Audiobooks for Dummies (it’s me, I’m the dummy)
Buckle in! This is a long one.
The Announcement
So, as the title would suggest, Golden Ruin has gone into production as an audiobook! This was always something I planned to do, as audiobooks are not just a total vibe, but a really important accessibility tool for reading. In my preliminary research I saw advice about when to do an audiobook, how many sales you should have before you consider one, and all kinds of other suggestions. And sure, if you’re producing strictly in the business sense (for profit) these things are important to consider! But for me, I just want my books to be available in as many forms as possible so people can enjoy them in the way that’s most comfortable for them.
That’s not to say that audiobooks are an easy feat, especially for an independent author. You have to be prepared to put a chunk of change into it. There is a royalty share option on ACX, but most narrators with any experience will not be auditioning for these kinds of deals. As a good middle ground, ACX offers a royalty share plus deal, which is a kind of hybrid between the traditional options. You pay your narrator a lower PFH rate and share the royalties once the audiobook is for sale. That’s not to say that this option is cheap, but for a self funded endeavor it’s a pretty reasonable compromise.
Auditions
I joined ACX and claimed my title, then I opened up to auditions. I didn't expect to get that many as I was only offering a royalty share plus deal, but ended up with 19 auditions by the time I ended up closing them and picking a narrator. I decided to work with Katrina Lenk, and am so excited for y’all to hear the whole book read by her. She’s exactly who I was envisioning when taking this story to a new medium, and consider myself very lucky to have had her audition. I received several fantastic auditions which gives me a great list to go back to for future works.
I can say the advice ACX gives authors (aka rights holders) for this stage was very helpful. You should absolutely provide an audition script with a good balance of dialogue and narration, and listen to the auditions with some headphones in. I was so excited to see new audition notifications pop up that I’d listen on my phone’s speaker immediately, but when I got home from work I’d queue them up with my headphones to listen again. You do catch a lot of the actual production details doing this. Is there background noise? Does the audio sound flat, can you hear the pops in the microphone? Luckily I did not get any AI submissions, but you should look carefully for that as well.
I favorited about 5 auditions and researched each narrator’s page. I listened to their own provided samples (this is separate from the sample produced with my material in the audition) and checked out linked websites/social media. It’s also helpful to search any audiobooks they’ve already been credited for to see what the finished quality would be like. I also messaged the two narrators I narrowed down to so that I could confirm their rates (ACX gives a range) and see their general vibe.
Starting Production
Once I made an offer I created a word document for the first 15 minutes. This is, as it sounds, 15 minutes of audio that, once approved, gives the narrator the green light to produce the entire audiobook. I ended up with a sample of 5 snippets for a total of 2,359 words. I tried to include bits of all of the main characters’ dialogue, some action, and some heavy emotional beats. You normally submit consecutive pages, but I wanted a well-rounded representation as to what the finished audiobook would sound like. This is the last stage before production begins in full, so it’s important both parties are on the same page in terms of tone, pace, vibe, etc. It was important to me especially to make sure that Sam was being represented in a way that I had imagined, as out of all of my characters I’m especially protective of them.
Once the 15 minutes were approved, we got into production in full. We get through about a chapter a day with breaks here and there. Katrina is working tirelessly to provide the audio files back to back, and every night that there is a new chapter available I listen and take notes. If there are any “pickups” (things that need to be fixed) I make a note in a shared google doc, and she’ll let me know when the changes have been made.
It can be hard for my mind to stay focused on something for 18-25 minutes at a time with the level of attention that is required in reviewing the audio files. But there’s something about the whole process that I really enjoy. It’s genuinely delightful to come across the choices Katrina makes (her acting is PHENOMENAL) and I feel very studious with my headphones and notepad making sure everything sounds perfect.
I am floored by the quality, and am so excited for y’all to experience Golden Ruin in this way.
Behind the Scenes
ACX as a platform is pretty straightforward. But I did have to really search around to find a specific feature for Audible exclusive releases. Normally, you submit your audio files and ACX has up to 10 business days to approve the audiobook and launch the sales page. I, a bit of a control freak, was not about this at all. How am I supposed to market an audiobook that will come out…at some point? So, after some digging, it turns out you can not only request a release date but also set up a preorder. This is for exclusive rights audiobooks only, so if you go wide this is not available as of this post. But I messaged back and forth a bit with a few people at ACX and eventually both of my dates were approved. So, you can preorder the Golden Ruin audiobook on Audible starting October 25, 2024, and it will go live on November 8, 2024! I’m kind of a geek about dates, and 8 is my lucky number so this was a great lil author win for me.
We've still got a ways to go until the audiobook is finished and out in the world, but I’m having a blast so far and I hope y’all will love it too.
Until next time,
<3 Emma
