by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It’s time for another update on ACX—the audiobook
platform that distributes to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. I first wrote about ACX in an
April post, so if you’re interested in getting details, take a look.
Basically, ACX is your audiobook option if you’re self-publishing.
platform that distributes to Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. I first wrote about ACX in an
April post, so if you’re interested in getting details, take a look.
Basically, ACX is your audiobook option if you’re self-publishing.
I also wrote a
follow-up to the April post a couple of weeks later, talking about how the
audition process had gone.
follow-up to the April post a couple of weeks later, talking about how the
audition process had gone.
Where I am
now in the process: I’ve got two
titles for sale as audiobooks and 1 title in production (which should be
released in the next week or so).
now in the process: I’ve got two
titles for sale as audiobooks and 1 title in production (which should be
released in the next week or so).
What I
like:
like:
I like that I’m opening up another venue
for sales.
for sales.
I like that sales seem to be a lot
brisker than I’d thought (I’m around 177 sales for the past month and sold
copies even a day or so after the audiobook’s debut).
brisker than I’d thought (I’m around 177 sales for the past month and sold
copies even a day or so after the audiobook’s debut).
I like that the process was very
streamlined and that there were many FAQs if you got confused.
streamlined and that there were many FAQs if you got confused.
I like receiving a monthly statement from
Audible which includes sales figures for all three platforms (Audible.com,
Amazon.com, iTunes.) You can also check sales during the month on ACX’s site.
Audible which includes sales figures for all three platforms (Audible.com,
Amazon.com, iTunes.) You can also check sales during the month on ACX’s site.
What takes
a bit of working through:
a bit of working through:
The audition process. I think it’s good to take breaks. I had quite a few auditions to work through.
Rejecting narrators (bleh). Writers aren’t exactly naturals when it comes
to rejecting others.
to rejecting others.
Editing the finished narration (because,
honestly, all you can think about is why you chose that particular word, why
you didn’t add more conflict to the scene, what you were thinking…and this is
not the point of what you’re doing.)
honestly, all you can think about is why you chose that particular word, why
you didn’t add more conflict to the scene, what you were thinking…and this is
not the point of what you’re doing.)
The audio cover. It’s a bizarre bit of squatty square. Somehow I decided that I would work on making
it fit their specs myself, with PhotoShop.
Many hours later, I finally realized that I would much rather pay
somebody to do this for me.
it fit their specs myself, with PhotoShop.
Many hours later, I finally realized that I would much rather pay
somebody to do this for me.
What I
learned for next time:
learned for next time:
I’ll start earlier. When I’ve published a book, I’ll find a
narrator for the audiobook right then.
narrator for the audiobook right then.
I’ll think about the narrator stipend
before I contact my narrators or open a book up for audition. My books do seem to qualify for the $1000
incentive for my royalty-share narrators.
What I really haven’t seen mentioned…an email to ACX where you brag a
bit about your numbers and the size of your social media platform seems to make
a good deal of difference as to whether your book has a stipend attached. I
didn’t know this until one of my narrators pointed it out. The email is
rights(at)acx(dot)com.
before I contact my narrators or open a book up for audition. My books do seem to qualify for the $1000
incentive for my royalty-share narrators.
What I really haven’t seen mentioned…an email to ACX where you brag a
bit about your numbers and the size of your social media platform seems to make
a good deal of difference as to whether your book has a stipend attached. I
didn’t know this until one of my narrators pointed it out. The email is
rights(at)acx(dot)com.
A nice
touch:
touch:
ACX provided me with five free downloads
for each of my audiobook titles—for giveaways and to increase awareness. I wasn’t expecting this and I was impressed.
for each of my audiobook titles—for giveaways and to increase awareness. I wasn’t expecting this and I was impressed.
What I
hope ACX will soon change:
hope ACX will soon change:
I’m hoping it will open up to non-US
residents soon. They appear to be
working on it (their website
states: “We hope to open up to a wider
global audience in the future.”)
residents soon. They appear to be
working on it (their website
states: “We hope to open up to a wider
global audience in the future.”)
And, yes, I’ll complain a bit more about
the odd cover
requirements. That’s because I lost
quite a few working hours while trying to figure out what I was doing
wrong. There must be a reason for this
cover art requirement…except I can’t for the life of me figure out what it
is. It’s not like these are CDs we’re
talking about. These are digital downloads.
the odd cover
requirements. That’s because I lost
quite a few working hours while trying to figure out what I was doing
wrong. There must be a reason for this
cover art requirement…except I can’t for the life of me figure out what it
is. It’s not like these are CDs we’re
talking about. These are digital downloads.
Have you taken a look at ACX for your own
books? Do you listen to audiobooks? Have any questions for me? (I’ll try to
answer them.)
books? Do you listen to audiobooks? Have any questions for me? (I’ll try to
answer them.)
Elizabeth – Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned about ACX. I like the fact that it empowers authors the way it seems to do. I see your point about the downsides of it though. Interesting how using different senses (hearing in this case) gives a whole different perspective on one’s book. I’m archiving this one.
So your numbers and platform makes a difference? Well, I guess it should. And rejecting narrators would be difficult, although I imagine when you hear the right voice, you know it.
I may have missed this at some point, but what does this mean? “My books do seem to qualify for the $1000 incentive for my royalty-share narrators.”
Great information! Thanks for sharing.
I’m not at this stage yet, but I’m filing all of your posts away for future reference! thanks so much for keeping us in the loop :)
Alex–To ACX, it definitely does. I think they’re trying to get the word out about what they do. I noticed the things I wrote about ACX on my blog and my Twitter mentions of ACX were RTd by them on Twitter. So…I guess that means it’s still early days for them (and they haven’t become such a behemoth yet that they wouldn’t notice these things!) I should be small fish for them.
Yolanda–Thanks for coming by!
Margot–As a former DJ, you’d be perfect for this…both as a narrator and as a rights-holder.
Teresa–Oops, I should have explained that better! A narrator is taking a bit of a risk, accepting a contract with a writer who won’t pay her upfront (takes so many hours to complete an audiobook.) With a royalty share agreement (which is what I have with the narrators…we split the profits), they have to wait to get any kind of financial payoff. But ACX is so eager to transfer more books to audio (they need content), that they are willing to pay the narrators a $1000 stipend to encourage them to accept these types of deals. It’s hard to say what ACX’s guidelines are for choosing which books to give stipends for, but it seems to be books with strong sales in other formats (ebook, print, etc.), and also writers who have a healthy online presence (and can, theoretically), get the word out on the audiobooks. :)
Actually I do have some questions, but I’ll explore the site more and send my questions in an email soon.
Thanks for this info, Elizabeth! I, too, just went “live” with an audiobook from ACX (FIRST TIME KILLER). Mine was also a stipend deal, but I didn’t get any free copies to give away–maybe I’ll send them an email…Glad to hear it’s selling well!
The reason for the cover requirement is pretty simple: That’s the shape of a CD audio book. Customers use the shape of the image as an indicator of what they’re getting.
When you use a regular book cover, you get people making mistakes as to whether they’re buying the audio book or the regular book.
Oh, and one thing I’ve seen publishers do sometimes to audio book covers: they adapt the paper book cover as well as they can, and then add a band down the side to fill out the space, where they write the word “AUDIO” in vertical stacked letters.
(Unfortunately you can’t just add that band to many existing books, because they are too tall — the band would be very wide and it doesn’t look right. But it does allow you to not modify the picture quite so much.)
As an audiobook listener, the right narrator can enhance or distract from the listening experience.
One book I listened to, the narrator was perfect. I could picture him as the protagonist and I loved his ability to create different voices for the female characters.
A recent audiobook was about life in Japan. The narrator did a horrible job pronouncing the Japanese words. It distracted me from the story as I tried to figure out what he said. For most listeners it probably wouldn’t have made a difference, but as a Japanese American, it was like nails on a chalkboard.
Choosing a narrator may take a lot of time, but as a listener, it will be worth the effort if s/he can make the story’s experience more enjoyable.
This is totally fascinating! I never even thought about auditions :/
Jemi–Thanks for coming by!
Diane–Sure thing! :)
Alan–Yes! Send them an email. They wanted me to do a giveawy thing, so I’m doing it from my website. Congrats on the release!
The Daring Novelist–Ahhh. Makes sense. I thought they were just doing it to torture me. :) At what point, though, will they phase that out. My kids don’t even buy CDs of music and I’m not sure my daughter would recognize a CD image if she saw one (it’s all about the iTunes. And I used to have records when I was a kid.)
The Daring Novelist–But I do like the idea of the band. I’ve nearly bought a print title when I wanted the ebook version before, so I can see what you’re saying about consumer confusion.
Julie–It’s a little overwhelming at first…well, it was for me! And I had to get over the fact that it was odd to me to hear my stories read…by someone else!
Diane–I think you’re right. I’ll admit that I’m not as much of an audiobook “reader,” but a good friend of mine is and she talked with me at length about how she couldn’t keep listening to some of the books she’s gotten in the past. As you said, an accent or even a pronunciation can be distracting.
I have a question about those of us who have the ability to read our own audio book. I have a degree in theater. My critique group doesn’t let me read my own work most of the time because they concentrate on the reading and not the writing. Can you read your own?
I would love to read for other writers, too. But, I understand the competition is stiff.
“Editing the finished narration (because, honestly, all you can think about is why you chose that particular word, why you didn’t add more conflict to the scene, what you were thinking…and this is not the point of what you’re doing.)” I’m nearing the end of the whole process on ACX, and I found myself doing the exact same thing! It’s hard to let go and allow someone else to interpret words, accents, and so on… there’s a fine line between making sure things sound the way you heard them in your head and being a control freak! (Not to mention, sometimes you’re like… why did I say it *that* way?)
Regarding the cover, perhaps that’s where being an indie is beneficial, because I simply contacted my cover designer, and she made one for me. (She’s pretty awesome.)
Also: congrats on the sales! :) Thanks for keeping us all in the loop regarding this process (I know it helped me understand ACX a little more and therefore feel comfortable enough to make an audiobook of Pity Isn’t An Option)!
Karen–You sure can. :) They have plenty of info on that, too. Here are the guidelines (from ACX’s “Authors as Narrators” page): https://www.acx.com/help/authors-as-narrators/200626860
Jessica–The editing was tough, wasn’t it? I had to keep pulling myself back to listening to the narrator instead of focusing on the *words.* Very, very hard.
You’re smarter than I am! Or I’m stubborn, maybe. My cover designer altered the covers for ACX in about five minutes time. :) I alternated between relief and frustration that he did!
Good! Yes, they do try to make the process really easy…and they also respond to their emails, if we need help or get stuck. And…once it’s all set up, you’ve got another source of income without having to create *new content*. For all of us time-strapped writers, that’s just huge.
Hi Elizabeth .. I hope we’ll have British readers for the English market – for some books .. as I really wasn’t thrilled with one American version I listened to .. the voice ‘irritated’ so I didn’t listen to the book .. I gave up ..
Cheers Hilary