However, if you wish to have an audio version of your book, you have to decide if you really have what it takes to narrate it.
Have you ever done voice work? Do you have a pleasant voice? Do you know how to read in a way that adds interest rather than a flat monotone? Narrating a book is much like singing a song. Do you know when to riff and when to stick to the melody? Narration is a form of verbal poetry. It is a skill set.
I highly recommend downloading a few high quality audio books to know what you are aiming for.
If you are determined to proceed, here are tips on the nuts and bolts of creating an audio book.
PRODUCTION
You will need a high quality microphone and recording software installed on your laptop, PC, or tablet and a sound-proof room. No kids yelling in the background, telephone rings, dog barks, or interruptions.
If you feel you have the right voice and sufficient skill, your audio file must meet certain standards to be eligible for upload to services.
Author's Republic specifications.
Audible/ACX specifications.
You must choose mono or stereo, provide opening and closing tracks, have the right decibel ranges, length, and not exceed maximum of 120 minutes or file size of 170 mb. If this is all Greek to you, consider turning it over to the pros.
Still determined? There are people willing to help you go it alone. This is a thorough list of steps and materials from by Bo Bennett, PhD, Founder of eBookIt.
Here are more tricks and tips:
How to Convert Audiobooks for Use in Itunes
Creating Audiobooks: What Every Author Should Know
Yes, You Can Record Your Own Audio Book
Ultimate Guide to Recording Audio Books
Read Your Own Audio Book
DISTRIBUTION
With the DIY option, you are responsible for making distribution arrangements with the different platforms such as iTunes, Audible, BookBaby etc. The files must be in the correct digital format. You will have to check each site's guidelines. They will ask for either MP3 or .mp3 or Windows Media Audio .wma. For iTunes, you need M4B or .m4b.
There are several smaller companies that help you with distribution.
Author's Republic can help walk you through the process.
Big Happy Family will present your titles to major download sites, work with them to get approval, let you know exactly what materials and formats each site needs — and handle the paperwork, reporting, royalty collection, and payment.
Scribl is a crowd-sharing and crowd-pricing site. If you like to gamble, this is a good way to get discovered.
Scribd is another innovate way to share your work. You first upload your work through Smashwords, INscribe digital, BookBaby, draft2digital, or Publish Drive.
If you managed self-produced audio book success, please share it in the comments section. I would love to feature your story in a future blog post.
Next week, we take a look at writing Master Classes.
Thanks for the plug for www.scribl.com, Diana! I'm part of the team, so I admittedly have a bias. That said, just to provide some added info, we also give self-publishers a single point for audiobook upload with distribution everywhere, including Audible, Audiobooks.com, Google Play, Kobo Audio, and many, many more (our CrowdPricing Everywhere distribution system). We assign every author a personal assistant to help get your files ready and with any other part of the self-publishing and audiobook recording process. We have the only automated, instant feedback system for audio, letting you know if volume and noise levels will pass all the requirements as you upload each file, and if it passes ours, it will work for Audible and everyone else too. We even include a free ISBN, if you don't already have one, to ensure proper distribution. We are the only self-publishing audiobook site to also provide podcast versions of your books that have helped launch many a successful book. No fees for any of these services -- our business model is to keep a small share of the sales we help authors generate, so we're highly motivated only to see your book reach as many customers and generate as much revenue as possible.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't describe our CrowdPricing system as a gamble, especially compared with arbitrarily setting a price without any way to know the market-preferred price a book or its demand elasticity based on price changes (how much will the quantity demanded decrease if you raise the price and how much will it increase if you lower the price?). Scribl's CrowdPricing system provides the optimal pricing for every title. Further, because the price is effectively set by customer demand, customers trust the prices more than they trust author or publisher-set prices, and when they trust the prices are fair, they spend more money on them. We also provide the only instant discovery system -- Story Elements -- so that the moment an author posts a book, customers looking for a books like that will find it. This solves the classic chicken and egg problem of needing to wait (and hope) for a positive review on GoodReads to generate demand so people will download the book and write reviews. Instead, a book will be shown to the customers most likely to enjoy it from the moment it's live.
Thank you for the additional information. I am sure it will help authors who choose to go this route with ample tools for success! Thank you for creating this platform for audiobooks.
ReplyDeleteFindaway Voices is another big company in the audiobook scene. I use them for distribution because they offered the best royalty rates. You can also hire a narrator through them of you choose, and if you add your book project via Draft2Digital, they will waive the setup fee.
ReplyDeleteI've narrated my own books and explained my process step by step in a book called Narrated by the Author.