We spent several years (since the late 90’s) in the author/ publishing community talking about ebook vs print – would one or the other survive, which was better, and so on. The answers? Who cares?
Ebook is well entrenched in the marketplace. Print books might go away someday, but not anytime soon. Everyone has their own reasons to prefer one or the other or both. The answer’s simple. Offer both. So it’s time to move on into less charted waters.
Today I wanted to throw audio out there.
Audio books aren’t new. They’ve been available for quite a while, boon to the long commute, the workout, the boring chore. What is new is that audio is now within reach of the small publisher and the self-publisher.
Let’s face it – good narration is expensive and was once only in the reach of larger businesses. But negotiation has become more possible, and ACX (yes, it’s another Amazon minion) has made it easier for both connecting and negotiating with potential narrators.
As the author, you audition narrators. If you don’t like them, you say no. If you do like them, you can talk directly with the narrator about price, or even royalty sharing, which allows you to go forward with the process without having the initial expenditure that many authors can’t afford.
Want to narrate? You can go through the process to be approved as a narrator in ACX as well. Of course, you need some equipment and know-how for that, but it’s an easy way to get your voice out there. For some good advice and discussion on narrating audiobooks, the folks at the WROTE podcast did a special episode with Brad Vance on just this subject. Audiophiles, take note!
The market these days demands options. Lucky for us, the tools have improved significantly and the options are increasingly within the grasp of independent author.