INDIE BOOKMAN on Making an Audiobook!

Posted by LM Preston on November 13, 2010

Audiobooks are pretty popular. I listen to them when I am on long roadtrips, but I know many of you listen to them much more frequently. And now that we can podify them to our phones, tablets, mp3 players, netbooks etc. they are even more convenient.
And there a tons of major-label pop titles available in audio. Amazon seems to be making a killing selling them through Audible.com.  

But if you are an indie, it’s well nigh impossible – ok, we will say really difficult and expensive – to get your book on tape. Hiring the voice talent, studio time, editor – even if you are going the DIY route, it’s still all-consuming.

Fortunately the law of “find a need/fill a need” has kicked in, and getting your indie book audio-ized just became possible.

The folks who have been running librivox.org have recently created a new site and service called Iambik Audiobooks.

Here is how it works. You submit your book, and a home-based volunteer reader voices your work on their own equipment. It then becomes a part of the Iambik catalog, available for a low-low price. Easy peasy!

But how does the money work? Well you get a piece, Iambic gets a piece, and the reader gets a piece. No overhead for you, your books gets a voice, and everyone makes a little green. How can you beat that?

There may be some concern regarding the quality of the audio. After all, these aren’t necessarily professional voice actors. But for the price, I would say take what you can get. And if you book takes off in audio format? Well then you can think about raising the bar and springing for professional talent.

There is also a great article about Iambik over at salon.com. It’s worth a read, for sure.

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By Brad Grochowski
Brad is the IndieBookMan