You’ve worked hard on your book, it’s your baby. Throughout all the drafts, the edits, the revisions, your goal has always been to become a published author. And Congratulations, it’s come true! Your book is available in print and e-book, and you couldn’t be happier.
Now you are faced with a question: should you have it made into an audiobook? Audiobooks are the fastest growing segment in the publishing industry. Each of the past six years, audiobook sales have had double digit growth and as of 2020, audiobook sales topped 1.3 billion dollars! The number of new audiobooks published has been steadily increasing each year, with over 70,000 titles produced in 2020 alone.
FIRST OFF, IS AN AUDIOBOOK RIGHT FOR YOU?
The answer I usually give is probably. A well written book, with a good storyline, and well written characters will definitely make a good audiobook. Biographies, memoirs, self help, and advice or how-to books also do well in audio. There are, however, certain genres that just aren’t right for audio. Cookbooks for example aren’t well suited for audio. Books that rely heavily on charts, graphs, illustrations or pictures are typically too cumbersome for a listener.
OK, now that you know your book will make a good audiobook, let’s look at several reasons why you should have your book made into an audiobook.
1. Money
It is estimated that ninety-nine percent of people who write books do so with the intention of making money off them. Based on the statistics from the Audio Publishers Association, in 2020 audiobook sales topped 1.3 billion dollars, and have had double digit revenue growth for the past six years. That is a lot of money out there, can you afford to ignore this potential revenue stream? The majority of
your work is already complete: you’ve written the book. Turn it over to a professional narrator, and let them do the work.
2. Reach More Readers
Audiobooks have a big advantage over traditionally published books, portability. Many listeners, myself included, listen in the car during their commute, while on a walk or jog, gardening, cooking, or even working out at a gym. You just can’t do that with a book. Audiobook listeners tend to stay with audiobooks, and might not come across you as an author without one.
3. Stand Out from the Crowd
Print and ebooks are still the primary means of consuming your book, but audiobooks are closing the gap. If you do a search on Amazon for books, you’ll come up with millions of search results. On Audible, the total is closer to 100,000. You will be much easier to find on Audible, giving hungry readers a far better chance of finding you amongst the crowd.
4. Reach Non-Readers
For whatever the reason, many people simply don’t read books. It could be they have a
disability that prevents them from reading, blindness, dyslexia, etc. Others simply have an aversion to reading, they didn’t enjoy it in school and carry that aversion still. Audiobooks overcome all these obstacles. Without an audiobook, this segment of the population will never buy your book.
5. Audiobooks are Easy for the Author
As I mentioned above, all your work is already done. You’ve written, edited, revised, and published your book. At this point, all you have to do is choose your narrator, listen to their sample of your book, and then give them the go-ahead to complete it. Most authors aren’t audiobook professionals and don’t know what’s involved in the process, so the best plan is to hire someone with enough experience to produce a professional audiobook.
What Is the Cost?
So, how much does an audiobook cost to make? Well, that depends on a number of factors. Some narrators will agree to a Royalty Split, where when a sale is made, you and the narrator split the royalties from that share. If the book is a best seller, you will end up paying a lot more in royalties than if you simple paid for the book outright. If you choose this option, you will end up paying a set fee for the total finished hours of the audiobook. For example, your
audiobook ends up being 8 hours long, and the fee is $350 per finished hour, the production fee would be $2,800. Once you pay that, you get all the royalties from the sales.
There is a third option that is gaining momentum, and that is a hybrid deal. It’s a Royalty Split agreement, with a much lower PFH (per finished hour) rate, usually around $75 PFH. This is mainly to offset some of the narrators costs for proofing, editing and mastering.
Final Thoughts
Here at Twin Tales Publishing, we offer full audiobook production services, giving you the best opportunity to not only expand your reach, but increase your inventory with more formats of your work. So, whether you prefer royalty split or pay-for-production, we can offer custom solutions to fit your needs. Check out our AUDIO SERVICES PAGE for all the information.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below on your own reasons for wanting an audio book. Until next time, happy writing.
Todd W.
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