blindly jump into the deep end without some investigation.
Up until now, I found it somewhat confusing and overwhelming. I mean it’s a commitment…a financial one.
Then, about a month ago, a friend and fellow author, Kristina Rienzi, told me she was collaborating with Audible to make an instructional video on ACX, which stands for the Audiobook Creation Exchange. This is a platform created by Audible that narrators, producers and rights-holders of the books can come together, connect, and create an audiobook together.
Kristina’s video is about the making of her newest novel, Among Us, from the physical book to the Audible platform. The video explores where to start, such as choosing the perfect voice for the story and your brand, taking you through the audition process for the book’s narration.
The process will have the author listening to the voice. Is it too high? Or is it too low? Is it dark enough for the story? Or is it too ominous for the book you are producing in audio? Do you want a man or a woman as the narrator?
Once the auditioning process is completed, the author needs to go back and listen to the recordings several times before making the decision. Part of the decision making process is, as always, your finances. The truth is creating a book is not inexpensive. In Kristina’s case…to cast the voice was $300.00 per-finished-hour.
Now, I know, you are putting on the brakes and screeching to a halt at the idea of creating an audiobook, based on these numbers but…it doesn’t have to be that way. Although the exact amount for each narrator is not disclosed on the site. Many of the narrators range from $100.00 per-finished-hour to $500.00 per-finished-hour. On average it takes roughly 10 hours of narration to complete a 90,000 word book.
Out of your price range, you say? You’re not the only one, so here is another option that perhaps you and I was unaware of. You can either pay up front, as explained above.
Or you can pay a royalty share of your book. Basically this mean the royalty of your book is shared between you and the narrator/producer. ACX has three types of royalty share programs that they can help you with when you are ready to get started.
Audible actually began it’s first audio production back in 1995, even before the ipod was created. Then in 2003, Audible scored a contract with Apple and it provided its book catalog on the iTunes store.
In 2005, Audible Air was created, offering software that could wirelessly and directly allow users to download books to their smartphones and tablets.
Then in 2008, Audible was purchased by Amazon, becoming one of its affiliates; based in Newark, NJ, becoming a growing presence in the city.
Today, Audible is the largest producer and retailer of audiobooks in the United States.
As impressive a history as this is, you’re probably wondering why this matters to an Indie Author. Well, first off, a company of this size and success, and not to mention, backed by Amazon, adds to its success and sustainability. As an indie author, if I decide to spend money on creating an audiobook for one of my novels, working with Audible, seems like a solid decision.
That being said, as strong and as successful as Audible is, making a decision to invest in an audiobook is not something that can be taken lightly. And, by that, I mean, just because other Indies are creating books, doesn’t mean one should blindly jump into the deep end without some investigation.