How to Turn Your Novellas Into Audiobooks and Sell Them on Audible
A guide to Amazon's ACX program
Why don’t you sell audiobook versions of the novellas you wrote?
If you are like me, the answer to that question might have been: I have no freakin clue how to create an audiobook and publish it on Audible.
Well, it’s actually very easy to offer your novellas as audiobooks on Audible, and I’m going to tell you how.
If you have published your novellas on Amazon, then Amazon has a website and a whole system that links you with a network of narrators that makes creating audiobooks extremely easy.
ACX stands for Audiobook Creation Exchange.
When you visit ACX.com and register or login with your Amazon author information, the system will prompt you to “claim your title.”
Click on that button, and a list of the books you have written will be displayed.
You can either work with a narrator (a “Producer”) from the ACX network or record the audio yourself.
Unless you have a sweet and sensual voice and a quality microphone and recording area, I would suggest you work with a producer. The sound of the narrator’s voice is one of the most important attributes of an audiobook, especially an erotic novella. Your listeners will want to hear how sexy the scene sounds come out in the tones of the narrator.
I have been fortunate enough to have had a number of very talented producers record auditions for me. Their voices sound sensual in the sexy scenes, dramatic in the high-tension scenes, and such as the story goes. I will share more when the final versions of the audiobooks of my novellas are produced and published.
When you post your novella, you can choose to either take auditions or give an offer to a narrator. When you start out, I would suggest you take auditions. If you then find a narrator you like working with, you can offer them your next title. To take auditions, you will post an excerpt of your book, and any narrator on ACX can find it and record the script. Then, you will give an offer to the narrator(s) you prefer.
The narrator is paid in one of three ways: either a fixed rate per hour of audio, a share of audiobook royalties, or a fixed rate plus royalties. The rate of royalties for Audible sales that are exclusive to Amazon’s platforms (i.e. Audible and Amazon) is 40%. For audiobooks that you also sell on your own website or other non-Amazon exclusive websites, the rate of royalty is 25%. If you produce your audiobook with a royalty split with the narrator, then royalties are split between you, the writer/owner of copyright, and the narrator, at a 50-50 rate.
You set a calendar deadline for the first 15 minutes and for the final product, and you can communicate with your narrator by message. I have been working with a couple of narrators, and I have had a positive experience so far. One audiobook has been completed and is awaiting approval for placement in the Audible store. Others are in the course of being produced.
Once the audiobooks are fully produced and published on Audible, I will be able to see how they sell compared to the ebooks. I will update you about my experience and share more tips.