Audiobook Lessons

As you may know, the audiobook version of As Gray As Black & White is now available on Amazon and iTunes and will soon be distributed widely through Dreamscape.

I am glad the process is finally over; took about two months and I’ve learned some valuable lessons:

1. Do your research: If you use ACX (which is Audible) make sure you pay attention to the features on the right side of the page under Find Talent. These features allow you to choose specifically what kind of narrator you want. I would advise you ensure that the narrator has performed audiobooks before. Many on ACX have not and you won’t know until you ask.
2. Choose experience: Not all narrators have a lot of experience in production. They may be able to read well, but you need someone who understands how to record and the importance of consistency. Ask lots of questions. You will be able to tell if they’ve done this before. I will note that my narrator had not done audiobooks but his voice was the closest to the young adult I was seeking. Many of the narrators were middle-aged men trying to sound young. I took a chance on my narrator for that reason, so going in I knew I would have to coach him and help him by providing as many resources as I could. I did not have to do this but I wanted this young man to succeed. The result was pretty good. Not perfect, but it worked for my purposes.
3. Hire an ACX approved narrator: There is an option on the right side that allows you to search for only approved narrators. I thought this was strange since I assumed all their narrators were approved. The approved narrator has to go through a rigorous process to get approved and you can see by what they charge that they are experienced. If you can afford to pay $200-$400 per finished hour or recording, I would recommend going this route. Less headaches in the long run.
4. Understand the costs: The narrator is paid by a system called PFH, which stands for Per Finished Hour.This means you are paying only for the length of the completed audiobook not the amount of time the narrator spent on setting it up, making corrections, etc. That is why so many of them charge high fees; they need to recoup the cost of their time. Since my narrator was new he charged a lower fee so I tipped him because he put in a lot of work.
5. Do your own vetting. ACX has to approve the final product but DO NOT submit it until you think its perfect because they will not vet it for you. And do not approve the files unless you are absolutely happy with them. Once the files are ready for approval you have the right to reject them twice and on the second rejection you can cancel the contract and pay a small fee to the narrator for his/her time. I would suggest you read ALL the fine print before entering into a contract with a narrator via ACX.

Lesson I learned: I do not intend to create another audiobook for a while. I am working on a new novel that will do well with sound but it won’t be ready until 2026 or so. But now that I know what to do, it will be a much smoother process. If you’ve had audiobook creation blues, tell me about it below.