If you have more questions that are not answered here, do let us know. We’re here to help!
Whoever holds the rights to the book retains those rights. A contract with Pro Audio Voices does not impact the rights. We do not receive any rights by producing the audiobook edition of your book.
No. Contracting with Pro Audio Voices to create an audiobook does not impact the rights held by the book’s Copyright Holder. The Client (whoever holds the rights and enters into the contract with PAV) designates who will hold the Production Copyright. Typically, the author retains the audiobook rights, unless they have sold or released them to their publisher.
If you’ve never been through the audiobook creation process, Pro Audio Services (“PAV”) makes it easy and accessible. Learn more about the production process HERE.
Yes. There are a few different approaches to this. If you think you may have just a few customers wanting your audio book as a CD set, then you may be best off suggesting they download and burn it to a CD. If you just want a few sets, is to burn CD sets yourself and get CD binders, sleeves, and print labels and inserts. We don’t know how much longer CD technology will be around, but some folks are still using it. They are surprisingly holding their own in the market share of audiobook sales. Also, it can be a lovely gift for folks who have no interest in newer technology or just want to listen to books in their cars or CD players. *Be sure to make sure when you are selling any editions of your books (print or audio or any other products), that you are complying with the law regarding sales tax.
If you also want to distribute through ACX with downloadable books through Audible and iTunes, then you’ll need to select the non-exclusive contract option. You can then sell CD sets through your own website or through Amazon, eBay, local stores, door-to-door and anywhere else you can find buyers. It is ironic, since ACX and Amazon are just part of the same company, that selling through Amazon is considered non-exclusive, but that’s the way it goes. We can’t control that. Be sure to check the other FAQ about manufacturing CD sets.
Yes. Especially the main characters and any characters that have an accent or dialect and what that is. This is very valuable to the narrator to convey the characters most accurately to your vision. It will help you get the end result you are hoping for. You can describe your characters in whatever way is easiest for you. For example, you could say a character reminds you of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, when played by Matthew Macfadyen; or that this character has a mousy voice. Anything helps. You do not need to list every walk-on character who appears briefly, although if you have strong ideas about any characters, it’s helpful to let your narrator know at the beginning.
The market share of audiobook sales and distribution is held by ACX (division of Amazon – surprise! not). ACX is the production side of Audible and iTunes. However, in 2015 another company stepped up to provide not only another option for distribution, but a wider distribution network internationally and a higher royalty payout rate (except those sold through Audible and iTunes). Audiobooks.com, an audio book retailer since 2003, opened AuthorsRepublic.com in 2015 to accept audio books for distribution. This was extremely exciting news and Pro Audio Voices has been partnering with AuthorsRepublic since late 2015. They are thrilled with the quality of audiobooks we deliver and we’re thrilled with the better royalty rates! There is one other retailer of audiobooks for specifically educational materials: Scholastic’s Learn Out Loud. To distribute through all the largest channels and with the widest distribution possible, the best option is to go through AuthorsRepublic.com. That will get you into Audible and iTunes as well as a very wide distribution network. You’ll need to open a free account on AuthorsRepublic, claim your published book, and then we will be able to upload the finished audio files that we provide for them to approve prior to distribution. It typically takes them a few days for the approval process of AuthorsRepublic, and a few weeks to complete the approval process for distribution through Audible and iTunes. We usually upload the files for you, but if you prefer you can do it yourself. You also have the option of distributing it yourself, selling direct from your own website.
YES. We are committed to helping authors and publishers succeed with their audiobooks.
See our many marketing options HERE.
Becky Parker Geist serves as President of Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (www.BAIPA.org) and understands the challenges facing independently published authors and small publishers. Here are some of the actions we take to help market the audiobooks we produce:
- Blog post about audiobook launch (sometimes we will also do some pre-launch blog posts.
- Comment/like/retweet posts you make if you let us know where to find them.
- Post about launch on FaceBook, Twitter, Google+, and often LinkedIn.
- Follow the author/publisher on social media and comment/like/retweet on posts that are building author platform.
The more we work together, the better this works. The more active you are on social media and blogging, the better this works.
Pro Audio Voices offers payment plans with a minimum payment of $500/month over a maximum of nine months.
Each contract is negotiable, so there is no fixed answer to this. Book a call to discuss your project!
