Audio Is anyone making Audio Books?

Discussion in 'Self-Publishing' started by exweedfarmer, Jan 22, 2017.

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  1. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    My book The Eagle and the Dragon is becoming an audio book via ACX, and my wife Karen's Ruby is also in work. We both have been very pleased with ACX. You put an extract of your book, about ten minutes or so, up for audition. I got ten auditions in the first week, and the really hard part was picking which one, as they were all so good. Then you cut the deal with the narrator, and he will upload your book chapter by chapter, for your review and approval. E&D is about half done, and R is 1/3 done. I haven't had to correct anything. Payments are at the 1/3 points, and either of you can back out at any point.

    You can pay the narrator an upfront cost, and keep all of the 40% royalties, or split the royalties 20%/20%. One puts all the cost on you, the other puts all the risk on the narrator, because if your book does not sell, he/she gets nothing. You will probably pay him/her an upfront cost per finished hour (finished hour = about 10K words; E&D is 240K words and 25.8 finished hours), plus some negotiated upfront cost. Each finished hour represents five to ten hours of work by the narrator: read the text, plan it narrate it, review it, edit it, and re-record/re-edit as necessary.

    Narrators all appear to be professional actors who have had voice coaching for various dialects.

    You will need a square cover for your audio book, and ACX specifically forbids posting your paperback/Kindle cover onto a square background... no borders allowed!
     
  2. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    Based on what I am paying for the 240K E&D, a 50K novella will cost about $500 on ACX, with a fifty-fifty split on royalties. And @BayView, ACX does NOT select narrators for you. They provide them, and narrators have they own separate qualification rules, which I don't know. Perhaps I can ask my narrator how he came to be on ACX. You upload an extract of your book of 5-10 minutes duration, and take auditions until you find one that works for you.
     
  3. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    E&D is now out on audio, sales and reviews are good. Harry Frost, my British narrator, did an excellent job!
     
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