Indies & Audiobooks: An Alternative to ACX

headphones, a book, and reading glasses
by Kevin Morris | via Flickr

Note from Jane: Today’s guest post is by novelist Lee Stephen (@epicuniverse). It was updated on Dec. 3 with the addition of “Submitting High-Quality Audio to ACX” and “Sales Figures.” See also the Nov. 23, 2015 update at the bottom of the post.


Like many an independent author out there, I blazed the indie trail out of a love for the artistic side of things and an understanding that total creative control could result in better projects. And like my fellow indies, I soon realized that Amazon could be an outstanding ally. Their platform for self-publishing was second-to-none, and it enabled us to pack the wagon and head out west (figuratively speaking) to the wild frontier of doing-it-oneself.

So naturally, with audiobooks starting to catch fire, Amazon was poised to once again be our faithful companion. Right?

Right?

Not so much.

What Are the Terms of Amazon’s ACX?

The knocks on Amazon’s ACX platform have been duly noted in numerous blogs across the web. They keep either 75% or 60% of your profits, depending on whether or not you value the privilege of selling your own material. They require you to sign a contract that handcuffs you to your decision for the next seven years, after which they set the price of your work.

When I set out to create an audiobook for the first novel in my Epic series, Dawn of Destiny, I had done no research on the actual selling of an audiobook. I only knew that I wanted mine done differently. I wanted fans to hear it all and feel it all, like going out to see a summer blockbuster that happens to not have a screen. I hired 32 voice actors, packed the project with bombastic music and sound effects, and came out with an audiobook that sounded like Independence Day. It underwent nearly five years of development and cost more than most people would dream of spending on an audiobook. When it was finished, I was proud of it. This was different. This was new. This was what being an indie was all about. The only thing left for me to do was sell it.

Excited, I ventured into Audible territory.

Needless to say, what I found there devastated me. After five years’ worth of effort, ACX was offering me a mere spoonful of the feast I’d prepared. There had to be an alternative. There had to be a better way.

So I looked. I looked, and I looked, and I looked.

I found CD Baby.

Important note: Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I do not work for CD Baby. No one from CD Baby has asked me to do this, and CD Baby is not paying me for this. They don’t even know that I’m doing it. I feel these facts must be mentioned beforehand, because things are about to get all warm and fuzzy!)

What Is CD Baby?

I was surprised when CD Baby ended up on my list of places to look into, as audiobooks are not what they do. But apparently, a handful of authors had taken a stab at their services, and from what I could find, no one had much to complain about. Just the same, there wasn’t a whole lot of information out there regarding CD Baby as an audio distributor.

I simply had to investigate.

One hour later, I was sold.

For those who know CD Baby, you know that they pride themselves on being a platform for indie musicians. For those who haven‘t heard of CD Baby, you might be surprised to find out that they’re exceedingly influential in the music industry for the aforementioned reason. Every indie band knows CD Baby.

But I’m not a band. I’m an author. But I’m producing audio, soooo…a phone call was in order.

Several minutes later, I was talking to a person.

Stop right there. Did you catch that? I’ll repeat it again, just in case, because this is actually kind of mind-blowing to anyone who’s needed desperately to talk to someone from Amazon in a pinch.

Several minutes after calling CD Baby, I was talking to a person. Not a sales rep. Not someone with English as their third language. A helpful human being who had the ability to answer my questions, help me set up a profile, then look at said profile to make sure it was the way I wanted. A person who loved their job.

An indie.

This helpful human being then informed me that, yes, while audiobooks weren’t their typical product, they still had worked with some audiobook producers in the past. They informed me that, yes, I could set my own release date and price. Yes, I could have links to my CD Baby store anywhere. Yes, I would keep a majority of the profit. 91% of it! No, there were no binding contracts. I could cancel, change the price, pull the product, or change any of its information, anytime I wanted.

It was my product.

Audio Quality of CD Baby Versus ACX

Did you know that Audible doesn’t upload audio files at their highest level of quality? Audible Enhanced Audio uploads at a sample rate of 22.050 kHz. This is what they consider CD quality. Funny enough, though, the rest of the world considers 22.050 kHz to be “low fidelity,” and 44.1 kHz to be CD quality, which is the level of quality that CD Baby makes available to the consumer.

Audible also requests that all uploaded files be in mono, not stereo, meaning there’s literally no depth of sound coming from Audible files.

It goes without saying that CD Baby, who specializes in digital audio, uses stereo. In layman’s terms, what does this mean? It means Audible files don’t sound as good. And by “don’t sound as good,” I don’t mean at a level at which only composers and dogs can differentiate. I mean noticeably not as good. I’m getting ripped off not as good. You can’t even find websites that audibly compare 22.050 kHz to 44.1 kHz, because it’s not even a debate.

Submitting High-Quality Audio to ACX

A (very legitimate) point was brought up in one of the comments below, and it warrants a clarification here. If you look at the ACX Submission Guidelines, you will see that you can submit audio files at 192kbit/sec, 44.1 kHz, and in stereo. All of these things would seem to contradict some of the audio quality issues I just told you about. Unfortunately, this is another area where you have to dig a little deeper to find out what’s really going on.

If you read the requirements, they reference that Audible files are available in a variety of formats. And that’s where you have to focus. As you’ll see, there are no specifics as to what quality of audio file the consumer actually downloads. Instead, there’s a level of quality with descriptions such as “CD,” all with asterisks attached. If you look down, you’ll see that the asterisk means: “sound quality similar to.”

Similar to what? When you’re dealing with kbits/sec, there is no “similar.” There simply is, and there isn’t. 196kbits/sec is not like 128kbits/sec or 320kbits/sec. If the files are at 196kbits/sec, they’re at 196kbits/sec. But by using “CD” as a quality identifier, they’ve allowed themselves some wiggle room.

So what gives? What bit rate are consumers actually downloading? ACX doesn’t give you an answer, not even in their Audible Enhanced Audio Help Center. In fact, there only seems to be one website that gives you the answer to this question: Wikipedia. There’s a chart in the center of the page that actually provides numbers for what consumers are downloading. Of the four formats available, only one is available in Stereo. And its quality? 64kbits/sec, 22.010 kHz.

Telephone quality.

You’ll note that the Wikipedia even cites Audible’s description of “CD Quality” in the chart, but make no mistake: 64kbits/sec is not CD quality.

Wikipedia is not my only source for this, and anyone who Googles sound quality on ACX will find numerous comments and articles by audiophiles much more knowledgeable than me clearly referencing the fact that while files can be uploaded at higher quality rates, they can only be downloaded at 64kbits/sec. As my last point of reference, I would just say … listen. Just listen to Audible files, then listen to higher quality files. You’ll be able to tell.

What About Distribution?

CD Baby can distribute your audiobook to iTunes and Amazon, with the caveat that it will not show up in the audiobook category, but in the “spoken word” category of music.

I do not recommend doing this, especially if you’ve invested as much as I have in your audiobook production. Though both iTunes and Amazon will respect the release date and pay a higher percentage of the profit than they would an audiobook, they will still not respect the price you’ve set for your product through CD Baby. Your audiobook will get listed for $8.99. Thus, I am only allowing digital distribution through CD Baby itself.

Crunching the Numbers

My research revealed that the average price of an audiobook on Audible’s Top 20 was $33.68, with a high listing of $69.97 and low listing of $19.93 and $19.95 (the next lowest after those was $22.67, then everything was mid-$20s and way, way up).

I listed Dawn of Destiny on CD Baby for $25.99. This was $7.68 less than the average, and it would have made Dawn of Destiny the 5th cheapest audiobook in a list of twenty.

Now, all of these numbers are subject to slight change, both upward and downward, as Audible’s Top 20 fluctuates. But it gave me a solid variety of actual figures with which to set a list price.

Had ACX listed Dawn of Destiny themselves and set the price for $25.99, I would be making either $6.49 or $10.40 per sale depending on whether or not I wanted the ability to sell it myself. I would have signed away my rights to the project for seven years, having no control in any area of what happens with it. My product would have been delivered to the consumer at a sound-quality level that isn’t even used in side-by-side comparisons because it’s just that poor.

At CD Baby, none of the negatives in the aforementioned paragraph are an issue, and I make a profit of $23.65 (91%) per audiobook sold while selling it at nearly 25% below the average audiobook price.

What About Visibility to the Market?

You might wonder about the wide exposure that comes with having something on Audible. To that, I would say that our fan bases are our exposure—the incredibly amazing people who follow us on Twitter, who like us on Facebook, who join our mailing lists, and who hound us for our next release dates. And they don’t care if you point them to Audible, CD Baby, or a shed in your backyard. If they follow you, if you’re fair to them, and if you reward them with quality material, they’ll make the purchase.

Sales Update (Dec. 3, 2014)

Many people have asked me about my sales figures. Unfortunately, I’m one of those “never discloses numbers” writers, even in the realm of books sold. But, I do want to be as helpful as possible, and asking about sales figures is legitimate. You want to know if you can make money with this, right?

Well, I do, too.

This is a learning experience for me. The potential is there to make considerably more money on a per-unit basis through CD Baby than through ACX. Whether that potential can actually be realized is something I’m still figuring out (and hoping for!). My intention is to write a follow-up entry in roughly six months, where I’ll identify trends and give honest feedback on what works and what doesn’t. If this is not a viable way to actually turn a profit, I’m going to flat-out say so. In six months, I will have exhausted every promotional tool at my disposal, including a widespread audiobook tour. If there’s money to be made (or not made), I will know, and I will share—even if a disclosure of actual numbers doesn’t accompany that.

Here’s what I can say, so far: sales started decently, then slumped. This is kind of what I expected, being that no one really goes to CD Baby on their own to seek out an audiobook. Audible is still the dragon. I’m just trying to see if there’s a way to slay it. I mentioned it in one of the comments below, and I’ll mention it here, too: I’m impassioned about this. If this doesn’t succeed, there will be a part of me that feels like I’ve failed. If this project succeeds, more authors will look at CD Baby. If more authors look to CD Baby, CD Baby is going to notice. If CD Baby notices, they will offer us more services. And if they offer us more services, well, the game will have changed. Nothing would make me happier than to play a role in authors getting more freedom of choice.

Final Thoughts

I’m pretty sure this was long so far as guest entries go, but it really is important. CD Baby has made me feel empowered as an indie audiobook producer. You deserve that feeling of empowerment, too. Don’t sell yourself (or your products) short.

I hope you enjoyed this entry and found it useful! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Feel free to ask me any questions about my CD Baby experience either below in the comments, on Twitter, or via email.

You can also check out the five-minute YouTube clip from my audiobook. I was aiming for something different, so let me know if I hit the mark (I do recommend headphones!). Or visit Dawn of Destiny‘s page on CD Baby.


Update from Lee (11/23/15): I just wanted to let you guys know that a major, collaborative update is in the works and will be coming in the near future. The short preview is that the route described in my original entry didn’t work as well as I’d hoped simply for a lack of natural foot traffic. However, all is not lost! I’ve signed on with Author’s Republic and couldn’t be happier. Details will be forthcoming in a later update.

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Stephen W. Hiemstra

Jane:

I appreciated your comments about audio books. I have order a book on audio books to learn the ropes so I am committed to coming out with an audio edition of my own book, A Christian Guide to Spirituality.

Your Dawn of Destiny sampler is amazing. It is better than a film production because it forces you to visualize with your imagination.

Stephen

Jane Friedman

Just to clarify: These good comments (and the Dawn of Destiny audiobook) are by Lee Stephen; I serve as his host today. 🙂

Stephen W. Hiemstra

Opps. Sorry about the confusion. Stephen

Lee Stephen

Hi Stephen! Thanks for the kind words about the audiobook. There’s a LOT to learn about the process of making them, so I would advise you to research, research, research! It doesn’t sound like your guide would need the full cinematic treatment, so that would definitely make your project an easier one than mine. 🙂 Good luck with it and be fearless! (Romans 8:28)

Spencer Hawke

Lee, that is the most helpful, thoughtful article on audio I have seen. As I see it, if you are established you have options. If you are one of the rookies still in the 8 year period to be an overnight success, you don’t. We need marketing muscle from Audible to be seen

Laure Reminick

Wow. Just wow. Lee, you’ve set a new bar for audiobooks. And blazed the path for distribution. Thanks a million for your efforts and the heads up. And may your efforts return to you in the millions!

Lee Stephen

Thanks so much, Laure! Yeah, I could definitely use a cool million or two. 🙂 I do hope CD Baby becomes a more well-known alternative for audiobook producers. They have such a great platform for audio production.

Ronald

Lee:
Thanks for your expose of ACX and showing a way for indies to bypass The Machine once again. I looked at the CD Baby site and was wondering if they could redesign it so that your audiobook looked more like a book and less like audio music tracks. Confusing… Any conversation with them on that?

Also, have you had any sales numbers that you can share to give the rest of us heart? You must have put down some serious cash to make your audiobook; I hope that you are reaping some benefit.

Best,
=rds

Lee Stephen

I’m actually going to attempt to open a dialogue with CD Baby about that very thing. They were the first admit that audiobooks weren’t their typical product, so they don’t really advertise that they’re an option for such – you have to seek them out about it. However, I think they have a golden opportunity to compete with what is truly a -TERRIBLY- unfair option in ACX. Just the fact that people are asking about this through these comments shows there’s interest in an alternative to Amazon. I’ll keep you updated once I get a chance to talk to them and see what they have to say. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if they considered it. They’re GREAT to talk to.

Regarding sales numbers, I actually make it a point not to discuss those things (even for my books). I’ve had the experience of having well-to-do indie authors brag about their numbers in manners that are both offensively arrogant and downright discouraging to those who haven’t found that level of success yet. So my answer to that question is perpetually this: I’m very happy, I’m very blessed, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

But…yes, this was a serious investment. 🙂 I’m not sure everyone would be willing to put forth the level of capital required to make something like this come to fruition. I have discussed the cost (and the process) of this project on my blog at http://www.epicuniverse.com, but Jane and I both felt it was best to leave those specifics out of this entry, which is more geared toward CD Baby as an alternative to ACX than to my audiobook in general.

Jane Friedman

I don’t want to create an awkward conflict with my valued guest here, but I do think—as other commenters have indicated—that it’s better to be upfront about the numbers, and assume readers are smart enough to understand what does or doesn’t apply to their situation.

Lee, my apologies if I led you to believe otherwise; I still preferred to run your post even though you didn’t want to share the figures. I think your story offers excellent information even without the specific sales numbers or costs.

Lee Stephen

There are two things that seem to be coming up, numbers-wise: costs and sales. I’ll answer them both to the best of my ability here. First, the cost, which I don’t mind talking about at all.

PRE-REPLY WARNING: this may cause sticker-shock. Try not to let it. You just have to keep in mind that my project is very, very non-typical. You could easily produce a traditional audiobook for a fraction of what I spent on mine, to get my particular product. With that said, hold onto your hats!

The Dawn of Destiny audiobook cost somewhere in the vicinity of $10,000-12,000 to produce. In total honesty, this is not the kind of project I think most authors would be willing (or able) to fund. I knew what I wanted, though, and I deduced that even if I never recouped that money, it would still be worth it to lean back one day and say, “I just freaking made this.” Which is what I get to do now! 🙂

Why so expensive? Well, you have to look at the project itself. This wasn’t one narrator. This was a cast of 32. This has a sound effect for virtually everything. This has a musical score that’s similar to Star Wars in frequency of use throughout the piece, which is a hair under ten hours long. That’s a LOT of music! Those files alone cost a lot to purchase the rights to use. That, combined with the cost of the cast, was why this was project was so much.

I’ve actually tried to figure out if there are cheaper ways to do what I did with Dawn of Destiny, and I don’t think there are. Actors (good ones, at least) don’t work for free. You’re not going to find quality music and effects for something like this for free, either. All those things cost. I also paid for a dialogue editor to help, as until she joined in, I was literally piecing this together myself through the (free, yay!) program Audacity.

The part people need to remember though is that traditional audiobooks can cost a fraction of this. You could hire a narrator through a website like Voice123 for under $1,500 (possibly under $1,000) if the read is small enough in size. People have asked a lot about sales figures, and though I don’t get into specifics there, I will say that HAD I done a traditional audiobook, I’d be on my way to turning a profit and would expect for this project to start earning money in Q1/Q2 of 2015. The two big challenges I face are 1) my audiobook was very expensive, and 2) visibility is not as good for CD Baby as it is for Audacity. That’s why persistence is going to play such a big role for me – I really have to work to rustle up sales.

Those are definitely challenges, but I knew what I was getting into. I viewed this as sort of a pioneering adventure from the onset…but you never discover new things until you try new things, right? I can say this, regarding sales now. They started out decently enough, but have slowed some in the weeks following launch. I also kind of expected this, as sales aren’t going to “trickle in” to CD Baby for an audiobook – someone has to find your series, discover you have an audiobook, then take the trip there themselves. I have a -HUGE- promo run / audiobook tour kicking off in the coming months, and that’s really going to be the tour-de-force for this project. After that, I’ll be able to objectively say, “This was worth it, financially,” or, “This isn’t quite ready to be used for a profit, yet.” As much as I think there will be a boost in that tour, I just won’t know until I get there.

That’s another reason I’m hesitant to offer any kind of profit insight just yet…I’m still learning! I don’t know what ANY trends are with this, yet. I started out decently, then things started to trickle. Is that what I should expect as normal? Book sales also happen to be slumping a bit…is that a direct correlation? Does exposure lead straight to sales? I’ll know that after the tour. So I think what a lot of people want to know, I just don’t know yet myself – at least not with enough confidence to make a definitive statement. Now I have NO quarrels with making the definitive statement that you can release an audiobook through CD Baby, and the potential is there to make a lot of money, because both are objectively true (the former having been done, the latter an absolute possibility). The latter, though, for many people, is what they want to know concrete specifics about, and right now, it’s just too early for me to say. I’d be afraid that things would change, and that something I said would be incorrect and possibly lead someone astray. I almost made that mistake already by giving Jane this guest post before the audiobook was for sale. Like there always are, there was an issue at the finish line that threatened to trip me up bigtime (the iTunes/Amazon non-price match). But I figured it out, made a decision, and my guest post was able to reflect that as I’d had time to gather my thoughts on it. That’s kind of what I’m hoping to do in the “is this worth it financially?” realm.

Of similar note: I did actually begin a dialogue of sorts with CD Baby about audiobooks in particular, and I think they might be curious as to how this turns out. I was told, however, that it would be very hard for them to offer anything new unless the demand warranted it, which is totally understandable. That’s one reason why this is such a big deal for me. I genuinely, genuinely want to open an alternative door for people who want to sell audiobooks, but who don’t want to settle for ACX’s policies. I’m impassioned about that. If the effort crashes and burns, I won’t lie – a part of me will feel like I failed a bit. It’s a big deal to me to bust down that door for others, because hey…we all deserve control. We’re creators.

If Jane is open to it, I can do a follow-up entry a few months down the road (after the audiobook tour). I’ll have had a chance to truly sit back, look at the spreadsheet after I’ve ABSOLUTELY given it my all, and give a more informed response as to whether this can bring in profit. I’d definitely be up for that if the big boss allows!

Jane Friedman

Thanks, Lee. We should definitely do a follow-up when you’re ready! 🙂

Deb Atwood

Great article! I wish I had seen this before it was too late. (ACX requires a 7 year contract.) One question: Does CD Baby offer a list of narrators?

Lee Stephen

Hi Deb!

The 7-year contract is one of the reasons I refused to go with ACX. What they expect us to just hand over to them is actually insulting.

CD Baby has no specific audiobook services, as they deal strictly with indie music. “Dawn of Destiny” was actually released as a music album, technically…it’s just an audiobook. As I mentioned to Ronald above, I intend to open a dialogue with CD Baby now that this project has been completed to gauge their interest in starting up a line geared toward audiobooks.

Myka Reede

To say amazing doesn’t begin to describe the surprise when I read your post!! Decision made for me when I get to that point. Now the question about finding narrators outside of ACX.

Lee Stephen

Voice123 was how I hired just about every single one of my 32-person cast. You don’t need ACX, not for anything. You can do this!

Steve Marvel

Two LinkedIn groups, Audiobook Narrators and Audiobook Industry Professionals, feature a number of experienced narrators (including some famous ones). Simply posting a request at either would likely net significant interest. Voice123 has at lot if good narrators, but the platform excludes some from auditioning (based on auditioning proprietary “fairness” algorithm). The LinkedIn route, of course, cuts out the middle man.

It’s also free to listen to narrator demos on ACX.com. Contact info, if not forthcoming at the site, should be readily available at any narrator’s Web site (they want to be found!).

(Full disclosure: I am an audiobook narrator with many titles on Audible. This discussion of CD Baby as an alternative fascinates me, too.)

Peg Brantley

While this sounds like a fabulous alternative, what’s your upfront cost? I’m really pleased with the royalty share program for one of my books and have begun a project for a second book. Did you pay for the narrator and a producer?

Lee Stephen

Hi Peg!

Jane and I both felt it was best to leave the upfront costs out of this entry, mainly because my audiobook is -NOT- the norm. I don’t just have a narrator…I have a cast of 32 actors! It’s really a movie for your ears. But BECAUSE it’s this…the upfront cost for my project was pretty staggering. Producing a standard audiobook with a simple narrator doing the reading would cost about ten times less than this project cost me, but, I knew what I wanted and I knew it was different. But yes, I paid the narrator as well as all of the cast myself. The producer was myself. I used Audacity, a free audio program, and literally spliced together the entire project, music and FX included. My sole help was Natalie van Sistine, my dialogue editor, who helped patch together a majority of the character lines from the actors’ audio takes.

If you really want to know more about the cost (and the process) of the project, I discuss those things in detail on my blog at http://www.epicuniverse.com. I’d just rather leave those details out of this guest post here.

Bob Mayer

What is your P&L on this? Cost vs. money made? What is the average cost vs earned in this mode? Your price, while below the top 20 (which only 20 are in, duh, are of dubious value given various payment options such as subscription), is way above the average audiobook. Does CD Baby pay bounties on new listeners who come in through your work?

Simplest question: how many copies have you sold, in how long? I wouldn’t ask that, but you put numbers out here. So put all the numbers out.

Thanks.

Lee Stephen

Hey Bob!

I definitely want people to understand that CD Baby does NOT offer specific audiobook-tailored platforms, so there are no options such as subscriptions, bounties, etc. What CD Baby specializes in is indie music. What this can provide, however, is a workaround of sorts for those who don’t feel that ACX is a fair model. Maybe some do, and that’s fine, I just happen not to. So definitely, definitely don’t consider CD Baby if you’re looking for someone to specifically cater to audiobooks. This is simply a means to make audio available through a distributor that isn’t ACX. With that SAID, I think CD Baby has an opportunity here, and I’m going to attempt to open a dialogue with them about it. But until they make the choice to gear specifically to audiobooks, it’s best to think of them as just an audio (in general) distributor.

Jane and I felt it was best to leave costs out of this entry, and this is more about CD Baby and ACX than my audiobook in particular. My audiobook isn’t the norm, so it probably shouldn’t be used as any kind of measuring tool for audiobook production. My audiobook cost A LOT. A standard audiobook would probably (no exaggeration) cost ten times less. But this was a choice for a project and goal that I valued more than the capital required to create it. I just flat-out wanted this final product.

Ronald asked a question about sales numbers a little ways up, so I’ll just C&P that here since the same applies:

Regarding sales numbers, I actually make it a point not to discuss those
things (even for my books). I’ve had the experience of having
well-to-do indie authors brag about their numbers in manners that are
both offensively arrogant and downright discouraging to those who
haven’t found that level of success yet. So my answer to that question
is perpetually this: I’m very happy, I’m very blessed, and I wouldn’t
change a thing.

(C&P over, back to Bob!) I know that doesn’t offer anything concrete, but again…comparing cost/reward for a project like mine isn’t going to practical for most simply due to the nature of my project. You can probably get a feel for how well you’ll do based simply on your reading your fan base, and I’d say you probably won’t be too far off from that.

R.E. McDermott

Lee,

Thanks for the post, which was informative. Knowing the alternatives is always helpful. However, as much as I understand your reasoning for avoiding numbers, they do reduce the usefulness of you post substantially (IMO).

Most of us view this as a business, and a business means numbers. If you want to avoid actual numbers then I suggest you approach it as Bob Mayer indicated and speak in percentages. And if you fear that the high cost of production makes those numbers suspect, then use a variable. You indicated you thought your production costs were perhaps 10 times a ‘normal’ audiobook, so why not just use “10X” for your costs. We could figure it out from there.

And as far as indies ‘bragging’ about their sales, personally I don’t find that offensive if it’s accompanied by helpful date. I find it inspirational (and leads me to be aspirational). Most indie authors with whom I interface seem to feel the same way.

I know what I make on ACX and know the frustrations I feel there, but to properly evaluate whether it’s worth going in a different direction, we all need numbers. If not $$ numbers, then sales figures. I don’t think an answer to Bob M’s simple question of how many copies you’ve sold in how long, would be seen as bragging.

That’s just my opinion, but I’m pretty sure it’s one widely shared by readers of your post.

Thanks again for your post.

Lee Stephen

Hey, R.E.!

I really think you nailed the whole purpose of the entry with your second sentence. CD Baby is just an alternative – one that can be done and that has considerably more benefits in the realm of freedom and control, both of which ACX don’t offer at all. I’m gung-ho about it; I love it. But it’s not for everyone. It’s most certainly not for people who tend to lean toward safer, more tried routes. Going the CD Baby route with an audiobook is a more Twisted Sister, “We’re not Gonna take It,” approach.

For the traditionally business-minded, it’s probably not a good idea for no other reason than not enough people are doing it to make a calculated judgment. My -hope- is that more people decide to take the plunge and that CD Baby starts to be viewed, in general, as a legitimate mass alternative. But for that to happen, CD Baby needs to create an audiobook-specific division, and for that to happen, they need to view that as a need on their end. CD Baby can be used to release an audiobook right now, but it’s a workaround. A workaround that works, mind you, but a workaround just the same.

You’re absolutely free to use 10x as a cost estimate, and that’ll probably be relatively accurate for my specific audiobook. But I think, honestly, it’s best not even to view think of that in terms of -my- specific audiobook. Mine is different. It’s not a narrator reading. It’s an audio movie with a cast of 32 in the middle of Black Hawk Down-ish music and effects. That’s just going to cost a ton more. If people are hoping to draw a comparison between my cost of production and the cost of producing an audiobook through ACX, I can’t help in determining those numbers, because I didn’t go through ACX. I produced this solely on my own through a method I made up myself. Honestly, I don’t mind sharing specific costs…as I’d mentioned in one of the other replies, Jane and I just decided it was best to leave that out of this entry due to the fact that my project was so different, and it would give people a false idea of what -all- audiobooks cost. But if you look me up (aka, read my blog), I do talk about the specific costs of this project in there.

I know it’s frustrating to not hear specific sales figures, but again, that’s just how I operate in all areas, books included. BUT, I do want to be helpful, so here’s my way of reaching what will hopefully be viewed as a middle ground. In six months, I’ll tell you if this has been worth it – I’m talking financially worth it, not “make you feel good” worth it. It’ll be a very honest, “this has a lot of challenges,” or a, “this can be very lucrative” type of answer. Six months will give me a solid span of time to look at, average out, and provide wisdom about, none of which I can provide right now in any capacity. I think it’s important to keep in mind that I’m learning all of these trends and whatnot right now. As much as I see the benefit in this, I’m also learning as I go. I think that’s a fair way of going about things, and I hope you agree!

And yeah…I think we’re just different in the “what other people are selling” category! I don’t want to know what other people are selling. 🙂 I rather just worry about me!

Glynda Woolam

Marvelous, insightful, and helpful! Thanks!

MysticCowboy

Interesting ideas, though as an Audible subscriber I only pay 11.62 per book and won’t generally consider looking to Apple for an ebook, especially as the music app on iPods and iBooks does not handle book chapters nearly as well as the Audible app.

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