# Creating an AudioBook Worth the Investment?



## Mikeyboy_esq

Just found an interesting article on turning your book into an audiobook via ACX... https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2017/09/acx-university-audiobooks-hannah-wall-kate-tilton-interview/  After further research, I still think the cost to create an audiobook is steep and using ACX means the author won't take home a big chunk of royalties.  I think I'll wait a while longer to see if the prices come down to create an audiobook.

What do you think about creating audiobooks?  Good investment or not?


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## Bayview

Audio books are apparently one of the fastest growing areas of publishing, so I think they're well worth considering. But I'm not sure how much money they're making--my audiobooks sold through publishers only bring me a dollar or two a copy, and while I'd have to check contracts, I'm pretty sure there's a 50/50 split with the publishers on audiobook income. So a self-publisher, if able to sell the audiobooks at the same price, could expect $2-$4 per copy? But I'd love to see harder numbers on this.

As a listener, I think the quality of the narrator is just about as important as the quality of the words... actually, it might be more important. There are books I've enjoyed on audio that I really don't think I would have enjoyed reading. And of course the better narrators are priced accordingly.

Unless an author has good recording equipment, extensive dramatic training _and_ a voice that naturally fits the book (ie. a fifty-year old man's voice wouldn't fit a book about a teenage girl... except Will Patton did a fantastic job on the _Raven Boys_ series, so maybe I'm wrong...?) I don't think the author should plan to make the book a do-it-yourself project. I've heard a couple minutes of a few of those attempts, and I'm definitely not looking to repeat the experience!

So, yes, I think they're an exciting opportunity, but the costs are worrisome.


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## MPhillip

There's a market for audio books, but I don't think any of the DIY publishing platforms has audio books as an option, yet. 

 Amazon has a *text to speech service* that offers the first million characters converted free, and anything over that priced according to number of characters.  I haven't checked it out thoroughly, but understand the converted files are .mp3 as well as other formats, and the file is yours to do with as you please.  Maybe the day of hiring people to read books is coming to a close.


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## Bayview

MPhillip said:


> There's a market for audio books, but I don't think any of the DIY publishing platforms has audio books as an option, yet.



I'm pretty sure ACX is Amazon-related.



> Amazon has a *text to speech service* that offers the first million characters converted free, and anything over that priced according to number of characters.  I haven't checked it out thoroughly, but understand the converted files are .mp3 as well as other formats, and the file is yours to do with as you please.  Maybe the day of hiring people to read books is coming to a close.



A lot of e-readers will read the text aloud, too, but for my taste it's a waste of time. A computer can't catch nuances (and sometimes will actually obscure meanings if it mispronounces a homograph). I want a human narrator. A good one!


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## MPhillip

> I'm pretty sure ACX is Amazon-related.



It is, but not part of the Amazon self publishing platforms - KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) or CreateSpace (Amazon's first do-it-yourself publishing platform for print as well as digital books)  I've even read a few comments on the KDP forum that CreateSpace will soon be merged with KDP.  ACX, however,  is a different model as well as a different process.



> A lot of e-readers will read the text aloud, too, but for my taste it's a waste of time. A computer can't catch nuances (and sometimes will actually obscure meanings if it mispronounces a homograph). I want a human narrator. A good one!



A sentiment with which I agree.  The robots are increasingly human-sounding and delivering near error free readings, but what we know and enjoy as audio books today are popular due to the drama inflected by a human voice as guided by the director.  I just wonder how long, though, before the two are merged through AI (artificial intelligence).  

Another comment about markets for audio books - vision impaired people are a huge market for audio books in any genre.  I have one sister-in-law and one niece who are blind and they devour audio books.  Another friend, an adult with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) cannot read more than a few hundred words during one sitting with a book, and audio books have been her near salvation.  So, I still think turning text into audio is a wise investment, but the same rules of marketing apply to sale and distribution.


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## -xXx-

listen to gaiman's recordings.
makes the idea of a whole town
sitting together for radio shows
very reasonable.
fantastic!!!
they are full scale productions -
some of which become live theatre presentations,
from what i hear.


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## TWErvin2

I am not sure it will get less expensive to produce an audiobook. The software might get less expensive and may become more user friendly for editing and clean up over time, but that is also time your books are not available. Also, I do not believe the cost to hire professional narrators to produce your works (payment usually based on per finished hour) will go down.  

There is royalty share via ACX, but if the concern is income from sales, this will potentially cut into such profits. Also, many narrators will not consider royalty sharing for a project, unless there is evidence that sales will be solid (previous audio sales, or solid, consistent sales of the print/ebook version of the work).


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## C.Gholy

I've used ACX before. Two of my books are currently in production right now. Sadly the producer to one of my poetry books had to drop out because of real life issues. I've got on audiobook out and it's had good reception. I quite like using ACX and I've found it useful. Hasn't given me a lot of money, but I value it as it makes my work available in different formats.


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## moderan

No kidding about the 'tiny bit'. You don't need all that stuff.
Any dynamic mic which will record voice frequency is fine (I use an ElectroVoice Studio Mic) and over-the-ear headphones to monitor. Use a mic preamp (ART makes good cheap ones) with a level indicator and you're golden. Use Audacity to record and mix if you need a cheap DAW (it's free). The same setup will work for podcasts. ASIO4ALL is good for latency-free recording.
Jack the mic into the preamp, connect with your computer via USB or external audio.
A hundred bucks will more than cover it.

This person does my audio usually (if I don't do it myself). Her setup is less than I have above.


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## moderan

I see. So such recording can only be done in a vocal booth with thousands of dollars worth of equipment, by a person charging hundreds. That is your contention, yes?


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## moderan

This guy works with ACX.


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## PiP

moderan said:


> This guy works with ACX.



Watched the video, Mods. This is a great resource! thanks for sharing.



Biro said:


> Just from his photo alone I can see that is not a 19.99 microphone and also he has attempted to improve the quality of his recordings with what looks like 'acoustic foam'.  That stuff is not cheap.
> 
> Then reading about what he suggests to use he starts talking about $200 microphones etc.



You can also muffle sound using blankets/quilts etc. Microphone... 



> A microphone. You could try to get away with the internal mic on your computer or iPad, but for a cleaner, less noisy sound… you’ll want to have a better mic.  I use an AKG C3000 (about $200, there are a lot of good mics in this price range). But I also have a USB interface called a DUET2 that the mic plugs into (another $600). If you don’t feel like plunking down $800 before you’ve even started, here’s the good news: there are plenty of USB mics that are good enough for this work, and can plug directly into your computer or iPad. I found a great article comparing several, but here’s the quick — for a basic, good sound, try The Blue Microphones Snowball($55). F


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## moderan

Biro said:


> Hey i have thought about.  In fact watched quite a few vids on Youtube on the very subject.  As regards mics I always take on board some of the cheaper mics but then I get engrossed in the reviews which sometimes are conflicting to say the least.
> 
> Then my brain is fried and start to think life is too short and then think these people know what they are doing etc.


Yeah. Look.


> I have seen the set up that these people use


 and _watching videos_ doesn't make you an _expert_. I'm tired of arguing with Dunning _and_ Kruger. Someone else can do it, or not.
The point is, that one _can_ record professional-quality voice for relatively cheap. The goalposts can stay right where they are 
/soapbox


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## Jack of all trades

If you're going to record it yourself, think about external sounds that might get picked up. The refrigerator turning on, the phone signalling Facebook likes, email alerts, etc. Even fluorescent lights can create a background buzz. You can remove some of that background noise with Audacity, but better to not have it in the first place. Hard surfaces can give you an echo. But you can Google diy projects for creating mini sound studios.


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## Kevin

Jack of all trades said:


> If you're going to record it yourself, think about external sounds that might get picked up. The refrigerator turning on, the phone signalling Facebook likes, email alerts, etc. Even fluorescent lights can create a background buzz. You can remove some of that background noise with Audacity, but better to not have it in the first place. Hard surfaces can give you an echo. But you can Google diy projects for creating mini sound studios.


that sounds like good advice. I've noticed that when you film things you see stuff- unwanted stuff- that you didn't even notice. Imagine if you got all done recording a long piece and there was a refrigerator humming. Boy, would that be annoying. All that time and effort for something unprofessional sounding.


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## Jack of all trades

Kevin said:


> that sounds like good advice. I've noticed that when you film things you see stuff- unwanted stuff- that you didn't even notice. Imagine if you got all done recording a long piece and there was a refrigerator humming. Boy, would that be annoying. All that time and effort for something unprofessional sounding.



My writing partner and I recorded something. It was several takes to get used to the necessity of listening for the fridge and waiting until it went back off before continuing with our recording.


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## Jack of all trades

PiP said:


> Watched the video, Mods. This is a great resource! thanks for sharing.
> 
> 
> 
> You can also muffle sound using blankets/quilts etc. Microphone...



The stuff about the Snowball didn't get copied, and that's what I wanted to show.

Anyway, I heard a lot of good things about the Snowball mic, so I got one. It didn't sound as good as I wanted. I got a cheaper one, the brand I do not recall, and the quality was much better!

For microphones, you need a spongey thing to reduce noises and pops. A pop screen can be purchased or made (embroidery hoop and nylon stocking). 

Keep your paper on a stand or table so it doesn't crinkle, or read off a tablet or phone.


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## Jack of all trades

I do agree that a pretty good recording can be made at home. BUT, and it's a huge but, you must be willing to put in the time and listen to your recordings very critically. It can take numerous takes to get a clean recording, depending on your surroundings. For some it might be easier than others.


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## Bayview

Do you guys listen to a lot of audio books? I do, and I can say that while the recording quality is important, what I'm really basing my buying decisions on is the narrator's voice.

Like, the recording quality is the equivalent of having an e-book that's formatted legibly or a print book with pages in the right order. It's a basic requirement, absolutely, but it's more-or-less taken for granted. I think I've noticed one sample on Audible, out of hundreds or probably thousands that I've listened to, where there were issues with recording quality.

The much more critical tool I use to choose the audio books I want to read is the narrator him or her self. I have listened to books I would never have otherwise considered buying because Will Patton was narrating them. He reads as if he has a deep understanding of the text (and I'm sure author-narrators would have that understanding, less sure that it would come across), he does good voices for characters of all ages, and damn it, his voice is just really pleasant to listen to. He's a professional actor and has taken a natural gift and spent years honing it. That's what I'm looking for in an audio narrator.

So, he's top of the list (top of MY list) and there are lots of other competent professional narrators below him. But every so often I stumble across an audio book that's just terribly narrated, and it's not that the reader isn't a competent speaker, it's that the narrator isn't a trained and professional voice actor.

I know it's expensive to hire a pro, but this is your book you're talking about. How many characters are there? Can you give the dialogue of each of those characters a distinctive voice without lurching into caricature? Do you have a voice that a stranger would want to listen to for hours and hours on end, a voice that suits the mood and setting and style of what you've written? A voice that will sell your audiobook when someone clicks on the sample before committing their money?

I'm not trying to be discouraging, and if you can honestly answer yes to all of those questions then I think there's a reasonable chance of producing a successful audiobook (although you'll still have to deal with the discoverability problems). Overall, though, I think getting the right technical set-up is by far the least daunting aspect of creating an audiobook.


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## moderan

I do, actually. In addition, I've  produced a couple of podcasts. One of my hats is sound engineer.
The thing is, and I don't know if this crosses genres, the author is often the best reader for their own work. They've generally read the thing before, aloud, in front of audiences (readings are very common in the horror/weird fic universe) and have the best feel for the characters/narrative. They're usually intelligent enough to follow directions and also adept enough at the online apparatus to do the job with minimal coaching. By and large, they have decent reading voices and have been doing the voice-acting for long enough that they know how to do it.
You can go to ACX or TAXI and hire a pro, and you'll get what you pay for. Some of it's budgetary...where do you want to spend your money? If you're published by a Big Five house, you likely won't ever have to concern yourself with all of this. If you're on your own, do what you have to do. There are always alternatives.
There are a number of good vocal artists donating their time to LibriVox and similar programs.


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## Pluralized

I’ve always liked Scott Brick. Does believable narration without forcing it. 

Technology has has improved to the point you can just about do podcasting and audiobook recording with a smartphone. Can’t recall exactly but I saw a recommendation from Tim Ferris for one made by Rode that hooks onto the end of the phone and gives surprisingly good audio quality on the cheap. 

This is is probably another example of motivation winning over the impediments of available technology or style, and it would seem unlikely to expect great, salable results first time out the gate. This thread makes me want to try it though, because I have Logic Pro X and a nice Sennheiser mic that has been gathering dust.


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## Bayview

Biro said:


> Perhaps there is truth in that the narrators voice can make or break an audio book?



It does for me.


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## TKent

A narrator I don't like can totally kill a book for me. Someone mentioned Neil Gaiman reading his own books. I can think of 3 authors whose self-narrated books I loved: Neil Gaiman, Toni Morrison, and Louise Erdrich. They all three have pleasant reading voices and I feel like there is zero chance of the wrong emphasis being used since they wrote it  



Bayview said:


> It does for me.


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## -xXx-

perhaps this is a side effect of my life experiences:
i value craftsmanship,
but evaluate many things from an ISO-9000
definition of quality:
fitness for purpose.

this was a terribly painful idea for me, however:
i never set out to compete head-to-head with
well-established entities.
if _unintential environmentals_ are distracting to
me and a select beta group,
then rerecord.
i don't anticipate contributing at the level of
asimov, bradbury, atwood, lessing, tolstoy, ad inf.

if the work warrants a "second printing",
perhaps different tools will be more feasible.

add_ townie _written/read by *andre dubus
* to the excellent list.


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