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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Authors, Dip Your Toes in the Audiobook Ocean! PART II



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 will get an email if they approve your audiobook for sale or if there is a problem. The narrator will also be informed, but if there is any issue, work with the narrator to fix it, then resubmit the audiobook for approval.

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

 Links:



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