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Financing your Audiobook

Book Authors' Business Tips, VO Business Tips

Library of Books

You’re book or “baby” is ready for publication. You know from your fellow authors that the next step is an audiobook version. You begin to look for a narrator to produce your book, but you’re stunned by rates quotes upward of $400 per finished hour (PFH). Do you look for a cheaper narrator? Should you offer a lower price? You may think it’s time to panic but don’t. With a few creative steps, you can retain and finance a quality narration of your audiobook.

Before discussing funding, let’s examine the logic behind that $400. PFH rate. What does it cost the narrator to produce your book? You have a deep connection with your project. Those on your production team are in business to help you and to feed their families. The production team members may have different reasons, but the combined goal is the success of your book.

Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) notes that it takes the average narrator at least two hours to read one hour of a book. But that is just the beginning. It takes two to three additional hours to proofread, edit, mix, and master one complete hour of an audiobook. Quoted narration rates can range from $200-$400 PFH, which may seem like a lot. With the work needed to develop your “baby” into an audiobook, paying a reasonable rate makes fiscal sense for a quality finished product.

Now that you see the rationale behind production costs let’s look at a few ways to fund your book project.

Online Grants

Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a service of the Foundation Center, is a subscription-based program that allows you to search for funding sources based upon topics, interests, and other criteria. Subscriptions are available for a variety of periods depending upon your needs.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing, as defined by Merriam-Webster.com, is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.

GoFundMe.com and IndieGoGo.com are two popular personal online fundraising websites. Crowdsourcing is a great way to reach out to those who have read or know of your work and would support efforts toward your audiobook production.

Deferred Payments

Consider negotiating a deal with your audiobook producer to take partial payments. You can develop a contract and set up regularly scheduled payments through PayPal or another source that allows you to pay your vendor in increments. Be sure to pay the audiobook producer timely. Everyone knows everybody on the Web.

Charge Cards

While not my first suggestion, if you have cash advance capability or can pay your audiobook producer directly by credit card, this could be a good way to cover the PFH rate.

Royalty Shares

Most producers like to have royalty shares in their recording deals. This way, you can pay for your project over time if you can also budget an initial PFH rate for the development of your project.

Help from Friends and Family

Sometimes you just have to ask.  Friends and family may give or loan you the money necessary for the audiobook. Your supporters jointly may provide all the funds you need.

Support from Groups

Ask for assistance from your civic group, organizations, clubs, and church, especially if the subject of your book is relevant to your group’s purpose and goals.

Other Funding Idea Sources

The American Express Open Forum article, 10 Alternative Ways to Raise Cash Fast for Your Business, notes a couple of funding ideas that could work for your audiobook project.

  • Microloans. Microloans are a specific category of small loan—usually under $50,000—usually are easier and simpler than traditional loans. The Small Business Administration has a microloan program, which uses 150 approved microlenders.
  • Loans From Online Loan Sites. You may be able to arrange for a small loan from your bank, or you can reach out to a web-based financial institution. A growing number of sites have simplified processes for submitting and applying for a loan, some with expedited processing.

Once you’ve secured your funding, reach out to the most qualified voice actor/producer to develop your audiobook. You’ve put too much time into your project, so it’s no time for bargain shopping. A good, quality narrator will give you excellent service at a fair price. Remember, he or she also has a business reputation and wants to do a good job. It’s better to budget for the best production at the onset. Your book is your baby (or one of your babies). Treat your little one with the best care, so it will be a finely produced audiobook of which you can be proud.

Why Go Voiceover Pro

Book Authors' Business Tips, Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

With the advent of the automated digital assistant, we are becoming accustomed to instance voiceover services. But if you’re producing eLearning, blogs, industrial, or commercial materials, the right voice can make or break the success
of your project.  Before you reach out to that person in your office with the “great voice,” I would say go for the professional voiceover.  Hiring a voice talent is the best and most cost-effective path to a successful audio project.

Pros are Pros
While your colleague may have a great speaking voice, this does not mean he or she is a voice actor or is the right voice for the project.  Most credible talents have spent time (lots of money) and sometimes years learning to communicate vocally with the skill of a stage actor.  Also, voiceover talents are professional business people. The voiceover’s business is to deliver what you need when you need it to the best of his or her ability.

In her blog, The Benefits of Using Professional Voice Talent, Marie Hoffman noted that “The professional voice talent is a trained actor, who communicates, not just reads, your story.” Why go amateur when you can go pro the first time?

Business of Caring
Voiceover professionals are concerned about your project.  That may seem odd, but voiceover talents want to see their clients’ succeed.  As such, the success of a well-performed project gives the actor a sense of satisfaction especially when he or she knows that you are pleased with the outcome.

Relationships for Repeat Help
If you have ongoing projects or even occasional ones, time and money can be lost looking for an in-house voice or new talent for each project.  When you work with a professional voiceover, you have a go-to expert. In many cases, your expert can refer you to other reliable talents for your various voiceover needs. Building relationships can lead to helpers in the voiceover industry reducing your overall project cost and time expenditures.

Would you ask your Dentist to lay carpet in your home? Probably not. So, let the voiceover professionals do their job for your business: to voice your project with passion and expertise.

Financing Your Audiobook (repost)

Book Authors' Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

You’re published! Your book, or “baby,” is for sale to the multitudes. You know from your fellow authors that the next step is an audiobook version. You begin to look for a narrator to produce your book, but, when you look at the costs, most good narrators are quoting rates upward of $350 per finished hour (PFH). Do you look for a cheaper voiceover narrator? Should you offer a lower PFH? You may think it’s time to panic but don’t. With a few creative steps, you can finance your book project for that quality voiceover narration.

Before discussing funding, let’s examine the logic behind that near $400. PFH rate. What does it cost to produce your book? While you have a deep connection with your project, your voiceover narrator and producer are in business with supporting expenses. I’m not saying that your book is less than excellent. A good production team will make a substantial investment of time and talents to make sure your book become a marketable audio product.

Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) notes that it takes the average voice talent at least two hours to narrate one hour of printed text. But that’s just the beginning. It takes two to three additional hours to proofread, edit, mix, and master one complete hour of audiobook recording. So, while rates ranging from $250-$400 PFH may seem high, with all the work involved in developing your “baby” into an audiobook, the average PFH voice production rates make fiscal sense.

Now that we’ve examined the rationale behind audiobook recording rates, let’s look at a few ways to fund your book project.

Online Grants. Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, a service of the Foundation Center, is a subscription-based program that allows you to search for funding sources based upon a topic, interest, and other criteria. Subscriptions are available for a variety of time periods depending upon your need.

Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing, as defined by Merriam-Webster.com, is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially from the online community. Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.com are two favorite personal online fundraising websites. IndieGoGo is a live crowdfunding campaign platform. The Kickstarter funding platform is specifically for artistic and creative projects through direct external support. Crowdsourcing is a great way to reach out to those who have read or know of your work and would support efforts toward your audiobook production.

Deferred Payments. Consider negating a deal with your audiobook producer to take partial payments. You can develop a contract and set up regularly scheduled payments through PayPal or other sources that allow you to pay your vendor in increments. Be sure to pay the audiobook producer timely to maintain a good relationship.

Charge Cards. While not my first suggestion, if you have cash advance capability or can pay your audiobook producer directly by credit card, this could be an excellent way to cover the PFH rate.

Royalty Shares. Most producers like to have royalty shares in their recording deals. This method gives you the option to pay for a portion of your project over time and negotiate a smaller budget for the initial PFH rate.

Friends and Family Funding. You’ve got to ask. Friends and family may give or loan you the money. Your close supporters may provide all the funds you need.

Local Support. Ask for support from your civic group, organizations, clubs, and church especially if the subject of your book is relevant to your group’s purpose and goals.

In “5 Clever Ways to Raise Money for Your Startup Without Making an Investor Pitch,” CEO and author Tom Walker writes, “Sign up strategic partners early on. There’s nothing sweeter than finding a supplier, distributor, or especially a customer who stands to gain so much from your solution that they are willing and able to help foot the bill.”

Investor Money: Backstage offers “6 Ways to Fund Your Independent Projects” by KC Wright and notes “investors provide funding with the expectation of returns—their initial investment plus a cut of the project’s earnings.” Once your project’s revenues and royalties start coming in, you can return the invested money.

Once you’ve secured your funding, reach out to the most qualified voice actor/producer to develop your audiobook. You’ve put too much time into your project, so it’s no time for bargain shopping. A quality voice narrator will give you excellent service at a fair price. Remember, the voice talent and producer have a business reputation and want to do a good job. It’s better to budget for the best narrator you can afford than to end up with a disappointing final project. This is your baby (or one of your babies). Treat your little one with the best care so it will be a finely produced audiobook that you can be proud.