Creating an Audiobook
Jerry Houston, a first-time and self-publishing author, joined Val Cervarich of Writing Help KC for an author interview on Facebook Live. They discussed Jerry’s book, The Eccentric Entrepreneur: Daring to be Different and Building a Business through Mutual Benefit, Respect, and Trust, and his writing, self-publishing, and audiobook journey.
This is a recap of our July 14th interview. If you missed out, please check out the video here, or continue reading the recap below.
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Jerry’s book is the outgrowth of his business experiences.
What inspired him to be a first time author: he’s been talking about writing a book for 20 years and wanted to get it done in his seventies because he didn’t know about feasibility of doing it in his eighties or nineties.
It has been one of the greatest experiences in Jerry’s life. It’s a legacy book that tells how he became an entrepreneur and overcame challenges.
Jerry wanted to make a pathway to entrepreneurship easier for his readers and highlight the importance of relationships and trust.
This was one of Val’s first authors that went through the audiobook production process.
Jerry didn’t have a clue about writing a book, marketing, and publishing. The audiobook was the same process all over again. The most important part is finding a good person/organization to guide you through the process.
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The audiobook is done in pieces, i.e., introduction, chapters, dedication. The pieces are recorded and proofed separately. The producer narrated the pieces and Jerry had input on items that weren’t clear or what seemed to fall flat.
The “Thoughts to Ponder” sections at the end of every chapter were a place for the reader to reflect, but it felt boring. Music was added to enhance the transition between chapters.
The book is only a hundred pages and Jerry assumed the process would move quickly. However, working with Amazon took longer than expected.
A launch team is also critical to the process, pre-publication, and post-publication.
Jerry interviewed more than one voice actor and was glad that he did not narrate the audiobook himself with his self-described Midwest twang.
Jerry recommends listening to other audiobooks about what type of voice you want to tell your story.
It took 8 months to produce the audiobook, where the book took 9 months.
Val echoed that a trusted partner in the publishing/audiobook process was essential because there are technical aspects of Amazon to be considered.
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Val also emphasized establishing connections across the industry to help with first-time authorship and publishing.
Jerry says the creation of a book is art and science. The message is essential and the rest is all marketing, i.e., titles, colors.
Jerry explained that Amazon needs everything to be just right, especially with audio.
If it isn’t right, the process starts over and Jerry experienced this challenge twice. ACX and Audible are integrated with Amazon, so consider individuals who are familiar with these platforms if you want to add audio to your Amazon book listing.
Jerry stated that you don’t necessarily have to have a word-for-word translation of the book. The message is essential, along with voice inflection. Sometimes emphasizing commas, for example, isn’t always necessary.
Something that caught Jerry off guard about the process was that ACX had a lot of requirements, but in thinking back, he didn’t feel that should be that much of a surprise given Amazon’s connection to ACX.
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Advice for authors: Just do it! Jerry invested in himself and did self-publishing school. He learned how to write a book and connected him with experts in editing and publishing.
For the writing process, Jerry starts with a mind map. His new book has at least 20 mind maps that detail what the pieces of the book will be.
He explained that self-publishing is a lot of work. Regular publishing is expensive at first glance and can include rejection, but they are the experts and can promote your book at the highest level.
Jerry enjoys free flow writing that you can keep or throw on the floor.
His advice: Don’t be afraid to walk away when you’re writing, don’t fight writer’s block and get frustrated. Come back to your work at another time. Also, don’t worry about accuracy or verbs, just write and then revise later.
Jerry said that Val was courageous. He was using the word “lunatic” in the title, and she addressed her concerns with him about the implications of the choice and how it might impact readers.
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Jerry and Val settled on the word “eccentric” to better capture the meaning of his book and message; he’s pleased with the new word choice, thanks to Val’s suggestion.
He also advised that some things are worth paying more, don’t rely on friends and family for feedback unless they are professional.
Jerry suggests joining groups of other authors. He learned a great deal from weekly meetings where authors shared their work.
For one week, Jerry took a sabbatical to write the book. He will aim to do this for his next book.
A fellow author re-ordered his chapters after he was done. That added an additional month to his timeline.
One things Jerry picked up along the way was the importance of knowing your ideal audience.
He suggested considering the following: Does your book talk to them? Does the book attract the intended audience? There’s a lot of competition on Amazon, so be clear when you are writing.
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The Eccentric Entrepreneur is available on Amazon in hardback, eBook, or audio.
Jerry would love to have people join his launch team and assist with his next book. If interested, email jerry@hpisolutions.com.
Jerry thanked Val for her assistance and the editing of his website. This is an example of how to build relationships in business.
If you’re a motivated author like Jerry, now’s your change to reach out to Val to discuss editing services!