Note: Rather than posting this info my progress thread (https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...kenhawks-self-published-fiction-ebooks.47885/), this seemed to deserve a thread of its own, because it's more of a "how to."
As a reader, I love audio books, and listen to them all the time. As an author, I was looking for a way to boost the income from my existing self-pubbed books by adding audio versions to the mix. To accomplish this, I ended up going through ACX. Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea ACX existed, so I thought other self-pubbers might like a quick summary...
Here's a Brief Summary of How ACX Works
What is ACX? It's an Amazon company that hooks up authors and voice artists/production studios. The final product is an audio book that can be sold on Audible and ITunes.
How does it Work: If you're an author, you fill out some basic online forms that provide information about your book, what kind of narrator you'd like, and what rate you're willing to pay. You also upload a small sample of your book. Voice artists will use this excerpt as an audition script. If you like a particular narrator, you make them an offer. If they accept, they go off and produce your book for you.
Paying the Narrator: There are two options.
Sadly, ACX just reduced their commission structure earlier this year. Until this change, authors could earn a commission of up to 90%. Now, it's a flat 40%. Still, considering you can get your book on Audible and ITunes, this isn't half bad considering they handle so many of the logistics. One of the big downsides to this change, though, is that fewer narrators are willing to do the royalty split.
Also, if you want an Audible approved narrator, it will probably cost you more. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I paid more for one who was audible approved because I didn't want to take any chances.
If you want more info, you can get it at www.acx.com.
My books are still in production, so I can't say how well the entire process will go. But I can say that the initial steps were very easy.
As a reader, I love audio books, and listen to them all the time. As an author, I was looking for a way to boost the income from my existing self-pubbed books by adding audio versions to the mix. To accomplish this, I ended up going through ACX. Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea ACX existed, so I thought other self-pubbers might like a quick summary...
Here's a Brief Summary of How ACX Works
What is ACX? It's an Amazon company that hooks up authors and voice artists/production studios. The final product is an audio book that can be sold on Audible and ITunes.
How does it Work: If you're an author, you fill out some basic online forms that provide information about your book, what kind of narrator you'd like, and what rate you're willing to pay. You also upload a small sample of your book. Voice artists will use this excerpt as an audition script. If you like a particular narrator, you make them an offer. If they accept, they go off and produce your book for you.
Paying the Narrator: There are two options.
- Option #1. Pay Up-Front: You can pay the narrator/producer outright based on an hourly rate for your finished book. For example, if you agree to pay them $300 an hour for a finished book, and your finished book is eight hours long, you will owe them $2,400.
- Option #2: Royalty split: If your book shows a lot of promise, a narrator may be willing to produce your book on a royalty-split basis. Basically, you'd provide your book's content, and they'd provide the voice and production. Then, once it's done and available for sale, you split the audio book royalties 50/50. What this means is you have zero cost to produce your audio book, but you'll be sharing the profits with someone else.
Sadly, ACX just reduced their commission structure earlier this year. Until this change, authors could earn a commission of up to 90%. Now, it's a flat 40%. Still, considering you can get your book on Audible and ITunes, this isn't half bad considering they handle so many of the logistics. One of the big downsides to this change, though, is that fewer narrators are willing to do the royalty split.
Also, if you want an Audible approved narrator, it will probably cost you more. I'm not sure exactly what this means, but I paid more for one who was audible approved because I didn't want to take any chances.
If you want more info, you can get it at www.acx.com.
My books are still in production, so I can't say how well the entire process will go. But I can say that the initial steps were very easy.
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