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Marie Silk: the value of permafree?
*Sigh* where to begin. This is about my audiobook "adventure".Okay, so in a way, ACX holds your hand through the audio process. But in other ways, it's really confusing. I can usually learn new stuff pretty quick but I've had difficulty navigating the ACX site ever since I started. For instance, I can't find a way to get to my audiobook files unless I go into my ACX inbox, open a message that relates to it, and click on the link in the message. I would *think* that I should have easy access to the files through the dashboard area. Anyway, when my narrator returned the files, ACX sent me a message with the link and said to carefully review each chapter and click the "request revision" button if I wanted to request changes. Based on the standard contract between narrator and author, the author "can request up to two rounds of edits".
I could not find anything explaining how extensive these edits should be. I listened to the audiobook in full alert mode and submitted more than a few changes. I worried the whole time that I was being too picky but since this series is a lot of books, I thought it was extra important in how this one turned out.
So the narrator was super nice about making the changes and I got the files back to listen again. I found a few places that could be changed...but then I got paranoid that I was asking too much. I had to google "how much direction to give ACX narrator" so I could gauge whether I was fine with my requests or totally out of line.
What I found made me feel soooooooo bad. And it was on the ACX site of all places (well, sort of...like I say, that place is difficult to navigate). The post said that once the final audio is done, you should only have "very few, if any" changes to make. Like one key scene or a few lines of dialogue throughout the course of the book. Um, thanks ACX, this would have been handy to know about 5 days ago. It seems to conflict with the language "two rounds of edits" if you ask me.
Then ACX narrators made comments on the post. Basically it looks like it's super insulting for an author to ask a narrator to change anything after the author approves "the first 15 minutes" of the audiobook. Keep in mind that an 80K-ish word audiobook is 10 hours long. The implication was that authors are just authors, not directors, and had no business telling narrators how certain scenes should be read.
Which is basically exactly what I did. OMG. I feel awful. It's important to me that my narrator is happy and I sent an email apologizing for not realizing sooner that this many changes were frowned upon. I really did not want to come out of this looking like a perfectionist tyrant. Ugh. edit: I submitted a few more changes and my narrator was awesome about it.
Here is the post if anyone wants to have a look. I'm hoping it might save other authors some grief in this process. https://blog.acx.com/2014/07/31/direc...
Marie, if it makes you feel better, I've been producer/director for a number of voice overs (not book narration, but not that different). I would never hesitate to ask the actors to reread lines/sections/etc for either delivery or pronunciation. It is the client - in this case you - that is king, and your word that is the most important. Any narrator that gets so offended by that isn't all that professional, to be honest. (It does happen to be easier if you are in the room with them recording, however!)I saw an interview with Laura Kinsale once - one of the most popular romance authors of all time - and she talked about the audiobook process. She asked her narrator to reread certain sections to better portray her vision. It's not that uncommon.
Never mind, Marie. The way I see it you are just trying to get the best for everyone....You can stop blushing now. My iPad has gone pink in sympathy
Marie, If those were my words, I'd want them done my way. I'm glad you posted this because I've been thinking about an audiobook but I won't do if I don't get to have it done to my satisfaction. I'm not accepting someone else's presentation of my words if I think the meaning they convey isn't what I intended. I'd have to narrate it myself rather than have something come across in a way I didn't like. Guess I'm just too picky for an audiobook.
Thank you for replies, everyone! I got an email back from the narrator and she was really sweet about it. She said not to worry about the changes I requested and that she typically gets revisions requests for more than just a few things. So that helped me feel a little better.
Just to give a little background, I made notes on the original audition script about character's ages and personality. The audition is only a page and half long. Then, when the narrator agreed with my offer, I sent a more detailed character breakdown of ages and personality types. Then I requested revisions after I received the first 15 minutes. I received a corrected "first 15" and it was fantastic. So I think this communication in the beginning was crucial to minimize any editing that might be needed later. However, when I had it in my mind that I could ask for two rounds of edits, I became conflicted when I saw that ACX blog post along with the comments.
I wouldn't feel bad either. It is your book and if the reader didn't do something right, then I think you have every right to offer critique and request changes. I think there is some elitism or something going on here. Glad your narrator worked with you.Maybe next time just let them know you will offer changes so they are forewarned.
Thank you, Nat. The thing is, the narrator did a superb job in reading the book so it's not like she did anything wrong. My books are at least 90% dialogue and there are SO many characters. I didn't know how it could be pulled off as an audiobook, but I found a dream narrator who made it work beautifully. The more extensive changes I asked for involved the way the lines were being read for one character in particular. I needed it to remain ambiguous whether this person was a "good guy or bad guy" because I have plans for them throughout the series. As a side note, I was a little worried that the high number of dialogue tags I had written in the manuscript might sound bad in an audio. Just wanted to report that I hardly noticed the tags at all! The narrator knew just how to downplay the tags so they did not distract from the story. I'm back to being excited about the release of this audiobook! :)
Mary Ellen wrote: "Marie, If those were my words, I'd want them done my way. I'm glad you posted this because I've been thinking about an audiobook but I won't do if I don't get to have it done to my satisfaction. I'..."I'm with you, Mary! I would have to be able to lean in (at any point) and say..."uhm...it's actually intended to be like...."
I listen to audio a lot and it totally stands out with."It's a beautiful day," Mark said.
"Oh yes, let's grab some ice cream," Mary said.
"Oh no, let's get bikes instead," Susan said.
Glad that it worked out in your book. :) I want to do an audio!!! I'm just not ready. Other things to work on first.
Looking forward to the finished audio book, Marie! Exciting!
I'm honestly really surprised at some of the comments on that blog post. No actor/voice over artist I've ever known has been so averse to direction. Quite the contrary, actually! I'm happy to hear that the person doing your book is being cool about it though. At the end of the day, the narrator should want to reflect the author's words as the author intends them. Seems like that's the whole point of an audio book to me! xD
Thank you for the replies, everyone :) sorry in advance for the uber-long post!My narrator was amazing about everything. I set the deadline for the audiobook to be completed by 4/15 and she had it all done including two rounds of my requested edits a few days early. Overall, I am pleased with how quickly the audiobook was finished. I only began this process in late February and now have a completed audiobook!
Unfortunately, I couldn't "approve" the audiobook to get published right away because I was unaware I had to have a new cover made. I found out that ACX has really strict rules on what the uploaded cover can be. It has to be a perfect square. You can't just use your regular rectangular book cover with photoshopped borders on the sides. It has to be hi-res. It can't be squashed from resizing.
I emailed my cover designer (who was already working on two other covers for me) and asked for an audio cover asap. I didn't receive the files until last night, but now everything is uploaded to ACX and "in review". I was a little disappointed to see that ACX mentions a 10-14 day waiting period between the author approving the audiobook and the actual listing on Audible. It was nothing like the "72 hours" that KDP tells you to wait before your book is published (which turns out to be more like 4 hours for me). I'm crossing my fingers that the 10-14 days is actually much shorter.
COMING SOON!! :)
I've been going non-stop with this writing business lately. I have a giant campaign coming up...also launching the audiobook and prequel to the series and working on the last book to the series. This means I am promoting 9 total books (including audio) at the same time and I'm about to lose my mind :D. Also I republished my first book with some typo fixes that I caught in the audio files. I did a final edit of my pre-order book but was cutting it a little close for comfort by uploading the final mobi only 1 day before the deadline. I updated my website, sent out a newsletter, and posted a blog. I'm trying desperately to reach the finalist stage in the Kindle Storyteller contest with my new release.
I triple-checked and quadruple-checked my promo dates/times to be sure I lined up everything just right. I'm looking forward to a nice long vacation from all things writing/marketing when this campaign ends. Eh, who am I kidding...I'll probably write another book. Somebody, stop me!! :D Oh yeah, my second audiobook is currently in production, and (lesson learned) I already have the completed audio cover :)
Still to do this week:
1. publish my prequel to Createspace (waiting on the paperback cover)
2. babysit weeklong promo
3. launch prequel
4. launch audiobook
Tomorrow is the big day before the big (Bookbub) day. I'm starting the promotion a day early (first book free, sequels 99 cents/99p) mostly to ensure I get the timing right on all the promotions. My goal is 300+ pre-orders and 2K+ sales for the month of April. I'm nowhere near that right now but I think I can reach it with this particular campaign that I've been setting in motion since January :). If not, I might cry a little. Here's to hoping!
Holy Schmoley! You're busy. Glad that the audio is working out... sad about the delay. Good luck with all the promo! You are in inspiration. :)
Wow, amazing, Marie! Best of luck! It's fun watching from the sidelines. :)
Wow, that's full on! Good luck! (The audio covers look great!)
Awesome to hear it's done! And the covers look amazing!! Good luck on everything:)
Seriously, Miss Marie! You. Are. Killin'. It!! And covers look totally fab, as always!
***mwahhh***
As always, great info! I'm super excited for your bub promo and can't wait to see how that turns out!
Marie Silk wrote: "I'm looking forward to a nice long vacation from all things writing/marketing when this campaign ends. Eh, who am I kidding...I'll probably write another book. Somebody, stop me!! :DHaha! I'm exactly the same way. But breaks are indeed necessary.
You're doing so much! I hope you get mega big sales!
You make me remember that I need to return to making my audio book too!! They're so popular, and can be a secondary income. I really gotta do it.
Here's to your giant success!!
Settle down girl. You are such a little dynamo.... 😜
Thank you, Nat!! :)Thank you, M.L.!! :)
Thank you, Aislinn!! :)
Thank you, Amanda!! :)
Thank you, Annie!! :)
Thank you, Christina!! :)
Thank you, Lyra!! :)
Thank you, Alex!! :)
Thank you, Jane!! :)
I need all the luck and good thoughts I can get :D
Always amazed! Love your posts as they put a lot of fire under my butt of what I can get accomplished.On my lunch break now. Back to regular work I go :) Keep killing it everyone!!!
Alex wrote: "How much do you charge to help out with marketing, Marie? I could do with the kind of exposure you're setting up for your books."I try to share results from my marketing efforts that I think could be helpful to others, but I'm not set up to offer marketing services as a business :/. I'm up to my ears in commitments and still trying to travel the world. There aren't enough hours in the day.
Amie wrote: "Always amazed! Love your posts as they put a lot of fire under my butt of what I can get accomplished.On my lunch break now. Back to regular work I go :) Keep killing it everyone!!!"
Thank you, Amie!
Xpresso Book ToursThis is my first time doing a blog tour and it hasn't started yet so I can't comment on how it went, but the email I received from Xpresso today seemed promising. The organizer sent me a spreadsheet of the blogs that signed up to promote my book (this is for the new book to my series that releases in 3 days Davenport House Prequel). On the Xpresso site showing the services offered, they said that 70-90 blogs usually sign up for YA book blitzes. I wasn't sure what to think of that number (seemed optimistic for my genre) but I hoped that at least a few dozen blogs would be participating in my tour.
The spreadsheet she emailed me today listed over 100 blogs that signed up for my book! That seems pretty neat and way beyond what I could organize myself. To sweeten the deal, I offered a $25 Amazon gift card for the rafflecopter giveaway that will be shared on all the blogs. The blitz/tour cost was $90 + the expense of the Amazon gift card. It was difficult for me to justify the cost when I didn't know if any YA blogs would be interested in my book. Now that I see so many sign ups, I am ecstatic! The organizer has been extremely helpful ever since I ordered the tour. I explained I was swamped for the next month so would not be able to offer anything in the way of author interviews etc. She was kind enough to make up some images for the blogs to use in the blitz so I really haven't had to do anything except pay and answer a few questions. Looking forward to how this turns out :).
She also provided this lovely banner for my Facebook page:
Hey, Marie, I also signed up with them. She's been very nice and helpful with me as well:) My book blitz is next week and I find out how many blogs signed up on Thursday! I'm nervous and excited all at once to see how many signed up. Great number you have! Very exciting for you!!
She is amazing, right? I absolutely love her! They did my cover reveal last month and I will tell you there was such a huge response I woke up to about a million notifications that morning! It was great! I have a blitz scheduled for this Thursday I also had about 90 blogs sign-up for my event and I did a giftcard and a signed paperback so I am hoping for the best! I am sure that your book will do great with them I have heard from everyone that they are the best! Your book is in good hands with them!! Good luck!! ❤️️❤️️❤️️
Alex- thank you! I looked at a few different blog tour services and this one seemed to be the best fit for me. The nice thing about blog tours is they have the connections and do most or all of the work for you, depending on what you want to provide. I really hoped for a tour that would do everything for me while I worked on other projects and I think this one is going to work nicely :). Amanda- thank you for your comment! It will be fun to see how all this turns out! Good luck on your blitz sign ups and please feel free to update here with how it goes. I'd love to hear about it!
Ember- thank you for the words of encouragement! I'm glad your cover reveal went well. Giselle seems perfectly organized and on top of things to the point that I'm a bit envious. I could use some mental clarity right about now lol. Looking forward to the results of your blitz too! I'd love to use Xpresso in the future for exposure of more titles.
You are so welcome! You don't need encouragement from me though! You are a super star! Giselle is super organized! I have no idea how she keeps it all straight! I would probably lose my mind! Lol! I will definitely let you know how it all goes when all is said and done! Hugs!!
That's just a little over a dollar per blog. Pretty fair price, indeed! Best wishes for a huge response. :)
I'll definitely let you know, Marie! I'm so excited to see how it goes for everyone!
Yay Marie and Amanda! So exciting!I hope you guys have better results from your tours/blitzes than I did. I had heaps of blogs sign up, but I didn't get any preorders from it, (or sales post-release that I could tell), and not even many people entering the giveaway.
It's entirely possible that was just me, though, so I genuinely hope it works out for you guys. You deserve it.
This one is getting framed to hang on the wall :D
Yes! That's fantastic! I've been waiting to see your stats!
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Thank you, Ember, M.L., Christina, GG, and Alex :)11:00 am Stats: Bookbub says the average number of downloads for a free historical fiction feature is 30K. My book is at 25K downloads so far. Roughly 1/5 of those downloads are international, mainly from UK and CA. I think my rank in the free store may be benefiting from the fact that not many of the other Bookbub deals are free. Works for me :).
Another stroke of luck: Bookbub editors decided to give my book one of the rare spots in the Facebook announcement today. I saw 2400 downloads after this Facebook post, which was an hour before the BB newsletter arrived in my inbox.
I set this free/countdown campaign to begin yesterday, with Book 1 free and the rest of the series 99 cents/99p. I did not do any paid advertising for the free book yesterday. The only advertising was a free ad with ebook lister and some social media posts. I did pay $25 for a young adult Bargain Booksy feature for the second book in my series. I hoped that getting a head start on the countdown promo would help create a domino effect for the series, since sales from one-day-only don't tend to hold up ranks. From yesterday, I had 46 total free downloads and 31 sales of the sequels. Pretty slow yet a nice way to ease into the promotion.
The book that is free with Bookbub today will return to regular price (2.99) tomorrow, but the sequels will still be on sale through Monday. I have paid for advertising for the sequels to hopefully make the biggest splash possible while I ride the BB wave :).
This is exciting news! Wow... great number of downloads, a special spot, and everything. I'm excited for you (grabbed your book too, because I hadn't had it before.)Go you! Enjoying your success. :)
Eeek! Holy amazeballs, Batman!!
So freakin' stoked for you, Miss Marie! Here's hoping you get an (even more) insane amount of DLs!!
***mwahhh***
Okay, that's it. You haven't just won. You won at Book Bub. That's saying something! ;-p
Thank you, Nat! It's much appreciated :) Aw Annie, love the gif. Thank you :)
Thanks Christina! I'm hoping this gives me a legit chance at the storyteller contest!
2:00pm Stats: now over 32K downloads and surpassed 1K sales of the sequels + 30 new pre-orders. 10 hours to go on the free promo! I scheduled AskDavid tweets to run all day yesterday and today. Davenport House was "Book of the Day" on Book Adrenaline and had a mention in the Fussy newsletter. Book 2 is on a paid promotion with Early Bird Books and Book 6 is on paid promotion with Bargain Booksy. I might have gotten a few gray hairs setting up this promo but I think it will all be worth it :).
Amazon gave me some cool ranks next to my author bio. My overall author rank on Amazon made it up to #222. Think I can break into the top 100? 'Cause that would be crazy and awesome :)
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Sweet Consort of Davenport Marie those are some mad stats!
Wow! This is so amazing and exciting! Well deserved results.
So awesome to hear, Marie!!! Congrats:)
Thank you so much Dwayne, CB, Aislinn, and Amanda! I am grateful for the support!
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*nods in agreement and begins to sob*
Seriously, though, I am so freakin' stoked for you, ma'am!! And kinda glad the audiobook journey helped catch some errors too LOL
***mwahhh***