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| Author: Tara Fox Hall |
Last
week I began a step by step guide for authors wanting to dip their toe into the
world of audiobooks. Let’s take up where we left off!
3.
We were on the step of
listening to an audio file submitted on ACX by a narrator. If you like what you
hear, click accept and review the contract offer ACX generates ($ to be
paid/royalty share and the dates by which recording is to be completed; be sure
to provide ample months for a full-length book), then send it to the narrator.
They will accept or get back to you asking for a contract revision, such as
additional time needed to complete the work.
4.
If you don’t like the
audio sample, you can ask for the narrator to make corrections/adjustments and resubmit or do nothing. The audition will expire in a set time. You can go back to step 1 and send proposals to other narrators, edit your own proposal or do nothing and wait for more auditions. But you must contract with a narrator to go forward with your audiobook.
5.
At this step you have
successfully retained a narrator to work with you on your audiobook and have
agreed on a date by which the first fifteen minutes will be sent to you and a
date by which the entire work will be complete. I would urge any author to be flexible
on dates, as invariably things do and will come up. For example, if you have a
Christmas novel you want made into an audiobook, then begin looking for a
narrator the December PREVIOUS to the fall season when you are planning to
release it.
6.
ACX will email you when
the first 15 minutes are done, but if you have a thorough narrator, you will
also get a private message from them with everything from typos to
suggestions…and you may have been corresponding with them all throughout the
process regarding characters or plot points. Listen to the audio file all the
way through, then give the narrator feedback and/or approve.
7.
Do the same as step #6
when you get the files for the entire book. DO NOT approve something you did
not listen to, under any circumstances.
8.
While you are waiting
for your final chapters to arrive, take the time to create your audiobook
cover. Unlike Kindle, ACX does not have a cover creator, and you as the author
are responsible for the cover. However it is simple to crop an existing PDF of
your Kindle or print cover to 2400x2400 pixels using whatever software that is
on your computer. This may edit out your author name or the book title, but you
can add back in the title and or author name to the square cover with new
lettering. You can also create a different cover for your audiobook, or have
someone create one for you, just realize you will need to pay for stock art
and/or any fees the artist may charge.
9.
ACX will review your
audiobook for any issues, from too-long pauses or aberrations. You
Congratulations!
You have made your first audiobook! Sit back and bask in your accomplishment or
go right on to the next one!
Check
out my 13 audiobooks on Audible! https://www.audible.com/author/Tara-Fox-Hall/B005YPAA4W
For
codes to obtain free copies of Audiobooks for review, check out my titles on www.audiofreebies.com . You can submit a request for a code or codes
right through the website! I appreciate all good reviews, if you like what you
hear! J
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