Creating Your Audio Book
Don’t Sleep on Audio Books
I was approached this summer about going into the studio and creating an audio book excerpt for my title, What Goes Around Comes Around. After some hesitation, I stepped into the studio and recorded my first chapter. My intention is to make this an audio trailer for my book. Initially I wasn’t sold on the creating an audiobook for my debut title until I started doing some research. I learned the audio book market is on an upward trend and has been for the last three years. There is a huge market for this content.
According to statistics published on Global Audiobook the audio book marketing is growing. 2016 revenue for the global audio book market is $3.5 billion with $1.8 billion in revenue in the United States. This is a 31% increase over 2015. There are fewer audio books published than print or ebooks however the number of audio books produced is growing wth most companies offering an subscription model. The Audio Publishers of America reported 36,000 audio books published each year for the last three years. This trends is expected to continue in 2017 and 2018 when ebook and print books sales are stagnant or declining.
My background is in communication however, I have focused mainly on print. I don’t listen to a lot of books on tape. Until I did research and started talking to others I wasn’t sure I should try this. There is an audience for audio books. Audio books are great for long trips, people who have visual impediments or those who like to multitask. Audio books provide the soundtrack to people’s lives.
How do you create an audio book?
I get jitters anytime I try something new and of course I had some doubts. This changed when I got the opportunity to work with a producer who gave me a free 60 minute trial. Malcolm Pope, owner, producer and songwriter of Genre Music Production, LLC was wonderful to work with. I found him when I was doing a radio promotion on The Credit Repair Show for my title. The host, Pastor Angelo McCutchen referred me to Malcolm. I would recommend reaching out to your network or do an internet search to find a producer and studio to help create your audio book.
It is best to have a professional create your audio books. I recently completed a Toastmaster certificate by performing 10 speeches. Obtaining this Toastmaster’s milestone increased my confidence and I felt that I could provide the audio reading of my book. I practiced reading my first chapter and I had other people critique me. I took their constructive criticism to heart. When I got in the studio it only took a few takes to get a good product. Malcolm offered helpful suggestions that made this project even better.
Please share your experience creating or listening to audio books in the comment section.