Yes, you can have an audiobook of your self-published book made.
Seriously guys, there isn't much you can't do as a self-published author these days.
Here's a little bit more detail on how to make an audiobook (since it has been a few months since I started this project, I may forget a few details here and there...)
- Go to ACX.com.
- If you have an Amazon account, you can simply sign in with that.
- You can find out all the info you could want HERE on their site.
- You can set up a project from your account. You will give a lot of details about your book. Things like the title, the word count (this will generate a estimate on how long the audio version will be), and a synopsis. You will also be able to give more details to make your project enticing to talent who may look to audition for the project.
- Now, you have a decision. There are two options money wise. You can do a royalty share, where you as the author/publisher don't have to pay anything upfront. Once the project is complete, you will split the royalties 50/50 with the voice talent (producer). Or you can offer a hourly sum (this is based on the "finished" hours. Roughly every one finished hour of an audio books was 5 hours of work). You can set your price, but the higher your offer, the better offers and auditions you will get.
- From here, you are open for auditions. Sometimes narrators will simply submit an audition, but you are smart to browse different talents to look for the type of voice you want. ACX has a great search engine for finding narrators. I found and invited Matthew to audition for WHAT I DIDN'T SAY. Cheryl found me and submitted an audition on her own. The moment I heard both their auditions, I knew they were the one's.
- Once you find someone who fits, you make them an official offer through ACX. There can be some negotiation back and forth, but things shouldn't be too complicated by this point. A narrator should not submit an audition if they weren't interested in your listed terms and book.
- ACX very easily works you through the steps from here, to officially start working with your narrator.
- The narrator is required to submit the first 5 minutes of the book for overview by a date you set. This is to make sure you think they really will work with the book and the voice of your characters.
- From there, it is in the hands of the narrator. Be patient. It can take some time to read a 80,000+ word book. With each of mine, it took a little over a month for the narrators to have it finished. They can upload chapters as they go and you can review them.
- Once the audiobook is finished recording, and you as the author have approved it, you submit it through ACX as complete. They review the files and then distribute it (depending if you chose and exclusive distribution deal with them, you can read more about this on their site) to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
- And then it is time to PROMOTE! But that is an entirely different post...
So, there's the quick of it. It really wasn't that hard, not nearly as hard as I would have imagined it to be. I am really happy with how things turned out and I can't wait to see how the sales go. This is a total experiment for me, one that is going well so far.
If you have more questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or email me direct at me@kearytaylor.com
I'm giving all of you a chance to win an audio download of WHAT I DIDN'T SAY and/or THE BANE! The winners will receive a download code to claim a copy through Audible.com, so please be sure you have access to their site before you enter! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter!
I'm giving all of you a chance to win an audio download of WHAT I DIDN'T SAY and/or THE BANE! The winners will receive a download code to claim a copy through Audible.com, so please be sure you have access to their site before you enter! Fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter!
WHAT I DIDN'T SAY
THE BANE: BOOK ONE IN THE EDEN TRILOGY
