Publishing
has undergone something of a revolution in recent years, with the
advent of e-books and e-readers making it easier than ever to
self-publish. There’s also been a resurgence in the popularity of
audiobooks. But how does one go about making an audiobook? To answer
that (and other) questions, I’ve been joined by Alexandra Butcher,
who has recently created the audiobook of The Light Beyond the Storm
Chronicles.
What’s
the premise of The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles?
The
book is set in the world of Erana where magic is outlawed and elves
enslaved to the humans. The land is run by the Order of Witch-Hunters
– a corrupt organisation who rule by fear and division. Magic
still persists. It’s a case of either someone is magical or they
aren’t, it’s something a person is born with. How well that
person hides their skills can mean life or death. The slavers, too,
have a lot of power. Slavery is not illegal – in fact the
Witch-Hunters encourage it – the trade of flesh pays well and so
the Order gets a cut. It also helps to instil fear in the population.
The
book begins with Dii, an elven sorceress who had fled from her
Keeper, or slave owner’s, home after years of terrible treatment.
She knows next to nothing about the world outside – except it’s a
very dangerous place and soon enough she encounters the Order.
We
then meet Archos, another sorcerer, who is also a wealthy noble and
more besides who, unbeknown to the Order, is working to help the
elves and other mages escape from servitude or execution. When the
slavers ravage a nearby elven village Archos and Dii set out to try
and rescue the missing elves and avenge the village, whilst trying to
avoid capture by the Order and other jealous enemies.
It’s
been labelled ‘sex and sorcery’ as it’s definitely an adult
book as there are elements of romance and erotica. It’s pretty
steamy in places ;) Foremost it’s fantasy/sword and sorcery.
It’s
recently, as mentioned, been converted into an audiobook. How long
did it take, from start to finish, to create and publish the
audiobook version?
Oh
gosh – in the end it was about a year – but part of that was
because I was revising the book for a third edition and I had to wait
for the editor to do her stuff. The narrator – Rob Goll – was the
chap who narrated Tales of Erana: The
Warrior’s Curse so I had the
advantage I’d worked with him before. Rob had several other
commitments – including a Shakespeare festival and narration for
Heroika: Dragon Eaters
which, as I’d recommended him for I couldn’t really complain.
Once Rob had made a start it was actually fairly quick – probably
about a month.
As
I’d worked with Rob before and I liked his work and style I
suggested he audition for Light Beyond so I’d pretty much made my
choice of narrator already. With another title of mine Outside
the Walls we had a couple of people
audition and, as the book was a co-write, it had to be someone both
myself and Diana liked. It’s possible to have several narrators
audition or none. So it can take time to find the correct person.
It’s
a lot more time consuming for the narrator – I understand it’s
about two hours work per finished hour – and them they have to
ensure there are no background noises, the pronunciation is alright,
the gaps between the chapters are the right length etc. ACX has
strict criteria about how long the silence is at the beginning or end
of each chapter and if it’s too long or too short they won’t
approve it. Honestly I can’t tell unless it’s really obvious so I
have to trust my narrator on that.
I
was lucky with Rob – he’s very professional and there was only
one edit and that was my fault… That’s a risk, too, as the audio
has to match the manuscript perfectly or the whispersync doesn’t
work. If there is a difference, or a mistake then that has to be
rectified. Also sometimes when listening the author discovers a
particular scene or line doesn’t really work – so that needs to
be changed in the MS. It’s a great way of finding those pesky typos
that might have sneaked in under the radar. Whether Rob had to do
multiple records I don’t know – he didn’t say.
Officially
once the narrator has uploaded the files the author can request up to
two rounds of editing – so the author needs to listen to the files
carefully to decide on any changes. Some narrators will do more but
as it’s so time consuming the author can’t send them notes on
every little thing unless it really is an error/revision.
The
cover art – that has to be square (think a CD case) so that has to
be adapted. Then there’s a suitable sample…
Audiobooks
seem to be enjoying a resurgence as MP3 players are so commonplace
and they can be listened to on the commute to work, whilst walking or
doing household chores. Excepting your own, do you have a favourite
audiobook?
I
have a few I haven’t listened to yet (no headphones for my phone
and my old phone went into meltdown if I tried to install audible)
but I have a version of Phantom of the Opera I love, and Les
Miserable – although off hand I can’t remember who narrated. I’ve
listened to Chris Morris narrate some work, and other books Rob has
done.
I’ve
just bought Count of Monte Christo, Dracula and Soul Music, so I need
to get listening!
With
the classics there are usually a few versions – so the samples are
a good way to find a narrator you like.
Self-publishing
has taken off in a major way for written books. Apart from
(obviously) needing the written text, what else do you need to go
down the audiobook route?
Patience!
Each chapter which is uploaded has to be listened to, usually a
couple of times, and cross referenced with the manuscript for
revisions, background noise, dips in volume, odd sounds pronunciation
issues – often the narrator will pick up any sound related issues –
but some can slip through.
A
book I have just bought on audible is over 50 listening hours so you
can imagine the work that went into that!
As
I said the cover art has to be reproduced – it’s a bit fiddly –
especially if the author has purchased a cover and needs to go back
to the cover artist and ask them to do it.
How
does a writer go about hiring a narrator, and how does the pricing
work (is it a fixed fee or does the narrator get a royalty per copy
sold)?
There
are two payment options available for author/narrators price per
finished hour or royalty share. From what I’ve seen quite a few
narrators will only offer price per hour – after all the book may
not sell many copies so they may not ever a great deal of money for
all the work. I can see their point. I’ve not worked with anyone
who has only asked for pay per finished hour but I understand the
fees vary – so it is up to the narrator and author to negotiate.
If the author opts for pay per hour the royalties from the sales
belong solely to the author – after all the narrator has already
been paid. I think it works out at about 40% royalty rate.
Royalty
share is what it says on the tin. The narrator isn’t paid up front
– they get a share of any royalties for the audio book sales. It
works out at 20% for the author and 20% for the narrator.
This
is for the exclusive production on ACX – there are other sites
which produce audio so if the book is sold elsewhere then I think the
royalty rate is dropped. I can’t recall exactly but I think it’s
a seven-year contract.
Once
the book is submitted to ACX the author fills in the required info –
genre, preferred narrating style, royalty options etc. An author can
request a specific type of narrator – British, male, middle aged,
West Country for example - of course that limits the potential
narrators but it is possible. I’d say it was better to be a bit
more flexible. Narrators can then audition by reading the uploaded
audition script – usually a five minute chunk of the MS. Sometime
the narrators can approach the author with questions. ACX will
contact the author/rightsholder and say there is an audition waiting
for approval. In theory the author could wait until there are a few
or take the first one that comes in if he or she likes it.
If
the author likes the audition then he/she can make an offer to the
narrator – so royalty share, time scale etc. If the narrator has a
lot of other work on, and many of them are actors so may be working
on shows, then obviously time scales are important. A 30 hour book
would take 60 or more hours to produce and so that is unlikely to be
done in a week.
Once
both parties are happy the narrator accepts the offer and off you go.
There is a lot of legal contract stuff to be considered – it is a
contract between the narrator and author and ACX – If the narrator
doesn’t turn up with the goods, or the quality is awful then the
offer can be rescinded. If the author doesn’t pay up – or there
are issues there, then the contract can be rescinded. It’s hard to
do – and I think ACX have to mediate but it can be done.
There
is a 15-minute sample produced by the narrator – and this can be
refused by the author, but that’s the only early get out. It’s
worth the author reading these rules carefully as it IS a contract
with all that entails. So make sure you find the right person for
your project.
There
are bounty payments too – basically if someone joins the audible
members club with the subscription and your book is the first book
they buy then the author (or author and narrator for royalty share)
get a $50 bonus ($25) for royalty share. I think it’s an incentive
to try and persuade people to get fans to sign up.
How
long does the process take, and what level of direction to the
narrator is needed? Did you provide a style guide for unusual fantasy
terms?
The
initial set up is pretty quick – sign up with the ACX account and
claim the relevant book, produce the ‘audition script’ and upload
it and wait for narrators to audition.
How
do you like to listen to audiobooks?
I
tend to listen on my laptop, but recently we were listening to Good
Omens, Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and Dune played on a tablet
via a speaker before bed. My partner tends to listen to them more
than I do at the moment. That’s the beauty – audio books are
pretty versatile and one can dip in and out, just picking up where
one left off.
Are
there any pitfalls newcomers to making audiobooks should know about?
Make
sure you read the FAQ and the contract carefully. ACX actually has a
good set of FAQ but their contact customer service is a bit lousy.
I’ve had to deal with them a few times – mostly regarding payment
of the bounty payments – and once when we discovered an issue that
had got past both author, narrator and the quality control. They told
me it would be fixed in a week – more like six and with questions
regarding the bounty payments the person I spoke to seemed clueless
and I ended up having to take screen shots of the issue – namely
bounty payments were listed which I hadn’t received and apparently
they couldn’t see them on the invoice… no because I hadn’t
received them. That took a couple of months going back and forth
before it was sorted. It pays to be polite but persistent.
AL:
Audible Listener - purchases made by members with membership
credits.
ALOP: Audible Listener Over Plan - purchases made by members with cash (not with membership credits).
ALC: A la carte - purchases made by customers not in an Audible Listener membership.
ALOP: Audible Listener Over Plan - purchases made by members with cash (not with membership credits).
ALC: A la carte - purchases made by customers not in an Audible Listener membership.
There
are royalties for books bought outright by people not in the
membership plan, books bought by members using their membership
credits, books bought by members NOT using their credits and so the
author has to work out what that relates to in actual payments – I
get 68c for a ALC sale and a 55c for an AL sale on the same short
story. But honestly it’s not always that clear. But they do pay
monthly and the royalties usually do turn up on time…. Well except
the bounty payments…
The
reporting of sales is a bit flaky – it’s supposed to update daily
but often doesn’t.
What’s
nice is the author gets promotional codes to give out – usually for
home store (Audible.co.uk OR Audible.com but can ask for the ones
from the other store. It’s a useful way of getting reviews or being
able to offer the books as prizes in events.
The
email system they have is a bit rubbish – it doesn’t always work
– and I’ve been told that by several narrators as well BUT it is
useful to have and means you don’t have to give out a personal
email if you don’t want to, and any issues you can email direct to
ACX support. Oh and they have phone support. KDP doesn’t and that
drives a lot of authors mad.
There
are a lot of good marketing tips on the blog and ACX have a twitter
account. The author needs to do their own marketing – same as KDP –
so don’t expect ACX to market your book for you.
Make
sure you have the time to put in to it. It’s not easy listening
carefully to each chapter. You’re the author – it’s your book
being produced and you need to know that it’s correct and done
according to what you want. Keep in mind though that a narrator
doesn’t know what’s going on in your head – he or she doesn’t
know that you want Bob the Postman to speak with a Geordie accent
unless it’s made clear in the MS or you tell them. You may not get
the book exactly as you’ve imagined it.
Make
sure you keep a good relationship with your narrator – especially
if you want them to do subsequent books.
What
are your plans for the future?
The
Shining Citadel is currently being revised for a second edition and
once that’s done it will appear in audio – hopefully by the end
of 2016.
The
Stolen Tower will eventually get produced as well but that will wait
until the second edition as well, depending on how well Light Beyond
sells.
I
have just produced a short fantasy story set entitled The Kitchen
Imps and Other Dark Tales so once I’ve sorted out an audition
script I’ll probably look at that as an audio as well.
Book
IV of the series is being written and I’m also working on a Tales
of Erana novella so that may well appear in audio in the next year or
so.
Thanks, Alexandra, and
all the best with The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles, and its
sequels.
Links
and info
Author
Bio:
A.
L. Butcher is the British author of the Light Beyond the Storm
Chronicles fantasy series, and several short stories in the fantasy
and fantasy romance genres. She is an avid reader and creator of
worlds, a poet and a dreamer. When she is grounded in the real world
she likes science, natural history, history and monkeys. Her work
has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as
evocative.
Twitter:@libraryoferana
The
Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles series – an adult fantasy/fantasy
romance series, with a touch of erotica.
Audio
Book
Thaddeus
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