Today I’m sharing How To Make an Audiobook, a very helpful short piece from my amazing audiobook narrator/producer, April Doty, in which she aims to help indie authors get their stories from page to mic. She’s a font of knowledge and also a brilliant narrator. Thanks for sharing, April!

The market for audiobooks is booming. In 2023, publisher’s audiobook revenue grew to $2 billion, continuing a 12-year trend of year-on-year growth. If you’re a self-published author who wants entry to this market, I’ll show you the way.

There are 3 steps to reaching the ears of your new audiobook audience.

Production – records, edits, proofs and masters your audiobook. I’m a producer.
Distribution – makes your audio available to retailers, handles reporting and payments to you
Marketing – promotes your book to listeners through social media, advertising, blogs and more
Routes to market – the easiest choice

Some companies, like John Marshall Media and Author’s Republic offer a package of services to both produce and distribute your audiobook. For some authors, that’s perfect. Others want more involvement in production, as well as the chance to make independent decisions about distribution, so they can maximise royalties.

Routes to market – the more lucrative choice. As an Indie author, you already know that it’s more profitable in the long run to maintain full ownership of your work. Surveys from both ALLi and the Authors Guild reveal that self-published authors earn more than authors who are traditionally published. You value your independence and freedom of choice, and there are ways you can keep it.

Keep reading here.