Audiobooks?
Calling all independent authors and readers!
I was inspired to explore a different medium for my published works–audiobooks.
My experience may serve you well too.
This post is not a comprehensive how-to article for publishing audiobooks. Rather, it is only the briefest of surveys on the topic. But if you like to listen and/or learn, whether you’re a reader, a writer, or both, just ask your favorite search engine to deliver to you a cornucopia of info on “audiobooks.” Have fun!
While haunting the aisles of a bookstore I stumbled across a book entitled, “The Guide to Publishing Audiobooks: How to Produce & Sell Audiobooks.” Bedtime reading of this book inspired me to give the medium a try. The theory? Enable yet another sales channel for my books and increase sales.
But I must admit, another motive drove me even more. I love to learn. Plus in a previous life, I enjoyed a short tenure as a recording engineer. Half a century ago. Some things have changed!
I offer you a few thoughts to tickle your fancy, and then I encourage you to listen to a sample of my home-studio audiobook recording below:
- With more smart devices like phones and tablets, not to mention iPods and older MP3 players, and with more people than ever on the go with buds in their ears, the audiobook market is expanding–a lot,
- Some books just beg for this medium. My sound clip below might be evidence of that,
- Free cloud services that also offer “Pro Plans” abound. SoundCloud is one of the more popular. And SoundCloud allows you to insert a “Buy Link” for your audiobooks in the posts for your clips. My buy link on SoundCloud for the clip below is a link to the Kindle edition for the entire book, “A Narrow Painted Road…” Sneaky, huh?
- Audiobook publishers and libraries also abound. The most popular is Audible, an Amazon company. So if you already have books on Amazon, this is an easy add. There are countless others, such as Audiobooks.com. If you love to read, why not give one of the audiobook retailers a try with a free trial? Most will gift you one or several free audiobooks to see if this medium is for you. If you’re an author, I encourage you to listen to several top titles as the benchmark for your own efforts. If you’re into free (as in public domain) audiobooks, or are looking for a comprehensive list of audiobook sites, check out Audiobooks.org,
- With a minimal investment in a microphone with a computer interface and a little software (some of that is free), independent authors and publishers can create their own quality recordings. A higher quality product will require more study and more investment, but you do so at your own pace under the guise of a self-imposed schedule–my favorite kind of self-induced crisis,
- Clips such as the one included below make a terrific audio book trailer that can be a useful tool for publicizing your books if done with some style. Besides, audio is cheaper to produce than video. I have no data to back this up, and I can’t promise I have achieved success, yet, but I will throw myself on the mercy of your court of public opinion. I can say without doubt that I am energized over this medium,
- Just like regular books, you can produce audiobooks either in hardcopy (CD, etc.) or the equivalent of a Kindle Edition (a simple download),
- Producing simple clips like the one below was a lot of fun! As in writing, editing is also a significant part of any quality audio workflow (ain’t nothin’ for nothin’). I can imagine producing an entire audiobook will be a lot of gratifying work. And like many independent authors are prone to do, this can be a do-it-yourself gig, or the audio stuff can be contracted out. I like this flexibility.
I mentioned earlier that I recently published a book of poetry and essays called, “A Narrow Painted Road Seems So…” This genre seems ideal for not only producing and offering an audio clip as a sales device, but also a wonderful candidate for an entire audiobook publication. Perhaps more than any other genre, poetry benefits most from reading aloud. So the clip below is me dipping my metaphorical toe into the audiobook pond.
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT WHETHER YOU THINK AN AUDIOBOOK OF THIS BOOK’S KINDLE EDITION WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA. YOU ARE MY “STREET TEAM.” I DEPEND ON YOU FOR FEEDBACK. WILL YOU DO THAT FOR ME? Thanks in advance.
Take a peek at my humble “studio” below, in the limited space on my desk in the bus. If I can do it…
Assuming you already own a computer (who doesn’t?), add a microphone that connects directly to your USB input, or for more flexibility, insert a mixing board between your microphone and computer.
I use a Yamaha MG10XU mixing board with a USB computer interface built in, and the ubiquitous but cost-effective Shure SM58 microphone known to be a good mic for vocals.
I’m currently using the free Apple software called, “GarageBand” as my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for recording and editing on both my iMac and iPad.
I don’t have much space in our home–a motorhome–but I WOULD like to add a mic stand that clamps onto my desktop to provide some acoustic isolation (like a shock absorber). I’m tired of holding the microphone, very still, to avoid unwanted noise.
There is a great deal more to setting up a workable studio space and to creating quality recordings, but that’s beyond the scope of this article.
Use the force, Luke! Her name is Lady Goo-Goo
Actually, I prefer a search engine that doesn’t track my every move and pummel me with micromarketing ads. It’s called DuckDuckGo.com.
With pen in hand, microphone in face, headphones covering ears, and the old Mighty iMac eagerly awaiting input,
Gene
