Listening to books?

Elwyn · Sep 30, 2005

There certainly has been some good input from a lot of folk at the
eBook to promote series? thread.

I was wondering how many of you "listen" to books. I was toying with the idea of having some of my first novel recorded and made available for a free download. Why? Well, just a marketing idea. If those who are "voicing" the book are good at what they do (remember old time radio?) then they may be able to make the book more "interesting" to a potential buyer. It also has to do with the psychology of getting into the readers head with particular voices that would "trigger" an interest - this may work especially well with the erotic books being read by a very sexy voice.

Has this been tried yet? :idea:

Jamesaritchie · Sep 30, 2005

Elwyn said:
There certainly has been some good input from a lot of folk at the
eBook to promote series? thread.

I was wondering how many of you "listen" to books. I was toying with the idea of having some of my first novel recorded and made available for a free download. Why? Well, just a marketing idea. If those who are "voicing" the book are good at what they do (remember old time radio?) then they may be able to make the book more "interesting" to a potential buyer. It also has to do with the psychology of getting into the readers head with particular voices that would "trigger" an interest - this may work especially well with the erotic books being read by a very sexy voice.

Has this been tried yet?

I enjoy listening to short stories, but not novels. My attention wanders too much. Listening and reading are very different things for me. Old Time Radio worked well, but Old Time Radio usually didn't just read books. They first turned the book into a radio play, and then had sevral different actors do the parts.

There are many, however, who do enjoy listening to books, so it might work. But quality control doesn't come cheap.

Elwyn · Sep 30, 2005

The available download would NOT be the entire novel - just enough lines to (hopefully) generate an interest - a few paragraphs.

James D. Macdonald · Sep 30, 2005

Check out podcasting.

But ... why would anyone be interested if it weren't a complete story?

I frequently listen to novels when I'm driving long distances.

Aconite · Sep 30, 2005

Elwyn, the latest issue of the SFWA Bulletin has a short article on podcasting. This might be a good direction for you. I think Uncle Jim's right: There'd need to be enough of the work available to stand on its own as a story, or why would people want to listen? So, is there a section of your longer work that could be split off like that to make a short story?

maestrowork · Sep 30, 2005

I used to have an account on audible.com (I wanted the free iPod!) and I used to listen to audible books on a long drive. But I still prefer reading paperbacks. Also, a lot depends on the talent who reads the book. Sometimes they get a nice actor/voice that really adds to the enjoyment. Sometimes they get a boring voice or worse, the author (who can't enunciate well) reads the book himself.

Elwyn · Sep 30, 2005

Mac -

The download would be an enticer - to buy the book. Something like the advertisements you hear on the radio about a movie or TV program. Don't be surprised if Amazon starts this.

LightShadow · Sep 30, 2005

Why would anyone forego the pleasures of reading the print on the page? Okay, I know that there is a market for audio books, and that's fine, but I couldn't do it. On a long drive I'd rather listen to music, or sports. Reading a story is a quiet time when I find the most comfortable corner and relax. Reading is not a chore, or something I must squeeze in during a drive or dinner. Reading is a pleasure. A luxury. A time to escape the long drives, and work, and the crazy world. Just listening to a book takes away from the whole purpose of reading, I think.

dawinsor · Sep 30, 2005

I have a 100 mile commute from where I live to where I work (and then I stay three days). I listen to novels all the time. They've saved my sanity. I get them from the library and because the number of them is limited, I've also wound up listening to things I otherwise would not have "read." Right now I'm listening to a kid's book, for instance, one of the Artemis Fowl series, and I'm laughing at juvenile jokes I'd be embarrassed to repeat. Not all novels lend themselves to listening, but those that do are one of the pleasures of my week.

Let me also say something about a pet peeve of mine, which is that the library has lots of abridged audio books, which I will NOT listen to. They're an abomination in my opinion.

maestrowork · Sep 30, 2005

Elwyn said:
Mac -

The download would be an enticer - to buy the book. Something like the advertisements you hear on the radio about a movie or TV program. Don't be surprised if Amazon starts this.

I really don't see it as much of an effective marketing tool. First, audio files are so much larger to download than text, even when streaming, or the quality is crappy.

Second, why would I want to listen to a snippet of the book? If you have some sort of advertising spiel going on (like a commercial) or an interview with the author, that's different. But if it's just a recording of someone reading the book, YAWN. I have heard authors reading their books on radio and personally, that didn't do it to me. I didn't have to urge to rush out and buy the book upon hearing the excerpts. For some books, it might be an effective way if you can get a very good talent to read it.

If you present that as a podcast, it could be interesting to some people. But how effective as a marketing, too? Probably not as much as you would think.

NicoleJLeBoeuf · Sep 30, 2005

maestrowork said:
Sometimes they get a boring voice or worse, the author (who can't enunciate well) reads the book himself.

Whether this is worse depends very much on the author. My husband and I attended the Denver stop of Neil Gaiman's reading/signing tour for Anansi Boys, and I totally envy that man's kids. I mean, they grew up hearing him read aloud all the time. (Next best thing: get the US release of the audiobook of Coraline.)

On the other hand, I was at a Tom Robbins reading, and I can't fathom how the man who wrote "This is room of the wolfmother wallpaper..." manages to read his own books as though they were cereal box ingredients lists.

Aconite · Sep 30, 2005

NicoleJLeBoeuf said:
(Next best thing: get the US release of the audiobook of Coraline.)

That's the one with The Gothic Archies singing the rats' songs, isn't it? That was...memorable.

stranger · Oct 3, 2005

I prefer reading books but I also enjoy listening to books. And there are many occasions like driving, walking, running etc. where you can't read and I find I much prefer audiobooks to music. With the explosion of MP3 music, I wonder is there a market for MP3 novels. Surely MP3 audiobooks would have a bigger market than ebooks.

So a little searching on the web reveals a book called Earthcore which got released as a free MP3 download and thereby got the author a publishing deal.

Further searching reveals www.podiobooks.com which provide free audiobooks and gives the downloaders an option to make a donation for the service, half of which goes to the website and half of which goes towards the writer. There seems to be only a few books on it so far though.

So, if I had a completed novel and wasn't having much luck shopping it out to agents or publishers, I would give serious thought to turning it into a free audiobook. Get in early and hope the market takes off. Would anyone else consider this?

One major problem would be quality control. If the slushpile of bad novels got converted to audio and randomly put on the web, no one is going to try them even if they were free, given the high chance that they'd be awful.

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse · Oct 3, 2005

maestrowork said:
I really don't see it as much of an effective marketing tool. First, audio files are so much larger to download than text, even when streaming, or the quality is crappy.

Ray is absolutely correct here. I was desperate to do dearfuturewife.com as audio, because ..........................

but its high impossible and WILL just frustrate most people rather than entice them.

Its not that great a gimmick, although if you could get someone as brilliant as kerry shale, it'd be worth it.

if people are going to listen to books (which I do when at the gym) they will not go half way for little snips, they'll want probably the whole goosey.

in truth, it depends entirely upon what the rest of your hooks are going to be.
the more hooks, the more readers.

i think it could work as long as it had other ships in the water too.

good luck

britwrit · Oct 4, 2005

I used to work a mind-numbing data entry job and went through four or five of them a month. Interestingly enough, while there were some mysteries/thrillers I liked, it was the more "literary" novels which kept me sane. With audiobooks, you can't scan or skip ahead to the more interesting bits, so with the more by-the-numbers genre stuff it was "something happens" and then fifteen minutes of "blah-blah-blah" exposition.

Elwyn · Oct 4, 2005

Here is what I was thinking about - go to http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/down...sionid=C1C0FA23C4B589B032AD6228DADFE7F3.app05 and click on one of the movies or trailers. Oh, and check out the Coke commercial.

Flash, action, monsters - an enticer?

sassandgroove · Oct 4, 2005

I think the main issue would be how would you get people to the site in the first place. If you could do that, then why bother with the sound? In other words, why promote the site the sound file is on when you can just promote the book?

Elwyn · Oct 4, 2005

Smell what you see?

:popcorn:

The same reason marketers use what they can to stimulate all of the senses. Did you know they're experimenting with things in TV's that will actually let you smell what you're seeing on TV? Imagine watching a popcorn commercial and being able to smell it - it all has to do with the psychology of marketing.

Check this out: http://www.francetelecom.com/sirius/rd/en/galerie/senteurs_multimedia/doc_avance.php

Maryn · Oct 4, 2005

Elwyn, I think your attention is scattered in such a way that it's hurting your efforts. The first thing, the very first, is to write a really great book. Only when you've done that--and people who don't love you or even like you agree that this is a really great book--does selling and marketing matter.

We all see that link to your website, with excerpts from your book, in the signature line of every post. Those who click on it see a typo in the first line, an uncomfortably awkward phrasing in the second, passive voice in the fourth and fifth. None of these is a fatal flaw, of course, but they suggest that you're getting yourself all worked up over marketing something that's nowhere near ready.

Although this isn't what you asked (and may be deleted for being off topic if a moderator thinks that's best for the thread), I urge you to forget about agents and publishers and websites and TV appearances and signings and audio books and all the rest of it. Put all your energy, all your focus, into writing the really terrific book you need for the other things to become factors.

And remember that there are dozens--hundreds--of writers ready to help you as questions or doubts or research problems arise. But you gotta write that terrific novel before deciding anything about how to sell it, okay?

Maryn, who needs to do the same thing

Elwyn · Oct 4, 2005

Typos, awkward phrasing, passive voice

Maryn said:
We all see that link to your website, with excerpts from your book, in the signature line of every post. Those who click on it see a typo in the first line, an uncomfortably awkward phrasing in the second, passive voice in the fourth and fifth. None of these is a fatal flaw, of course, but they suggest that you're getting yourself all worked up over marketing something that's nowhere near ready.

Hey, I'm brand new at this, and very open to suggestions on how to reword the following -

The planet Altara suffers the same fate as what many scholars believe happened to the Earth thousands of years ago. A Shangri-la is secretly invaded by small group of exiles that use their superior intellect to unleash unthinkable horrors on the planet’s inhabitants.

It is the duty of the Elves, the planet's overseers, to protect the Gnomes and Dwarves from ever growing evil and destruction, and in the process discover who they themselves really are.

What trials help transform the young Princess into a
Sovereign Queen?

I still can't find the typo! :Shrug:

Thanks - and please continue to point out mistakes!

Old Hack · Oct 5, 2005

"The planet Altara suffers the same fate as what many scholars believe happened to the Earth" would be improved gramatically if it were changed to, "The planet Altara suffers the same fate as that which many scholars believe happened to the Earth", but it's still clunky, inelegant prose.

I've had a look at your website and read a little of your chapter five (and why chapters five and ten: why not chapter one? It's what an agent or editor would want) and I have to agree with the previous poster (Maryn?). You're trying to run before you can walk. Don't worry about promotions, downloads, pretty graphics for the cover just yet: instead work on your writing. Everything else can be taken of by a publisher but if you haven't got the writing right (and with all due respect you haven't, not yet) then there will be no book, regardless of all the thought you have put into it.

I realise that this post reads very harshly. I don't mean to insult you, or to offend you, but I don't want to mislead you either.

I take writing very seriously and, having been in the publishing industry for a very long time (I've worked as an editor, a publicist, a journalist, sales person, researcher and ghost-writer, and have published fiction, non-fiction, and poetry) I sort-of know my way around. Just concentrate on your writing. Everything else will follow, when it's time.

Elwyn · Oct 5, 2005

Old Hack -

Believe me, I welcome harsh criticism- especially from those who know their way around! Maybe a writing class (for me) is in order?

Thanks!

Maryn · Oct 5, 2005

Elwyn, I don't have nearly as much experience as Old Hack (who I bet isn't all that old and probably not a hack, either), but if you're interested in some input--honest but tactful, not harsh!--on your excerpt from Chapter Ten, I could probably find the time to go over it. I've read it and re-read it several times. It's got common problems I've seen many times (because I used to write them myself).

Is it posted at Share Your Work, by any chance?

Maryn, glad she took writing classes

ChunkyC · Oct 5, 2005

To hop back to the 'listening to books' topic....

I don't think there's anything better than holding a novel in your hands; the feel of the paper, the sound of turning pages, even the scent adds to the enjoyment of the experience of reading a great book. Yet when I'm in the car driving to and from work (25 minutes each way) I would much rather be listening to my audiotape copy of Lawrence Block's Telling Lies for Fun and Profit (item 2) or Barbara Kingsolver's Homeland and Other Stories, than listening to the tripe on the radio. Both these audiobooks are read by the authors and are a joy to listen to.

Elwyn · Oct 5, 2005

Chapter 10 Excerpt

Maryn -

"Is it posted at Share Your Work, by any chance?"

It is now!

Heading: For Maryn's critique from Elwyn
under the Sci-Fi/Fantasy stuff.

TIA

Listening to books?

Elwyn

Jamesaritchie

Elwyn

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Aconite

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

Elwyn

LightShadow

defender of the blahs!

dawinsor

Dorothy A. Winsor

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

NicoleJLeBoeuf

a work in progress

Aconite

stranger

practical experience, FTW

Nicholas S.H.J.M Woodhouse

swooping after you

britwrit

Elwyn

sassandgroove

Sassy haircut

Elwyn

Maryn

I Tried

Elwyn

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Elwyn

Maryn

I Tried

ChunkyC

It's hard being green

Elwyn