Audio books are the fastest growing sector of the book publishing business, which makes total sense when you consider the increasing numbers of baby boomers who are now nearsighted and the fact that they’re far from the only age group that likes to listen to books. That leads all of us authors to ask two questions:

1. Should I turn my book into an audiobook?
2. Just how do I go about self-publishing an audiobook?

Let’s address the first question before we move on. Books that fall into the romance, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, thriller, or suspense categories seem to be favored by audiobook audiences. On the other hand, while you’ll potentially have a smaller reader pool for a nonfiction book or memoir, you’ll also face less competition. Either way, your audiobook could earn you extra money, assuming you promote it, expose you to a wider audience, and either grow your reputation as an author or help solidify your brand if you’ve written a book to boost your business.

But it’s going to cost you, both in terms of time and money.

On the financial side, you’re either going to have to invest in recording and possibly soundproofing equipment or studio time. Most studios charge per hour. For a professional-sounding book, consider hiring a producer to coach you—you’ll either split your share of the royalties with them (which could be a terrible decision, so beware) or pay them a $100 to $1,000 per-finished hour fee. To estimate your audiobook’s running time, divide the number of words by 9,000—the average number of words read in an hour. If your book is 90,000 words long, your book will likely be close to ten hours long when read (90,000/9,000=10).

While you could narrate the book yourself, most people prefer listening to a pro unless you’re writing first-person nonfiction, such as a memoir or a personalized how-to book to promote yourself and your business. If you decide to do the deed yourself, you’ll find plenty of articles online about everything from what to consider when reading your book aloud https://cchogan.com/audiobook-tips-a-short-guide/audiobook-tips-reading/ to how to prep for the big recording day(s). The consensus seems to be that narrating your own book is harder than it would seem. So, if you decide instead to hire out that job when self-publishing an audiobook, you can search for a narrator at online platforms like ACX, Voices, or even Fiverr, where you can connect with narrators and host auditions. 

Whether you’re reading your own book or hiring someone else to do it, don’t forget that you’ll need to pay for post-production work, along with any extra bells and whistles like sound effects or music.

Even if you’re doing your own narrating, and especially if you’re not, you can always follow an easier path and hire a company like multi-grammy award-winning John Marshall Media—the company that recorded Harry Potter, has 21 studios in two countries, and provides worldwide distribution—to manage the entire process for you. You’re looking at a two-month turnaround from the time you submit your manuscript to lining up the distribution once revisions have been completed and you’ve approved the recording.

Ironically, this may not cost you a lot more than a studio-DIY approach to self-publishing an audiobook, since your lack of experience will likely result in more studio time, which can easily cost $500 or more an hour. If you want to explore this hands-on, white-glove option, I recommend speaking with John Marshall Media’s self-publishing division manager and producer, Kevin Stillwell. Please let him know I suggested you reach out.

For more information about producing and distributing your audiobook, check out The Alliance of Independent Authors’ “The Ultimate Guide to Self-Publishing Audiobooks.”