What Your Audiobook Clients Are Being Taught

Hey, there!

I booked an ACX job the other day for a PFH rate that was well above what most people make to read audiobooks. More than triple.

And I had already offered the client a 50/50 royalty split, because it was a really popular title on Amazon (top half a percent – I mean really popular).

He declined. And in asking him why, I found out that authors are being told some very interesting things by their coaches about how to work with voice talent.

Want to know what they are learning?

The author said that, just like you, he’d been training with a coach to be a better writer/publisher/promotions/businessman.

Just like I teach VO narrators how to maximize their use of ACX from a business standpoint, there are coaches out there that show authors how to be better business people too.

And his coach said, “Never give away your IP.”

IP, in this case, means “intellectual property.”

Meaning, pay narrators a great rate up front for really good work, just like the big publishing houses do, and then reap 100% the reward on the back end for yourself.

I would imagine this is the kind of advice that really well known and popular authors would gravitate towards, and if you work with an author like this, you can expect at least $250-$350 per finished hour (for both narration and production), but no royalty splits.

And that means, if you’re union, you get your H&R as well – that middle button will light up on ACX when you’re offered the book.

As you might imagine, that can either work for or against you, depending upon how your work sells. You might be leaving money on the table, but rest assured that, at over $250-$350 per finished hour, you are being paid at competitive rates for the book.

I will have more information that he shared with me in another 60 SECONDS newsletter.

Hope this helps.

David