After ebooks, audiobooks are now the next big thing. Sales in audiobooks have increased drastically over the past few years.
Audiobooks are extremely easy to access and listen to. With audiobooks being the next big thing in publishing, writers often ask themselves: how do I turn my book into an audiobook?
The points below will help you guide through creating an audiobook. It contains tips and lists the benefits of creating an audiobook.
Benefits of Recording an Audiobook:
Build your subscriber list
Recording an audiobook has many benefits that can be monetary and non-monetary.
They are the perfect resource for you to use to build up your email subscriber list. By providing an audiobook on your website for consumers to download after providing their email, your email list will increase drastically.
EARN MORE MONEY
Audiobooks are another source of income for you from a single piece of work.
With the increase in the audiobook market, turning your novel into an audiobook also captures a wider audience. It will help you garner the attention of the audiobook lovers.
And lastly, profits from audiobooks are higher since the cost of production and distribution is low.
IT NEVER SELLS OUT
Unlike printed books, audiobooks don’t have a specific quantity that can be released. They are more like ebooks in this distinction and always stay in stock.
There are many different platforms to sell, market and record your ebooks as well.
IT’S FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO LISTEN ON THE GO
For the people who are always on the run, audiobooks are a godsend.
It’s difficult for people who don’t have enough time in their days to sit down and enjoy a good book. That’s where having an audiobook version of a book comes in handy. Like mentioned before, these audiobooks will help capture this kind of audience.
IT’S FOR all types of readers
People tend to read a book at different paces. Some read them within a span of a few hours while others take years to finish a book.
And although audiobooks cater to both types of readers, the high consumers love them more as it allows them to finish the book faster.
Another advantage of an audiobook is that it encourages slow readers to read more as it’s easier to finish a book when someone else is reading to you.
IT’S FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE TROUBLE READING/DON’T LIKE READING
Books are not enjoyed by everyone and that’s a fact. Reading a book can put them to sleep.
But, with audiobooks now available, these people have the option of someone reading the book to them. This opens up a wider audience for writers to capture.
Apart from people who don’t enjoy reading, some people cannot read due to disabilities. So for people who want to read but cannot due to blindness or dyslexia, audiobooks are a great solution.
NOT SO FIERCE COMPETITION
The audiobook market is fairly new. This reduces the amount of competition for you.
So what does that mean?: It’s easier to get your book noticed in an audiobook format.
Situations In Which You Shouldn’t Record An Audiobook:
AMOUNT OF DIALOGUES
If your book contains a lot of dialogues such as “he said” or “she said”, it could be off-putting to hear it again and again. Repetition of some dialogues or words could become annoying to listeners.
TYPE OF BOOK
Type of book means an instructional book or a novel. You should think to yourself if your book is more of a guide, cookbook or manual, and how it will sound to someone as an audiobook. An instructional book could be awkward as it lacks a flow necessary for an audiobook.
Recording Your Audiobook:
RECORDING it YOURSELF
Recording your audiobook yourself can be very cost-effective. It will also give you complete control over the final product, giving you a chance to make your vision come true as you see fit.
However, recording your own audiobook without any experience can make your final product seem unprofessional. You need time and equipment such as microphones, recording software, etc. to record your own audiobook as well.
Check out Jony Studios blog Best Podcast Microphone to find the perfect professional microphone for you. Or checkout the Best External Microphones for Your iPhone to find a microphone you can attach to your smartphone!
Lastly, you will also need to learn how to record an audiobook. You will need to learn when to pause, how to use the software, etc.
If you are thinking about recording it yourself, you will be able to save a lot time and headaches by recording your audiobook with a reputable recording studio that has a wide range of experience. Also if you already have the recording they can help get the sound to a professional standard using mixing, mastering and other advanced audio techniques.
HIRING SOMEONE TO RECORD
By hiring someone else to record your audiobook, you won’t have to do the hard stuff yourself. Any professional you hire will know about creating an audiobook, have the time to create it and have the equipment and space to record it. All you’ll have to do is hire them.
But hiring a narrator can be expensive. Without knowing how much your audiobook will earn in sales, the cost of hiring someone could be scary.
If you do decide to hire someone to record your audiobook, you’ll be able to find someone on ACX. You can either pay the narrator upfront or share royalties that you earn from sales.
Recording Duration:
The time it takes to record an audiobook depends on your project. The length of your book, the narrator you employ/time you take to record your book yourself, duration of editing, all factor into the time it takes to complete your project.
ACX estimates that most narrators can read approximately 9,300 words per hour. A 65,000-word book may turn into seven hours of narration.
After you finish your recording and editing, it takes time to go over your final product as well.
Conclusion:
There are many benefits to recording an audiobook for your book. This blog gives you a few additional tips you might need to make your audiobook a success.
Did you find these benefits and tips helpful?
- By Neha Agarwala
If you need help turning your book into an audiobook, we offer audiobook production services that will help you reach a wider audience and increase your book sales.
Learn more here and listen to some of our audiobook samples.
