote: " Some complaints I've heard were of men reading the female characters and using 'high breathy voices,'"I remember that weirding me out when I was a kid, haha.
Allan wrote: "There are a few apps for audio books. Overdrive is one I have downloaded on my mobile phone which I use to 'borrow' audio books from my local library (for free). I would suggest you give this a go ..."my library has overdrive too. a few friends of mine have horrendous commutes and they plow through loads of audiobooks like goats on a golf course.
An alternative would be to narrate your own book and to engage a sound engineer or editor. Editing and mastering audio files is the most time-consuming part of audio book production. There are many freelance editors, proofers and sound engineers and you can find them by recommendation through ACX or LinkedIn for example who will work with you remotely.
Melanie wrote: "An alternative would be to narrate your own book and to engage a sound engineer or editor. Editing and mastering audio files is the most time-consuming part of audio book production. There are ma..."
have you narrated your own? can you do a high breathy, heavy russian voice?
Alex G wrote: "Melanie wrote: "An alternative would be to narrate your own book and to engage a sound engineer or editor. Editing and mastering audio files is the most time-consuming part of audio book production..."Lol!
When I go to Tara's book, it says the Audible is 0.00, and I have seen this on a lot of books. What does this mean? Is there a free trial like Kindle Unlimited? About how much should an Audible title be priced and how do you get paid from Amazon? Sorry for all the questions *blush*. This is extremely new territory for me.
Marie wrote: "When I go to Tara's book, it says the Audible is 0.00, and I have seen this on a lot of books. What does this mean? Is there a free trial like Kindle Unlimited? About how much should an Audible tit..."If you are ot an Audible member each book will list as free because the first book is on the house when you join. I priced my book according to similar titles in my genre. Payment is through ACX and funds are deposited into your bank account monthly. Easy breezy!
Alex G wrote: "Melanie wrote: "An alternative would be to narrate your own book and to engage a sound engineer or editor. Editing and mastering audio files is the most time-consuming part of audio book production..."No, I'm not an author Alex! As for the voice combination/contradiction (" high breathy, heavy Russian voice") ..............what an exciting challenge for someone! Seriously though, there are also online voice over sites that specialise in foreign accents.
All,I'm confused. Audible seemed to be more like a GoFundMe idea: you offer your book and off you go if someone is interested. I set that up and had zero response. I offered a book that's completely in the first person (Muddlin' Through)--it seemed like a natural.
I understand the production process is expensive because of the sound files and the pro voice required (I was thinking throaty contralto). I certainly couldn't afford to produce an audiobook on my own, so the GoFundMe modus operandi seemed appropriate.
I know people with long CAR commutes who use audiobooks. You see ebooks on trains and buses. Good luck to others who try this media!
r/Steve
Steven wrote: "All,I'm confused. Audible seemed to be more like a GoFundMe idea: you offer your book and off you go if someone is interested. I set that up and had zero response. I offered a book that's complete..."
If you are willing to split your royalties you pay nothing up front with Audible.
Tara,I think that's what I chose. No nibbles, though. )-:
r/Steve
