“In five short years, ACX has literally turned the audiobook industry on its ear by making audiobook production available to those who may never have considered it,” -- Audible’s EVP and publisher, Beth Anderson.
I'm an author and audiobook producer of award-winning, and SOVAS-nominated M/M Romance audiobooks. Audiobook revenues continue to grow, so for self-published authors and producers who have a back catalogue of titles, it seems sensible to get in the game and have a few titles in audio to gain a passive-income stream. A well-produced, polished audiobook can bring new life and new readers/listeners to an author's work, and in turn, increase sales of ebooks and paperbacks.
Producing an audiobook for the first time is a daunting task. So, I suggest that the first thing that any author or producer should do is market research- go to Audible and look for books in your specific genre, listen to some samples and work out what listeners who love your genre want in an audio narrator. Then sit down and write a list of the things you want from a narrator.
Do you want a comedic delivery, a straight reading, or a performance?
Do you want specific accents?
A narrator is a voice actor, and like all actors, they have strengths and weaknesses. Having an idea of what you want before you even begin your narrator search will stand you in good stead.
What is ACX?
ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) is part of the Amazon/ Audible family. It's a free service for authors and narrators, kind of like a dating site to match you with your perfect narrator. The way ACX is set up makes it easy for narrators to search for new book projects and for authors who own the audio rights for their work to share their book project and seek a narrator. The site is easy to use and allows authors to stay in control of auditions, costs, and then have the final say on the quality of the work.
Payment Choices: Per Finished Hour or Royalty Share?
When an author first looks into producing audiobooks they can easily be put off by the expense of production. As with all big business expenses, audiobooks are an investment, and it makes sense to ask questions, do the math and work out:
How long will the book be in audio format? (The general rule of thumb is 9,300 words narrated per hour)
What is the cost of narration? You can work this out by looking at the types of contracts available.
What is Audible’s set price for books of this book-length? (Check the Audible website)
How many copies will you have to sell to break even?
There are several contract options that will depend on what you're willing to invest in the audiobook:
Per Finished Hour: A 'Per finished hour’ (PFH) deal is when authors choose to pay for production up front. The minimum PFH charge for an experienced SAG-AFRA union narrator is around $250 for each finished hour of audio - 'finished' in this scenario means edited, proofed, mastered, and ready for retail. For example,, if your book is five hours long, this would mean you would pay $1250 when the audio files have been delivered to ACX and signed off by you.
Narrators are willing to negotiate the PFH rate, so be upfront about your budget and let them decide if they want to work for that amount. Authors should be aware that audiobooks are a custom-made product and to create even 1 hour of audio, your narrator has to put in 6-10 hours of work. But, your narrator cannot charge you for this time, or for booking a recording studio or other expenses incurred because the PFH charge is all-inclusive.
PFH audiobooks can be distributed exclusively with Audible for seven (7) years or after 90 days the rights holder has the choice of requesting that the contract is changed to non-exclusive so the audiobook can be distributed widely to other retail sites. Audible-exclusive titles get a higher royalty rate and it's worth exploiting this fact until your audiobook breaks even.
If you are seeking a superstar narrator be prepared to pay $350 + per finished hour. With a tight budget, it’s more than likely you will have to search for a while to be matched with a narrator who can perform your book the way you want, within your budget. Alternatively, you could try and find a narrator who will agree on a Royalty Share or Royalty-Share-Plus contract with you.
Royalty Share: This contract is exactly what you'd expect. The author/rights holder pays no money up front and the narrator takes on 100% of the risk of working for no up-front fee. When the audiobook is completed and uploaded to ACX the title is locked into a 7-year contract. Audible automatically pays half of the royalties accrued to the narrator and half to the author/rights holder. If an author/rights holder wishes to pursue an RS deal they have to prove to a narrator that their title is worth the risk. The narrator will want to see proof that you have an active author platform - newsletter, social media etc. They'll require proof that your ebook is popular - so proof of sales and reviews are vital. They will also want to see your marketing plan for selling the audiobook to your fanbase. I understand that many authors will be uncomfortable with sharing sales data, but you need to understand that a narrator will be risking thousands of dollars worth of their time and so they require the information to make an informed decision. If you're embarrassed that your sales are low then what makes you think the sales would be any better as an audiobook? It may sound harsh, but realistically, why should a narrator risk their time and income for your vanity project? If your sales are low focus on improving sales before you approach a narrator requesting an RS deal. Make your title an attractive risk.
Royalty-Share-Plus: This contract is also known as a 'Hybrid' deal. RS+ means that the rights holder pays a small PFH rate - say $150 per finished hour of audio and the narrator also gets half of the royalties. This balances the burden of risk between both parties - the narrator gets a fee and royalties, and the rights holder can avail of a top-class narrator for a lower PFH than they'd usually pay. If this deal is done via the ACX contract system Audible will automatically split the royalties and pay both parties each month.
Remember, your book will only be recorded once as an audiobook, so make it count! Poor narration will bring bad reviews and is unlikely this will help either the author or narrator's careers.
Posting your project on ACX: The first thing you'll need is to sign-up for an ACX account. It's generally best for authors to use the same log-in details for ACX as they do for their KDP account as this makes asserting copyright a little easier. ACX project posting system requires all rights holders to claim their titles and accept the terms. To claim your title go to the top menu and click 'add your title'. You will be taken to a page with a search box where you can add your title, then claim your book. DO NOT CLAIM BOOKS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE AUDIOBOOK RIGHTS FOR. THIS IS COPYRIGHT FRAUD. CLAIMING TITLES THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHTS FOR WILL SEE BOTH YOUR KDP AND ACX ACCOUNTS SHUT DOWN. ACX is becoming more vigilant about copyright fraud and they will ask for proof that you hold the rights to the titles you've claimed.
AUDITIONS:
The audition process is vital for helping you find your perfect narrator. ACX offers several ways for you to be matched with narrators. You can search for narrators on the site and listen to samples with specific ranges of accents -young, old, male, female, etc. and contact any narrator you like via the site’s messaging system. Also, a narrator’s email details/websites are listed on their profile page, so if there is anyone you particularly like you can contact them directly off-site, via email, and ask if they would like to audition. Alternatively, if you've heard a sample of a narrator you love and they're not listed on ACX then check Google to see if the narrator has a website or social media as a means of contact.
It’s important to know what the production set-up is for your narrator. Are they working from a home studio or do they have to pay for recording and mastering at an independent studio? Narrators who have a home studio set-up are in a better position to work swiftly because they don’t have to book/pay for studio time to do the audition sample. Personally, I feel uneasy about expecting any creative to spend money to try and get a gig. Therefore, I am much more comfortable with narrators who use home studios, than those who have to pay for recording time, especially when they might not be suitable at all and end up out of pocket.
Once you've claimed your title the ACX system encourages all rights holders to add book data-- blurb, sales information, links to reviews, etc. The site also expects you to add a script sample so interested narrators can use it for recording an audio sample.
Authors need to be strict and specific when explaining their requirements for their audio project. The narrator needs to know specifically what you want. If you want a narrator who can do a Russian accent or a male narrator who can also sound female, tell them. It also helps both the author and narrator if the sample script is taken from a part of the book where several accents are required, so that the narrator can display their range. Post no more than two pages. It is easy to get carried away and want to hear a chapter narrated, but you will know within the first thirty seconds if the narrator is right for you, so don’t expect audition samples to cover anything more than a page or two of your story. Also, narration samples DO NOT BELONG TO THE RIGHTS HOLDER. There is no deal and no contract has been exchanged so authors do not have the right to post auditions on social media to get their fanbase to choose the narrator for them. There is a trend of authors doing this without permission from the narrator. Using an audio audition on social media is bad form - just like physical acting auditions on film, these samples are private and should not be shared.
When you listen to narrator samples:
-- Pay attention to the production quality – is the sound clear?
-- Can you hear any background noise when you listen with earbuds?
-- Does the narrator have good pronunciation, pacing, accents?
When you've found the right narrator for your project you will both need to agree to the contract terms and production dates via the ACX system. Then you send the full manuscript to your narrator. I also send an information sheet - this is a document with the names and details of all primary, secondary and tertiary characters who have dialogue. Also note names, places, and words that have difficult pronunciations. Any information you give at this stage will ensure that you are both on the same page. The narrator should offer an accent sample file so you can agree on particular voices. Once this is done the narrator will record and upload the first 15 minutes of the audiobook.
The first 15 minutes checkpoint is your only chance to ensure that the narrator understands your requirements and is giving you the narration you want. It is within the first 15 minutes that you iron out any issues with accents, pacing, sound etc. I cannot stress enough how important it is for the rights holder to ensure names are correct at this stage. When you have approved the first 15 minutes the project is out of the rights holders hands. This is the time when a lot of authors freak out because they're trusting their 'baby' to another person. I strongly suggest that you do not attempt to micromanage your narrator - for instance, by expecting them to upload each chapter as they complete it so that you can pick it apart for errors. Choose a narrator whose talents you trust - it's hard, but narrators know their business - let them do the job without being nit-picked.
Proofing: Once the whole book has been uploaded to the ACX portal I'd suggest that you proof-listen to the whole book, chapter by chapter. While proofing note down the time stamp of any pauses, sound issues, or missing words. There is a fine line between finding genuine errors and nit-picking! It's your responsibility to ensure that the narrator knew how to pronounce the character's name before they began the whole audiobook -which is why the pre-production period is so important. It's unreasonable to expect your narrator to trawl through hours of audio and correct words that should have been flagged before the production began. If you insist that the changes are made the narrator is within their rights to charge you for this extra time.
Approval of your title locks it into the ACX system and no more changes can be made. If your title is a PFH deal then you must pay the narrator before the audiobook can be sent to quality control and then on to retail. ACX does not handle these payments and so they must be completed outside of the portal - for instance via bank transfer or Paypal. Once the narrator's payment has cleared they can press the button to approve the project has been completed. Only then will the project proceed to quality control and then for sale on Audible.
Good luck!
Isobel Starling 2022
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