Happy Monday, WG2E-Land Peeps!!!
I’m over the moon to share a brand new topic for The WG2E…
From Bestselling Ebooks to Audio Books
It’s absolutely possible to be Indie Epublished and still contract to create Audio Book versions of your Ebooks!!!
I know…’cause I just did it last week!!!
***Bob Mayer has done it too!
We’ve both used Audible’s superfab
Audible’s ACX (owned by Amazon) – Audiobook Creation Exchange – is, in a nutshell…taken straight from their website:
…the marketplace where professionals create and sell audiobooks.
- Collaborate with authors, agents and publishers
- Find great titles to produce
- Discover unlimited opportunities to market your work
- Sell your audiobook through top online retailers
- Make money – over 1000 audiobooks already in production on ACX! One of them could be yours.
Here’s the scoop on how Audible’s ACX works…
First, you’ve got to see if your Ebooks are eligible to be considered for their platform.
Upon first look, mine were not.
However, Audible gives you the opportunity to “convince” them that you’ve sold enough and have a large enough fan-base to use their services.
Here’s the letter I emailed to Audible:
Good Afternoon, ACX!!!
I’m D. D. Scott – both an Amazon and B&N Top 100 Bestselling Author, plus a two-time Amazon Mover’s and Shakers List Author – of The Bootscootin’ Books and Cozy Cash Mysteries!
I’d luuuvvv to begin using ACX to turn all my Ebooks (there are 14 now) into Audible books too!
I’ve now sold over 50,000 Ebooks and have had almost 100,000 Free Downloads – making it to #1 on Amazon’s Free Books – of the book that started it all for me BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS – it’s chick lit, gone-country – think Sex and The City meets Urban Cowboy.
Praise For D. D. Scott:
“…one of the top Romantic Comedy/Humorous Mystery writers out right now.” —ENT (Ereader News Today)I’ve self-published my books using Amazon’s KDP, Nook’s PubIt and Smashwords too, so therefore, I own all rights.
I’d like to start with the book that started it all for me then continue from there.
Per your request, here’s the Amazon Page for BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS:
Thank You For Your Consideration! — D. D. Scott
Within 24-hours, I received a wonderful response from ACX that I was approved for not only my Bootscootin’ Books, but also my Cozy Cash Mysteries too! Also, I was given a personal Account Rep (wavin’ atchya, Nicole 
), who then called me and walked me through the process of setting up my profiles and answered any questions I had.
ACX’s contracts are very easy to understand and are on their website for your review.
Basically, you have three options to choose from:
1. You can do a 50-50 Royalty Split, meaning you pay nothing upfront for your Ebooks to be produced as Audio Books, but then split the royalties 50-50 with your narrator/producer.
2. You can offer to pay your producer/narrator so much per finished hour (pfh) – the average range seems to be between $100 and $500 pfh, with some as high as $1,000 pfh, then you keep 100% of the royalties, minus ACX’s small fees.
3. You can flat-out sell your Audio Rights to a Production Company, but then you no longer own the rights to your Audio Book. (Options 1 and 2 allow you to keep the ownership of your Audio Rights)
Here’s the really cool part…
You get to choose your own Narrator/Producer!!!
And wow…is the Audition Process superfab fun!!!
For example, you first choose what type of Narrator you’re looking for. Do you need:
1. Male/Female
2. Accent/Dialect – i.e. American New York, American Southern, Irish, British, etc.
3. Genre and Style – Fiction, Humorous Mystery, Chick Lit, Romantic Comedy
4. Voice Qualities: Sassy, Great Comedic Timing, Sarcastic, Edgy
You actually begin receiving Auditions then, and can make Offers to the Narrators/Producers who you think totally nail your book and characters!!!
It’s just a terrific and superfab fun process all-around!!!
I’ve now got all 3 Bootscootin’ Books contracted!!! With the first one – BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS – to be available in Audio Book form on Amazon, Audible and iTunes by May 1st, and the other two ready as early as June!!!
I’m thrilled to be partnering with Voice Artist/Actress/Spokesperson
as my Narrator/Producer!!!
I knew the moment I heard Christine read my Bootscootin’ heroine Roxy Rae Vaughn that she was my gal!!!
She’ll produce my Audio Books with a sound engineer in a studio in Vegas, and I can’t wait to hear the results!!!
Go, Christine, Go!!!
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: What questions do you have regarding Audible ACX’s Audio Book Process? I’ll do my best to answer them, based on my experiences so far. (***Note: I’ll also interview Christine Padovan here on The WG2E very soon!!!)
The Best of The WG2E Ebooks to Audio Books Wishes — D. D. Scott
