Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie discussion
Q&A: Push Play! Getting Your Book on Audible
message 1:
by
Erin
(new)
Jun 08, 2017 03:54AM
I'm happy to announce that I'll be hosting our next group Q&A: getting your book on Audible! So line up your questions and comments and we'll start the discussion tomorrow through Sunday. Looking forward to it? I know I am :O
reply
|
flag
Mod
Carole wrote: "I love audible. It's a great way to increase sales."You are so right and I never would have thought so before I did it! So glad your experience will help us all learn more about this, as always!
Carole wrote: "You are so sweet Erin!!!"Dude...the company I keep ;)
Ah audible. I do audible. And I'll always remember one book where mid paragraph the person reading said "I'm sorry I made a mistake there, I'll just start the chapter again." The surprised look on my face was something to behold. #WhatNotToDo
Mod
Amy wrote: "Ah audible. I do audible. And I'll always remember one book where mid paragraph the person reading said "I'm sorry I made a mistake there, I'll just start the chapter again." The surprised look on ..."Holy record scratch, Batman!
lol. I had to listen again to see if I'd missed some reason for it, like something in the story, but no, it was just a massive lack of editing! I was surprised to say the least.And follow that up with if you are reading out email messages (like in Fifty Shades) for the love of absolutely everything, do it quicker, no-one needs an entire message header read out to them, and yet...
Amy wrote: "lol. I had to listen again to see if I'd missed some reason for it, like something in the story, but no, it was just a massive lack of editing! I was surprised to say the least.And follow that up..."
This is hilarious!
Those are the worst. I've had an audible subscription since Audible first existed. I'm way behind, but I've listen to loads of books. I did have to finish Fifty Shades on double speed though. The voice artist was um, quite slow. (Sorry voice artist, but you were. Ohhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-Amy deploys the Baseball Bat of Frustration at a random inanimate object...)
That's so funny! Thanks for the morning chuckle, Amy :)
I haven't even looked at that. It crossed my mind because I use audible and because I read my books out loud as I'm editing. With that in mind despite my (not vast) stage experience, half an hour in I'm losing my voice. (I've had books read by the author-maybe that cuts the cost.)
I'm going to totally lurk and absorb info on this. Thanks Erin!
we have some of our children's books on audible :) chose the voice artist through Fiverr and worked with a friend that manages all of the uploading etc... :)
Mod
Mod
Denise wrote: "I'd love to have my books available as audiobooks but it's too expensive."It can be pricey to hire top and almost top notch talent but remember:
- ACX lets you do a profit split with the narrator to reduce or eliminate upfront costs
- you can hire freelance goice talent on your own and for great rates
- many ACX narrators are new and will cut you an amazing deal because they desperately want to build their ortfolios.
Don't give up if having your titles on Audible is your dream!
Thought about it. Even seriously looked into it but got distracted while I was thinking about and now might be the time to relook.
L.E. wrote: "Thought about it. Even seriously looked into it but got distracted while I was thinking about and now might be the time to relook."ACX really makes the process easy once you get started.
Alex wrote: "I'd be interested in having audio versions of my books, if only for another potential revenue stream, but the thought of dealing with a narrator (I could never do it myself) gives me the terrors."If you don't mind sharing more of your reservations I'd love to address them individually.
Sooooo....someone should TOtally be a case study and blog here in the group about their Audible experience week by week. Right?!I may or may not be staring at Alex but anyone can volunteer...*whistles*
Alex wrote: "Erin wrote: "If you don't mind sharing more of your reservations I'd love to address them individually. "My biggest reservation is I suffer from anxiety and stress and dealing with new things, an..."
My middle sister is the exact same way. I think you deserve a personal round of applause for being a published author. Millions of individuals feel they have a book somewhere in them but will never get around to doing what you've done!! If you really would like to publish on Audible I'd lime to volunteer for a one-on-one coaching partnership with you. We can take our time and untangle the process one component at a time until your launch day. If this doesn't feel comfortable or the timing is not quite right I understand. Otherwise I'm behind you 100%.
My experience has been pretty varied. I have tried the profit share, and I've had 3 different narrators for the 4 books I have on audio. I like the lady whose done my last 2 now. I'm curious how to hire Sebastian York and how pricey he is if I did! But the guy who narrated my 2nd novella told me a few weeks ago that he has a female narrator he can do dual production with. That seems to be the growing trend at the moment. His name is Timothy McKean if anyone wants to search for him on ACX.
Mod
It's a good deal for the author because you can get it done with no start up fee, not a great deal for the narrator, because audio books are the least selling format of any type of books so far, by a lot. Then you split the royalties, which in total is 40% so you each get 20%. Let's say someone adds audible to their ebook purchase on Amazon for an extra $1.99. you'll get a whopping $0.40 from that sale, where you'd have gotten $0.80 if you weren't sharing the royalties. I've paid per finished hour on my last 2 book since I was at a better place financially than I was when I did my first 2. I think you should do what makes sense for you. $0.40 is still more than the nothing you would have made had you not had the audio format available!
@Erin, what is your take on this?
Mod
Alex wrote: "Thank you, it's very kind of you, Erin, I may take you up on it at some point in the future. Right now I'm still trying to get my head around marketing and social media, total nightmare for me.The..."
Whenever you're ready I'm more than ready to help you one-on-one, step by step. Inbox me anytime or email me here: (view spoiler)
Justin wrote: "Do we ask the questions here or?"Yes, here is fine, J.
I'm having trouble with interpreting the ACX dashboard. Is there somewhere they tell you how much royalties you get per sale, or even how much your audiobook is listed for? I can't find this information.
Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do certain genres fair better than others with audio books?
Mod
Justin wrote: "Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do ..."
ACX is not free but there are no upfront costs. Sort of. The platform is free but you have to pay your producer, of course. ACX will take their cut off the top and pay you your royalties afterwards. If you do a profit share you will earn 20% of sales and your producer will earn the same.
Justin wrote: "Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do ..."
Audiobooks are smokin' hot right now thanks to Audible. The rumor is that movie and television producers are doing secret drive-bys on Audible to see if a book has production "legs". Can't vouch for this but audio listenership is definitely up.
Justin wrote: "Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do ..."
Justin wrote: "Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.
Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do ..."
The decision to produce an audiobook is a personal one. I would say that just like with paperback or digital publishing you have to know your reasons, know your budget and know your audience. Having said that, once you've paid for your production you can sit back and relax. There is not much you can do by way of promotions, at this point, although that may change someday. Just enjoy the organic sales and know you've increased your level of professionalism and your fanbase!
Justin wrote: "Is Audible or ACX free? Someone said in another thread that it was free.Are audio books really hot right now and is it worth getting in on?
What's a good price to set your a audio books at?
Do ..."
You should price according to your genre and the recorded length of your title.
Wow Erin thank you for answering all my questions! I know I sorta fired a lot out there.
I really wish ACX was available to me. :( I'll get back to you with questions when they let Aussies in on the action. :p
Nicole wrote: "It's a good deal for the author because you can get it done with no start up fee, not a great deal for the narrator, because audio books are the least selling format of any type of books so far, by..."Completely agree. Half of a little is better than all of nothing lol. It does, however, let you get your foot in the door with quality production. Wait and see how the book fares and decide whether or not your next title should be yours alone. I paid out of pocket for my production because I got lucky and found someone with great talent but nit a lot of gigs under her belt.
Justin wrote: "Wow Erin thank you for answering all my questions! I know I sorta fired a lot out there."Lol, keep 'em coming :)
Aislinn wrote: "I really wish ACX was available to me. :( I'll get back to you with questions when they let Aussies in on the action. :p"Hmmm...I wonder if you could get in on a genre box set?
I went through ACX's exclusive contract in which they control the pricing. The royalties are higher if you go exclusive with them. I just wish there was a better way to see how much they will pay out each month. I'm assuming royalties are paid monthly...right? How much of a delay is there between sales and payout?
Marie Silk wrote: "I'm having trouble with interpreting the ACX dashboard. Is there somewhere they tell you how much royalties you get per sale, or even how much your audiobook is listed for? I can't find this inform..."*waves hello*
Homepage
Your titles (at the top of the page beside "logout")
You will now see your sales on the far right of the page. Beneath this number you'll see your dashboard/sales reports link.
Let me know if this didn't help.
Marie Silk wrote: "I'm having trouble with interpreting the ACX dashboard. Is there somewhere they tell you how much royalties you get per sale, or even how much your audiobook is listed for? I can't find this inform..."Your breakdown isn't very detailed with ACX as with Amazon. You know how many of each type of sale but not the sale price, which varies by membership level. You'll have to wait for your monthly report for more info and that is not very detailed either...
*waves hello back* :)Thank you, Erin. My dashboard shows the number of times my audiobook has sold but there is nowhere that I can find that shows royalty amounts. That's what I'm looking for.
Marie Silk wrote: "I went through ACX's exclusive contract in which they control the pricing. The royalties are higher if you go exclusive with them. I just wish there was a better way to see how much they will pay o..."They pay quickly and regularly once a month via direct deposit.
Marie Silk wrote: "*waves hello back* :)Thank you, Erin. My dashboard shows the number of times my audiobook has sold but there is nowhere that I can find that shows royalty amounts. That's what I'm looking for."
Yeah, you'll only get royalty numbers once a month :(
