Listeners will love ‘Audiobooks’! They are hotter than ever!

The key attraction for Audiobooks is that they cut down on screen time, offer accessibility to a wider audience, and make it easier to multitask. So this is the wave you need to catch.

Think about it – we listen to podcasts in our car, at the gym, through portable high-quality Bluetooth speakers which are abundant, and everyone is now more into listening to things than reading. 

With millions of audiobook listeners worldwide consuming audiobooks at a fairly rapid clip, ‘self-publishing an audio version of your book is the answer’.

There are several options to create an audiobook…

Here are some tips for working directly with a professional studio to make your audiobook dream a reality. Follow these steps to make the experience smooth and produce results that your audience will love….

Discover your perfect narrator:

Well, not that easy right?

The narrator you pick must be a good match for your book. The voice artist should portray the tone of your characters. Be mindful in choosing the narrator as they can make or break a novel.

Correct your audio:

This is one of the time-consuming parts of audiobook production because you must listen through your novel carefully. There could be sound glitches or even the sound of dishes clanking in the background.

You have to let the narrator know there is a mistake they must correct.

Pick the platform you want to use

There are so many platforms to use, so it’s all about which one suits your needs the best.

16Leaves helps you choose and work with a narrator, proof the audiobook, and publish it.

The complete production process can be done in one place, making it great for amateurs.

Select a payment method

The narrator is an imperative part of your audiobook, so it’s important to figure out how you and the narrator can benefit the most. You can pay your narrator a royalty share. While they can produce the book for ‘free’, when the book goes on sale, they will receive a percentage of your sales.

When the production process is over, you don’t have to pay the narrator anything more.

Depending on the platform type you use, one method might be better than the other, just make sure you read the fine print on whichever production platform you use.

Review the audiobook

The average audiobook takes about eight hours to listen to, but many of mine run much longer.

You should go through the audio a few times, adding time to your production. When you send in mistakes and the narrator ‘corrects’ them, you’ll have to go back and listen to make sure everything is good to go.

All self-published authors do not have this luxury, so ask yourself whether it’s worth outsourcing the labour that can add to your production costs, or doing it yourself, which is time-intensive.

Promote your audiobook

Sometimes authors overlook the importance of promoting their creations in this day and age.

It’s important you spend time marketing your book. For self-publishing audiobooks, it’s essential to find audiobook enthusiasts who will honestly review your book.

If they leave genuinely good reviews on sites, such as Goodreads, potential readers will become more inclined to purchase your work. Giveaways can also spread the word about your audiobook and generate honest reviews.

Evaluate the process

Now you must look back at the process and reflect upon it. Stop and check to see if you were successful. Was the production process worth the hassle? Did you have trouble with the narrator? Were your audiobook sales good? 

You must ask yourself all these questions and decide whether the result was worth all the hassle.

The audio publishing world is growing very quickly. Pursuing audiobooks might be daunting at first, but there are plenty of resources that can help.