A journalist requested an interview with me last week to talk about audiobook narration, my favorite topic. I asked her to send me a list of questions and offered to write out some answers for her.
I knew this wouldn’t be a typical interview when I saw 2 questions:
- How much money do you make?
- What do you use the money for?
I realized that she wanted to interview people with side jobs rather than full-time occupations. It turns out that she was writing a column named “Easy Money” and was surveying multiple ways to make money that are associated with books. Her editor had seen listings on Upwork.com where people are looking for audiobook narrators and thought this job would be a good one to add.
I told her that I didn’t want to be included in her story because audiobook narration and production are definitely NOT ways to earn easy money!
As you learned in this article, narration is not as easy as reading aloud. Authors who are new to audiobooks are often shocked at the cost of production.
Also, due to the dramatic growth of the audiobook industry, authors perceive that sales for audio editions are easily made without much or any effort. I therefore thought it would be good to write an article this week about 3 financial aspects of audiobook production so authors can have realistic expectations.
1. It might take years to show a profit.
First of all, understand that audiobooks are a long game. One author said on-line that she had “lost money” because she hadn’t recouped her costs of audiobook production within a year. I wanted to tell her that she needed to view it with this mindset: her money was not lost, but it was used for a capital investment in her business. Capital investments often take many years to pay out.
If you need instant gratification, must recoup your investment immediately, and/or don’t have funds to meet your living expenses, you should wait to produce your audiobook.
While you can and should do things to specifically market the audio edition, you still must market the BOOK in order for it to gain visibility and sales.
When I say the book must be marketed, I mean you have to expend more energy and (probably) money than just posting about your book on social media or changing the sales price. Simply tweeting about the book or even the audio edition of it won’t do much, if anything, to move the sales needle. Repeated tweets on the same subject don’t gain much attention and become part of the noise. And changing the price makes no difference if you don’t have a way to attract people to your sales page.
For every 10 ebooks you sell, you might sell one audiobook. Royalties are paid based on the revenue received from the purchase price, not the full retail price. You might earn $2-4 for each audiobook sold, so you can see it could take a while for the audiobook to start earning a profit.
2. Royalty Share contracts aren’t for everybody.
In breaking down the expenses for audiobook production, the narrator’s fee is usually the largest cost. To get around this obstacle, ACX.com allows audio rights holders to set up royalty share (RS) contracts with the narrator. The narrator isn’t paid anything up front. Her fee is deferred to her half of the royalties paid each month.
To an author, royalty share contracts look like free narration and an easy (there’s that word again) way to produce an audiobook.
To a narrator, though, a royalty share contract looks like the author doesn’t have confidence that her audiobook will sell enough copies to earn back the costs of production. The author makes money from all of the editions. The narrator only makes money from the audiobook and therefore is shouldering all of the risk for low or no sales on an RS contract.
One author was quite miffed with me when I said I could not accept her offer of royalty share plus $30 per finished hour because I would still be in the red for my editor’s fee and didn’t think I’d earn back my narration fee.
Before answering her, I had analyzed her Amazon sales rank and reviews for ALL of her books — not just the one she wanted to produce in audio. I told her that I wasn’t convinced she had sufficient selling power for me to take the risk of earning back my narration fee and the full cost of my editing. I told her I could do the book for my per finished hour rate or on a royalty share contract with a much higher author stipend.
She told me my rate was was misleading and that I had wasted her time. My ACX profile stated at the time that I was available for “royalty share or unspecified”, so I did not mislead anyone.
I can’t take every royalty share book I’m offered because it’s a serious commitment of my time and money to produce an audiobook. I must have some evidence that I can recoup my costs from the royalties. Otherwise, I couldn’t make enough money to sustain my business and/or might miss the opportunity to take work that pays up front.
Generally, a narrator would be able to earn her fee and expenses over time on an RS contract if one or more of these factors is true (the more, the better):
- You routinely sell 500 copies a month of the ebook.
- Your Amazon sales rank is less than 100,000 and preferably 50,000 or less. If it’s over 1 million, a narrator knows that the other editions aren’t selling frequently, so the audiobook couldn’t be expected to sell, either. Be sure to point us to your best-selling edition as I described in this article.
- Your book has an average rating of at least 4.0 with at least 50 recent 5-star ratings from genuine reviewers.
- The estimated finished time of your audiobook would be 6-9 hours, which means your manuscript has around 55,800 to 83,700 words. If the audiobook is shorter than 6 hours, Audible listeners might be reluctant to use a credit to buy it. Purchases made with Audible credits tend to reap the largest royalties. If it’s longer than 9 hours, even more copies must be sold before a narrator earns out her fee and expenses.
In other words, a narrator is most interested in a royalty share contract for those books that are selling or can be expected to sell consistently in other editions. However, in those cases, an author is best served by paying the narrator her rate (usually $200-400 per finished hour) and retaining all royalties. This article further discusses your options and the break-even point.
3. Money makes the world go round.
I read a comment in an on-line forum that stated many indie authors are struggling to meet their living expenses. The person continued by saying that an extra $4 means the world for some people. I gathered that struggling authors create royalty share contracts with the thought that whatever revenue they might get from an audiobook would be better than nothing.
While I can understand and even relate to the “hard times” mentality, I strongly advise against creating audiobooks only for the money. Loyal listeners appreciate audiobook narration as an art form. New listeners might never listen to another book if their first experience is negative. In both situations, a sub-standard product created for the money will negatively affect the industry as a whole.
After getting a divorce from my first husband, I worked 2 jobs in order to pay my expenses and start saving for the life I wanted. When I decided to take a voiceover workshop and produce a demo, I didn’t expect the teacher to invest his time in me because he thought I had potential. Instead, I sold all kinds of stuff on eBay in order to pay him for teaching me and producing my demo. I did the same thing when I wanted to buy a harp.
Rather than producing an audiobook prematurely and only for the money, consider doing the exercise described here to figure out other ways of acquiring money.
By looking at the big picture, paying for production, and earning sustenance funds through other means, authors can find that their audiobooks are a steady revenue stream. Over time, the capital investment will turn into pure profit. In the meantime, audiobooks bring an author’s work to new audiences and are more discoverable by new fans.
Is this the year you’re planning to create an audiobook? What questions do you have about the process? Please leave me a comment and let me know!
Hi Karen, I too have a background in broadcast journalism. I’m starting the process of setting up a home recording studio in hopes of narrating audio books and maybe doing some VO’s. Are there any beginner mistakes you can warn me about? It’s been seven years, and four kids since I’ve been in front of the camera. I’d like to gradually head back to “work”, and want to start on the right foot. Thanks for any advice you can give me!
Hi, Jade! I apologize for the delay in publishing and replying to your message. If you’re interested, I discuss why I missed your comment in my June newsletter.
Three of the biggest beginner mistakes in audiobook narration are:
1. Refusing to listen to a wide range of audiobooks performed by top narrators
2: Hanging out the shingle as a narrator without any audiobook-specific training
3. Underestimating the time and skills — including using recording software — needed to complete the recording
My article How to Become An Audiobook Narrator will give you a fantastic overview of the learning curve with lots of links to coaches and other resources to help you along the way.
By the way, I actually have 2 blogs: one for authors, where this article resides, and one for narrators. You’ll find many more articles for narrators at http://www.KarenCommins.com/narrator-blog.
I hope these thoughts are helpful! Best wishes for your success!
Karen
WOW, wish I read this when I first started narrating audiobooks. This is great information for narrators. Thank you so much.
Hi, Jeff! Thanks for the note.
This article appears on my blog aimed at authors. You’ll find a lot more articles of interest to narrators on my other blog for narrators:
http://www.KarenCommins.com/narrator-blog
Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Very informative; thank you.
I am (currently, hopefully not permanently) one of those bottom feeder authors you refer to and was thinking about investing in the audio book concept.
I see now at this point that would be premature and my efforts / $$s are better spent elsewhere.
It’s so nice to read reality rather than hype; thank you!
Best,
Terry
Hi, Terry! Thanks for the note.
To be clear, I never referred to an author as a “bottom feeder.” That terminology is yours.
I looked at your books on Amazon and have a couple of observations about your images. First, redesigned covers would serve you well. The covers are too complex and difficult to understand at first glance. A consumer looking for kid’s books would not think your books are in that category.
Second, I’m concerned that you may be infringing copyright with your images. They obviously are highly manipulated pictures but are still recognizable as the original image. I found the original, very famous Babe Ruth image within seconds. Have you researched the copyright status of your images? If they are still under copyright and you have not obtained a license from the copyright owner, you would be infringing and legally liable in the event of a lawsuit.
You could look at the many subscription stock photo sites and sources for public domain images for wonderful graphics that are suitable for your children’s books.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
My 11 yr old daughter is a gifted reader and loves to read. Is there a market for audiobooks being read by children her age? If so how would you recommend? (My goal as a parent is not a monetary one. I truly think she would really love it)
Austin
Hi, Austin! Thanks for the note.
Your daughter may still be a little young for audiobook work. However, a few months ago, I saw a new class for teens offered by a reputable producer and narrator. I don’t know if they have more planned, but you can contact the producer at the email address shown in this FB post to inquire.
Regardless whether another class would be available, I recommend to all people interested in narration that they start by volunteering for LibriVox or Learning Ally. Both offer safe environments to learn skills of both recording and performance. I don’t know whether either organization has age requirements.
I also recommend that she read and absorb all of the information on my site NarratorsRoadmap.com. which is THE destination for narrators of all levels. The entire home page is devoted to the topic of becoming an audiobook narrator!
I know your daughter is of an age where she needs more adult supervision. As she gets older, you may find my article To the parents of aspiring voice talent to be useful.
I hope this info is helpful. Best wishes for continued healthy, prosperity, and success to you and your family!
Karen
Hi I’m in the process of writing a book to publish to KDP and am interested in publishing audiobooks but I don’t think the book I’m writing right now would be a successful audiobook because of the many images it will have. I ‘m not entirely sure how audiobooks works as far as images go though. Just started learning about all this publishing stuff this past May or so, so it’s all new to me!
Is this a true statement?:
“a $12 audiobook can pay the author as little as $0.45”
Thank you
Hi, Jennifer! Thanks for the note.
In general, books that are dependent on images aren’t suitable for audiobooks. If the book has more text than images, you can write a script for the narrator to describe the images and/or reference a PDF that contains the images that you would create to accompany the audiobook. This site explains how to create a companion PDF.
I can’t easily say true or false to your question about audiobook rates because I don’t have evidence in front of me with the exact figures you used.
I can say that the amount of an audiobook royalty payment depends on many factors and situations that are too detailed and complicated to cover in this space. For instance, if the audiobook was purchased on Amazon as a Whispersync deal, or a library rented an audiobook, the royalty paid can be less than one dollar. However, I have personally received royalty payments of more than $8 per sale from a couple of distributors.
I recommend you get Jessica Kaye’s book The Guide to Publishing Audiobooks: How to Produce and Sell an Audiobook, which is a terrific reference book on audiobook production.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Hi Terry,
Am I overlooking where you asked Karen to look up your book and make comments about your book covers?
-@theeparischanel
Hi, Paris! Thanks for noticing that I added value to that interaction!
Best wishes for your success!
Karen
Hi Karen. You’re so generous with your answers to all of these questions and I love your honesty. I’ve only narrated one audiobook, and it is for royalty share. In looking for a second project, I was hoping for a PFH payment, as I’d like to eventually do some of each. What I’ve noticed is that authors seem to expect narrators to put in a ton of time and effort (some demanding sound affects) for very little return. I was offered one project for $50 PFH. I do all of my own editing, and I feel that I do it well, which is evident in my auditions, but I feel that many authors put no effort into learning what they’re actually hiring narrators to do, and therefore underestimate the work. It’s the only explanation I can think of to why they think anyone would agree to such low pay. I wasn’t looking for a get rich quick scheme, but I’m starting to wonder, is there really any way a person can actually make any meaningful income doing narration? Most projects on ACX are RS, and some are 11 hour books. Do I just take my lumps as a new narrator and bang out some RS projects and hope they sell?
Hi, Sharon! Thanks for the note.
I can appreciate your frustration with the quality of titles and uninformed rights holders on ACX. Fortunately, ACX is not the only game in town.
You absolutely can make money as a narrator, but it generally takes time and consistent effort to establish a good clientele. I encourage you to check out all the free info and resources available on my site NarratorsRoadmap.com.
A narrator could do 1 or more of the following things:
1. Prospect for authors and market yourself to them directly.
2. Find and record public domain texts and become the rights holder who publishes the audiobook.
3. License the audio rights to titles and then narrate, produce, and publish the audiobook.
4. Write your own material and then narrate, produce, and publish the audiobook of your book.
5. Establish relationships with dedicated audiobook producers and publishers who don’t use ACX and pay SAG/AFTRA PFH rates.
For #1 and #2, members of my NarratorsRoadmap.com site can watch a video course I developed titled Create Your Own Path. I added a number of resources to it including some hand-picked, categorized books that may be in the public domain and ready for recording.
I’m also going to talk about those subjects and other ways to maximize use of ACX in a webinar titled Put Yourself in the ACX Driver’s Seat for VoiceOverXtra THIS THURSDAY, 11 February 2021. In fact, your comment will make a great lead-in to the part!
If #3 looks appealing, this article should give you ideas and inspiration. I hosted a webinar with Grammy-winning audiobook director/audiobook distributor/intellectual property attorney Jessica Kaye to learn about licensing rights. The 1.5-hour recording comes with a transcript and sample license agreement and may be purchased on my Shop page.
I can’t help you with #4! However, several narrators have been quite successful in authoring books and then creating the audiobooks. This article profiles one example.
The last option is probably the hardest because you’re competing with established narrators and existing relationships. I’m developing a casting directory for NarratorsRoadmap.com members to help point people to more potential opportunities.
I hope this info helps. Best wishes for your success!
Karen
By the way, you generally should say NO to RHs who ask for sound effects and music to be added to their production, even for PFH deals. This article and this one explain.
Karen
One more thing I forgot to say in my original comments — you definitely CAN make money on royalty share books! I receive passive income every month from my royalty share audiobooks. I know narrators who pay their mortgages with their royalty income.
However, you may not see appreciable sales from just one book. The key is to pick good titles, which I’ll talk about in my webinar. When you have a base of RS books, 20% of them will earn as much as the other 80% of them over time.
I hope these thoughts help.
Karen
Thank you so much for all this valuable info. I so appreciate it!
I’m so afraid of trying to narrate audio books. It’s not 100% about money for me I have no acting experience and that’s all I’ve seen as a requirement. I’m afraid of sinking money into equipment to fail. I’m trying to practice every single day to get better I end up frustrated crying scared and heartbroken. I feel like I was made for it but I’m terrified of it. Thank you for providing this information I knew it wouldn’t be easy I knew there was reason for my fear and I feel more prepared to work harder knowing some of the struggles I will face. I’m willing to try I don’t know when I’ll get better or if I’ll end up doing it but I loved your article all the same.
Hi, Genevive! Thanks for the note. You’ve told me a lot in a short message! Let’s see if we can unpack some of these issues and get you pointed in a better direction.
Have you analyzed WHY this dream of narration? Why is it so important to you? If you haven’t already, I suggest you do some contemplative thinking and write in a journal. Start with the Ideal Day exercise discussed in item 2 of this article.
I wrote this article for authors, but narrators must also know that it takes money to make money. Part 4 of Analyzing the Narrator Self-Assessment Quiz describes some of the financial considerations of being a narrator.
However, you can gain experience without spending any money.
You can practice recording into your phone. You could volunteer to read stories live for children at a library and/or seniors at a retirement community.
You could volunteer to record for your state’s reading service for the blind and visually impaired.
You’ll find a link to those reading services as well as loads more info and ideas about getting started on my site NarratorsRoadmap.com.
If you think of your goal to be a narrator as an evolutionary process, it takes the pressure off of feeling like everything has to come together RIGHT NOW.
The good news here is that acting is a learnable skill! Although I’ve been a pro narrator for almost 20 years and had taken numerous workshops and training classes to improve my performance technique, I had never had an actual ACTING class until this year, when I took Joel Froomkin’s phenomenal Acting For Audio course. I wrote about it here. (If you decide to sign up, please use my name as a referral as I would get some coaching time with Joel.)
You also can work with a coach 1-on-1 in a pay-as-you-go scenario. You’ll find coaches linked on NarratorsRoadmap.com.
I really think you are holding yourself back due to fear of failure and even fear of success. As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Our mindset controls our view of reality.
Every time you think, write, or speak negatively about your prospects of becoming a narrator, the more convinced your brain becomes that it can’t happen for you. The more emotion you add to your thinking, the worse it becomes.
By the same token, the more positive emotion to your thinking, the happier and more optimistic you will feel.
One of the best ways to retrain our mindset is to write and speak affirmations in present tense of the good that we want in our lives. I recommend you start with a book like Bad Ass Affirmations by Becca Anderson to change your thinking and improve your confidence.
I hope these thoughts are helpful! I bet that the next time I hear from you, you’ll be telling me that you finished your first audiobook!
Karen
Once I have a high quality audio book, what alternatives are there to ACX for selling? ACX has a terrible reputation.
Hi, Jim! Thanks for the note.
While I am creating a distributor comparison chart for members of my NarratorsRoadmap.com site, it really is the author’s responsibility in running their business to research distributor options and make decisions based on their goals.
A Google search will reveal numerous other audiobook distributors, including Findaway Voices, Audiobooks Unleashed, Spoken Realms, and Big Happy Family Audiobook. The royalty rates are only one consideration. Authors also need to factor in:
You’ll find lots more info about audiobook production and distribution on my Audiobook Resources for Authors page.
I hope this info helps. Best wishes for your success!