by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
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| Image: MorgueFile: Gracey |
single-minded with my plans to expand the self-published side of my book
income. My focus has been on
writing more books. Keep writing, keep
doing what I’m doing with my brand and platform. Volume and consistency.
articles like this one by Dean Wesley Smith (Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: You Can’t Make Money Writing Fiction)—encouraging self-published authors to
completely exhaust all available formats/platforms for our content.
Every story we write, every novel we write, is a magic pie full of copyright.
We can sell parts of it to one publisher, other parts to another publisher, some parts to overseas markets, other parts to audio, or eBooks, or game companies, or Hollywood, or web publishers, and on and on and on. One professional writer I knew sold over 100 different gaming rights to different places on one novel. He had a very sharp knife cutting that magic pie.
a mental note and kept doing what I was doing.
I wanted to spend more time considering my options, but….there’s never a good
time to figure out our writing career.
Life doesn’t ever really slow down.
say encouraging me since badgering me sounds rude, to explore
other formats for my work. I’d received
random and scattered emails since the ebooks released, asking about print versions. I’d always been able to gently respond that I’d
get around to print at some undetermined future date.
direct email in January. Actually, it
was an exasperated one. The reader had
no intention of buying a reader just to read my books although she’d enjoyed
the print versions of my other series. I told the reader
that I’d put print versions of my Myrtle books on my New Year’s resolution
list. I’m sure she thought she’d
believe it when she saw it, but I did put a monthly reminder on my calendar at
that point. Last week I set the process
in motion. No, I still didn’t have the
time to figure out print formatting (both text and cover), so I’m paying
someone (Dean Fetzer at GunBoss Books) to take care of this detail-oriented task for me so that I can sell the books through
CreateSpace. I tend to have a do-it-myself attitude toward self-publishing, but I’ve found that subcontracting designers and formatters makes a huge difference–and that my time is worth money. Here (and it will seem like I’m contradicting myself later), you need to be careful to pay upfront for services. We shouldn’t have our royalties garnished forever for these types of one-time, basic tasks…there are folks who are eager to take advantage of us that way.
format that I kept hearing I should explore.
I’m on a couple of writer email loops and they all were enthusiastic
about audio–and the surprising amount of income it generated. But the usual lack-of-time,
coupled with my concerns over a costly investment, held me back.
The reason I
suddenly decided to spend time researching audio is that I heard the magic
phrase “royalty share.” The author (or “rights holder” as far as ACX is concerned)
can split royalties 50-50 with the narrator with no money upfront. Now, as I mentioned above, royalty sharing can be a scary thing…you
want to make sure you know what you’re in for.
This particular agreement (with ACX) can be renegotiated after seven
years—so there’s a sunset clause built in.
As a self-published author, we need to be very careful about not
signing away the rights to our content for an indefinite period of time. In this instance…I know I wouldn’t get my books into an audio format without a royalty share agreement since I considered the financial investment fairly prohibitive. The reason for the expense is that audio books take many hours of narration, editing, and production.
so far with ACX (although it’s early days still.)
with myself for dragging my feet with these things, but at least I’ve gotten
the ball rolling. Because it’s true—we don’t
only need to create more content, we
need to figure out how to make our content do more for us. (Yeah, there’s foreign rights, too…and I’m dragging my feet
again on that one.)
self-published, have you explored all the options and formats available for
you? If it’s something you’re interested in, have you set yourself a deadline for working on the project or learning about the process?
I keep meaning to do an audio version through ACX. (But then I’ve got so many things on my To Do list, it’s not funny.)
I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences!
It’s funny. We’re so used to convenience now (notice I said “we”, meaning I am included in this) that anything *not* convenient (enter ebook or paperback depending on your preference) ruffles our feathers! It’s a lot like that in the literary world, especially self-pub. We *want* everything as convenient as possible for our readers (obviously–it benefits us as well), but there’s only so much time in a day! If only we could snap our fingers and have everything accomplished! ;)
Regarding the audio idea, I love it. I checked the site out, but it would take a bit of time to figure everything out. Can’t wait to see/learn more about your journey!
Jessica
ELizabeth – I certainly give you ‘entrepreneur points’ for exploring all of your publishing options. Someone actually asked me about getting my books available in audio format so I’m glad you mentioned that here. Oh, and about being willing to pay someone for certain services? I couldn’t agree more. I had thought of doing my own trailer for one of my books, but in the end I went with a professional and I could not have been happier with the results. Sometimes it does pay to, well, pay.
I absolutely love (and learn from) your experiences as a writer. Keep it coming — just for me. ;)
I think there’s a reason people retire in their 60’s. Energy. I am not sure I have the energy any more for all the things one must do to be a successful (i.e. make money thru sales) writer. Maybe when I finish this novel I’m writing, I’ll find the energy again. Thanks for this, Elizabeth. It’s a wealth of info.
Karen
Camille–The to-do list is never-ending, isn’t it? The good thing (so far, anyway) about the ACX part of this story is that once we set things in motion (and, yes, listen to auditions), then they take care of all the rest of it, including uploading to the platform. So…not as time-consuming as some of the other stuff. So far. :)
Jessica–You’re absolutely right. And I’m as guilty as everyone else…ha! I did write the lady and tell her that she could read the books on her computer or phone….this did not make her happy. :) In our lifetime, I think there will always be folks who *need* a print copy.
Yes, I spent an afternoon checking ACX out–making sure there were no horror stories, trying to figure out the basics of what I was doing so I wouldn’t make any major mistakes. So far, so good! It’s the Amazon arm of the audio biz. My post on Friday will have some screenshots and I’ll talk a bit about the author-end of things with the platform (seems most of our involvement in the process is at the front-end, then we’re more out of the process.)
Zero initial cost would make audio more attractive. I wonder how well it sells? I know some audio books that are $40. I wouldn’t pay that much.
I love how thorough you are Elizabeth! I think audio books are a fantastic area to explore. I’m an audio book nut (commute woes are gone from my life now that I no longer have to yell at the news) – I don’t buy them though – I get them at the library. I’m fascinated with the whole process being involved in theatre. You have to have a good reader or it is pointless though. So many details. I will follow along behind you …
Margot–Exactly. I could never compare with the pros for formatting or design or other pro services. And…you would be perfect for audio. You have a background as a DJ!
Diane–I *hear* it pays well. Now the folks I’m hearing this from are writers who have a pretty decent following to begin with. As far as cost, here’s what ACX has to say about the cost to readers/listeners for our audio books (because we writers *don’t* set the price for audio:
“How much will my audiobook sell for in stores?
“Each retailer of your audiobook independently prices your product and determines such price in their sole discretion. While not always the case, the regular price on Audible.com for the product is generally priced based on its length, as follows:
•Under 3 hours: under $10
•3 – 5 hours: $10 – $20
•5–10 hours: $15 – $25
•10–20 hours: $20 – $30
•Over 20 hours: $25 – $35 “
My books aren’t very long, so I’ll be on the lower end of things.
Jan–You could probably do your *own* audio, because you have a background in doing voice stuff (theater.) You could even rent a studio, etc. There are instructions online–even instructions for setting up an amateur studio in your house. For me…I don’t think I have a voice for narration and I don’t have the *right* voice for this series. I have about 20 auditions to listen to…that’s what I’m doing this afternoon!
Hi Elizabeth – we just need that space to think and do – you sound like me .. I should be doing Facebook -but just need to be’free’ and with some spare time available to put into it ..
The same for you – these things will happen … and you’ll achieve them – and thankfully you’ll be telling us about your experience ..
So interesting to read up about .. cheers Hilary
Teresa–Thanks for coming by! And…I’ll keep it up. Lots of experiments moving forward, I’m sure!
Karen–I think you’ve put in the main work…writing that book! Editing is almost fun in comparison (sometimes, anyway), because we know the book is at least *completed*! This other stuff….yes, it can be exhausting to think about. It might be because it’s research-intensive and we have to make decisions. I know that the day I read up on ACX, I went to bed before 9 p.m….I was just wiped out! And I hadn’t done anything but sit on my sofa and read…but still.
Hilary–Oh my goodness. That Facebook! It’s a time-stealer for sure and the problem with it is that it’s a *continuing* time suck. I’m seriously hoping that once I set up my print books and the audio books, that I can sit back and relax (well, to a certain degree. Okay, actually that’s completely figurative since I can’t seem to relax!)
I think it would cool to hear someone read my books. Maybe. Then again, it might make me cringe.
Alex–I think we probably get both reactions when we listen to auditions. :)
Heck, I’m amazed at all that you accomplish. Just the other day I thought, geez, what takes me so long to figure things out, when Elizabeth Craig does a million things in one week!!!
So far, only my first book is available on audio, because I did it myself, as I intend to do any of the others that make it to audio. (Since I have my own small studio for recording my music, doing a book is cake.)
Paying once for the work done also saves bookkeeping for all eternity (or 7 years, or whatever.) If you have the funds it’s absolutely the way to go.
As a reader (read “fussy old curmudgeon”) who won’t buy digital, it’s a little frustrating when a few books I really want to read just aren’t available in print. As an author, I’ve always made my books available in every digital format I can, plus print.
Julie–You’re too nice! And…but I do drop the ball on a regular basis. When I do, it’s spectacularly dropped, too. :)
Joel–See…you’re being thoughtful! I was in denial…*convincing* myself that my readers wouldn’t want print and that the emails I was getting were an aberration. Of *course* some of them want print. It’s still just 2013.
That’s right–I remember that you’re a musician. Nice to have your own studio!
I’d love to say that I have those funds available…but it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul since that money is earmarked for other stuff. You know. The fact there are 3 books that I’d like to get up to audio just pushed it over the line into too-expensive territory. You’re absolutely right–if we can pay it upfront, it’s less-expensive in the end.
I dragged my feet when it came to print too. Partly time and partly learning another formatting method. But then I signed up to attend a festival where I could sell them….so I did print.
But I couldn’t have done it without India Drummon’s incredible vlog instructing how to do it. You could do it. Way less time than ebook formatting!
Congrats on all the formats!
I’m working on audio for my now-complete trilogy – something I wish I had started sooner!
I’m adding audio to my “to-do” list for my new serial, BEFORE it’s done. But I completely hear you on the “outsource” part to leave more time for writing!
Laura–I think that’s one reason why it took me so long…I knew I could do it myself and I was waiting for a good time to learn how. But I think I was fooling myself: I don’t have time, I’m not a patient person, and I don’t have an eye for detail. A bad combo!
Hi Elizabeth,
I subscribe to your blog, although I don’t comment very often (that time issue we all have), but I just wanted to say thank you for your awesome blogs!
The topics are always perfect timing. At least for me.
Elke–Thanks so much for saying so! And thanks for subscribing. And good luck with your writing and writing career! :)
I pay upfront for those with more knowledge and ability to format my books for e-publication and print. The cost is reasonable and it saves me a lot of aggravation.
Haven’t gone the audio route yet but may consider it when I finally have the books once published by others up in my own name. Finding the right voice is crucial. I’ve listened to productions where the reader didn’t get it or didn’t have it.
Carolyn–Exactly. It seemed to me like the print formatting was just so detail-oriented (getting the bleed for the cover right, margins, etc.) It made my head hurt just thinking about it.
Susan–Very good idea! I’m going to be looking at that in the future, too. Outsourcing is completely necessary for me right now, since I’m busy writing and promoting!
I’ve self-published my two e-books on Amazon, and am thrilled with that process. Then about a month ago I published my Style That Sizzles book in paperback with CreateSpace and that is going super well, too. It appears in paperback on Amazon, B&N, and other places. Then a few weeks ago I expanded my e-book distribution for the same title through Smashwords. Sales are slow there, but I hope they’ll pick up. At least the process there is free, and I learned a lot about formatting with Mark Coker’s excellent free instructions! He also gives tons of free ideas for marketing, which I must try to get moving on! All in all, I’m thrilled with the process of self-publishing and am really glad I put one of my books out in print as well. And I do agree that your time is much better spent writing than formatting, Elizabeth!
Good luck with getting your indie books out in print and on audio!
You don’t need a full studio to do a good job recording, though.
If you spend $100 on a USB microphone (I can recommend a few) and are willing to spend a lot of hours in your closet, reading to yourself (the clothing muffles echos and makes a superb voice recording) you can hand off the editing to someone who’ll do it extremely cheap, and have a very good audio book.
It’s more work, but if you don’t have funds to outsource it all, it’s worth it. Also highly illuminating to go through the process.