Stop The Audio Book Madness!

Authors are each spending thousands of dollars to create an audiobook version of their book. Why?

For some reason, every indie author seems to be under the illusion or delusion that they need to release an audio edition. Folks, save your money. You do not need to do this.

Audiobooks have grown in recent years, in terms of overall sales and title selection. 74,000 new audiobooks were released in 2021 – ten times the 2011 total and 20 times the 2007 total. Still, with 2.7 million new books published annually, That means only around 3% of all new books are turned into audio books.

But, I caution you not to rush into this. Audiobooks, as a share of the US marketplace are no more than maybe seven percent of all sales. Printed books still account for over 75 percent of the market — and the rest is e-books.

Almost no book in audio form outsells its print/e-book counterpart, and since many independent authors rarely crack a few thousand book sales, most authors will only sell a few dozen or a few hundred audiobooks. It is not worth the cost.

Some books are more audio-worthy than others, so a decision on creating one may simply depend on the genre you write in.

Still, in most cases, especially first-time authors, one should not bother creating an audio book. Instead, use that time and money to invest in marketing your print and e-book editions. 

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.