While promoting my latest novel, Spell of the Wordsmith, my attention has been grabbed by the rise of the Audiobook market. Audiobooks aren’t particularly new but they have begun to increase in popularity. Significantly since the pandemic. Whether you like to listen during a long commute or while doing chores around the house or out walking the dog, audiobooks are an entertaining way to consume literature. But are they worth it? Speaking as an Indie Author that is.

To produce an Audiobook, it’s highly recommended a professional narrator or Voice Actor be hired with a reputable company. Makes sense. Audio files must be in special format that meets the standards of the platforms where you would be offering it for sale. However, Professional = $$$. Usually.

What do I mean by “usually”?

Well, if you’re good at negotiating, there are professional Voice Actors who are open to a profit sharing deal where no money is put upfront but sales are split 50/50. I know of one author that went that route. He produced an audiobook without paying a cent. But it did require him to be okay with sharing the profits. That’s 50% of the royalty, of course, not the retail price. Which brings up another issue.

When it came to try and understand what the actual cost and profit for producing an audiobook came down to, I found a lot a varying information. Articles that didn’t recommend it for indie authors were a few years old. Essentially before the notable growth during the pandemic. Those that fully endorsed it, usually were the audiobook producing services. A little bias perhaps? I think the best and most matter-of-fact presentation I found was by indie author Roger Zargari.

His article “What does Audible Really pay Indie Authors?” succinctly lays out the math and the potential for profits. If your an indie author and audiobooks are something you’re wondering about, I recommend the article. Or even if you’re a reader, you might find it interesting to discover some of the financial challenges faced by your favourite indie authors. Needless to say, these are not considerations faced by traditionally published authors.

Well, this turned out to be a longer and long-winded blog about something I’ve been considering, going forward. Let me know what you think. Have any of these things ever, even crossed your mind or are you a reader of traditional books and have never bothered with audiobooks? One aspect of the whole audio vs. traditional books has been audiobook consumers insisting they “read” their books and traditional readers vehemently disagreeing. I purposely avoided that debate as it would take up an entire blog all on its own. In either case, stories are being told and stories are being received. And in the end, isn’t that every authors dream?

Feature Design of the Month

Of course, we can’t let you go without introducing you to the Queen of Hearts. She’s ready for Valentine’s Day and she “Plays for Keeps”! Join her in the game when you purchase her on any of the quality products found in our Redbubble shop. Spread the Love and show your support for Indie Artists! The stickers and t-shirts are particularly cool.

Anything to add about audiobooks or one of Alison’s novels? Reach out to us on: Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

A new year has begun and I hope it finds everyone looking forward to great things. If you’re not already in the know, Spell of the Wordsmith is available on all major platforms! This third book in The Witch’s Foundling series features a change of scene from the countryside and Briarstone Manor to the shadowy and threatening streets of Victorian London. Things are getting more challenging for Sally and Samdriel as old foes and new friends lead to stunning and unexpected challenges.

I’m still looking for reviews. So, if you’re interested in helping to give Spell of the Wordsmith a boost, consider checking out my listing on the review sites, Book Sirens and Reedsy-Discovery. In each of these cases, you have to sign on and create a reader/reviewer account but it’s free and you’ll have ARCs from emerging new authors sent to your e-reader as soon as you select them. You can tailor your account to receive only the genres you prefer to read, too. All that’s asked is that you leave a review on the platform(s) of your choice. I can also invite readers to download a free ARC for my books using a special link. At no point does it cost you anything. Reviews can give a great boost to indie authors and really help our sales so we can keep doing what we love. Write more stories! *Side note: So far The Witch’s Foundling series is averaging 4.8 to 5-stars on Amazon!

In the coming months, I’ll be releasing more news about the following two books in The Witch’s Foundling series. So, you might want to join us on our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. I confess, we don’t do X (formerly known as Twitter) anymore and I’m not sold on Threads (connected to Instagram)yet either. At the moment, if you join Threads but then decide to opt-out, you will also lose or be deleted from your Instagram account – regardless of whether you wish to do so. Those creatives with well developed Instagram accounts risk losing everything they’ve built if they try to leave Threads but want to stay on Instagram. If that ever changes, I’ll look at joining but not at the moment. Anyway, the social media accounts I’ve linked do allow for up-to-the-minute news. But don’t worry, we’re committing to updating our website more regularly and hope to see more people signing up for our newsletter. I’m working on putting together some nice little perks for our subscribers but more on that later.

Wishing any and all, a Happy and prosperous New Year with our January dragons. The Dragon of the Old Year is showing the Dragon of the New Year the ropes, but the new guy has some tricks of his own. You can claim his charm and luck for 2024 by purchasing this design on a number of quality products in our Redbubble store. The journals, stickers, t-shirts are particularly cool but there a lots of products to attract your interest.