Audio Books - Options, Pros, Cons, Dos, and Don’ts

Several years ago, audio books were tanking faster than mass market paperbacks. EBooks were taking a large chunk out of both and the rest of the market share. But in the past two years, audio book sales have soared. This is the result of lower production costs and more options for listening.

For authors and publishers looking to take the plunge into audio books, there are several options:

Royalty-share platforms - ACX is one of the largest, and it also offers producers for hire. With royalty-share, the distribution company keeps a portion of profit and the narrator and author/publisher split the rest 50/50.

Hire a producer and narrator - this can be done on your own (using a company like CDBaby for distribution) or through a company that will do it all for you like Infinity Publishing or Dog Ear Publishing.

Produce and narrate yourself - for those with the resources and equipment to complete an audio book for uploading to a distribution platform. After paying the distributor, all of the profit goes to the author or author/publisher.





What are the advantages and disadvantages of audio books?

Pros-

• Exposure - There are a lot of companies distributing and selling audio books now. Plus there are fewer audio books, so you are more visible to buyers.
• Another source of income - Multiple streams of money is better than all of your eggs in one basket, and it’s an additional boost to your current income.
• Reach a wider audience - There are people who don’t read a lot of books. Some may not have time or they struggle with reading. You’ll reach non-readers, active people, and those with poor vision.
• Always in stock - Like an eBook, your audio book is always in stock.

Cons-

• Cost - The biggest one comes from producing the book yourself or paying someone to narrate and/or produce. Unless you are doing royalty-share, you have to weigh the cost (usually in the thousands) versus return on investment.
• Time involved - An eight hour audio book requires an average of sixty hours to produce. Narrators often take several weeks and if you’re doing it yourself, it could take even longer.
• Promotions - Audio books aren’t instant sales. The author and publisher still have to promote the titles just as they would a print or eBook.

While some authors will tackle the narration themselves, most will work either directly or indirectly with a narrator. Both the author and the narrator invest time in the story and consideration is required from both sides. There’s etiquette to consider and dos and don’ts:

Do -

• Provide pronunciations, character accents, and character descriptions. Make it easy for the narrator to do his or her job.
• Expect professionalism. The narrator should provide a quality product in a timely fashion.
• Plan marketing with the narrator, especially if it is a royalty-share project.
• The key - communicate!

Don’t - 

• Accept shoddy or extremely late work. The narration should be high quality and delivered on time as promised.
• Expect perfectionism. The audio book will NOT sound exactly as you imagined it. The end result will be the narrator’s interpretation, just as a movie is the director’s interpretation. Remember, your readers will also have formed an idea of the character’s voices and doubtful those match up with yours, either.
• Be overly demanding. You do not want to be a pain to work with! Like any industry, word gets around. No one wants a miserable experience.

The audio book market is wide open and booming - weigh your options and be prepared. Are audio books right for you? Have you already taken the plunge?