Episode Seven features Dave Stokes, the founder of Author2Audio discussing how he helps authors turn their books into audio books that can be purchased on Audible, Apple Books, and other platforms!
My Key Takeaways:
Some of my key takeaways from my conversation with Dave are:
- When starting a business, try to have a couple of years of savings in your bank account. It will take you more time than you think to be profitable.
- If a book has too many tables or lists the corresponding audio likely won't be compelling. To get around that he provides a companion doc or PDF to audio listeners as a free download.
- The author's own voice provides a sense of authenticity and he very rarely needs to use a professional voice over.
- Here's a bonus that I hadn't considered: In editing the books, Dave is basically getting a free education on each of the topics covered as presented by an expert.
- Audio books improve story telling as you get to hear the author's tone and inflection.
- Dave's first question to a potential client is "Why do you want an audiobook?" Their explanations help him to understand the authors motivations and expectations. He also said that in eight out of ten cases it is because the readers have demanded it.
- A 40,000 word long book typically takes 5 and a half hours to listen to and 20 plus hours to edit. Most authors make 100 mistakes per hour of reading that has to be cleaned up.
- When Dave is done editing the book he gives it back to the author who then dispenses it to various friends and colleagues for their opinions and feedback. After the final cleanup based on the feedback received Dave then uploads it to the various Audio Book services such as Audible, Apple Books, Spotify, etc.
- The whole process takes around 2 and a half months from start to finish.
- Dave suggests to authors that they break the recording up in to hour long sessions and that when they are done they re-record the Intro and first chapter as they are warmed up and better understand the process.
Join us next week as we talk to Bill Nowicki and discuss how his podcast focused around his local community helps his business.
Show notes and more can be found at EntrepreneursOver40.com
