On Self-Distributing an AudioBook
Untangling your options
Situation Nowhere is now available on audiobook everywhere. PS. You’ll save $$$ not supporting Audible! Links at the bottom of this page. (Or click here.)
Earlier this year, I decided I would self-produce the audiobook for Situation Nowhere. My day job is voice directing for Rockstar Games, and before that I edited countless audio and video pieces. Considering I have 100% ownership over the audiobook, I figured, why not self-produce? I got the skills!
I had no idea how much work it would be.
And in a way, I’m glad I didn’t. Instead of going into the technical weeds on how I produced it, I wanted to offer a clear-eyed view of what your options are once you get the damn thing done.
Okay.
I know this.
You know this.
The main player is Audible.
The most direct way to get your book on that platform is to visit ACX.com.
You can get your stuff on Audible through other distributors. But they collect an additional fee. After reviewing the revenue split, I decided to go direct. Because, spoiler alert: the revenue split sucks.
ACX.com will get you on Audible/Apple Books.
They set the price. You have no control over it.
Insane.
I succumbed to Audible because…well, they have a monopoly on the audiobook thing.
Speaking of…
REVENUE SPLITS
If you go exclusively with Audible for seven years, you get 40%.
If you go non-exclusively and sell elsewhere, you get 25%.
Audible set my book for $19.95, which meant I got $7.98.
BUT NO SO FAST!
Audible has a popular subscription plan. For $14.95, customers receive a credit to purchase a new audiobook. If someone buys Situation Nowhere with a credit, we’re no longer taking 40% of $19.95. In that world, It’s more like $5 to $6.23 per book.
Let me remind you that this is what happens when you give Audible COMPLETE OWNERSHIP of your audiobook. For Seven Years.
But, there is a way to opt out—
THE 90 DAY WINDOW CLAUSE
After 90 days of Audible exclusivity, you have the option to switch from exclusive to non-exclusive.
I decided to grant Audible this “exclusive 90 day window” and see how it goes.
It went…fine?
And because of it’s…fineness…I decided to hit eject and go non-exclusive.
THE OTHER PLAYERS
As of today, you can get my audiobook at several new spots.
Because these places aren’t insane, I get to set the price this time.
SPOTIFY
In terms of popularity, it seems like Spotify is next in line. Having said that, I didn’t want to opt into a “pay-per-stream” model, so I disabled that option and only enabled “a la carte” purchases.
As a result, I’ve priced my audiobook at $14.95.
The way I see it? If Audible only shares 25% with authors, then consumers have to pay full price there.
Interesting note: They discounted the audiobook to $11.49 as soon as I hit publish. I emailed support, and they said any discounts would not be reflected in the revenue split. I would get the full amount. “The discount is there to attract customers.”
GOOGLE PLAY
At number three is Google Play. They offer a 52% split.
Again, I’ve priced it at $14.95.
Like Spotify, they discounted my listing by a dollar. I emailed support and they confirmed I would be getting the original revenue split.
KOBO
I own a Kobo and love it! The Instapaper integration is a real game-changer.
Like Audible, Kobo also has a subscription plan, and the split varies from 32% to 45%. Because of this, I’ve priced it at $17.95 there.
NOTE: Kobo requires an additional step for audiobooks. Basically, once you create an author account, you have to email someone details about your audiobook. It took a couple of days. Fairly painless.
WEEBLY
Weebly is straightforward. They charge 2.9% plus a 35-cent processing fee.
Because of this, I’m able to offer the audiobook at its cheapest price:
The only con is that unlike the above options, Weebly doesn’t offer a way to stream these files from an app. At Weebly, you’ll get an email with a link to a zip file containing the MP3 chapters and the cover art.
Getting the Mp3s onto a phone or what have you is up to you. But if you are down for that sort of thing, you can buy this thing for half the price of Audible.
DOES ANY OF THIS MATTER FOR AN INDIE BOOK?
Guys, I don’t know.
Did you ever think that maybe I have some sort of sick fetish for figuring this sort of thing out?
Can we not kink shame?
:::LINKS BELOW:::
$BUYMYAUDIOBOOK$
$9.95 - MP3 Download
$14.95 - Spotify (currently on sale for $11.49)
$14.95 - Google Play (currently on sale for $13.95)
$17.95 - Kobo
$19.95 - Audible
