Hanging with the Big Boys on Audible.com



     In the not-so distant past, only bestsellers stood any real chance of being turned into audiobooks. It was like an exclusive club limited to the most elite books. Then audio software programs like ProTools galloped in to drastically reduce the cost of producing audiobooks. Score one for the little guy, but producing cost effective audiobooks still put indie studios in the same pickle as self-publishers: where to market their work. Most bookstores owners have little interest in using precious shelf space on products from undiscovered writers. This is where Audible.com comes to the rescue (cue dramatic music).
     Audible.com offers a program called ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) which make it possible for studios living on a shoestring budget to compete in the global market. Essentially, the deal works like this: indie studios who have produced an audiobook in mp3 format can apply to sell it on Audible.com through ACX. Once the green light is given, ACX has easy to follow steps to correctly format the audiobook and upload it for sale on Audible.com.
     Here's the incredible thing: if you have a problem with your account, someone at ACX will actually answer the phone. More importantly, the people who take these calls offer genuine solutions.
     Once an audiobook is produced, it's easy to flounder around in a sea of social media. ACX has some very useful tips to help newbies get acquainted with how to best use internet technology to sell audiobooks. All this and topics covering everything from distribution to podcasting are listed on the ACX “How it Works” page http://www.acx.com/help/how-it-works/200484210
     Don't have access to a studio? No problem. ACX even offers a service for that. Writers can hire a publisher to handle everything for them, or they can audition narrators themselves. Here's the magic words for actors: ACX has a platform for you too! They not only offer a ton of opportunities to audition for actual audiobooks, but they allow the actors to chose the hourly rate they want to charge.
     Now that the roadblocks to recording audiobooks have been lifted, only one question remains: what are you waiting for?   

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