Horror Roundtable 14 – Audiobooks

117 comments on “Horror Roundtable 14 – Audiobooks”

1. Goodnight all, thanks for the chat. Hit us up on Facebook (www.facebook.com/goacx) Twitter (www.twitter.com/ACX_com) and at the blog (http://blog.acx.com). Email any questions to info@acx.com.

2. >>Maybe Scott can speak to this, but I find that Audible seems to have somewhat of an aversion to including ACX titles in big Audible promotions. This puts even more pressure on the author to be the promotion machine. The good news is…you can see what people have been able to do with kindle books without big promotion money behind them…ways will appear for the same thing to happen in audio.<<

   No aversion to merchandising ACX titles here – in fact we have a team dedicated to it at Audible. The bottom line is that so many books are produced through ACX (nearly 13,000 in 2.5 years!) that we look for titles that stand out, and the best way to do that is to get the ball rolling yourself. We help get you started too, by providing info on how to market your title (http://bit.ly/J6Ibuq).

3. Yes, I’m going to have to bow out too. It’s nearly bedtime in the land of Wilson, and I’ll be up early – running two miles and listening to Joe R. Lansdale’s novel The Thicket …

4. On that note, I’ll bid you all adieu. Long day in the audio booth tomorrow and I need my beauty rest (I have a great face for audiobooks)… Happy holidays!

5. Only if you want people to listen to it 🙂

6. i mentioned this on my blog a while back.

   You’ve spent countless hours writing the book.
   You hired an editor to make sure its error-free.
   You hired a cover designer to give a best first impression.

   Why oh WHY would you hire a mediocre narrator just because they’re free? Shouldn’t your work be represented in the best way possible?

7. Maybe Scott can speak to this, but I find that Audible seems to have somewhat of an aversion to including ACX titles in big Audible promotions. This puts even more pressure on the author to be the promotion machine. The good news is…you can see what people have been able to do with kindle books without big promotion money behind them…ways will appear for the same thing to happen in audio.

8. What I want authors to understand is – shortcuts rarely pay off, if ever. Budget your $300 per hour if you want the best book possible. This opens you up to a list of WORLD CLASS narrators. Audiobook listeners will choose a book almost as often by the narrator as the author.

9. David, I’ve been trying to figure out the royalty-shares for more than a year, and I’m not sure I know more now than I did then. I’ve had books that I didn’t hold a lot of hope for turn into big sellers and books that I held a lot of hope for turn into dust and cobwebs. It’s reinforced my request to get paid a stipend of some sorts even on royalty-share projects.

10. I think it’s important for the author to understand that their marketing of their title is SO important. Especially on a royalty share. If you can show that you have a strong marketing plan in place, you’ll be much more likely to attract a good narrator on a royalty share project.

11. For me to consider royalty share, the book needs to be selling (not free downloads) at least 1000 units per month on Kindle consistently.

12. Yes, but that’s a straight production. I’m asking about royalty share projects. I know that you can do a royalty share and pay some up front – and sometimes Audible ACX will help out with their stipend program. What would make a book worth taking a chance on royalties. And don’t just answer for YOU, but for maybe every level / experience of narrator. How do you balance all the factors? This helps authors see that picking the free narrator may not be the bargain it seems.

13. Exactly what Kevin said. Selling 375 copies over 7 YEARS is very reasonable. And if you don’t think your book is going to sell that many, perhaps you’re not ready for audio. It’s a numbers game.

14. If we’re talking about rates, I must mention ACX’s royalty share option. Authors can pay nothing up front to have their book produced, rather they agree to share royalties with the narrator on the back end. Not all narrators take royalty share projects (though a stipend from ACX can help – https://www.acx.com/help/production-stipends/200708200).

15. There’s nothing about the book itself that would lower the price. I don’t give a discount if the book is good. The rate is simply the cost of producing a quality product.

16. And at $300 per finished hour, a 100,000 word book (ballpark of 10 hours) would cost $3,000 for full production. With a royalty of $7 or $8 per copy, that hits breakeven around 375 copies — very attainable.

17. In addition to that question, what types of qualities might a book have that could entice you BELOW that mark?

18. $300 per finished hour.

19. I TOLD you to go ahead and talk (lol) Jeff, Kevin, let’s hear something about that. If someone is going for a pro – someone with good credentials and ability – great sound – what can they expect to pay per finished hour to have their book in audio?

20. interesting that no one has asked about rates….

21. Kevin…no, my running is pretty much a set thing pace wise. I think if a book got too intense, I might go a mile w/out thinking about it, but not really a pace setter. Not like music might be.

22. When we drove the family to Baltimore recently, we had one of those magic moments. The Thief of Always ended about a minute and a half after we pulled in at the hotel. We sat without even thinking about getting up until it was done.

23. >>I’ve run over 180 miles since August. Almost every mile of it was to the rhythm of a book. Stephen King, books on Physics, some of the books we’ve produced… Always something to keep me from thinking about how far I’ve run.<<

    Do you find that you run faster when listening to scary books? Might be a good motivator, running away from whatever evil demon lurks within your headphones!

24. “i know people who work out at the gym longer, just so they can keep listening to their audiobook.”

    Our friends at NPR call it a “driveway moment” when you stay in your car to hear the end of one of their news stories.

    I’ve had the same phenomenon listening to an audiobook in the car. I have to keep listening until the end of the scene or chapter…

25. Scientific proof that audiobooks make you healthier. 🙂

26. I’ve run over 180 miles since August. Almost every mile of it was to the rhythm of a book. Stephen King, books on Physics, some of the books we’ve produced… Always something to keep me from thinking about how far I’ve run.

27. i know people who work out at the gym longer, just so they can keep listening to their audiobook.

28. eBooks and Audiobooks – particularly through devices like the Kindle, have helped people with vision impairment re-introduce themselves to books. You can control the font size on the eBooks, you can just listen to many of them, and with the WHispersync for Voice you can read, stop, and then start listening to the audio where you left off reading. It’s pretty amazing.

29. >>Many authors I’ve worked with have been surprised to find that their audiobooks are sold to a completely different audience than they had been dealing with previously on their print and ebooks. Do you find the same at Crossroad and Audible?<<

    While there is definately crossover, Kevin makes a great point! Audio listeners are a new audience in many cases. Some people don't have time to read. Some people just don't like to. Some are vision impaired. There is certainly an aspect of a new audience, ripe for your material with audiobook listeners.

30. Kevin, I find the listening community is sort of conditioned to the types of books the big publishers used to feed it – but it’s growing. They are a very different crowd. There is only one trade publication – Audiofile – and I find it to be an example of the old school of audio… playing up big names and expensive productions, best-selling authors…that is what listeners have been conditioned to believe is the whole of audio. ACX, our own company, and the thousands of authors working through ACX are broadening that field very rapidly, and there is a big meeting of different reading cultures. It can only build the audience.

31. my wife is a voracious reader, but never got into audiobooks. Now that she’s working and has a commute, she’s come around as a believer. 🙂

32. I think readers are coming around. I know I did. I have been listening for so long I can’t imagine NOT listening, and my daughter 10, and my wife Trish listened to Neil Gaiman read his novel The Graveyard Book recently…and they are sold. They also listened with me to the production we did of Clive Barker’s The Thief of Always… People are getting used to the idea of audio.

33. Scott/David:

    Many authors I’ve worked with have been surprised to find that their audiobooks are sold to a completely different audience than they had been dealing with previously on their print and ebooks. Do you find the same at Crossroad and Audible?

34. even the Canucks

35. >>Also, and I know this is mostly the author/rights holder’s job, but moving forward into this new world – we need to come up with ways to get these new audio products in front of people… One thing that has helped us a lot is the Whispersync for Voice program with Amazon…it can spur a lot of sales during a promotion which – while not raising huge cash for those sales, raises the sales rank of the book and the visibility…<<

    It also exposes "readers" to the audio format and shows them how cool it is. High tide raises all boats, and the more people who get turned on to audiobooks, the more potential listeners you have as an author!

36. Even the Canucks?

37. Scott, I absolutely try to find work that I think I bring something to. And if, as I get into a book, I feel that I’m NOT right for it, I’m quick to say so (this cost me a really great book a couple of months back, but I still think it was the right thing to do).

38. For me, its the acting. I grew up in the theater, but after getting married and having kids, theater fell by the wayside. Audiobooks let me get back to my acting roots with the bonus that I get all the roles!

39. Also, and I know this is mostly the author/rights holder’s job, but moving forward into this new world – we need to come up with ways to get these new audio products in front of people… One thing that has helped us a lot is the Whispersync for Voice program with Amazon…it can spur a lot of sales during a promotion which – while not raising huge cash for those sales, raises the sales rank of the book and the visibility…

40. Jeff, Kevin…beyond the money aspect, what is it that you love about producing audiobooks? I feel like authors should understand that their narrator/producer is invested in their project too! We’re all creative people who have a vested interest in producing the best product possible. Does that play into your mindset at all?

41. One of the things I’ve noticed about traditional publishers is that they will cling to the rights to books until the zombie apocalypse, but not because they hope to exercise those rights, or to benefit the author (who they don’t care a whit about) but because they are afraid someone ELSE will exercise them and make money and make them feel silly.

42. That’s a good point. Just because the publisher owns the audio rights doesn’t mean they’re going to pony up the cash to actually produce it.

43. That is actually a subject near to my heart, Scott. A lot of authors just believe publishers when they say they have certain rights. Others are not familiar with their contracts. As an author, you have a number of new options in the new publishing paradigm, but you will never be able to exercise them if you sell all your rights away to a publisher for an advance. The old model is crumbling, and one thing I urge all writers to do is to guard those rights carefully. Be sure, if you sign away audio or eBook rights that they will do a good job, that they will pay you a fair royalty – that you will, in fact, see those rights exercised and won’t just stare down a contract that prevents you from creating audio on a title that the publisher has no intention of producing, just because it’s in writing.

44. David, maybe you could talk about the importance of keeping your rights as an author. Every format you sign away, you’re leaving money on the table. We’re all about the concept of “format complete” at Audible. We think all books should be in print, eBook and audio. And we’re working hard to make that happen.

45. I am using the time between questions to look up pronunciations for the book I start narrating tomorrow. Multitasking, indeed…

46. We seem to have slowed to a halt…

47. Agreed on the one hour of audio taking 4-5 hours to produce.

48. Yep, and ACX says 9400, but it’s very close to the same in the end, and the pace of the narrator’s read comes into play, as well as the style of the writing.

49. oh, I guess that’s not what you were asking. 1 hours of finished audio will take 4-5 hours to produce.

50. I tell authors to budget one hour of finished audio for every 9600 words.

51. Thanks Scott. That’s handy.

52. What Scott said – it’s also true of self-publishing. Writers are being told they have to wear all hats (and now we include audiobook producer) but it’s just not true. What we have to do is embrace this new digital age, and find ways to get out stories out – but still leave particular tasks requiring specific skills to those who have them. Otherwise, nothing gets written, and frustration sets in fast.

53. >>How long does it take to produce an audiobook from a 350 page novel (for example)?<<

    We've got a blog post that helps authors understand the work that goes into an audiobook production and roughly how long it takes to produce: http://bit.ly/1cSgn8p

54. That said – ACX has set their expected time for most audiobooks at around 60 days from signing of contract to completed and approved…

55. myoung that’s about 8.3 hours by the audible standard, slightly longer by Jeff’s – for every hour of narration another 2-3 hours of editing carefully, fixing errors, etc. There is prep work – a good narrator reads the work first to be familiar…

56. >>2) Their time is better spent marketing or writing. Isn’t there something you can do better with your time tha spend 40 hours behind a mic?<<

    Nailed it 😉

57. If you don’t believe me, though, listen to some audiobooks. If you have not done that extensively, in fact, your odds of doing it right on your own book go down. Also – again these guys will back me – it takes 2-1 hours to edit audio after narration (and that’s only if you are very good). It’s HARD WORK.

58. How long does it take to produce an audiobook from a 350 page novel (for example)?

59. >>Would you rather see an author read his own book, a voice actor, or reader’s theater with several voices and sound effects.<<

    Listeners have varying tastes, but at the end of the day, the most popular production will be well made, sound good, and focus on the words from the page. Authors who read their own work can bring a certain authenticity, but audiobook narration and production is a SKILL, and one that takes time to master. Some authors are good narrators, but not all. Look at it this way…would you want to see George R. R. Martin playing John Snow on Game of Thrones?

60. “Would you rather see an author read his own book, a voice actor, or reader’s theater with several voices and sound effects?”

    As a voice actor, I’m partial to the one that includes me. I think most authors would be shocked at how much TIME it would take them to make an acceptable recording. Likewise, the multi-voice theater/SFX route… The single voice is very effective, very efficient and (most important) very much expected by audiobook listeners.

61. Oops. I mean Voice actor. They are trained to tell your story.

62. Brian, it depends on the book, but most often, no, the author shouldn’t read his own work. 2 reasons:

    1) They aren’t actors, and they are probably too close to their work to be accurate judges of who well its turning out.
    2) Their time is better spent marketing or writing. Isn’t there something you can do better with your time tha spend 40 hours behind a mic?

    non fiction is the exception to this.

63. Brian, usually? Neither. Audio drama is VERY hard to pull off with quality, and narration is an art form. It’s like acting, and you can’t just do it. I could name on the fingers of one hand authors who have been good at narrating their own work.

64. Royalty free music is hard to find, like royalty-free writing … no one likes to work absolutely free. You could probably get some clips from searching Google and talking with musicians…possibly for the promotion of their work … but my thought is you will likely have to buy the royalty free clips in compilations.

65. A fair point, Jeff. The samples on Audible are streaming, and therefore won’t FULLY represent the sound an Audible listener will get upon purchase. But it’s a good place to start if you don’t have an Audible membership. If all else fails, email info@acx.com. We can give you one free Audible credit so you can download a book of your choice and hear the full version. Tell ’em Scott sent you 😉

    And yes Jeff, you can totally disagree. But be prepared for me to counter disagree right back!

66. I’m usually on the side that advises against using music in an audiobook production. That said, I’d probably rely on a Google search if the royalty-free criteria was important. There are also some music companies with very reasonable royalties/fees…

67. there area zillion places that offer royalty-free music. Just Google it. The music may not be free upfront, but you often use it without paying a royalty.

68. Would you rather see an author read his own book, a voice actor, or reader’s theater with several voices and sound effects.

69. i think we’re scaring a lot of authors away. 🙂

70. Hey Drake… Jeff might know? Kevin?

71. If there is any hiss in an audition, or they failed to edit out where they repeated words, anything like that – knocking sounds, dogs barking – run away. On their side, this is their representation of their work, and you can believe that if a small sample had those errors, the whole book will be a mess.

72. Actually, Scott, I will disagree with that. I find the samples on Audible to be VERY over compressed. Its hard to judge the quality of the book from those samples.

    Wait. Am I allowed to disagree on this roundtable? 🙂

73. Hi Guys,
    I was wondering if you knew where to find some royalty-free horror themed music for intros/outros?

74. You just say Boudreaux a lot…

75. Chiming in with Jeffrey on the technical quality of the recordings you’re presented with in auditions. If the quality is not PERFECT, it is a PROBLEM. Why would you hire a problem?

76. >>id like to reiterate the noise thing David mentions.I do LOT of casting for books and if theres a noise floor or the narrator sounds like he recorded it at his kitchen table, I wont hire them. So when you’re sampling auditions, use GOOD headphones.<<

    We often recommend that authors visit audible.com first and poke around the site, listening to the samples provided with every book. Check some titles in your genre, but also check out popular books not necessarily related to yours. Read the listener reviews too. You'll quickly get a sense of what sounds good and what doesn't, as well as what turns off the average listener.

77. This Roundtable is now open to questions/comments from the audience. Please feel free to get involved.

    In the meantime, our Special Guests will continue their discussion.

78. oh boy can I. I was doing a book and it was a rush. So I told the author that I didnt have time to pre-read the whole book and were there any accents or anything I needed to know about. He said no.

    Page 365: “Im going to the store, he said in his CANUCK accent.”

    First of all: Holy crap, I’m screwed.
    Second: What the hell is a Canuck accent?

79. Jeff is right about the 15 minute checkpoint – you’ll see we’ve even started “rebranding” it as that rather than “1st 15 minutes.” The idea is to get a representative sample of the key parts of the book. Some dialogue, some action, some romance, some descriptive text, etc.

    And yes David, sometimes errors get through. We don’t do a full end to end check (that’s what the authors do!) but we do a brief QA. Really though, the author is the best judge of his or her material, so they’re the best line of defense against errors.

80. We are right on the verge of opening to questions. I have no way of knowing how many (if any) of you are out there listening. Assuming you are there…welcome!

81. Jeff can tell you from experience that you can be halfway into a book before an author mentions in the text that someone has a particular accent.

82. Along with Jeff’s comment, when you choose the 300-500 words or so for an audition script, choose dialogue, or something vital that will show you the most important things you need to know about the narrator. Use the notes section to give specific instructions. When the book is contracted, ask them to ask YOU about words you are worried about in pronunciation, names, places, or accents.

83. id like to reiterate the noise thing David mentions.I do LOT of casting for books and if theres a noise floor or the narrator sounds like he recorded it at his kitchen table, I wont hire them. So when you’re sampling auditions, use GOOD headphones.

84. As Scott can attest, even when we try to be careful, errors get in … they have been wonderful helping us fix our mistakes.

85. a point of clarification on the 15 minute clip. Its usually referred to as the FIRST 15,but thats not necessary, nor does it need to be 15 minutes. If theres a section thats critical, or a part with critical characters, ask for that. Most narrators wont have a problem doing that, because they want it to be right just as much as you do.

    Once that 15 minutes is done, give feedback. Once all feedback is given, let the narrator do their job. Please don’t try to direct the process. This gets back to the Let Your Baby Go thing. 🙂

86. And there are a LOT of narrators and producers of all types. For me, the thing that I’ve come to understand most is that an untrained ear, or someone without proper equipment, can’t really tell if audio quality is good enough, and if there is ANY doubt, get it checked. Echo, room noise, hum, and even in some cases the producer’s use of software to mask their problems, can lead to low quality audio that will irritate listeners.

87. >>David Wilson December 19, 2013 at 2:20 am One thing .. ACX – if you have a book that is listed on Amazon.com – you can claim it in ACX and begin to work on creating an audiobook. If you are not willing to put a lot of time effort and study into it, though, I’d hesitate to do that… There are options – like Crossroad Press – and other production companies that work through ACX that can handle a lot of details better than you can.<<

    Good point David. We try to make the process as easy as possible on ACX, but the truth is, audiobook work requires care and attention to detail. The author needs to make sure they're blocking out time to properly build a title profile (think of it like a dating profile for your book), to review that 15 minute checkpoint I mentioned, and to review the full audiobook once it's completed.

88. >>As Jeff says, it’s a little bit like a movie. It’s not just you when it’s audio, it’s an interpretation by the narrator. I’ve found that when that narrator is enthusiastic about the book, the quality jumps considerably, so sometimes it’s a good idea to let them read a good chunk of the work to be sure they are happy doing it.<<

    Agreed. On ACX, we have safeguards that allow both sides to check in and make sure they're happy with the working relationship. For example, once contracted, the narrator/producer needs to submit a 15 minute, fully produced reading from the book so the author can approve or request changes. Only after the author approves this 15 minutes can the producer proceed with the rest of the title.

89. Along those lines, be upfront with your potential narrator about language, sex and violence. Many a contract has been broken because an author used the lords name in vain and the narrator refused to say it.

90. One thing .. ACX – if you have a book that is listed on Amazon.com – you can claim it in ACX and begin to work on creating an audiobook. If you are not willing to put a lot of time effort and study into it, though, I’d hesitate to do that… There are options – like Crossroad Press – and other production companies that work through ACX that can handle a lot of details better than you can.

91. As Jeff says, it’s a little bit like a movie. It’s not just you when it’s audio, it’s an interpretation by the narrator. I’ve found that when that narrator is enthusiastic about the book, the quality jumps considerably, so sometimes it’s a good idea to let them read a good chunk of the work to be sure they are happy doing it.

92. “Jeff, Scott, Kevin, suggestions for authors new to the business in how to choose narrators, particularly through ACX? Scott could explain the ACX approved narrators / producers… Both Jeff and Kevin are that.”

    Picking the right narrator is probably the first BIG decision you’ll make when creating your audiobook. It’s not only important to find the right voice for your book, but also someone you can work well with. Your narrator should have the voice and the mind to bring your scenes and characters to life as you’ve always heard them. They should also be able to handle the basic stuff, like meeting deadlines and keeping communication about the project open and easy.

    There are a ton of great narrators on ACX, but the best of the best are given the Audible Approved designation. In short, that means that they’ve produced about 25 books currently for sale on Audible and have a verifiable record of professionalism in the audiobook industry. More info here: http://bit.ly/1cBAunK

93. Kevin mentions The Baby. And this is the biggest problem I see with authors: the inability to let go. They hem and haw about not finding the narrator who embodies the exact voice of their hero. guess what? no one will and you shouldn’t be waiting for that special someone. Hire the best storyteller and let that person take the story to a new place. just as you cant control the voie or images in the heads of all of your readers, you cant control the acting choices your narrator is going to make. Embrace that.

94. This particular author was just paralyzed over the decision to “go audio” with his book. We’d talked several times over several months. Once he was making the decision about his lesser book, things moved must faster. And easier.

95. Jeff makes another good point. It’s not cheap to get an audiobook produced, unless you are lucky enough to find a narrator willing to take the job on as a royalty share (one option in ACX) – if you don’t already have good sales velocity on a title, or a good reason why it will sell in audio, it is likely to sit fairly idle. We have a lot of titles that never took off – but we have others that surprised us – like “Aliens in the Backyard” narrated by Kevin.

96. Good point Kevin. I have books that I hurried in with at the beginning of my “adventure” that I sort of wish I’d handled differently, or at least with more care… and sometimes rushing in causes the wrong voice to be chosen.

97. There are a lot of things to consider. First and foremost, are you ready for audio? not every author should jump into audio. If you’ve just written your first novel, you might want to wait a bit and see how things go. Otherwise, you could lose a lot of money, since audio doesn’t sell as robustly as a 99 cent ebook.

98. I had a great chat with an author who was having a hard time “getting started” on the audiobooks side. Turns out he was fretting about “his baby”: his most important book. I suggested that maybe he start with another work (a lesser one). It made all the difference in the world in how willing he was to try something new…

99. BTW, don’t mind my overuse of “!” I’m an excitable guy!

100. >>Also key is the availability of equipment that allows folks like Kevin and Jeff to record in their homes, rather than huge, expensive studios. This also, of course, brings challenges. I know Jeff can speak to the need for a professional setup and good knowledge of recording equipment and software.<<

     Very true, David. I think the other key technological advance for audiobooks is the portable MP3 player/Smart Phone. Nearly everyone you know now has the ability to buy and listen to audiobooks right in their pocket!

101. Jeff, Scott, Kevin, suggestions for authors new to the business in how to choose narrators, particularly through ACX? Scott could explain the ACX approved narrators / producers… Both Jeff and Kevin are that.

102. You three feel free to post anything relevant. We have half an hour to sort of explain all the things people who have written books should do and know if they want them to get into audio, and there’s a lot to get in in a short time. Don’t wait for questions!

103. From the narrator side of things, ACX has given a lot of us more work, too. The more authors that want audio, the more work we get. And what author doesn’t want their work in audio?

104. Also key is the availability of equipment that allows folks like Kevin and Jeff to record in their homes, rather than huge, expensive studios. This also, of course, brings challenges. I know Jeff can speak to the need for a professional setup and good knowledge of recording equipment and software.

105. I should add, probably, that I am also an avid listener. I listened to literally thousands of audiobooks when I had a long commute, and that fueled my initial desire to bring my own work to audio.

106. >>While Scott is introducing himself, start thinking about the idea of accessibility. To me, that’s the key. Not many years ago audiobooks were incredibly expensive, and only a very small number of titles were produced. That has changed drastically, and I would say the presence of a service like ACX is key to that change.<<

     Very true David. In fact, ACX was started with a single mission statement: Get more books more books into audio!

107. I’ve been in the audiobook industry fo 5+ years, starting out as an editor, recording engineer and director, and eventually working my way up to Marketing manager for ACX. Now I get to help authors and narrators make audiobooks by spreading the word about ACX.com That’s why I’m here!

108. While Scott is introducing himself, start thinking about the idea of accessibility. To me, that’s the key. Not many years ago audiobooks were incredibly expensive, and only a very small number of titles were produced. That has changed drastically, and I would say the presence of a service like ACX is key to that change.

109. I narrated a dozen or so books for Audible through a production company. But things didn’t really take off until I did my first book through Audible’s ACX late last year. 100+ ACX books later, and still going strong.

110. Well, as my bio says, I’m a narrator and do some producing on the side. I’ve done about 150 books, a good number of them on ACX, which I guess will be the platform of choice for most here.

111. And the gang’s all here. Let’s do it in this order, Jeff, Scott, and Kevin, do a short intro, and then we’ll discuss how digital audio has increased availability – and how home studios and ACX in particular have made so much more possible in audio. Good?

112. Greetings. Seasonally.

113. Hi All. Ready to get started!

114. Jeff is here..why don’t you go first?

115. My fingers fumbled. Scott Jacobi. As the other guests trickle in I’m going to ask them to do a short introduction and tell us how they got involved in audiobooks. My own introduction was born of a blog post in WordPress, just like this, where I wondered in words how to go about getting a book recorded. Jeff replied to the post, and I met him through that exchange… Not long after producing my first book, we began building a partnership that has changed everything for me, getting almost all of my titles recorded over time, and building it into a business.

116. Yo.

117. I’d like to welcome you all to our roundtable discussion on audiobooks. I have been publishing audiobooks for several years now, and have – to date – over 350 titles produced and available. A very large number of those titles are horror, including Clive Barker’s Books of Blood and the upcoming Damnation game, as well as works by Chet Williamson, Tom Piccirilli, Ronald Kelly, and dozens of others. During that time I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing professionals in the audio field who took me from knowing nothing to knowing I could not do it without them. Here with me today are Scott Jacobe, from ACX – the Audible Audiobook Creation Exchange – where all Crossroad Press audiobooks have seen final production, Jeffrey Kafer – sound engineer and narrator of a LOT of books (including the first Crossroad Press title, my own “Roll Them Bones) – and Kevin Pierce, who has the distinction at last count of having produced more audiobooks through ACX than any other producer / narrator. I’d add that – at that same count – Crossroad Press was the rights holder / Publisher with the most titles. In short – if you want ot know how to get your novels into audio – you’re in the right place.