Topic: Closure now in audiobook!

Greetings!

Decided to see how the process works for turning a finished manuscript into an audiobook.

My fantasy novella Closure is now out in audiobook format! It's available through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. Here's the amazon.com link: https://www.amazon.com/Closure/dp/B07SS … d=&sr=

I used a website called ACX (which I think is a subsidiary of Amazon) to make a proposal and hire a producer, who did all the narrating. A lot of back and forth, and correcting typos (are they typos if they're spoken?), and finalizing his submissions, then I paid him, ACX put everything in a fancy wrapping that I supplied, and viola! A third format for one of my stories!

I think I'll do it for other works going forward. But boy, audiobooks are kinda pricey. Anyone listen to them a lot? I don't, really. Just curious how many prefer that format. I know some of my co-workers listen to them on the way to and from work, but I live three minutes (if that) away from my place of business, so that's not an option for me.

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Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Many congrats, Seabrass!

Quote Post 2

Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Congratulations, SB! That's way more than OK!

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Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Congratulations! I considered this for Rise but balked at the price. I didn't consider it for financial gain but because I personally adore audiobooks. I used to have an hour and a half commute to my old job and they were the only thing that got me through it. Now I use them while walking for exercise. Moderate physical activity is much more tolerable when you can get lost in a story.

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Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Congratulations! It' wicked you decide to go for the audiobook!

I wonder if you would be willing to share a ballpark figure of how much you invested. You know, for the sake of the class.

Answering your question, I do listen a lot of audiobooks. My commuting time is ~30 mins, so it’s a full hour listening every day. On top of that, I go to the gym three times a week and run thirty minutes on the treadmill. As Mark, I prefer to get lost in a story, otherwise the thirty minutes turn into an eternity and I end up checking the arse of every young bloke around me.

Because of my consumption level I subscribed to Audible; you know, you get one credit per month at a reduced price, and then they offer you three extra credits at a reduced price as well. I'm always buying the extra credits because I always burn the monthly book fast.

So, I do think audiobooks are a good investment (Amazon wouldn’t keep Audible’s site with so many audiobooks up unless it were a good business), given you advertise your book enough. Keep us posted on your ROI (return of investment).

Kiss,

Gacela

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Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Congratulations!  I like audiobooks as long as it's a male narrator who has a sexy voice!  Then he can whisper in my ear for a few hours!  LOL!

Quote Post 6

Re: Closure now in audiobook!

Hello.

Mariana, the project is decided by recording hours. Recording hours are determined by word count. Closure came in at about 40K words, which translated to about five hours of recording by the producer. My generic bid to attract auditions (got 33 of them) was $100-$200/hour or something like that. When I decided on the 'voice' I felt worked best for my story, I offered $120/hour for five hours of work. So, $600. The final project came in at seven hours and something, so the final cost was adjusted to just over $700. I provided the cover art, the book description (both of which were already done did up) and the manuscript. The producer supplied the recordings, all clean and consistent. ACX stitched it all together into the final product.

I had no control over the final cost, which is just under $20 (on amazon.com, anyway- probably cheaper through Audible). I don't know how much per copy I'll get until I sell one or two. I imagine I'd have to sell several hundred just to break even. The producer has already gotten his pay, so all royalties are mine, though there is an option to share royalties at a reduced hourly rate. But the final product is out there now, like the softcover and Kindle versions. My work is essentially done. In ten years, who knows how this'll all turn out.

I didn't go into this expecting to break the bank, but more to see what the process is like. If I have the up-front cash to burn again, I'll do it again. We'll see. It does get kinda costly initially, but if something works out, even modestly, there's a good chance of seeing a return on investment.

Hope this helps!

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