Karen Commins

Is This Coach Right For Me?

13 December 2017

When people ask my advice about getting training, I refer them to my article 10 questions to ask coaches and demo producers and the vetted coaches and consultants linked in the Connections section of my NarratorsRoadmap.com home page.

Recently, someone told me she wanted to develop confidence and wondered whether I thought a particular coach was sincere. I recognized that she really wanted to know if the coach was right for her before she committed to spend the money for the course.

I decided other people may find my answer with 4 additional questions to be useful, so I’m posting the modified version of my reply here.

From Casting a Narrator to Happily Ever After

13 December 2017

Last week, I looked at the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX.com) as a matchmaking site between indie authors and narrators. Today in part 2 of the series, we’ll continue exploring the ACX process, from casting the narrator you love to living happily ever after with your completed audiobook.

I should mention at this point that ACX refers to everyone on the production side as a producer. Some producers only manage the project, but most ACX producers are also the narrator with whom you will contract your book. Therefore, I’ll use these 2 words interchangeably.

In most cases, one narrator will perform the entire book, giving voices to characters of both genders. You can find your ideal narrator by taking either of 2 non-mutually exclusive paths on ACX: contact narrators individually, or let them find your title.

Author Seeks Narrator: Must Love Books

6 December 2017

Indie audiobook publishing, where you produce your audiobook and retain all audio rights, follows a similar format as Internet dating. You register on a site and create an intriguing profile hoping to attract Mr. or Ms. Right for a long-term relationship.

In this 2-part series, I’ll discuss audiobook publishing using the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX.com), the first and best-known audiobook matchmaking site. You’ll see how to maximize your ACX title listing to captivate your ideal narrator! I’ll address independent production on other platforms in future articles.

Finding Your Own Road to Tara

8 November 2017

A few years ago, I started my audio publishing empire with a public domain book. Today, I am thrilled to publish my first contemporary audiobook ROAD TO TARA: THE LIFE OF MARGARET MITCHELL by Anne Edwards.

I’m not the first narrator to acquire audio rights and publish an audiobook of a current book. Nevertheless, I wanted to retrace my steps in this article to inspire more of you to follow a similar path. As actor/writer/director Bob Fraser used to urge people, you can cast yourself!

Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

3 October 2017

Each day an author doesn’t have her books in audio, she’s leaving money on the table.