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Audiobooks - Part 2 - Picking a Platform

4/9/2016

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​In my last post, I discussed how you can Maximize Your Reach by adding audio in addition to print and ebooks formats in order to cover all the ways that your audience may want to consume your content. In this post, I'll discuss picking a platform.
​
This was actually a pretty easy decision for me. As in so many areas of independent publishing, Amazon is the leader through their Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). Amazon owns Audible and has more than 90% of audiobook market, so the reach is great. And from an indy publisher point of view, using an Amazon platform offers desirable benefits in terms of links with the print and ebook versions. For example, here is the Amazon product detail page for The Sense of Death showing all three format options—print, ebook, and audio:
Picture

​In addition to displaying all the formats together, you can see that Amazon also gives customers who click on the Audible option easy access to the reviews posted by readers of other formats.
Another cool feature of using ACX / Audible / Amazon is Whispersync:

Whispersync is a program that allows readers who enjoy both ebooks and audiobooks to sync up their reading experience when they purchase both versions. These readers get a significant discount on the audiobook when they buy the Kindle edition first or they already own it. The discount can be over 80 percent when they want to buy both.

The jury is out over whether Whispersync is a positive or negative feature for authors. On the positive side, you’ll likely sell more copies of your audiobooks and fans can get immersed deeper into your world. On the negative side, 40 percent (or 20 percent on a Royalty Share deal) of $1.99, isn’t all that exciting to see on your monthly royalty statement.

http://authormarketinginstitute.com/5-acx-terms-you-need-to-know/

I’m definitely willing to sacrifice some royalty money to build a more engaged audience, so Whispersync was a draw for me.

ACX is such an overwhelming presence in the industry that it’s difficult to find information on alternatives, but here is an article by Jane Friedman on CD Baby:
​
https://janefriedman.com/acx-alternative-2/

I was quickly sold on using ACX—my next area of investigation was pricing and royalties. Stay tuned!
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    Matty Dalrymple is the author of the Ann Kinnear Suspense Novels and is the principal at William Kingsfield Publishers.

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  • Home
  • About & Contact
  • Podcast
    • 068 - Handling Difficult Topics in YA Fiction
    • 067 - Mistakes Writers Make about the FBI
    • 066 - From Indy to Traditional
    • 065 - X-raying Your Plot
    • 064 - Children's Books
    • 063 - Wide for the Win
    • 062 - Point of View
    • 061 - Google Play
    • 060 - Mastering Action Sequences
    • 059 - Newsletter Swaps and StoryOrigin
    • 058 - Author Newsletters
    • 057 - The Pros and Cons of Pre-orders
    • 056 - Crowdfunding for Authors
    • 055 - Costs of Self-publishing a Book
    • 054 - Futurist Trends We Can Prepare for Now
    • 053 - Learn from TV and Movies
    • 052 - Building a Resilient Indy Business
    • 051 - Podcasting as Content Marketing
    • 050 - First Responders
    • 049 - Ruminations on Book Launches
    • 048 - Protagonist and Antagonist Voices
    • 047 - Backstory and Flashbacks
    • 046 - Writing Coroners
    • 045 - Exercise
    • 044 - Using Aggregators versus Direct
    • 043 - Killing Suspense
    • 042 - The Importance of Metadata
    • 041 - Writing Convincing Villains
    • 040 - Storytelling Lessons from Investigative Reporting
    • 039 Building a Writer Community
    • 038 - Graphic Novels
    • 037 - How Cozy is Cozy?
    • 036 - Frugal Tips for Writers
    • 035 - Police Procedures
    • 034 - Connecting through Video
    • 033 - Barriers to Creativity
    • 032 - Hybrid Publishing
    • 031 - ebook Pricing
    • 030 - Common Writer Wisdom: Is it Right for You?
    • 029 - Fostering Creativity through Digital Minimalism
    • 028 - Writing the Killer Query
    • 027 - Why to Stop Blogging
    • 026 - Weaving Your Day Job into Your Books
    • 025 - Mastering Book Descriptions
    • 024 - Three Hard Truths
    • 023 - Reaching New Readers through Translations
    • 022 - SEO for Authors
    • 021 - Building Communities in Podcasts and In Person
    • 020 - Working with Libraries & Bookstores
    • 019 - Judging a Book by Its Cover
    • 018 - The Importance of Masterworks
    • 017 - Story a Day
    • 016 - Drawing Back the Publishing Curtain
    • 015 - Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Was Published
    • 014 - Collaborating on "Taking the Short Tack"
    • 013 - Writing in Time
    • 012 - Top Firearms Mistakes Writers Make ...
    • 011 - Making the Move to Full-Time Writer
    • 010 - Update from The Indy Author
    • 009 - Craft and Business of Short Fiction
    • 008 - Screenwriting
    • 007 - Faster Fiction
    • 006 - Importance of Storytelling
    • 005 - Image-intensive Books
    • 004 - Using Media Outlets
    • 003 - Small Press Publishing
    • 002 - Creativity Tips
    • 001 - Introducing The Indy Author
    • For Guests of The Indy Author Podcast
  • Podcasting for Authors
    • Podcasting Resources
    • Descript >
      • The Anatomy of Descript
      • Best Practices | Tips | Tricks
      • Descript Q&A
  • The Short Tack
  • Log
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • The Craft
    • Getting Past the Fear of (First Draft) Commitment
    • Scalability
    • Professionalism
    • From Dead in the Water to Favorable Winds
  • The Voyage
    • Reading Your Work Aloud
    • Preparing to Request an Author Blurb
    • Navigating Indy
  • For the Armchair Sailor
  • Editing Services
  • Events
  • For Libraries
  • Blog
  • William Kingsfield Publishers
  • Online Store
  • Press Kit