ACX: The making of an audio book

Have you ever thought of making an audio book as a writer?

Did you wonder about the steps you could take to turn your fiction into a nice audio book?

If so this blog post is for you. As it stands amazon has made the process incredibly easy in many ways.

To get started one simply needs to go to ACX.com and register. Per their own website. It’s very simple, and as a person who is currently in the process of having the audio version of his novel done, I can testify that it’s as they say.

The process you take as an author really depends on how much work you yourself want to do in narrating your own work.

Method #1

If you want to do it yourself. You simply record your narration, upload it to ACX, create a cover (which by the way needs to be a square. Dimensions need to be no smaller than 2400 X 2400 pixels in size but less than 8 MB. Images must be 24-bit, no smaller than 72dpi, and must be RGB (not CMYK). Images must be squared. The squared cover must be a true squared cover and cannot be rectangular with colored borders on the side. (CD case cover/jacket, e.g.)

Once you’ve uploaded your narration and cover, ACX will distribute your work via Audible and Itunes.

If you have done your work and uploaded files to amazon’s KDP then this process will be very familiar to you. The above is for authors who have the willingness to take matters into their own hands and do all the work in creating the audio product.

Method #2

Now if your like me, you are a bit too busy or don’t feel you can do the narration justice. So you can enter into a contractual relationship where you can split the proceeds with a voice actor. Using this method you will list your audiobook and solicit voice actors to audition for your work.

You will go through a menu process of selecting the type of voice. Its a very intricate process that forces you to think what type of sound do you want from your narrator. Everything from genre, gender, age, accent to vocal styles such as “authoritative” is available to choose from. The selection process will really make you think about how the story should sound.

Once you establish what type of voice you want. There are a host of voice actors you can solicit to do your narration. Or you can request an audition by uploading a portion of your work, and having various ones read it. In my own situation I had at least 4 auditions before I settled on my voice actor. Now what’s fantastic is that Amazon will actually provide a stipend for the voice actor. I.e Amazon will pony up the money up front for your work to be established, meaning you have no out of pocket cost.

Once you select your actor there is an agreement that Amazon brokers between you and the actor where basically you split the royalties. Production begins after the contract is agreed upon.

I’m happy to have Angelo Di Loreto as my voice actor. He’s had a few credits to his name and has perfect pitch. His credits include.

Man Up! Becoming a Godly Man In An Ungodly World- By Jody Burkeen (2013)
How To Learn and Memorize Italian Vocabulary- By Anthony Metivier (2013)
Remedies For Reluctant Romantics- By Tio Stibb (2014)
The First Advent- By Lloyd Stancliff (2014)
Divine Children- By Lucas Kitchen (2014)

Commercial Voiceover:

2013 Nissan Terrano- India

2013 ZLO from MRF Tires- India:

Currently my audio book is expected to be complete sometime in late June.

I’ll report more on my experience and the results as things progress so stay tuned.

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Cheers!

Donovan

Donovan M. Neal is the Amazon best-selling independently published author of the Third Heaven Series: a speculative Christian fantasy four book series that explores the captivating story about the fall of Lucifer. The book takes readers on an epic journey through the celestial realms, offering a unique perspective on the events surrounding Lucifer’s rebellion and his descent into darkness. In this imaginative tale, Donovan weaves together elements of Christian theology, angelic mythology, and fantastical world-building. The story delves into the cosmic conflict between good and evil, painting a vivid picture of the spiritual warfare that unfolded in the heavens. Donovan has published eleven books and is currently working on publishing five more in the year 2023 alone. His books have reached thirteen countries including India, Japan, the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil and across Europe, Canada and the US. He has sold over thirty thousand units of his books and generated over a quarter million in gross sales part time and without an agent. Donovan has produced fiction; non-fiction and most recently published a graphic novel. His genre of preference is fantasy and he has been named among such notable authors as Frank Perretti, Brian Godawa, and the late Dr. Michael S. Heiser. When he’s not writing or working, Donovan can be found gaming or enjoying various forms of media. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a graduate degree in Non-profit Management from Walden University. Prior to his current career, Donovan served in ordained ministry from 1993-2011 and has extensive experience teaching the Bible. You can learn more about him professionally if you would like by clicking here. His favorite movie is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He also enjoys gaming and can be found on the Playstation5 deep in Destiny 2, He’s owned most gaming systems all the way back from Atari and Pong! and has made several friends from his beloved days on World of Warcraft. A lover of such classics as chess and backgammon he loves most games and the strategy behind them. When he is not imagining comic conflicts between good and evil he is helping to secure employment for housing insecure women as the Executive Director of a non-profit in the city of Detroit and also serves in the prayer and discipleship ministry of his local church.