Warning: shop talk ahead. If you don’t like to know how the magic is made (i.e., how publishing works), that’s okay. Just skip right to the Book Fairs section because today is Stuff Your Kindle with Free Fantasy Day.
Now onto the shop talk. I’m always open to questions about my books or writing in general and, recently I’ve received a few about audiobooks, so I thought a whole post on the subject might be warranted. Here are a few of the questions I received.
Q: Why aren’t more of your books available as audiobooks?
Since all 9 full-length novels in the Valkyrie Bestiary series are now available in audio, I’m assuming “more books” means the Hidden Coven Series or possibly the novellas that go along with the Valkyrie Bestiary series. There are two answers to this question, depending on which of those you choose.
The first answer is that audiobooks are expensive. They are expensive for the producer (in this case, me) and expensive for the end user (you, the reader). The market for audiobooks is much smaller than the market for ebooks. So an ebook has to sell a whole lot of copies before it becomes a viable option for an audiobook.
Hidden Coven was my first Urban Fantasy publication. It’s a series of 5 novellas that I compiled into one big book, which is about the length of a long novel. Like most debut author novels, it didn’t get a lot of traction when it first came out. Most of its sales came from fans of the Valkyrie Bestiary (thank you!). If I put out the thousands of dollars necessary to record the Hidden Coven as an audiobook, it would take years to earn that money back. It doesn’t mean I won’t do it one day. But right now my money priorities are elsewhere (like paying for the production of new books). I have been kicking around the idea of producing this series with an AI narrator, but that topic is toxic right now and probably deserves a whole other blog post.
The Valkyrie Bestiary novellas are a different matter. In case you didn't know, there are 5 spin-off novellas in the VB series. I would like to produce those in audiobook format (with the same human narrator), so that those who enjoyed the 9 novels as audiobooks can enjoy the whole series. There’s a little snag with that (other than the aforementioned cost of production). Audible (an Amazon company) requires an audiobook to be available as an ebook too. This is so their Whispersync feature works properly. The problem is that Before Times, which is the collection of the 3 VB prequels, includes Three Half Goats Gruff. The recording for Three Half Goats Gruff was included with the Dragons Don’t Eat Meat (Book 1) audiobook produced by Tantor Media. I won’t have access to the rights to that prequel audio recording for another few years.
Confused yet? Let me tell you, it’s a confusing business. In a nutshell, what this means is that I’d have to create a new ebook collection of the novellas without Three Half Goats Gruff, and with the two new novellas. It’s definitely doable, but I’m concerned about confusing readers. It’s quite possible some would buy the new compilation, thinking it’s new material no matter how many sign posts I put up. I don’t want that. That way leads to unhappy customers and poor reviews.
So why don’t you just produce each novella as an individual audiobook, you ask? Very good question. The answer goes back to that pesky Audible again. The way their pricing works is that members get one free credit (i.e., one book) per month with their $15 membership. I wouldn’t be able to price an audiobook novella at $15. This means, most Audible members won’t waste a credit on it, and so they won’t buy it, reducing my already smaller market even further.
Yep, it’s a fun industry full of pitfalls for an unwary author. I will sort it out at some point and make a decision about the novella audiobooks. And you’ll be the first to know.
Q: Why can’t I find (insert book title) as an audiobook in my library?
Libraries are a great way to get free audiobooks now with services like Hoopla and Overdrive. But not all audiobooks will appear in library listings. Here are some reasons you might not find them:
1. A traditional publisher might find the rate of payment from services like Hoopla and Overdrive too low. In this case, the author will have no say in this decision.
2. An indie author might choose to make their audiobook exclusive with Audible in order to take advantage of a (much) higher royalty rate. In this case, the author cannot publish the audiobook on any other service whether it be retail or library. (Note: I did not choose Audible exclusivity for my audiobooks and they are available through Hoopla.)
3. A library might choose not to list a book. In some cases, libraries pay outright for digital content just like they do for physical books, and it can be expensive. Plus, if they buy one audiobook, they have the right to lend it to one listener at a time. So the book you want might be wait-listed. If you really want to see a book listed at your library, request it. The more requests they get, the more likely they will be to purchase it.
Q: Will your new series be available in audiobook?
Yes. Maybe? The plan is yes. But this goes back to that first point about the cost of producing audiobooks. The Knack books will be considered epic fantasy and they have a longer word count (about a third longer than the Valkyrie Bestiary books). This makes production even costlier. It will all come down to sales. If the sales of the new series take off, then audiobooks will follow.
That about wraps up the shop talk for today. As I said, I love hearing your questions and I try to answer all of them. You can reply right in the comments.
Now onto the shop talk. I’m always open to questions about my books or writing in general and, recently I’ve received a few about audiobooks, so I thought a whole post on the subject might be warranted. Here are a few of the questions I received.
Q: Why aren’t more of your books available as audiobooks?
Since all 9 full-length novels in the Valkyrie Bestiary series are now available in audio, I’m assuming “more books” means the Hidden Coven Series or possibly the novellas that go along with the Valkyrie Bestiary series. There are two answers to this question, depending on which of those you choose.
The first answer is that audiobooks are expensive. They are expensive for the producer (in this case, me) and expensive for the end user (you, the reader). The market for audiobooks is much smaller than the market for ebooks. So an ebook has to sell a whole lot of copies before it becomes a viable option for an audiobook.
Hidden Coven was my first Urban Fantasy publication. It’s a series of 5 novellas that I compiled into one big book, which is about the length of a long novel. Like most debut author novels, it didn’t get a lot of traction when it first came out. Most of its sales came from fans of the Valkyrie Bestiary (thank you!). If I put out the thousands of dollars necessary to record the Hidden Coven as an audiobook, it would take years to earn that money back. It doesn’t mean I won’t do it one day. But right now my money priorities are elsewhere (like paying for the production of new books). I have been kicking around the idea of producing this series with an AI narrator, but that topic is toxic right now and probably deserves a whole other blog post.
The Valkyrie Bestiary novellas are a different matter. In case you didn't know, there are 5 spin-off novellas in the VB series. I would like to produce those in audiobook format (with the same human narrator), so that those who enjoyed the 9 novels as audiobooks can enjoy the whole series. There’s a little snag with that (other than the aforementioned cost of production). Audible (an Amazon company) requires an audiobook to be available as an ebook too. This is so their Whispersync feature works properly. The problem is that Before Times, which is the collection of the 3 VB prequels, includes Three Half Goats Gruff. The recording for Three Half Goats Gruff was included with the Dragons Don’t Eat Meat (Book 1) audiobook produced by Tantor Media. I won’t have access to the rights to that prequel audio recording for another few years.
Confused yet? Let me tell you, it’s a confusing business. In a nutshell, what this means is that I’d have to create a new ebook collection of the novellas without Three Half Goats Gruff, and with the two new novellas. It’s definitely doable, but I’m concerned about confusing readers. It’s quite possible some would buy the new compilation, thinking it’s new material no matter how many sign posts I put up. I don’t want that. That way leads to unhappy customers and poor reviews.
So why don’t you just produce each novella as an individual audiobook, you ask? Very good question. The answer goes back to that pesky Audible again. The way their pricing works is that members get one free credit (i.e., one book) per month with their $15 membership. I wouldn’t be able to price an audiobook novella at $15. This means, most Audible members won’t waste a credit on it, and so they won’t buy it, reducing my already smaller market even further.
Yep, it’s a fun industry full of pitfalls for an unwary author. I will sort it out at some point and make a decision about the novella audiobooks. And you’ll be the first to know.
Q: Why can’t I find (insert book title) as an audiobook in my library?
Libraries are a great way to get free audiobooks now with services like Hoopla and Overdrive. But not all audiobooks will appear in library listings. Here are some reasons you might not find them:
1. A traditional publisher might find the rate of payment from services like Hoopla and Overdrive too low. In this case, the author will have no say in this decision.
2. An indie author might choose to make their audiobook exclusive with Audible in order to take advantage of a (much) higher royalty rate. In this case, the author cannot publish the audiobook on any other service whether it be retail or library. (Note: I did not choose Audible exclusivity for my audiobooks and they are available through Hoopla.)
3. A library might choose not to list a book. In some cases, libraries pay outright for digital content just like they do for physical books, and it can be expensive. Plus, if they buy one audiobook, they have the right to lend it to one listener at a time. So the book you want might be wait-listed. If you really want to see a book listed at your library, request it. The more requests they get, the more likely they will be to purchase it.
Q: Will your new series be available in audiobook?
Yes. Maybe? The plan is yes. But this goes back to that first point about the cost of producing audiobooks. The Knack books will be considered epic fantasy and they have a longer word count (about a third longer than the Valkyrie Bestiary books). This makes production even costlier. It will all come down to sales. If the sales of the new series take off, then audiobooks will follow.
That about wraps up the shop talk for today. As I said, I love hearing your questions and I try to answer all of them. You can reply right in the comments.
Book Fairs & Events
This week's book fairs include a whole bunch of freebies in the 4 Season Fantasy & Sci-fi Free Book Blast. This book fair comes around every solstice and equinox and last 2 days only. So don't wait to check out all the free books on that one! And if you're looking for those Valkyrie Bestiary prequels, Before Times is included in this free fair!
And take a look at Kobo's Kobo Plus service. This is a subscription service similar to Amazon's Kindle unlimited, with tiers for unlimited ebooks or ebooks+audiobooks. Check out the terrific selection of books available for one low monthly fee.
Book Fairs & Events
