BLUF (Bottom line up front): Double, triple, quadruple check, & one trick to overcome errors & make good money. In lesson #412 of Don't Be Like Paul, I published "Chasing the Demon" over 1 year ago this month. It's been bazillion-checked for errors in that time. Reading, beta readers, ACRs, and even Word Narration, were all tactics I employed to make sure I didn't miss anything. But it wasn't until this week, when recording the audiobook, that I noticed over 10 grammatical errors and, shockingly, an out-of-order chapter (I use Scrivener and it was accidentally dragged & dropped into another folder at some point over the past year)! As you can imagine, I spent this morning correcting all the errors in the ebook & paperback version and re-uploading them to Amazon. I don't sell thousands, so the world doesn't know how dumb I am. But enough people do. What if those errors set an expectation of me in their minds? What if they gave me a chance and THAT crap is what I gave them? What it if convinced them that I'm not serious about this publishing thing? I may never get another chance with them. Lesson learned! Don't be like Paul. Use ALL the tools at your disposal to catch errors in your work. The key to me is recording an audiobook. "Chasing" isn't the only example of this. When I recorded my nonfiction book last year, I noticed the same thing, though much fewer errors, errors it still contained. One of the reasons "RIP" hasn't been released yet is that it is still with ARC readers until the end of this week, while I begin the recording of the audiobook. Why do I share this?
Because narrating for audiobooks helps me catch things that dozens of people miss because our eyes scan words more quickly than our brains translate the meaning of the little scribbles on the page. So, making an audiobook not only helps me put my best product on the market, but it also allows me to release a new book in ebook, paperback, and audiobook, all at once.
And, folks, audiobooks make NICE money compared to the other two. To-date, the highest-grossing medium for my nonfiction work "Novel Idea to Podcast: How to Sell More Books Through Podcasting" is its audiobook.
Catch more errors & create a product that will gross more? Why wouldn't we at least start thinking about this? I know I push a lot of you hard on making audio for your creations. I know it's intimidating and seems expensive. It's "just one more thing to pay for." I get it. I do.
That's where you have to ask yourself what you want out of your publishing journey.
Do your goals match with your behaviors?
What's this mean to you?
If you are in this for the long haul, if you want to make this a career, you have got to get into audio (imho). The longer you wait, the further you fall behind. Authors of tomorrow (actually, of today, but I don't want to put unfair pressure on you) will need to have a presence in audio. Please start thinking about your goals and how audio can help you reach them. I hope this little tale of Don't Be Like Paul has been encouraging. That was my aim. If this makes you feel pressured or stressed, or asks you to do something you're convinced you cannot do, please stuff that voice back where it belongs. I has no place. Flip the paradigm; instead of saying WHY you can't do something, show us HOW you can. Be in it to win it. You can do this. And be epic!
Originally Posted: June 2019
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