Audio Adventures: “I’m an Author and I want to be heard!” – Part 3

I love narrating audiobooks – every story is so different and personal to the author and whether it is a work of fiction or non-fiction, it has been created with a lot of drive and passion. Therefore, having taken such care to write and complete your creative project, it is essential for you as the author to find the right person to breathe life into your words as a narrator (or sometimes referred to as the producer).

One of my USP’s (Unique Selling Points) that I pride myself on is the ability to communicate effectively with my clients and to listen to them carefully in order to create exactly what they imagined and wanted. I want to realise the voices that you have heard in your head (without sending you to a psychiatrist!)

When it comes to audiobook production, if that means doing a bit of ‘hand-holding’, then I will do exactly that. Perhaps it’s the ex-teacher in me, but I can fully appreciate how confusing the whole process is and helping an author clearly understand the steps and processes necessary to launch an audiobook is something I have had to do several times and am happy to assist with.

Let me run through all the steps for an author wanting to create and self-publish an audiobook – this list may seem obvious but I have deliberately taken the approach of a first-timer who might be finding it all a bit daunting.

If you have a publisher working for you, they should take care of the whole process and may only involve you in the selection process of the narrator.

1. Choose the book you wish to be turned into an audiobook: This could be a book you have written yourself, or it could be a book that you have the rights to produce as an audiobook. Being the Rights Holder is essential.

2. Choose a narrator: Audiobook narrators are professional voice actors who specialize in the longform of recording audiobooks. Just because you have written a book doesn’t mean you would make the best narrator. If you are a great speaker and feel confident in this area then great! Having the author as the narrator is ideal in many ways. However, It is important to do your book justice and recognise when to bring in a professional who has experience in reading for sustained periods of time, to help. It isn’t as easy as you think to keep up a steady pace and tone hour after hour and your voice needs to be trained and prepared to do this. (I’m planning a future blog on vocal care so watch this space.) You can find narrators by searching online directories, auditioning narrators through a casting website like ACX, or by working with a talent agent.

3. Once you have found your narrator, you need to agree on a contract – how will the narrator be paid? What elements of the production will they take care of? Which platform do you hope to publish it on? What is the timeframe for getting the book done etc? I will go into how costs are determined in greater detail after this general list of points.

4. Record the audiobook: Once you have chosen a narrator, you will need to arrange between you for the recording sessions to take place. This can be done in a professional recording studio, or (more commonly) it is done remotely at the home of the narrator using a soundproof booth, high-quality microphone and recording software.

5. Edit and produce the audiobook: After the recording sessions are complete, you will need to ensure the audio files are edited (either by the narrator/producer as agreed at the start, or a professional third party) to remove any mistakes or errors, and to ensure that the audio is of high quality. You will also need to produce the final audiobook files in a format that is compatible with the distribution platform you are using (such as Audible or iTunes). Again, this is something the narrator should do for you. It all comes down to choosing a competent, professional narrator and ensuring a clear agreement is set before the project commences.

6. Don’t forget the cover! When you publish an audiobook, just like a hard copy, it needs a book cover. You will need to get a digital image ready for this – sometimes it is square or requires a certain size/quality so be sure to check this out. Talk to your illustrator or graphic designer for advice.

7. Distribute the audiobook: Once you have created the audiobook, you need to decide where to publish it. There are several platforms that you can use to distribute your audiobook, including Audible, iTunes, and Google Play. You will need to create an account with one of these platforms and upload your audiobook files in order to make them available for purchase or download. Make sure you read their terms carefully as some will want you to tie yourself to them exclusively. It is possible to use multiple platforms, it will just vary the amount of return you will get for each sale – as I said, make sure you read all the small print carefully.

The cost of producing an audiobook can vary widely depending on a number of factors; including the length of the book, the number of narrators required, the cost of studio time or recording equipment, and the level of editing and production required.

Before we talk about costs of hiring a professional voiceover artist to narrate your book, let me explain some of the jargon and terms often used.

• PFH – Per Finished Hour. This is the rate a producer will charge to narrate your book. Remember that for every finished hour that the listener listens to, it will have taken the narrator more like 3 hours or more of their time to create. A narrator needs to read the book through, then read it again and make notes on characters, technical words or pronunciation of names and places. Then the narrator reads and records it. Finally the narrator needs to listen through the entire book to check for mistakes or inconsistencies in tone, voices and style. So as you can see, for every Finished Hour, it has actually taken 3-4 hours to get there and the price PFH reflects this work in the production of the audiobook. Someone who charges say £200 PFH is actually only charging around £50 per hour of their work.

• Royalty share (RS): In some cases, audiobook narrators/producers may accept a percentage of the royalties earned from the sale of the audiobook as their fee instead of a PFH fee. This can be a good option for authors who are looking to produce their own audiobooks and are low on funds, as it skips any initial recording fee to be paid to the narrator and allows them to share in the profits from the sales of the book. The problem for narrators accepting this as their payment option is that it relies on the book selling well or they do not get reimbursed for all the hard work and time spent on it.

• Hybrid model: Some audiobook producers may offer a combination of the above pricing models, for example, charging a flat fee for recording and editing, and a percentage of the royalties for distribution and marketing.

Having got that explanation out of the way, here are a few estimates of the cost you need to consider:

• Hiring a narrator: Narrator fees can range from £75-£400 PFH, depending on the narrator’s experience and the complexity of the material. For a typical audiobook of say 10 hours in length, you might expect to pay anywhere from £750 – £4000 or more for the total narration. Be careful that your narrator is not ‘too cheap’ – check their recording equipment, their services offered (Do they allow style amendments and feedback from you? Do they edit too?) and also their experience – you do not want to end up having your audiobook recorded on a phone in a bedroom!

• Studio time: If you choose to record the audiobook in a professional recording studio, you will need to pay for studio time. This cost varies depending on the studio and the equipment being used. Most narrators have their own professional recording set-up at home which entails no extra cost to you. Just make sure you listen carefully to a sample of their work before you agree to any contract so you are happy with the final sound. Luckily, platforms such as ACX run any recordings through a quality checking system so this should ensure your book reaches professional standards.

• Editing and production: After the recording sessions are complete, you will need to edit and produce the final audiobook files. This can involve cleaning up the audio, adding sound effects or music, and formatting the files for distribution. Again, many narrators will do this for you and as a result their price includes editing and final production. If not, the cost of this can vary widely, but you might expect to pay anywhere from £500- £2,000 or more for a typical audiobook.

• Distribution: Finally, you will need to pay a fee to distribute your audiobook through a platform like Audible or iTunes. These fees can range from around 30% to 70% of the sale price of the audiobook, depending on the platform and the terms of the agreement. The amount can also vary depending whether you give that platform rights to be the sole distributor or whether you intend to distribute on multiple platforms – they take a bigger cut if you use more than one platform but obviously you are reaching a wider audience so you need to weigh these facts up.

In total, you might expect to pay anywhere from a thousand pounds to several thousands of pounds to produce and distribute an audiobook, depending on the length and complexity of the book, and the level of production you are looking for. It can be helpful to get quotes from multiple narrators and studios to get a sense of the costs involved. If you want to find out more, please get in touch.

Once you have published your audiobook, don’t forget you still need to do some quality marketing if you want to get it selling!

Promote it on Facebook Groups and other streams of Social Media – writers groups, book clubs, Pages concerning your specific genre of book – thriller writers/readers for example. Whatever you did to promote your book when it first came out, you need to do for your audiobook too.

Audiobooks are such a great way for people to enjoy the wonderful world of literature in this fast-moving, multi-tasking world that we live in. The Stats are incredible – In the UK alone, 44% of adults listen to audiobooks, having your book in this format ensures that you are maximising your book’s potential. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and do it! If you need any more advice about it or are looking for a narrator, I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me here.