Why Not Give Audiobooks a Try? by Laurel Osterkamp
Let’s welcome back Laurel Osterkamp as she shares with us “Why Not Give Audiobooks a Try?” Enjoy!
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About fifteen years ago, my husband gave me a Kindle for my birthday.
I immediately downloaded a lot of books, and was surprised (in a good way) to discover one of them was self-published.
That opened my eyes: self-publishing through KDP was a new, more level playing field.
You didn’t have to be published with one of the big name publishers to do well. And for a while, my self-published books sold, often several copies a day.
So Many Book Are Self Published!
Fast-forward to 2024. It’s hard to find exact figures, but apparently, around two million books are self-published each year on Amazon.
It’s become very difficult to stand out because the competition is fierce. But there is one area where it’s not so difficult to make a mark: audiobooks.
The format keeps rising in popularity, but few authors make narrated versions of their books available.
Maybe they think it’s too expensive.
Maybe they think it’s too difficult. But there’s an easy way to get your novels available on audio that doesn’t have to empty your wallet.
That’s why I decided to give producing my novels as audiobooks a try.
Here’s what I found out:
One of the most popular and accessible platforms for self-publishing audio books is Amazon’s ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange).
It’s the go-to option for authors looking to self-publish their audio books.
But what exactly is ACX and how can authors navigate this platform to successfully self-publish their fiction audio books?
Once you decide to produce an audiobook, go to ACX.com.
You’ll create an account, and then you can “claim” your titles, as long as they’re available as ebooks on Amazon.
Once your title is approved, you open it for auditions.
I did this for my novella mystery, Murder at Styles Resort.
I didn’t specify what kind of fee and/or royalty share I was willing to pay, so I could have more audionees to choose from.
But you can specify between offering the narrator ONLY a share of the royalties, a combination of royalties and upfront fee, or upfront fee only.
You can also state what type of narrator you are looking for, like if you want someone who sounds mysterious or youthful, with a husky voice or a Southern twang.
Then, you post a sample of your ebook.
The Process of Self Publishing
Sooner than I expected, narrators posted recordings of themselves reading the sample.
Often, they’d include a message.
Also, I could view their profiles and if they had samples of previous work, I could listen to that too.
Usually, there would be information about their rates.
Luckily, I found a narrator who not only sounded great for the role, but she also had a lot of experience.
Once I told her this was my first time producing an audiobook, she walked me through the next steps.
She’s now producing the audiobook, and I’m very excited to hear the final product.
I still have a lot to learn about marketing audiobooks, but I know one of the first choices is whether to be exclusive to Amazon’s platform, or to go wide, and distribute through Spotify’s Findaway Voices.
Even though I’ll get a smaller royalty, I decided to go wide. I figured offering Murder at Styles Resort on Spotify could open up a whole new potential audience.
Plus, there’s Chirp, Bookbub’s audiobook promotion site. You can’t promote through them if you don’t go wide.
Murder at Styles Resort is sort of my trial by fire audiobook, my little experiment to gain knowledge of the process. Later this year, I plan to produce my self-published novel, The Next Breath, and then The Side Project, which will be released this November by The Wild Rose Press.
They don’t maintain rights for audiobooks, so I am free to produce it myself.
In conclusion, self-publishing fiction audio books could open up brand new opportunities for authors.
I recommend ACX, because with its royalty-sharing model, extensive pool of narrators and producers, and creative control, you can produce your book without major headaches or spending tons of money.
If you’re looking for a new way to attract new readers, I’d give audiobooks a try.
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About the Author
Laurel Osterkamp is from Minneapolis, where she teaches and writes like it’s going out of style. Her short fiction has been featured in Abandon Journal, Idle Ink, Tangled Locks Literary Journal, Bright Flash Literary Journal, and The Metawoker, among other places. Her novel Favorite Daughters was recently released by Black Rose Writing, and her new novel, Beautiful Little Furies, will be released in December.
Social Media:
Website – https://laurellit.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorlaurelosterkamp
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/laurel-osterkamp
Instagram: Laurel Osterkamp (@laurel_osterkamp) • Instagram photos and videos
