Reasons to Turn Your Book into an Audiobook 

Audiobooks are the latest book format to revolutionize the publishing industry, and even though they have some detractors in the literary world, the data doesn’t lie: People love audiobooks. Not everyone has the time, desire, or capacity to sit and read a book, but who doesn’t love being read to? 

We can listen to audiobooks while we cook, drive, clean, work out, or relax, enjoying the opportunity to consume quality content without sacrificing other things in our busy lives. For you as an author, this means expanding your demographic to include people who might otherwise not buy a print or a digital version of your book.

With the audiobook market growing exponentially and expected to continue in the same vein, there’s never been a better time to turn your book into an audio file people can listen to. It can dramatically expand your reach and boost your sales to surprising heights. If you want to turn your book into an audiobook, check out our personalized end-to-end audiobook creation services. 

Let’s start with the basics. 

What makes a good audiobook?

It’s important to keep in mind that not every book lends itself to conversion into an audiobook. Art or photography books and technical books that rely heavily on images, charts, and graphs don’t make successful audiobooks as the visual aspects are hard to convey to listeners. The same applies to guidebooks, cookbooks, and other types of reference books that aren’t usually read in a linear or sequential order. 

That said, pretty much any narrative story or prose will work in audio format. Thus, if you’ve written a memoir, a biography, a similar non-fiction book, or any type of fiction book regardless of the genre, your story can make a fantastic audiobook. 

Enhance your storytelling 

Having a professional voice actor record a reading of your book can add to the storytelling, the drama, and the immersive experience. Expression, inflection, accent, and tone can convey nuances in your story that reading alone can’t, adding to the sensory experience of the listener. Multiple voice actors, sound effects, and music can also be used in an audiobook recording and will undoubtedly enhance your storytelling. Don’t just attempt to record yourself reading the book if you aren’t trained in oral storytelling since a poor reading will just end up being a failed investment.

As for inflection and tone, you can add notes to help guide the voice actor, if necessary. When people read, they fill in the tone themselves as they play out the scene in their head, resulting in a natural and context-appropriate inflection that may nonetheless differ from what you envisioned. When you release an audiobook, you can present the tone that you, the author, always intended.

Grow your audience (and profits)

Authors who have turned their books into audiobooks are learning they can reach a much larger audience than they would with just print or digital versions of their books. From people who simply don’t like to read to those who don’t have the time or can’t because of accessibility or disability, audiobooks have the power to reach a whole new demographic of customers not considered traditional readers. 

Having your book translated and recorded as an audiobook in a foreign language is yet another way to break into a new market, bringing your story to non-readers all over the world. It’s certainly an investment since it’s not necessarily cheap, but if you commit to a high-quality reading, the return can be incredible.

For people with vision impairment, audiobooks have opened up a new world of literature. Many publishers don’t release braille copies of their books, but now technology has made audiobooks widely available. People with learning disorders such as dyslexia also benefit from audiobooks as this format eliminates many of the challenges they face when reading. These demographics may not represent huge swaths of the population, but since little is generally done to accommodate them, you may find that they become more loyal followers. Kids are another key demographic behind the expansion of the audiobook industry, with many parents and teachers using audiobooks to get children more interested in reading. 

Now add to the mix busy parents, the elderly, and those who spend most of their workdays alone or doing physical work (for example, drivers, cleaners, and stockroom workers), and you’ve just grown your audience exponentially by including people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to take the time to read your book. 

Of course, a larger audience equals greater profits. Turning your book into an audiobook will allow you to tap into a market you wouldn’t reach with print or digital versions, making this a profitable endeavor for many authors. Moreover, releasing an audiobook implies that your work is good enough to warrant investing a large sum in voice talent; prospective listeners assume you would only do that if your story were truly worth it.

Diversify your work (and income) 

Whether your book is new or a re-launch, published in print or as an eBook, an audio version can inject new life into your story (and income stream). From creating the opportunity to promote a new version of your book to reaching a whole new demographic, audiobooks offer multiple advantages. 

A major one is that you’ll never run out of stock since the digital audio file will always be available as either a replacement or a supplement to your print or eBook, immediately available for download wherever in the world your listeners are. Anyone with an internet connection can access your audiobook, even if they can’t find it on bookshelves. Audiobooks also provide an opportunity to get creative with the way the recording is produced, allowing you to bring to life the details you so clearly imagined when writing the book and delivering an even more immersive experience to your fans. 

It’s easy to see why so many people—listeners and authors alike—love audiobooks and why the industry is growing at such a rapid pace. To join the audiobook revolution, head over to our audiobook creation services to learn more about the packages we offer.