Converting your Amazon book to audio book is something you'll have to consider. Find out how exactly to convert your Amazon book to audio book and where you can find the perfect narrator for it.
Today's question has three answers. The third one is a secret that will double the royalties you can make on your audio books. So let's get into it.
The question that was sent to me today was, how to convert your Amazon book to an audio book? So the first thing I'd like to say is congratulations on getting your Amazon book onto the market at all.
That's an accomplishment, 80% of people wish to be able to publish a book at some point. And the fact that you got your book onto Amazon, shows you've made a huge step that most people haven't done.
But the next question is perfect. It is that you want to have it in as many formats as possible. And audio books even though they're not perhaps the most profitable today, they used to be.
In fact, I used to make more money off of audio books than off of many of the other formats. They competed with my paperback books.
So this is a fantastic question. But how to convert your Amazon book into audio book format? Check out my Self-Publishing Secrets Checklist.
So let's get right on into this. When I first started self-publishing, I also started with taking my book and putting it into a Kindle format. And the reason being it's because that's the easiest format.
Then the next level up is the paperback. So putting it into Amazon Print edition, hardbacks on Lulu and Ingram Spark for additional distribution. So these are the other routes you can go as well.
Doing them all at the same time is highly recommended. But there is one that seems the hardest in my opinion, and that seems the most challenging. Perhaps it can also be not so difficult to get in place.
It is the audio book format because it seems like that's got to be the most advanced. In many ways, it was the most difficult of the series. But once you've done it once, then it becomes a lot easier.
Check out this related article: Are All Kindle Books Audio?
There are still choices that you're going to need to make. Some of these choices I made some mistakes on when I was making them in the early days. But it is sort of depends on what exactly your goals are and also what your budget is.
So let's get into the answers. The first answer to the question is, there are several websites you can publish your book. But Amazon ACX is the best way to go.
Finding The Perfect Narrator
If you get your book onto ACX where amazon owned a company that puts out audio books, they will then ensure that the distribution is done through other sites including iTunes and Audible.
It gets it out to the main distributors. So you can feel very sure that you're going to have it in a way that's going to be easy for you to get the largest audience possible, right?
Then there's a couple of issues there that you're also going to need to keep in mind. It is that on ACX if you go limited only to ACX, you promise not to sell your book on other websites, then they will also increase the profit margin.
I believe it's at 40% if I remember last. If you agree to do it just there. And I would highly recommend that you do it just on ACX so that you have that 40 % royalty.
But that brings in some additional questions that we'll get into our secret, on answer number three. So there are other sites on how to convert your amazon book to audio book but I would not do the other sites. As long as you're allowed to publish.
Now some people had problems with their accounts getting frozen and things on ACX. If that's the case, then you might want to research some of the other sites. Otherwise, ACX is the way to go.
Check out this related article: How To Get Your Audiobooks Produced On ACX?
The second thing is, how exactly do you find a narrator? And this one here is tricky. It's because some of the narrators would do the books.
And they would not be up to the quality standards of ACX. This is quite common. But how do you find a narrator?
Well, it depends upon the money that you have available. Maybe in the first phases of ACX, you can put your book up. And say, I'd like to find a narrator and they will have people who will submit.
You put out a little bit of your book. And they'll submit auditions for it to narrate your book. In exchange for that, you will split 50-50, the royalties for that book.
So that means you will get 20% and they will get the other 20% which seems like a really good deal. And then they will be able to split that for the first, I think it's 7 years since the last time I've checked it.
Afterwards, you will then get the full 40%. Some of the narrators on there are outstanding. They're high-quality narrators.
They will audition for your book and you just choose the best one. The one that sounds right, the right voice for your book. Some of them even add music and stuff.
This was the route that I went on how to convert your amazon book to as well when I first started. Until I realized the secret on number three. And the secret is, if you hire a narrator on Upwork, you can find narrators who are high-quality.
They are willing to do it at a very low price. For just a couple hundred dollars, you can get your books narrated.
The narrators on there as long as they had experience with it, you can make an agreement that they will just keep going until the book gets accepted on to ACX.
Best Of Amazon ACX
So ACX is on quality standards like it takes them about a month to check the book. But they'll come back to you and you go back and forth with a narrator until you find your right narrator.
But here's the key, when you upload the book, this time you already have everything produced. So you will not split the 40% royalties.
Again we're assuming on ACX that you've said you're going exclusively with Amazon here. And letting them sell your books. Then you won't have to split the royalty.
So you'll keep all 40% of that which is amazing. And this also means that you will get the promo codes that go with the book itself. And you'll get $75 bounty for any time you use a promo code and can sell the book.
Check out this related article: Should I Publish My Kindle eBooks On ACX And CreateSpace?
So there's no splitting of any of the royalties that come afterwards. I can tell you I have way more earned my money off of the books for where later I did not do it.
The beauty is since you already have your book on Amazon, there's very little work to get this done. If you do go the first route like you have a limited budget.
And you don't have the money to start from the beginning by finding your narrator. Then I would highly recommend it's best just to go with the narrators that they have there on ACX.
They will compete for your job. You'll hire one of them then go from there. And that cost you absolutely nothing.
But you can't start with the audiobooks. You have to have it first on the platform. You have to have it on Kindle on Amazon first and then they'll be willing to sell it.
And another final point that's important to keep in mind is that when you're going with using Amazon that means that your Kindle, your paperback, and your audible book will all be grouped inside of the same sales page.
And there are people who only like one format or another, you know depending. So those are the people that you're going to be able to target here. So I find it very very exciting to see you people come to that sales page.
You'll have all the formats in one place. So you're going to be able to see those sales coming through. And perhaps you'll be like me where you see quite a bit of money that moves right through those audiobooks.
So what have you found? Have you considered where you wish to do your thing? Have you tried selling on ACX?
Go and let me know and check out my other blogs and videos to see other answers to your self-publishing questions.