Right! Audiobooks became really hot around the time I wrote this, which was a while ago. Even so, I don’t think they’re going away anytime soon. So … here’s what I wrote about them.
And here’s the previous part of this brief indie publishing series.
At the moment, audiobooks are the hot, new, sexy format everyone says is big, big, big. Maybe it is. But they are much more expensive and time-consuming to create than ebooks or even print books.
They generally involve collaboration, for one thing. You, as the author and publisher, are responsible for picking the right narrator. And to find one that’s just right and within your price range may be tough. It requires thought, people skills, and patience.
However, if you want to make audiobooks a significant part of your product line (and always remember, that’s what your books are—a product), here’s what you should know about the platforms.
I suppose the major platform is ACX, which is owned by Amazon and sells audiobooks through Audible. For publishing purposes, here’s where you go to set up an ACX account: https://www.acx.com/
When you create an audiobook there, you’ll need to decide whether to be exclusive to ACX or not. If you’re exclusive, you’ll get a 40% royalty and giveaway codes. If you’re not exclusive, you get a 25% royalty, no giveaway codes, and a swift kick in the ass out the door. However, more authors are finding out that it’s a good idea to take the 25% royalty and distribute those audiobooks around through other channels.
The two options I use are Findaway Voices (which works in association with Draft2Digital) and Author’s Republic.
You can set up an account with Findaway Voices here: https://my.findawayvoices.com/login
And the same for Author’s Republic here: https://authorsrepublic.com/
No matter where you are in your writing career, remember the words of William Goldman: “Nobody knows anything.” So, ignore about 90% or what you hear you’re “supposed to do” and use the 10% you manage to find. The bottom line is, good writing will always get noticed, if you play your cards right, market and get good word of mouth, but that’s just my opinion.
And it’s never too late to get started. But you do need to get started.
PS: I haven’t even covered podcasting yet! 🙂 Hang onto your hats!
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Debbi Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sam McRae mystery series, featuring her lawyer protagonist Stephanie Ann “Sam” McRae. In addition, she’s written a standalone thriller and a middle-grade/young adult novel. Her short story “The Right to Remain Silent” was nominated for a Derringer Award in 2010. Debbi’s short stories have appeared in various anthologies and online publications.
Debbi will be releasing the second novel in the Erica Jensen mystery series, Fatal Connections, about a female Marine veteran sleuth, who was introduced in the Shamus-nominated book Damaged Goods. She also hosts her own podcast, the Crime Cafe, where she interviews other crime, suspense, and thriller authors. In addition, Debbi’s a screenwriter and minor-league videographer. A retired attorney, Debbi has also worked as a journalist, librarian and freelance writer/researcher. Her author/podcast Web site is at http://www.debbimack.com. And she’s still trying to figure this shit out. 🙂
The cover of Fatal Connections will be revealed on that site soon enough! 🙂