The Author's Guide to Audiobook Creation

By: Richard Rieman

Narrated by: Richard Rieman

Should you have an audiobook version of your book? How do you do an audiobook? And, most importantly, how do you make money with an audiobook?

This guide to audiobook creation and marketing will also help you decide whether to voice your own book or hire a great narrator. The Author's Guide to Audiobook Creation includes the critical details of audiobook self-publishing on Amazon's Audible, iTunes, and beyond. Over $2 billion dollars in audiobooks were sold in 2015.

This is how you join the audiobook revolution!

©2016 Richard Rieman (P)2016 Richard Rieman

A quick and very potent trove of information on audiobook creation

Richard Rieman has written (and expertly voiced) this incredibly well-organized road map to creating audiobooks from your existing book. I listened to it from beginning to end in one sitting, and was really impressed. He paced his delivery perfectly, giving his listeners an opportunity to actually consume and understand the information he is offering.

As an author and audiobook narrator himself, he draws on his own experience, and relates appropriate wisdom from working professionals in the audiobook business. He gathers expertise from engineers, producers, coaches and narrators, but never wastes your time with unnecessary minutiae.

Rieman also looks at where the industry has traveled since audiobooks were created (the "10 Things You Didn't Know About Audiobooks" is worth the price of admission alone), and explores your options with both traditional audiobook production process, and the process Audible offers with ACX, or the Audiobook Creation Exchange.

Whether you want to voice your own book, or have a narrator produce it for you, this book is an incredible bargain, and a rich, dense and extraordinarily helpful resource. As an Audible Approved Producer with ACX, I can tell you that Rieman has taken great pains to be as complete and accurate as possible as he leads you to the audiobook production promised land.

Useful Advice for the Would Be Audiobook Creator

I assume that I'm not alone here, but I suffer from the delusion that not only am I capable of becoming a published author but that I would actually do an amazing job narrating my work myself, thereby reaping a huge financial windfall associated with the current audiobook boom sweeping the globe. I mean, I feel like I could literally be swimming in hundreds of dollars.

So, I was pretty interested in the topic. The advice contained in Rieman's Guide is practical, pragmatic, and applicable to anyone who shares this particular mania. Not all of it was strictly common sense. There were quite a few things I would never have thought of myself and would have had to muddle through on my own.

Most of the content felt original, but it was sprinkled throughout with tidbits from other indie authors and narrators.

As a narrator, Rieman wasn't bad, himself, but he wasn't my favorite either. He did a fine job with the material and wasn't a distraction.

The only negative I'd have about the book/audiobook is the cover art. It's really, really bad IMHO. Especially, in light of how Rieman specifically counsels authors to ensure they have high-quality artwork so their works will sell.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the audiobook business either professionally or out of a general curiosity.

***Full Disclosure: I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Concise and helpful guide

What did you love best about The Author's Guide to Audiobook Creation?

I enjoyed the fact that the book was not padded. He did a great job of just giving out relevant information and not repeating it endlessly just to fill the time. I have often found that some of shorter guidebooks are most useful because of this. This book fits that bill. It covers a great deal of material and is short enough that I can give it another listen or two to let the material sink in. Some of the advice on recording equipment and setup I think could apply to podcasts as well.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Author's Guide to Audiobook Creation?

I especially appreciated the quote about changing sentence lengths to add interest.

Have you listened to any of Richard Rieman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard any of his performances before, but he does a good job of having enthusiasm without it being over the top. His pace was solid as well. He didn't drone or go too fast. Good overall modulation.

Any additional comments?

“This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.”

A Must-Have for Authors

Richard Rieman presents a remarkably organized way to for authors to understand the audiobook process and get their book produced in one of several ways. It's easy to understand, and an enjoyable listen thanks to Richard's excellent presentation in both tone and pace. If you wonder whether turning you book into an audiobook is worth the effort, this guide will seal the deal, and make it much easier and faster to get it on the market. It cuts through mountains of information that would otherwise seem pretty confusing or daunting.

While I was given this book at no charge in exchange for a fair review, I honestly can't say enough good things about the way it handles this topic.

A great resource

For all of your audio book creation needs Richard Rieman provides what you need to know. Very informative and a great guide. He tells you how to create your own narration but strongly suggests hiring a professional to do the work. Others may not agree with his strong stance but you need to be very self motivated to go this route. Overall I would suggest this book to anyone wanting to bring their story from the page to the headphones.

***I received a free copy at my request from the author, publisher or narrator in exchange for an honest review***