Author Archives: doranwi

Creating your book cover

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The cover is the first place you can capture a reader’s imagination and make them want to see more about “that.” You have mere seconds as people scan across thumbnails online, or across a book shelf to snag their attention. People ALWAYS judge a book by its cover first. In fact, the brain is optimized to discern appealing things in an instant.

Getting the contents of a book is very important. However, if the cover isn’t epic, if it doesn’t snag people’s attention, getting people to read your content will be a far more difficult task.

I thought I’d go through and talk about the process used for the second cover.

  1. Build on knowledge of the genre, researched the first time around
  2. Leverage what I’ve learned from book 1’s cover
  3. Build the series identity
  4. Tapping action of book 2
  5. Initial concepts
  6. Focus group testing and iteration

 

BUILD ON KNOWLEDGE

When I first entered the science fiction space (pun intended), I researched the major series. I was interested in aligning my visuals and branding with space operas and household science fiction names. Specifics included: Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly, Babylon 5, Dune, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, and so on.

I analyzed logo design and placement, common elements on covers, where they put series versus book names, how they designed their book spine, how much information they put on the cover, etc.

There were clear patterns. A bold series logo was at the top, with book name directly under it, or on the bottom of the cover. Stories with well known characters used illustrations against a space backdrop. Others focused on the technology showing ships or space stations. More imaginative ones also tried to illustrate a specific moment in the book. Back covers were sparce, with some text, little visuals. Spines typically displayed a tiny visual, mostly logos and book names.

As a side note, I also reviewed fantasy covers. Those are typically beautiful and very visually engaging. Even the spines have amazing artwork.

 

LEVERAGE

The first cover had a show-stopper scene with an intense background, ominous space station, ship heading towards it. People were instantly drawn to it. Hundreds of people at ComicCon Chicago didn’t know anything about my series, but they saw the visual and came over to find out. This showed me how important the main visual was to get right! The other aspect I learned was to keep cover elements simple and focused. Don’t over clutter the main visual. Allow a few, larger elements to strike hard and pull them in. Most of all, drive their curiosity. Make them want to “visit” that place (by reading your story).

After launch, I was frequently told how understated my series name was on the first cover. Also, while the book title at the bottom was well sized, it wasn’t chaining with the series name as I had hoped. Another weakness was the lack of review quotes and other things to legitimize the work, or give people context for how others interpret the story.

I have a number of awards I could put on the cover: Amazon top 20 best seller in Alien Invasion, and 5-star winner by Readers’ Choice. But those came after the launch. Admittedly this is a tough one for me, as professional reviewers still won’t touch the series.

Nevertheless, you may have professional reviewers. If you do, try to fit in a few key words or phrases from their review on your cover. Just look at the top 40 book shelf to see how the pros position quotes.

 

BUILDING SERIES

I’m working on creating a particular look for the series. A cool background, a major location, and a main ship is the approach I’m going to use for covers of the first trilogy. I’m also going to use a color scheme approach. The first book’s nebula was red, this one will be blue. Depending on the feel of the third book it may be more violet.

I want to create a consistency with the visual appearance. This means the logo will be at the top, there will be a black barred off area on the bottom for the book title. The spine will have the “wrap-around” space scene at the top and bottom, with the logo and book title in the middle. The back will have a barred off top and bottom showing the “wrap-around” space scene with Nukari and D’mar logos in the corner. The descriptive text will be on black. It creates a specific, streamlined look that I really like.

I have, as of the second book, updated the logo based on the feedback I received. It’s cleaner and larger. I’m going back and modifying the first book to support this update to the branding.

 

TAPPING ACTION

As I mentioned before I want to visually engage readers, and pique their interest. The first book shows the Trading Post, a major location throughout the series. The second will focus on Osuto’s asteroid base. As another major location for the series, I wanted to show people what it looks like in addition to wanting them to “go inside” and experience what it’s like to be there.

For now, the same ship from the first cover is being shown again. It was assumed to be either Osuto’s ship or the one recovered from the graveyard of ships in the first book. Technically, it could also be Ujaku’s ship. Which ship it is has not been finally decided yet. Strange right? Let’s just say, for now, I’ve left it up to the reader to determine which it is. I’m guessing most people assume it’s Osuto’s ship.

Glenn did an amazing design that shows more of the asteroids around it, and a sweeping nebula.
INITIAL CONCEPT

When Glenn and I started working on the second cover, the first thing I did was a crude wireframe design showing the desired blocking for visual elements.
original_sketch
See how crude this was? I only wanted to get the idea across to Glenn. He’s the one that works the magic. I also sent along images of similar concepts of asteroid bases from Google images. Surprisingly, there were few examples of asteroid bases, much less ones that aligned with what I wanted. Many had an element or two, but nothing like what I wanted.

As a side note, it’s important when designing a cover to leverage the visual “Z” scan westerners do with their eyes when reading. They start in the upper-left, move right to the far edge, diagonally down left to the lower left corner, the right again to the lower-right corner. These are basic usability concepts that I leverage in software and Web site design all the time. This is also the pattern used in the first book, and it performed well.

For the second cover, I placed the asteroid base in the same position as the space station, and the ship in the same location.

Glenn went ahead and did an initial version of the asteroid base.

first_mock-up
AMAZING START! I had some feedback about additional build-out for the station, and creating more of a connection between the massive space dock and the lower base segment. Then he added in the nebula and some effects.

first_nebula

The nebula was very cool, but didn’t have the radiant blue aspects I had in my head. The base and ship was also cast into shadow, and lost the great detail there. I know printed images tend to go darker than they appear digitally, so I was concerned the image would literally get lost when it went to the press.
first_blue_nebula

This version really made things pop. But the eye was really drawn directly down the left side of the image. In fact, the eye rested on the ship, and the viewer actually missed the station buildings at the bottom of the asteroid. Lighting is so important! I thought adding some building lights would also bring the lower section of the station to life too.

second_blue_nebula
The lights were a cool addition. The ship was angled to look like it was headed to the dock. To me the ship got lost because in all the amazing detail of the nebula. Among the changes I suggested included changing the source of the light so it illuminated more of the right size of the asteroid.

changed_light1
The difference was striking! Glenn enhanced the lighting to bring some features out, and boom, done!

final_lighting

 

FOCUS GROUP

Each stage of design I tapped my “review team” as I call them. This is a combination of my email group of fans and friends, and then the D’mok Revival Facebook page. Getting my readership’s reactions is very important to me! I was able to quickly get a read on how design performed, identify what people thought was weak about it, etc. Patterns in responses were clear. Those that care about your series also love contributing, so ask them!

Side note: don’t forget to thank those amazing people in your book too!

You can’t be afraid to iterate. You can’t be afraid to talk to your audience. Remember, you get one shot at releasing a book. Make sure when it hits, it hits the mark. Reviewers and readers will not be kind when you launch a product, so help yourself now and get feedback before there’s a train wreck.

In addition to amazing fans, I have a number of friends who are both science fiction fans, and fans of honesty. They let me know exactly when something didn’t resonate with them. At one of our board game nights I showed them the latest cover. They suggested, while the nebula was cool, to really zoom in on the asteroid base. The concept was to make it more intense, spotlight the amazing visuals. I thought the idea was great. I made a number of zoomed in versions and took to Facebook. The community instantly responded and sent me their thoughts. Again, clear patterns emerged.

The cover you see today is a result of vision, amazing artistry, and key feedback from the D’mok community.

final-cover-design

Okay, you may notice the contrail is more pronounced. The truth is I LOVED the contrail from the first book.  I actually lifted it from the Photoshop file and superimposed it on this one.  I also added a little shadowing effect to both highlight it and create more of a wake disturbance behind the spaceship.  It also draws the eye to the left corner, supporting the “Z” visual scan for the viewer’s eyes.

 

FUTURE

Right now I’m beginning the process on book 3. Taking my own advice above, I’ve started early sketches. Even though the launch party for book 2 is July 19th (next month), I promised to get book 3 out by the holiday season. I need to keep the momentum going and move on it. Once book 2 is out, I’ll start getting cover feedback from the community on the third edition.

Finding a new printer for my softcover edition of book 2

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Have my first book printed by Mira Publishing was very informative. I had no idea what I was doing.  Fortunately I had an angel, Brittney Braur, as the internal PM to Mira that made sure everything went flawlessly.  She quickly, but carefully, explained the various options available to me for a digital press run and made recommendations about things like paper stock that increased the quality. Knowing I was paying for it all on my own she also pointed out things that I could do that would reduce costs for the project. In the end, her influence produced a superior result that I was very happy with.

Then came the second, offset, print run. This meant a different printing process was being used to handle my larger volume of 2000 copies. Brittney was no longer with Mira, and it had been bought by another company. There were numerous disconnects that led to a print that, while still good, wasn’t as good as the first print in my own opinion. For instance, the stark white paper isn’t what I requested. In fact, when I got my printed proof I specifically called out that wasn’t the right paper.  They said it was just a test for the proof.  It turned out that WAS the paper they used in the end.  Another oddity, there’s BLANK PAGES at the end of the book.  No one mentioned that going to an offset printer (versus a digital press like my smaller first print) would mean I’d have to work in print palettes, groupings of 12 or 16 pages.  I could have EASILY adjusted margins or font size to soak up the extra pages.  Instead it looks like I have a bunch of errors at the end of every book. The cover, while it has a great gloss on it, lacked the color depth seen in the original print.  The red nebula looks much muddier, even brownish. It’s still a GREAT visual, but it was an AWESOME visual to begin with.  Regardless the book was still a great product, sells well, and has not had a single complaint or return.

When I began pre-printing planning for book two I returned to what I new. However, this time Mira’s bid on the project was significantly higher.  In fact, they said I had gotten quite a deal the first time through. I just couldn’t justify the additional cost.  At this stage of the game I didn’t need 2000 copies of book 2, just enough for initial launch, publicity copies, and a small stock to sell on Amazon.  Once demand existed I’d print more.

This led me on a search for additional options. I consulted with Brittney Braur, who now has her own promotion company (which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND). She and I had talked about a company called Lightning Source that actually handed all the self-published printing from Amazon and other large companies.  They’re kind of the Roundy’s of the printing industry.  Everyone slaps their own label on, but it goes through them.

I made a mistake and typed in Lightning press. Turns out they really do exist http://www.lightning-press.com/.  I’d forgotten the second name in the printer (“source”), so I thought I found what Brittney and I had talked about.  They had a very easy online quote tool, and their sales process was responsive and helpful. My sales contact, Paul, was easy to work with, and answered my questions quickly.

I placed the order, was able to follow-up with payment on the phone the next morning (which I preferred).  Paul and I even talked about the project, and some of my concerns.  I also got clarification about the use of #100 cover (I had selected), and discovered a 12pt cover would be a more solid stock to use, especially since I didn’t need printing on both sides of the cover.  He spelled out the dimensions for the Word manuscript document, and the Photoshop cover. Because I adjusted the margins, used single spacing between rows, and reduced the font size I was able to reduce the overall page count (page count can dramatically impact printing costs), the spine size had to change. I had to adjust the Photoshop file I used from cover one to accommodate. I was nervous about getting all the dimensions exactly right.

I updated the files, and submitted them via their Web site. I received the digital proofs the next day. I also found an error in my manuscript that they changed without additional charges. I also noticed the cover was a few pixels off.  Yes, I wanted to fix that. I made the change, re-uploaded it, saw the new digital proof, and hit approve.  I got the physical proof (that I ordered with the printing package) in a few days.  It looked great.  No changes to make.  I approved it online as well.

The 120 printed books came in 4 boxes the next week. They were packed and protected well, and the books looked AMAZING.  The cover looks exactly like the digital image (lots of detail, bright blues, etc.). The content looked exactly as it was supposed to.  I’m VERY happy with Lightning Press. I do plan on using them again and highly recommend them.

I’m still interested in Lighting Source, and plan to try them out for the short-order of book 3. It’s important to have a few options. But I KNOW I will be using Lightning Press again too.

Your audio book is LIVE!

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This is part 3 to the audio book creation posting.

Part 1: Creating The Audio Book On Audible.com
Part 2: After Signing your audio book talent
Part 3: Your Audio Book is Live

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Once the voice talent has the initial recordings “in the can,” then they work with their own producer to assemble the final cut and perform their own QA process.

After Kyle and his producer wrapped up their part, they posted it to the ACX.com site for my review.

I then began the process of reviewing all 11 hours and 45 minutes of final audio.

In a perfect world I’d be sitting in front of a computer, the original script in view while listening to the recording.

Initially I was curious what it sounded like, wanting to hear it “organically” without following along with the voice-in-my-head that would be reading my manuscript while listening to Kyle.  I found that I remembered, word-for-word, the manuscript without having to see it in Microsoft Word.

I actually found it better to listen to it without my script. Believe you me, after working so long on a book, you’re going to remember what you wrote.

I easily caught a few mispronunciations, some extra long pauses, even three words that were missed from the beginning of a character’s statement. I documented out the chapter, what the issue was, and the words around it so he could find it easily.  In hindsight, I could have added a time index as well for them.

I actually wondered how things would be handled when an important name was mispronounced, and worried it would be a good deal of rework.  It’s one of those things where you want your fans to hear the words as they were intended, while also not wanting to burden your voice talent.  However, I am paying for the audio book’s production, and I do want it to be the best quality and most representative of my work as it can be.

One thing was crystal clear: Kyle was the right choice!  He did an amazing job. I loved the way he voiced the many characters, and really brought the story to life.

I sent my notes off to Kyle.  He was professional and easy to talk with about the issues I found.  In a matter of days they were fixed–even the mispronunciations (where one alone had 18 instances across multiple chapters).

I then worked on the cover.  The Audible.com format requires a cover that’s 2400×2400 pixels. That’s very different from my soft cover size. So I needed to rework it a bit.  I did an initial design, uploaded it to ACX, and hit approve.  I made the assumption it would be easy to change like it is in “Seller Central” on Amazon.com.

Once I approved the book it then brokered the payment for services.  It actually let’s you pay outside ACX.  I ended up using PayPal. You hit a button that says you paid, the provider clicks a button that says you paid, and it’s done.

Next the book moves into an approval cycle with ACX itself.  They review the book for quality before putting it live. That’s great!  I totally understand why. Their email said it could take up to about 14-20 days. My day 1 was Feb. 27th.

I wanted to tweak the cover design before going live. I did a few iterations, had my fans on Facebook provide some feedback, and locked in a final cover.  The problem was, there’s no way to update your book once you hit approve.  NONE.  I sent a message to ACX and they said I could send them the new cover and they’d manually update it. WHAT? That seems really strange, but okay.  I sent the update off to them.

On March 4th (6 days after the review started by ACX) I received an email from ACX that D’mok Revival: Awakening was approved and release live for sale.

WAIT!  For how much?  What was the product copy being shown with it?  Was the new cover there?

I had no idea!  So I logged in.  I went to the “Completed Projects” tab as instructed by the same “you’re on sale” email.  All it showed was how many books were sold (zero).  There’s no clear way to get at price, or channel.  Remember they also sell on iTunes and Amazon.  So confusing!

I replied to the email from acx.com asking how to set the price, and when the new cover would be posted.

I went to audible.com and searched for my book.  Surprise!  It was out there.  The cost set by audible was $24.95. Not sure where that came from or if I can adjust it.  Then I noticed the “Publishers” copy and the mini-promotion by the cover.  They simply took the text I used to attract voice talent and plopped it out there!  I was shocked and horrified.  I never intended the public-at-large to see that?!  Nothing I read said that’s what would be taken.

Knowing ACX didn’t have a real editing system for published books (since you had to send them image updates for your book and have them do it), my assumption is I’d have to go to them to change the publisher copy too.

Wow.  It’s not the end of the world, but come on!  I knew something seemed wrong when I couldn’t find any information or posts about what happened outside of the production process.

We’ll see how fast ACX.com can get back to me and how quickly I can correct things.  GREAT lessons learned!  🙂

Overall, I still love the ACX process. Next time I know what to watch out for right out of the gate.

Multitasking

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There are so many incredible things going on right now!

I just finished my review of Kyle McCarley’s audio production of D’mok Revival: Awakening. I think he did a superb job. His creative take on the characters really brought them to life, and took the printed word to an entirely new level.  There are certainly a number of lessons learned from this experience, which I’ll post another blog entry about soon.

It’s time to start ramping up the promotion machine to prepare for the launch of the audio book.  I’m guessing late March for the début!

Then there’s book number 2: D’mok Revival: Retribution!  I’m working with Arlene Robinson again, my original editor that took on the 286,000 word manuscript (which became the Nukari Invasion Trilogy).  So much has evolved since I initially worked with her that I wanted her special touch in polishing the new incarnation of the second manuscript.

I’m very proud of how the second manuscript has transformed. At first I was apply the changes to the universe based on edits to the first book. Then I began to apply everything that I learned from the release of Awakening, and took into consideration reviews and fan interests.  I ended up reworking a great deal of the manuscript and wrote around 150 pages of new content. Some things were pulled back from book 3, others pushed forward, all in the name of creating a solid book two arc in addition to the invasion story progression. She’s currently doing her editing pass, and will have that complete mid-March.

For those that have been following D’mok Revival on Facebook, they know that I’ve been working with Glenn Clovis for the cover design of book 2.  Posting out to Facebook has allowed me to gather instant fan feedback and help cultivate the final look.  I should have the print-ready cover in a week or so.

The back-cover copy has also been vetted on Facebook a few times.  In essence, the soft cover and ebook marketing components are in great shape and nearly ready for prime-time!

I also have an initial marketing strategy prepared including solicitations of reviews and advertising to promote book 2.

As much as this seems, when my son goes to sleep I find myself still with more bandwidth. I’ve actually started working in book 3 already!  My goal is to have it out by holiday 2014 (yes, this year)—winter 2015 at the latest.  I really want it out this year yet.

I am so excited to continue this streak of amazing progress. It’s wonderful to have amazing fans who share HONEST feedback (not just the stuff they like), which helps me evolve as a writer and bring more to the D’mok Universe.

The launch pad for D’mok Revival: Retribution (book 2)

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Now that the manuscript for book two is in the professional editing phase I’ve begun working on the marketing materials.  Here’s a short list of the most important things in priority order:

  1. Book cover image (H U G E)
  2. Back-cover description text
  3. Reviews / quotes
  4. Web site updates / Social media
  5. Press release, magazine ads
  6. Amazon promotions / other partnerships
  7. Local launch planning and necessary supporting materials
  8. Give-aways
  9. National launch
  10. Contests

BOOK COVER

Following the pattern from the first book, the most important element is the book cover.  Glenn Clovis is already engaged and working on the new space scene. It’s important to remember that people DO judge a book by its cover, no matter how much “you don’t want them to.” Honestly, if you consider neuroscience it’s clear our brains are optimized to visually discern what we come across. We have near instant decisions made at our most instinctive level whether we like something or not (just by looking at it).

I know from my experience at Comic Con that even an unknown author with an unknown series can attract fans with a picture that appeals to their sensibilities. I was going to for science fiction fans, and space with stations and ships does the trick.

For the second book we’re going to use a different nebula since it’s in a different place, and I want the first three books to have distinct colors. Red was for book one. We’re considering more of a blue-ish for book two.  With respect to the location, Glenn is building out Osuto’s asteroid base floating in the asteroid belt. Currently we’re looking at using the same ship as the first cover.  Osuto’s asteroid base is a key location in the series, so that seemed important to show.  This was the same logic that put the Trading Post on the first cover (though one could argue it ‘could’ also be the sister science station). 😉

BACK COVER

Beyond providing some art direction, the first real book cover aspect I can do myself is the wrapper around his incredible images. Luckily I did a great deal of work in Photoshop for the first book. I was able to copy the document and start updating it directly. One of the weaknesses in the first cover was understated series identification. I used some key cover real-estate to herald “A Space Saga By Michael Zummo.” Sure, it was fun to make it seem like people should already know my name (an old Marketing puffery trick), but I want the work to speak for itself and not have people focus on me. So, the first change made is a larger presentation of the series branding.

Next I have the back-of-book text. This is important for sales at shows, displays at stores, and for your online description.  It has to be short, captivating, and leave questions in the reader’s mind to make them want to read and find out how the questions resolve. This isn’t easy. Well known authors and series can get away with a few sentences. Their audience already trusts them and/or understands a series in play.  D’mok Revival has over 2,500 readers that I know of (but that’s all right now). There will be plenty of people checking out this book that will not have seen the first one. Therefore, the back-cover copy needs a little information to get people up to speed.  I have copy that’s being vetted by my internal review group now.  I’ll be posting it to the D’mok Revival Facebook page to solicit opinions there.

REVIEWS

With respect to reviews, I’m going back to Reader’s Choice. Their program is fast, affordable, and simple. My series and current reputation are not strong enough to grab the attention of major reviewers. So I’m considering passing on the ARC (advanced review copy) versions of the soft cover book.

WEB SITE

Once those items are done I’ll update the dmokrevival.com site. I already have a design in mind to make sure it can support both books in the series. I plan on continuing to post to Facebook as well. I have great fans there and enjoy staying connected.

PRESS

With respect to traditional marketing, putting out a press release and placing ads in the SyFy channel’s official magazine really worked well.  Since the first book achieved a rank of #18 on Amazon’s best seller list in Science Fiction, I have a great promotion point now. I also have a 5 star rating from Readers’ Choice I can promote.

I plan on leveraging Amazon’s KDP programs so I can create buzz using their countdown promotions and new book communications. There’s an art to taking your back cover text and boiling it down to a few key statements for an ad. The right quote does wonders as well.

I’m continuing my partnership with the Stan Lee Foundation (which is still AWESOME)! They’ve been a great partner in promoting and distributing the soft cover version of the first book.

LOCAL LAUNCH

I’d like to do my local launch at Boswell’s Book store in Milwaukee off Downer Avenue again. In preparation for book signings and shows I’m going to leverage the picture-to-canvas approach from the first go-around. If you follow Amazon deals, LivingSocial, or Groupons, you’ll see the picture-to-canvas (or metal, or glass) deals come through. They are FANTASTIC deals!  Using them you can get solid promotional materials for your booth or book signing table.

I’ve already purchased a package of four 16×20 canvases that will be the Glenn’s image, the series logo, and book title. It only cost $99. That’s ALL!  I want to use at least 2 for the new book. I think I may update the first book’s cover with the revised branding and use the third one to create a print for that book. The last one I’ll either hold for book 3, or create a “give away” version. I also picked up 2 picture- to-metal prints (for $35) that I was use as give-aways.

GIVE AWAYS

FREE autographed books are always a great give-away.  When it comes to t-shirts, they were a nice-to-have item that people enjoyed.  However, I can’t directly correlate sales to them. They were also a high-ticket item. I will get a shirt for the launch, and maybe a few as give-aways, but not at the quantity I did before. The posters done for ComicCon were great attractors (when free not at a cost). I may do those as well since the cost was low.

NATIONAL LAUNCH

I’m considering a return to Chicago ComicCon. We’ll see how things are going and the budget I can dedicate as that gets closer.

CONTESTS

I’m also going to submit to the writing contests, though results from those tend to be very long-tail. In fact, depending on the cycle, it can be a whole year before the book is even evaluated.

After signing your audio book talent

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This is part 2  to the audio book creation posting.

Part 1: Creating The Audio Book On Audible.com
Part 2: After Signing your audio book talent
Part 3: Your Audio Book is Live

 

In the end, 23 talented individuals auditioned for the audio book version of D’mok Revival: Awakening.

During this process I realized how little audition text you need to provide to actually tell if someone is right for the part. My big take-aways included:

  1. Include the introduction to your book
  2. Include sections with multiple characters that interact and converse
  3. Keep it only to about two pages of script

I was blessed that nearly each one of them did 10 minutes of audition time.  This is unheard of and made me feel so foolish, not to mention guilty when they didn’t get selected.

I reviewed each one, then sent the top submissions on to a team I assembled from series fans and friends. After gathering and weighting their feedback Kyle McCarley rose to the top of the list.

I sent a personal message to each and every person that submitted an audition.  I wanted them to know I greatly appreciated their effort. Due to the ACX agreements, they can now use that audition in their portfolio as an example of their work.  I completely understand and support this concept.  They put the work in after-all.

I was shocked when each person that I sent a reply to replied back saying how rare it was for them to hear anything when they were not selected, much less genuine gratitude and thanks. I felt both proud and saddened by this.  Authors–APPRECIATE everyone you work with. It’s part of being a professional (even if you, like me, are just entering this space).

Using ACX.com I send an offer to Kyle. We discussed a few details and decided not to go the profit sharing approach (that Amazon wanted to contribute $1000 up-front towards). We agreed to a per finished hour rate that works for the union he’s in. Based on our discussions he rejected the initial offer and I drafted the next one based on the agreements we discussed. He accepted the new one and we were off.

Kyle shared his approach and process to doing an audio book. I won’t share in detail but I wanted to offer at least some insight as to how to work with voice talent.

  1. Review of the manuscript
  2. Creation of the character list and samples of the voices for each
  3. Clarifications of how to pronounce names and addressing of any grammar issues found
  4. Sample 15 minutes

This is the stage we’re at today.

He’s been amazing to work with. Also, despite having spent thousands on editing, he’s finding a shocking (and rather embarrassing) number of issues in the book.  I’m thankful for how detail oriented he is, along with his amazing process. I’m going to update both the soft-cover manuscript for future prints and the ebook version on Amazon immediately.

In the next week I’ll get the first 15 minutes.  I’m really looking forward hearing his version of it.  It will be interesting to experience reviewing 10 to 11 hours of audio and providing feedback to him.

More to come!

P.S.  Book 2’s manuscript is in the hands of my internal review team. More soon on that as well!

Creating the audio book on Audible.com

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This is part 1  to the audio book creation posting.

Part 1: Creating The Audio Book On Audible.com
Part 2: After Signing your audio book talent
Part 3: Your Audio Book is Live

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The two questions I heard after releasing my soft cover book on August 3rd were:  1) is there an ebook, and 2) is there an audio book.  The ebook was very easy to do.  As covered in earlier posts I found the right tool, and was able to do all the formatting, leveraging of my existing cover artwork, and re-purposing of my text to create the ebook for no additional cost.  The audio book path wasn’t nearly as clear or as cost free.  However, I’ve found the experience thus far to be very straight forward and convenient.

While doing research towards an audio edition I came across Audible.com (also known as ACX).  They’re actually owned by Amazon (go figure). I’ll say from the first moment I hit the site I was impressed with how intuitive it was to work with them.

I wasn’t sure if I would be limited to an Amazon only distribution like I am with my ebook (to be a part of the Kindle Direct Publishing program).  It turns out ACX also distributes on iTunes along with Amazon.  PERFECT.  You are locked into a 7 year agreement with them, but that’s fine by me (though it does seem a little long).

I was curious how the work would be done and costed out. I discovered there’s a measure called “pfh” (per finished hour) that dictate how many hours your final recording will be.  I’m told that, on average, it takes 6 hours of recording the production to equal one hour of final recording. The compensation expectations are clearly listed for each narrator in “pfh.” Most of the narrators I talked to had producers and editors they worked with so, in the end, you literally have your audio book to post. We’ll see how that holds up as I move forward.

The average rates for pfh were between $100-$200, or $200-$400 for more experienced voice talent. I honestly didn’t see any hire than the $400 mark, and only two at $50.

If you go with an exclusive distribution relationship with ACX (again on Amazon and iTunes), you can choose to do a revenue share model. In this approach those that created the audio book get ongoing 50% of your royalties from sales.

If you do an exclusive relationship you would be placed on an escalator royalty rate of 50-90%. If it’s non-exclusive it drops to 25-70%. The final percentage depends on total units sold.

Why isn’t it 100%? Keep in mind that, like with Amazon and ebooks, ACX keeps a portion of your sales as tribute for hosting and providing customers and the download capabilities.  Again, 100% on-board with this. It’s totally worth not dealing with the headache of storage, network bandwidth for distribution, etc.

After creating a login I was able to jump into their extensive catalog of voice talent, each with bios and a portfolio. There’s even a detailed search that lets you hand-pick the list.  A few of the parameters include: gender, accent, reading style, cost, etc. It’s fantastic. I quickly found a number of potential narrators that I really liked.

I went to add my project to their catalog of works. I was able to put in my ISBN number for D’mok Revival: Awakening and it found it right away. I clicked the “this is my book” link, and it populated all kinds of information.  I added some data about what I was looking for, and took three sections from my book and created the audition script each person would read from. After posting, it was a matter of hours when inner ACX messages and auditions appeared.  I also went through their library and found 15 others that I specifically liked and used their “request audition” feature to send my interest to them.  Within days of starting this process I had 13 great auditions.

I didn’t want to rely only on my ears to select the narrator. There are a number of people that have contacted me about the audio book.  So I reached out to them and asked if they’d like to review the auditions and provide their feedback on who they’d like to hear.  After all, the book will be around 10 hours of audio (~93,000 words). It’s important they like the voice!

I considered male and female options. It’s possible for a woman to be the narrator but it would be a specific type of confident (more of a military woman) voice that could carry it.  I kept thinking the narrator needed to represent Mencari in essence. For the most part the book is from his perspective, so I guess that’s where that intuition came from. But the narrator isn’t Mencari, so that’s why a woman could work.  I also wasn’t sure about how a man reading all the female parts would sound.  Yes, I realize classic theater was like that, but we’re not in the middle ages anymore. I also considered the option of have one man do all the male parts, and one woman all the female parts. After inquiring to an audio shop (one of my in the ACX catalog of resources) they said it was certainly possible but it could double the hourly cost since there’s more resources (narration and production) needed. I also considered what I’ve come to know as “an audio play” where each character has a unique voice. Given 2 voices double the cost, I’m not going to venture down that path at this point.

I will say this, selecting a voice (much less “The right voice”) is a thrilling activity!  It’s fun reviewing voices, requesting they do auditions (using the ACX system), and getting back their version of your audition script. A few of them nailed the “voice in my head” with respect to dramatic pauses and depth of presentation. You can quickly tell who’s “just reading,” and who can “feel” your material. I imagine this is very similar to how casting goes for television and movies. THRILLING!

One of the potential narrators informed me about a program ACX has that could assist in the creation of your audio book. You petition them through a simple email.  If they like what they see and believe in the project they’ll offer a stipend of money to those that produce your product at NO COST to you. They are literally investing in the creation of your book on their platform. This is also intended to encourage their innovative “Royalty Share” model. I wasn’t sure about my odds of being accepted given it’s Amazon and huge.  I tried anyway, and BAM I was accepted!

Their investment is a major emotional booster to me. It’s like getting a 5 star review from a highly qualified reader!  The other aspect of this program is the book needs to be done within 60 days of me accepting someone’s audition and them accepting the production offer. At this rate, it would mean the audio book could be out as of February. That’s exciting too.

So how about the final cost to end-listener? I’ve done some research on Amazon and iTunes.  It appears an inexpensive audio book is somewhere around $6.99. And average cost is between $10-$12.99, and the upper ranges around $20-$25. Continuing my low-price, low bar-to-entry approach, I’d stick with the $6.99.  Again, I’m not looking to make money.  I’m making an investment in market share and awareness. I’ll continue my research and talk to my readership to tune the price before launch. But that’s what I’m thinking right now.

I can completely see how much work I’m going to have to put into this yet.  For instance, coordination with the narrator helping them to understand names, personalities, etc. I’m hoping they’ll do a read-through before they do the audio component.  I have to find out what “their process” is once the person is selected. I’ll also need to review what’s done and request adjustments if needed. Of course, that assumes I can. The actual production contact with specifications is a bit of a question mark yet.

I’ve been telling those that auditioned I’ll have a decision within two weeks or so. Even with Thanksgiving that gives me and the review team some time to figure things out.  I know there are some very strong submissions already, ones that I could see myself going with. That doesn’t mean new ones aren’t needed or would be out of the running.  I’m just staying that keeping to the two weeks to select a voice talent IS possible even with what I have so far.  🙂

I’ll write more as things continue!  Of the two versions, this one is the most fun. Perhaps it’s because the audio format takes the content off the page and bringing it to life? Regardless, it’s a lot of fun.

Holiday Promotions

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As we approach the holiday seasons and Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions may be a great idea to help move your book.

I’ve already mentioned I’m taking advantage of Amazon’s new promotion option of price adjustments (as opposed to the free promotion they originally offered) starting in December.

As I fulfilled a recent physical book order a string of thoughts came to me:

  •  I have 1600+ printed copies of my first book yet
  •  I’m in an awareness building promotion campaign for my series yet
  •  I’m still financially supporting early distribution versus making money from the series

I signed the first copy, and then decided to throw a second (unsigned) printed copy for free along with a personal message to the purchaser.

In the personal message I thanked them for the purchase, and encouraged sending me direct email with their thoughts about the book.  I also mentioned that since we’re approaching the holiday season they could give the second book as a gift.  Alternatively I suggest they could also donate the book to a local school or community library.  I ended with a side note that Amazon.com reviews are welcomed and greatly appreciated.

At worst, the book goes into the trash (and I NEVER know that’s what happens).  At best it goes to another potential fan of the series, or into a library where multiple people could enjoy it!

It also demonstrated my good will, and sincere interest in spreading the story over making buckets of money.

I found myself curious about what the purchaser would do with the second copy.  I really liked the concept.

As a next step I jumped on my D’mok Revival: Awakening page on Facebook and pulled together a quick post about the special holiday offer.  From now until December 1st, any physical book purchased (up to two) gets a second book free of charge.  I included a link to the physical book on Amazon.com.

Then I used some money to promote the post to general Facebook users (NOT to my friend’s friends).  As a side note, promoting to your friend’s friends tends to make people mad and unlike your page.  But, using the other option Facebook offers, advertising to anyone on Facebook that fits the profile I define, seems fine.

I’ll post back later with the results of this promotion.  But, I think the core concept of it is solid (for someone with a new series in an awareness building campaign that has extra books to move).

What I learned by reading Harry Potter

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A writer’s style continues to evolve day-over-day. The manuscripts I wrote nearly a decade ago read and feel like something I did in elementary school. Even with all the guidance from my editor and feedback from fans from book one, there’s still plenty of room to grow.

I’m currently reading the Harry Potter series from J.K. Rowling with my son Derek (who’s 6).  It’s fascinating how we can equally enjoy the story, even if I’m picking up more details than he is.

She has a simplicity to her style that really flows. Sprinkling in little facts and tidbits about a store or a personality quirk really bring the locations and characters to life.

Interestingly enough, she also uses a page turner device at the end of every chapter making you wonder what’s going to happen next. Many times my son was begging to “read just one more chapter tonight.”

Another thing she does very well is keeping a scene focused. She smoothly takes you from background information to the action, moving you towards the major drama for that chapter. In fact, it almost feels like every chapter is like a mini-story with a general setup, build-up, major drama, and then hook to the next loop. The convention really works.

Is she the best literary model of all time? Probably not.  However, the millions of books sold world-wide shows she did something very right.

As I continue forward, preparing the second manuscript for publication, I’m keeping her techniques in mind. It’s not so much that I wasn’t leveraging her approaches, but rather I want to refine them to be as effect as hers.

For those wondering how book two is shaping up, I’m currently revisiting the last three chapters of the book two. I’m also working with Glenn Clovis, who did the Awakening’s artwork, on book two’s cover. Everything’s on schedule for release in 2014. Originally I mentioned summer, it may be sooner!

New Kindle Direct Publishing Feature

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“Kindle Countdown Deals” are actually pretty cool.  In the past Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) only offered free promotions.  You’d get 5 days for every 3 month enrollment period. When you did this, you royalties went to zero, but you got great promotion via Amazon for using it. The hope was after the promotion so many people would have downloaded your book that they recommend it to others and they come in later and purchase it. For the record, this has not gone away.

Amazon’s new and additional approach allows you to specify a time range, number of price adjustments over that time range, and starting price. Then, it determines how many days (or hours) during your promotion to charge an adjusted price based on starting price and number of desired adjustments.  It really does all the work. You get a very clear summary before saying “create this promotion” for the exact dates and resulting prices.

What’s great about this is even if your discounted price goes below the magic $2.99 number your royalty won’t be impacted by it.  If you follow all the KDP rules and have a price point above $2.99 you can earn a 70% royalty. Otherwise, you get 35%.

They also have a new section of their website (http://amazon.com/kindlecountdowndeals) to promote your book!  Just because this exists it will get used, which means your book has a higher probability of being seen (and hopefully purchased by your target market).

There’s one qualifier to being able to use this.  Your price has to be stable for at least 30 days before you can use the countdown.  In my case, I just did a FREE promotion.  So I can’t use my new promotion until December! You also have to end your promotion 16 days before the end of your KDP enrollment period.

I nearly forgot to mention the real-time performance monitoring system. They’ve integrated it into the reports that are already out there.

Overall, this is AMAZING and I can’t wait to see the sales results.  For more information check out: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3288N75MH14B8