The Indie Author Side of Audiobook Production (espec ACX)

I often hear "I'm new at this, can you tell?!"  from authors. No problem! I’m so happy for you entering the world of audio! And if you’re choosing to do it all yourself, well, there is a lot to learn all at once.

Here’s a few suggestions for how to do your end of things well (primarily applicable to ACX listings), because of course you want to give your book the best chance.

DIY or some assistance pls?

If you are the type of person who likes to control every aspect of your business and understand all the moving parts, then DIY can be right for you. If you just want to write the books, OR you don’t have the time to invest in learning a whole new aspect of publishing, then a production house could be right for you. Production houses can handle the casting, the audio approval, and the promotion, and you can generally choose to be as involved as you wish to be at decision points. There are many options, based on your genre, your budget, your intentions… see blog post on distribution for a list. I highly recommend and can point you to one I think suited to you.

Choosing diy?

Your basic choices are to pay a narrator outright (Per Finished Hour or PFH), in which case you own the ready-for-retail completed audio and you can choose (from many options) how and where you’ll put it on sale; OR to make a Royalty Share (RS) agreement with a narrator, in which case the narrator gets paid for their investment through the sales of the audio.

PFH is the best choice for you for control, options, and also to maximize your return. All the royalties go to you! But, RS exists if you just can’t make that investment up-front, and if you have sales numbers that make it an attractive risk to a narrator.

Listing on acx?

You’ve decided to go through ACX. If you are doing royalty share AND want to do Audible exclusive, this is good choice. You need to create an author profile on ACX, claim your book from Amazon, and create the project.

Here’s a great step-by-step guide.

Maybe we’ve talked and you want me to voice your book — you can directly make me an offer after step 7.

Or maybe you don’t know who you want to voice your book (I won’t be too insulted if it’s not me :), and you need to carry on - steps 8 and on….

a few more hints for acx listing process:

1) Short and sweet!  A short audition script might mean you get more candidates auditioning. But include something representative - your MC’s talking, a sex scene if it’s erotica, an action scene if it’s fantasy, perhaps.

When you attach 3-10 pages …. well, on the plus side you’ve given enough material to give lots of character and tonal clues, but don’t expect anyone to read it all! Two to five minutes is standard length for an audition. If you want to post several pages, a note indicating that you’re only expecting an industry-standard two-three minute audition clarifies your expectations.

2) Give your sample script file a name that includes the name of your book.

3) Keywords for characters and performance are important, especially if accents are involved! It helps to note how names are pronounced, and who has what accent.

4) Mentioning that you appreciate the work involved in producing auditions (there is quite a lot of work in each audition) or books is a nice touch.

5) Please don’t list your book for “$X PFH OR Royalty Share”, when there’s not the faintest chance you plan to pay PFH for it.

When the auditions pour in:

Here’s a great and comprehensive blog post on all the things you should consider when listening to the audition.

1) Use headphones to be better able to assess the sound quality, hear background noise, loud breathing, mouth clicks and noises, and also, because your customers at the end of this road are very often going to be listening to the finished product with headphones.

2) The narrators won’t know if you click “dislike” on their audition ;)

3) If you’ve got a short list that you’re stuck deciding between, by all means ask for another sample with a different type of scene or a reading of a different important character, if you need more information to make your decision.

4) When you make an offer to someone and they accept, all the other candidates get a boilerplate message that says the narrator has been chosen (and it’s not you, better luck next time). You don’t have to write to any runnersup to let them know. Unless you sincerely feel the urge to express appreciation.

5) Is someone ghosting you? Unfortunately, the ACX messaging site sometimes fails to send messages, and the only way to be positive your message sent is to check your sent messages. Take communication to email as soon as possible! Use acx messaging for making contract pertinent changes, but don’t count on it!

the work is in progress…

Communicate!  Provide the pronunciation for those names and worlds you made up, a character sheet and synopsis if you have one. Please don't vanish, ignore all emails, and plan to just click "I approve".  If you’re super busy, rarely see your emails, or you don’t have much attachment to how it sounds, just say so at the outset!

Remember the 15 minute sample is your last chance to confirm that you’re happy with the voices and pronunciations, and overall treatment. After that the narrator is on their own to complete the book.

Hoping for the best Royalty Share has to offer?

1) Be flexible!  Some of us fill our menus with royalty share between paid work for many reasons. Assume books for pay get priority, so if you have a RS book, be amenable to a long and vague deadline, and be understanding if you get bumped.  You might get a real pro for free if you're willing to wait!

2) Can't pay? Lay on the praise.  I could need a reference or website quote.  Beyond that, hearing good things motivates me to invest more in your book, because you're so nice.  It's a circle of positive niceness. 

3) Prooflisten.  Since you aren’t sharing the cost of post-production with an RS, it is sometimes an option to contribute by proofing - carefully listening to the finished audio for errors.

congratulations!

Hope this helps on your journey to getting your audiobook made!

Are you wanting to further dive into more information? A motherlode of curated helpful links.