Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.
Are audiobooks the future of book sales? Do you have your stories on audio?
This is a tricky one. I’d like to say yes.
I have a few of my books available in audio and I’m a huge fan of the format. Through the production process, I’ve met some fantastic narrators and made friends. I’ve found it exhilarating to hear my words come to life, and in listening, discovered how someone else interprets what I’ve written.
Not only that, audio has introduced my books to another audience, people who, for whatever reason, can’t or don’t read but do have the time to listen.
Being a poor author, it’s important to remember that Audiobooks are another revenue stream, let’s face it, we all need those.
You can hear samples from the currently available titles by clicking here.
The reviews that my audiobooks have received are generally positive too, which is a big endorsement of both my words and the narrator’s skill. And the credit is theirs, they are the ones who have put in all the effort to turn my scribbles into a living thing.
However, recent revelations about the way that Audible does business, particularly in terms of their returns policy, lack of control over pricing and discounts and opaque accounting practices have soured my view on the whole subject and changed the way I see my audiobooks.
And I’m not alone in that.
Read all about it, explained in a much better way than I could, here.
(The article is a long read but the sheer depth of what’s happening needs to be understood).
In fact, I’ve stopped all marketing for audiobooks, as most of the time, I can’t make a profit. Due to the labyrinthine pricing and credit system, I also don’t appear to get paid the royalties that were implied. This almost certainly means that my narrator doesn’t get paid what they expected either. But until now, because of the way sales were reported, it was hard to prove anything, or even to see what was actually going on.
Bottom line. I won’t be producing any more audiobooks until things change.
It’s simply not worth it.
Let me know what you think about this week’s subject.
I’d love to get your comments, please leave them below. While you’re here, why not take a look around? There are some freebies and lots more content, about me, my writing and everything else that I do. You can join my newsletter for a free novella and more news by clicking this link.
Now see what the other blogs in this hop have to say by clicking below.
Check out the other great blogs here.
I’d love to get your comments, please leave them below. While you’re here, why not take a look around? There are some freebies and lots more content, about me, my writing and everything else that I do. You can join my newsletter for a free novella and more news by clicking this link.
Stevie Turner
Do you use the Royalty Share option?
Richard Dee
I do, there’s no way I could afford to produce audio based on any other model.
P.J. MacLayne
Richard, I agree with you. I’d rather not invest in audio books until I can do it through alternative sellers.
Richard Dee
I’m beginning to question my decision, I’m looking at alternatives before I commit to producing any more.
Phil Huston
Market them yourself, on this page. No one can stop you from mentioning your website and contact info in your books, or yourself as RDSF publishing, or by direct email to your customer base.
Richard Dee
Indeed, that’s the plan, just as soon as I can extricate myself from my present situation.
Roberta Eaton Cheadle
I looked into doing audio books, Richard, and my publisher warned me away. The only person who makes money out of audio books it seems is Amazon and they make enough money out of my literary undertakings which take a huge amount of my blood, sweat and tears.
Richard Dee
I quite agree and, could I go back in time, I would approach the whole thing differently.
Debra Purdy Kong
I read about the problems with Amazon payments earlier this year, and came across an alternative called Findaway Voices, which is a different platform from Amazon’s, and apparently more forthcoming with respect to royalty payments. I haven’t investigated further at this point…just too busy with other projects, but it might be worth checking out. I publish my ebooks through Draft2Digital and they work with Findaway through D2D’s audiobook program. Should I have the time and energy to get that far, it’s the route I’ll explore.
Richard Dee
Thanks for that, I will investigate.