In my last blog post, we looked at how to create an audiobook of your nonfiction book by hiring a professional narrator. In this blog post, we will still be focused on audiobooks, but will instead be considering a DIY approach to it, where you do the job of narrating your own book. Obviously, there are both advantages and disadvantages of this method, so take your time to think about what works best for you and for your book.
Audiobook Advantages
We will start by looking at why you might want an audiobook version of your nonfiction book. Firstly, is an audiobook a usable format for a nonfiction book? This will very much depend on the sort of nonfiction book you have. For example, memoirs and some self-help books work very well as audiobooks. On the other hand, if your book has a lot of diagrams and figures, it would probably be difficult to understand without being able to see these.
Also, consider the advantages of audiobooks in general and whether this is likely to be something your audience is interested in. Audiobooks are increasingly popular with people who want a hands-free way of reading, leaving them free to carry on with other tasks such as cooking. They may also find audiobooks more convenient in terms of portability for a commute or going to the gym.
Audiobooks are also more accessible. Blind or partially sighted readers often prefer audiobooks to large print or braille, for both comfort and convenience. Similarly, not having to hold a book is easier for people with limited mobility.
Audiobooks can also benefit you and your sales. As you can see from the above points, you appeal to a much wider audience by selling audiobooks as well as print versions or ebooks. In addition, while audiobooks are quickly gaining popularity, there still aren’t as many of them as there are ebooks, so there is less chance of your book being lost in the crowd. In addition, fewer audiobooks should mean that your book ranks higher in search results.
The DIY Method
We will now consider some of the advantages of using the DIY method to create an audiobook. This is where you do all of the work, from the original recording of the narration to the editing and final product. There are many benefits to doing this yourself but remember that it will be a lot of extra work for you and it is difficult to get your work to the same standard as a professional narrator would. Aside from anything else, they will already have the necessary equipment and software, whereas you will need to purchase this and learn how to use it.
One of the key advantages of recording your own audiobook is that you have complete control over every aspect of the project. You know what you would like the audiobook version to sound like, so why not take matters into your own hands and make sure the recording matches up with your intent? You can choose the speaking speed you think suits your book best, as well as what sort of tone you want to convey to your listeners. Of course, good professional narrators will be able to do this too, but you might prefer being more involved.
Recording your own audiobook also gives you more control over your schedule and means that it doesn’t matter too much if your writing or editing gets held up, so you don’t need to worry as much about being under pressure to get the files to your chosen narrator. If you use a DIY method, then having the writing completed is not as much of an issue, depending on what other deadlines you have. The way around this with a professional narrator is to allow yourself plenty of leeway in deadlines, but it may still be easier to just be able to start recording your own narration when you are ready.
This works both ways – sometimes you can have everything ready for recording, but you are booked in with the narrator for quite a bit later. This could be due to you wanting to leave plenty of time to meet the deadline or it could just come down to when your chosen narrator is available. If you record it yourself, you can start whenever it is convenient.
Another advantage of the DIY method is that it can often be cheaper for you. Professional narrators are skilled at what they do which is usually reflected in the price. However, do bear in mind that you will have to invest in recording equipment and editing software to narrate your own book. There is also the fact that it takes a lot of your time that you could potentially be using for marketing, for example.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to decide whether and how to create an audiobook version of your nonfiction book. In my next blog post, we will be looking at what is meant by an author platform and whether you need one, so come back in two weeks for that!
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