Critical Reviews

When you fill out the info about your book with your distributor, you’ll generally see a space to enter quotes about the book. With a little research, you may find some excellent reviews of your book from which you can pull quotes. You can see an example of Critic Reviews on my Audible listing for Ida Tarbell’s autobiography All in the Day’s Work.

I use these Google search terms at NYTimes.com and KirkusReviews.com, filling in those URLS where I show sitename.com below:

Site:sitename.com book title review

Site:sitename.com book title author name

With the site: command, Google searches the entire site and shows those pages with my search terms. Usually, anything about a public domain book in the New York Times would be on their Timesmachine site, which has images of every issue from 1851 through 2002. I use a link for the New York Times from my library to read any page on their current or Timesmachine sites and capture any screen shots I need.

Blurbs

Reading how the publisher originally described the book to buyers is very useful. For this exercise, I query the Publishers Weekly archive which is available to its subscribers. I no longer have access to PW through my library and instead have bought my own subscription for several years. The archive includes almost 150 years of issues with every ad and review in place!

I recently produced, narrated, and published the audiobook of The White Flower by Grace Livingston Hill. The book was originally published in 1927 and became public domain on 1 January 2023.

I searched Publishers Weekly. I didn’t see any reviews for this book, but I did find 2 publisher ads for it. The left one appeared on 24 September 1927, and the one on the right was in the 1 October 1927 issue.

You can click on either one to enlarge them. The one on the right from 10/1/1927 has more description. I used part of the publisher’s text when writing my own!

Cover Art

Inspiration for cover art comes from many places. In the case of The White Flower, I’m thrilled to report that I am using the original artwork shown in the 1927 ads!

I found an eBay listing for the book that miraculously still had the dust jacket. As a bonus, the jacket seemed to be in pretty good shape. It cost $15, and the shipping was free. Of course I bought it!

Once the book arrived here, I scanned the cover in my flatbed scanner.

Drew edited the image in Photoshop so that it’s square for the audiobook. He restored the torn edges and re-colored each letter in the title to give it a consistent, bright look. He had to re-do the author’s name in order to make space for mine. We couldn’t find the exact font from the title for the author’s and my bylines, so we used a very similar one. I couldn’t be happier with the result!

This image of the couple hanging on to a caboose platform depicts a pivotal scene in the book. However, I might not have thought about if I had needed to create or hired an artist to create cover art. If I hadn’t been lucky to find a book with that original cover, seeing the original design in the ad would have given me a good angle to pursue.

I hope this info and example spark new trains of thought for you on your next public domain adventure!

The post Art, Blurbs, and Critics for PD Books appeared first on Karen Commins.

I started to write this quick story as a Twitter thread, but I strive to keep my original content on MY site and share it on social media.

On Tuesday 3 June 2014, I wrote in my journal:

The recording of FANNY HERSELF [by Edna Ferber] is done! Yay!

I had been thinking…of how to change the title to make the book different from the free edition…I want to retain the original title but add something to it to differentiate it [due to Kindle rules for publishing public domain books.]

The Audioblocks site [now Storyblocks.com] lets you search by instrument, mood, and time in addition to genre…I knew I wanted something with a violin solo since Fanny’s brother Theodore was a child prodigy violinist. She and her mother had to do without almost everything in order to pay for his studies overseas. He doesn’t even have a lot of lines in dialogue, yet you always know about Fanny’s brother.

I found a piece that sounds like a clock ticking and machinery before a violin solo of a contrasting tune emerges. It has a tension that suddenly resolves, just like the end of the book! I really liked it on the first listen and declared it perfect on the second one when Drew listened and liked it, too. The music was named “Passionate Instinct”.

And “Passionate Instinct” is now part of my ebook’s title — FANNY HERSELF: A PASSIONATE INSTINCT. Drew and I both think it sort of describes the book.

Not only did I write all of that in my journal, but I also wrote this 2014 article about finding and using M. Leone Bracker’s hand-drawn illustrations from 1917 in my ebook.

I looked at the illustrations this morning, and sure enough, I found one of Theodore playing violin for his teacher.

You can hear the haunting violin music I selected for the credits below.

Opening credits (Note that book was in the public domain when I recorded it. I would now say “The text is in the public domain” instead of the details I gave about the original publication.)

Closing credits

The post The Story Behind the Story Part 2: Music appeared first on Karen Commins.

I’ve recently enjoyed participating in several Clubhouse chats. In fact, I held an Ask Me Anything on the site on 9/16/22 to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of NarratorsRoadmap.com.

If you click the link above, you’ll see it goes to an Evernote page that has the Clubhouse graphic and audio recording of the chat, as well as an AI-generated transcript from Sonix.ai. (Please see the additional comments about the transcript in the notes below.)

When creating an open Clubhouse room, you can choose to turn on Replays. The Replay is created automatically once you open the room and will be available on Clubhouse until you delete it. Replays let your audience hear the discussion at a later time, share the link to the chat on and off Clubhouse, skip to the next speaker, and make 30-second clips.

Just as — perhaps even more — importantly, Replays can be re-purposed in other ways, such as in part or whole on other social media sites. You know I LOVE to re-purpose content! For instance, I could transcribe one or more recordings and copy my words to a blog article. I’ve also extracted clips to make audiograms to promote the replay in between live events. I’m thrilled to announce that my Clubhouse shows are available on NarratorsRoadmap.com with AI-generated transcripts and on podcast platforms like Apple and Amazon/Audible!

I found that downloading the Replay wasn’t as straightforward a process as I would like. After another narrator who ran a Clubhouse room was unable to download the audio, I decided to create this 4:49 video to show the steps.

Notes:

1) Only THE ROOM CREATOR and/or THE PERSON WHO STARTS THE ROOM may download the recording. This article states that only the creator can do it. I’ve found if I start the room that another person created, I can download the replay.

1A) Clubhouse made changes in how you find the house and its replays, but the download sequence works the same way I showed in the video.

2) I have an iPhone. The screens and steps on an Android phone might be somewhat different.

3) If you have an iPhone and an Apple computer, you can use AirDrop to “magically” copy the file from your phone, assuming you have the right version and are within Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range. It’s even faster and easier than the email solution that I showed, but I said email is easiest because everyone can do it. You’ll find Airdrop instructions here.

4) My video beta tester said the last page they Googled appeared at 3:01 in the video, where the NarratorsRoadmap.com page is shown in my background. As I wrote in a screen annotation at 2:51, you’re in Safari at this point. Therefore, the last site you visited will appear on your screen.

5) My video beta tester also reported that the download arrow discussed at 3:05 in the video appeared at the bottom of the screen rather than the top. Apple moved the Safari URL tab bar to the bottom of the screen when they released iOS 15. You can move it back to the top of the screen to match my orientation by using these instructions.

6) For some reason I haven’t discovered, the Replay is an MP4 file, which is a video format. I used Camtasia to convert it to an MP3 file. Pro Tools also would convert it, but it was taking too much time.

7) If you want to transcribe your replay, here’s my affiliate link to Sonix.ai as we both get free minutes if you sign up for the service. I use Sonix a lot to transcribe podcasts and YouTube videos where I want the info but don’t have time to listen and take notes. Sonix doesn’t write the words with 100% accuracy, but the 80% or more (usually 90-95%) that it gets right is enough for me to understand the gist of what was said. If parts of the transcription don’t make sense, the audio is cued with the text, so it’s easy to hear a certain segment. Sonix also doesn’t necessarily include the proper punctuation on the transcript.

8) I’ve started a Clubhouse House named Narrators Roadmap and invite you to join! You don’t need to be a member of the NarratorsRoadmap.com site. This House is open to everyone! Every other Wednesday, I host the Pit Stop room — your fortnightly mid-week rest area to refuel your drive! I talk with audiobook narrators who have at least 1 other profession. They’ll inspire us to use all of our talents and gifts! You can hear previous shows and/or read their transcripts on the Pit Stop page.

When Clubhouse rolled out its 2.0 platform in September, it made all Houses into private spaces. People can attend new rooms only by invitation. Replays made after the update are only available to House members and will have a little lock icon on them to indicate that status.

The post How to Download Clubhouse Replays appeared first on Karen Commins.

During and after the video broadcast, I chatted with viewers. As usual for the Queen of Links, I shared a number of resources in that chat session. I also answered a number of questions.

While the chat is embedded with the video, I wanted to post all of the ancillary material and discussion here on my blog to make it easier to reference. That way, you can watch the video and not worry about missing anything.

Links to resources I mentioned in the video with time stamps:

3:51 My article outlining 10 questions to ask coaches and demo producers  I would also refer you to a more recent article Is This Coach Right For Me?

7:51 Audio Publishers Association

9:36 Sisters in Crime

9:47 Decatur Book Festival

10:36 Barbara Sher’s fabulous book Wishcraft

12:04 Facebook groups for narrators:

• Audiobook Crowd
• Indie (ACX and Others) Narrators and Producers Facebook group I referred to it as the ACX  group in the video. After you join the Indie/ACX FB group, be sure the check the extensive group FAQ, which I created and maintain.
• Narrating Audio Books from the Public Domain
• Professional Audiobook Narrators is not visible to the general public. A current member must add you, and you must have done 10+ books to be approved.
• Findaway Voices Narrators I didn’t name it in the video, but you’ll want to join it if you narrate for Findaway Voices.

13:18 C. J. Hayden’s Get Clients Now! book

13:43 C. J. Hayden’s Business Building Writing workshop

14:23 Krista Tippett’s “On Being” interview with Seth Godin

Other links I shared in the chat:

I send newcomers to audiobook narration to this article.

Someone in the chat mentioned being an introvert. I replied that lots of narrators are introverts, including me! Here’s an article of 3 networking tips for introverts. I still smile at the graphic I created for that post!

Links on ACX:

My ACX profile

My articles on the ACX blog:

• How to Act Like an Audiobook Narrator
• A Narrator’s Look at Audiobook Marketing – Part One
• A Narrator’s Look at Audiobook Marketing – Part Two

ACX U Chat Questions and Answers

Rather than merely copying the questions and answers in the order they appeared, I’m going to resequence them and group related questions together to make them more organized and digestible. Of course, I’ll add links to this info as well, which is another bonus of viewing it here instead of in the chat window.

Q: When you started, did you start with shorter auditions? Or just plunge into what you were interested in?
A: The AUDITION is short, no more than 5 minutes, but the BOOK never was. Starting with a short book seems intuitive but really is counter-productive long term. Many ACX producers take short books to get their feet wet, and usually those books don’t look good in their portfolio 7 years later. I would say to start with REAL books like mysteries, romances, etc. no matter the length.

Q: How detailed do you get with your notes for intention/feeling? Do you evaluate by chapter only, or do you get as detailed as marking each paragraph with an intention or feeling?
A: I used to mark up my texts in different colors for every line of dialogue but now find that too distracting. I underline dialogue tags that describe the emotion, like “she said angrily”. I might write a quick description of the emotion in a scene, or something about the subtext to remember, but usually I remember the emotions from my prep.

Q: So, you’ve trained your eyes to see the underlined dialogue tag, even if it comes later than the dialogue?
A: Yes, for the most part, but I do underline some tags during prep.

Q: Do you self-direct or always have a separate director?
A: I’m blessed that my husband Drew directs all of my performances and even most of my auditions. If I didn’t have him, I’d team up with another narrator to direct each other. Having a 2nd set of ears hearing everything and someone to discuss the text with makes the performance more accurate and emotionally rich!

Q: What was the self-directing game changer for you? Could be a technique or a moment where things really clicked and you could see a noticeable change in your narration.
A: Paul Ruben’s narrator workshop was a game changer. He pushes you to be more emotionally invested in each and every word from the author — what he calls “upping the stakes”. He also teaches you to mine the subtext for your approach to the performance. You make think you’re going overboard on the emotion, but may not come across that way to the listener.

Q: Do you ever have a concern of coming across as “hammy” in a performance? And how do you assess that?
A: No, I don’t have that concern because I view fictional characters as real people and act them that way. You can’t just “do a voice” for a character. That’s when it starts to sound like a caricature.

Q: What do you mean by “you can’t just ‘do a voice’ for a character”? Do you mean that can’t be the only thing you do to differentiate that character’s personality?
A: Doing a voice” is different than “being a character”. So many things in the text will tell you about the character’s personality that it helps you shape their voice, rhythm, and speech.

Q: What is your process for maintaining consistency of characters over the reading process?
In my prep, I figure out who the character is. I wrote a post on the ACX blog discussing that process. [See section 2 of this article.] While recording, I make and save WAV files of each character.

Q: Why save WAV files instead of just saving in the native format of the app, e.g., Audacity project files?
A: If it’s a WAV, I don’t have to stop one project and load another to hear a voice match.

Q: During 3rd person narrations of a book, how much emotion or “character” do you assign to those portions?
A: The 3rd person narrator definitely has a point of view and is often in everyone’s mind (for fiction). You can really mine the subtext for characters’ emotions for a nuanced performance.

Q: Have you done any Non-Fiction books? If so, how is your approach different?
A: Yes, I LOVE non-fiction books! In fact, ROAD TO TARA: THE LIFE OF MARGARET MITCHELL by Anne Edwards is nominated for a Voice Arts Award in Audiobook Biography! Non-fiction still requires ACTING and being emotionally committed to the author’s words. In many ways, it’s more difficult than fiction because you have to speak with the author’s knowledge and confidence. Plus, non-fic books often require lots of pronunciation research. My approach is pretty much the same for any book — you have to emotionally connect.

Q: We have been having a bit of a back and forth re: nonfiction reads. Do you read the whole book beforehand in nonfiction like you must to in fiction?
A: PRE-READ THE WHOLE BOOK EVERY TIME. No exceptions. If you don’t know where the author is taking you, regardless of fiction/non-fic, how could you possibly expect to take the listener along with you?

Q: When you find your focus straying, what do you do to stay focused on the narration?
A: I usually take a quick break out of the booth. If something’s bothering me, I might write it down in my journal. If it’s summer and thoughts of being in the pool keep me unfocused on my work, I get in the pool!

Q: Are certain times of the day better for your voice for recording? Like, more energy in the morning?
A: Vocal energy and resonance depends on each person and things like your previous night’s sleep, hydration, stress, etc. I hope everyone knows they shouldn’t scream at concerts (sorry Barry Manilow!)

Q: The dullest of geeky questions – what mic do you generally use for audiobooks?
A: It’s not dull, and I worked a career in IT, so I’m a geek, too! I have only had 1 mic throughout my vo/narration career: a Neumann TLM 103. [As of Jan. 2019, I upgraded to a Neumann TLM 49.]

Q: What’s inspiring you today? (This one and the next from AudibleACX as we wrapped up)
A: We just moved to a new house, so I’m being inspired by seeing boxes getting unpacked and art hung on the walls! The studio was the first thing we did and looks gorgeous!

Q: We definitely need pics!
A: Absolutely! We ran out of time during my session, so I didn’t post these photos in the chat. I’m delighted to share them here.

Labor Day weekend 2005 was the first time we assembled my WhisperRoom. We spent Labor Day weekend 2018 in WhisperRoom assembly, take 2!

The booth has over 40 pieces and weighs over a ton once assembled. Drew did all of the disassembly at our previous house and reassembly in the new one, with only minor help from me: steadying pieces while he screwed bolts, and lifting the ceiling panels into place. We had the moving crew transport the disassembled WhisperRoom when they moved our furniture.

In the above picture, Drew joins the 2 floor panels on top of the base on casters. We left the casters on the frame during the move. The photo below shows him putting the last screws in the ceiling about 4.5 hours later.

Here’s a pano shot of the new studio! I’m in the booth. My executive producer Yogi is facing Drew, who stopped directing to take this picture.

The post ACX U – Acting With Intention appeared first on Karen Commins.

After poring over my Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet, an author recently asked me whether QR codes are still relevant and in use.

I responded that the answer to that question depends on who you ask. You’ll find compelling arguments on both sides, but the codes seem to be regaining their popularity.

Lifehacker reported in April that Apple iOS 11 and some Android phones can read QR codes natively, so you no longer need a special app to scan them. Presumably, Apple wouldn’t spend the time and cost to develop this feature if no one wanted to use it. You simply click on the smartphone camera app, point it at the code, and the operating system will scan and convert it for the browser.

This SocialMediaToday article, also from April, talks about Facebook rolling out QR codes for Pages and links to an article about the popularity of these codes in Japan and China.

I agree with the assertions in this article that QR codes continue to be good tools as long as you use them correctly — i.e., only on printed materials though they will scan from the screen — and keep the linked content updated and optimized for mobile access.

I decided to post this article on my blog for narrators because I have a QR code on the back of my business card that links to my web site. This way, I can hand out my business card to someone, and they can instantly connect to and HEAR my demos.

My web site URL is in my email address. Many people would prefer to type it, may not have the ability to scan the code, or may not understand the code.

Since my logo looks like a vacation postcard, I positioned the QR code on the back where the stamp would be on a real postcard.

I even have a QR code on my résumé. If I ever need to leave a printed copy with someone, they can scan the code and go to my web site.

For what it’s worth, I used business card CDs before I moved back to paper cards with QR codes. While they had a “WOW” factor, they were expensive and time-consuming to produce. In addition, if I changed my demos, I couldn’t update any business card CDs on hand because I had to burn the files onto the CD. What’s worse, people sometimes had difficulties in playing the small, rectangular CD on their system. Today, so many computers are sold without CD readers that I would advise narrators to avoid making CDs.

I also would avoid using business card thumb drives unless you are sharing them with someone who is expecting to receive files from you.

This article includes a section creating and using QR codes in your marketing. You can use these ideas whether you are promoting a particular book or yourself as a narrator.

Updated in April 2019 to show 3 recent examples illustrating that QR codes are becoming even more entrenched in business:

1. Longhorn restaurants print QR codes on the dining check. You can scan the code in their app and pay for your meal without waiting for your server, saving time for everyone. This measure also gives you added security over your credit card as you never hand it to anyone.

2. Chateau Elan, a resort and winery near my house, must be following my lead as they include a QR code on their business card. Once you scan it, you’re taken to their TripAdvisor page so you can leave a review.

3.  VOAtlanta assigned each attendee a QR code in the event app. Rather than swapping and keeping up with business cards, attendees could scan QR codes and have the other attendee’s app profile page added to their contacts within the app.

The post Are QR Codes Still Used? appeared first on Karen Commins.

Congratulations! You’ve got a brand new audiobook! It’s time to get the word out about it!

I minored in marketing while in college and have always loved to think about marketing ideas. Sandra Beckwith at BuildBookBuzz.com recently asked me a number of questions related to audiobook marketing. Our interview was posted today, and you can read it here.

A while back, I wrote 2 articles on the ACX.com blog to address this very topic. In Part One, I explained some reasons why people are resistant to listening to audiobooks. I then offered 3 ways to make your audiobooks more discoverable to an audience, including an invaluable site to use when developing a promotions calendar.

Part Two contains 4 more ways to promote your audiobooks and includes some very specific tactics about several social media sites, such as instructions about adding the audio edition of your title to Goodreads and subscribing to my Twitter list of audiobook reviewers and bloggers.

While I encourage you to mine those articles and their comments for their wealth of actionable steps, I’m excited to share these 6 low-cost avenues of audiobook promotion.

Author Mentions

The number one thing that any author can do to sell your audiobook is to consistently alert your fans that you have an audiobook available!

Any time you promote your book, make it a habit to say that the audiobook is also available.

I have been astonished and dismayed by the number of audio rights holders who use ACX to create their audiobooks but then do little or nothing to promote the finished product. The audiobook won’t sell itself!

Some narrators like me heavily promote our titles. However, narrators generally can’t spend much energy marketing any one book as we are constantly recording the next one. The author is the person who wrote the words in the book and has the fan base who most wants to know about — and is most likely to buy — an audiobook edition.

Here are some easy ways to constantly update your fans specifically about your audiobooks:

• Write progress reports on your blog during audiobook production.
• Add a blurb about or even a link to your audiobook in the front matter of your other editions.
• Create a sales page on your web site specifically for your audiobooks, or add links to the audiobooks along with the print editions on your site. Include the audiobook “buy” links from Amazon, Audible, and iTunes every time you mention the book (your web site, blog, social media, interviews elsewhere, etc.)
• Notify your email list about all new audiobook releases.
• Conduct an audiobook event on Facebook to celebrate release day or some other occasion in your promotions calendar.
• Host a Google Hangout On Air or a Zoom chat with your narrator and invite your fans to participate in the live stream. Fans love to have a look behind the scenes! Once the event is over, the recorded video of the Hangout is posted on YouTube. You and your narrator could then share that video on your blogs and social media sites for even more coverage.

Audiobook Boom

The popular AudiobookBoom.com site is the brainchild of  fellow audiobook narrator Jeffrey Kafer. Audiobook Boom is kind of like BookBub in that it is a paid service where authors and publishers highlight certain titles. However, Audiobook Boom is only for audiobook promotion, and the weekly email newsletters are sent to subscribers who are audiobook listeners.

You pay $10 per title for a  Listen & Review ad. If you used ACX to create your audiobook, you will automatically receive 25 Audible promo codes so you can give copies of your audiobook to eager listeners. With a Listen & Review ad, you’ll quickly receive a number of requests for your book from people who are willing to review it.

Whispersync

If you publish an edition of your book in Amazon’s Kindle format, your audiobook is eligible for the Whispersync feature. This amazing technology allows people to switch seamlessly between the Kindle ebook and the Audible audiobook.

I created a 3-minute video that demonstrates Whispersync in action.

Whispersync also increases sales of both editions. Amazon offers a discount on the audiobook if the buyer first purchases the Kindle edition. In fact, some people will buy the Kindle book simply to get the audiobook at a discount.

If you promote your free ebook on services like BookBub, you can expect to see an immediate ripple effect of sales of your audiobook edition. For instance, a recent Kindle Free ad on BookBub resulted in over 300 audiobook units sold the same day! The royalties from the audiobook sales might easily exceed the cost of the BookBub listing!

QR Codes

You’ve probably seen the square black and white boxes on coupons, in magazines, on store shelves, and on actual products. These boxes are called Quick Response, or QR, codes, and you can create a QR code on-line for free.

QR codes link to some content of your choosing on-line and can create a deeper level of engagement with a fan. People with smart phones can use an app that takes a picture of the QR code and immediately sends them to your link.

You could print the image of a QR code on a business card, postcard or flyer that you mail or hand out at your live events. If you have a print edition of your book, you could include a QR code in it.

After scanning your QR code in her phone app to read them, the recipient’s browser opens to the link you used when creating the QR code. For example, you might create a QR code link that sends people to your audiobook edition on Audible, plays the MP3 of the audiobook retail sample, or calls up the YouTube video of your Google Hangout with your narrator.

As you can see in these pictures, I have a QR code on the back of my business cards. Once scanned, my QR code will bring up my web site in the phone browser.

Podcasts

A podcast is defined as a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.

With the proliferation of smart phones, podcasts are enjoying increased visibility and popularity, and they are a perfect platform for audiobook promotion!

In a Kindle Direct Publishing newsletter, author Hal Elrod, who has sold over 100,000 copies of his self-published ebook, said, “I can confidently say that the number one key to driving book sales has been securing interviews on other people’s podcasts!”

He further commented, “A great place to start is to look on iTunes in the “New and Noteworthy” section to find podcasters who are new (so they’re not inundated with requests) but are gaining a lot of momentum and listeners. Google them, go to their websites, and reach out to tell them how you and your book would add extraordinary value for their audiences!”

You can also seek out interviews on established podcasts. Harper Audio Presents usually features author interviews, even if the author was published elsewhere. In fact, you’ll find many more terrific podcast possibilities by looking in the iTunes store under Podcasts/Art/Literature.

You even can create your own podcast and host it on your web site and/or Soundcloud. For instance, my colleague Ann Richardson and I recorded each of our InD’ear columns and uploaded the recordings to our Narrators Helping Authors Soundcloud account. If you hold a Google hangout with your narrator and/or fans, you can extract the audio and repurpose it as a podcast.

Radio Shows

A podcast interview is valuable experience and can definitely drive sales, but a real radio station has many more listeners. However, unless you’re a celebrity author, the media probably won’t come looking for you. As with podcasts, you can contact local radio stations and ask to be a guest on a show.

According to morning show host Wayne Kelly, the key to booking radio interviews is that you do NOT want to approach the producers as an author promoting a book! The producer could fear booking an introverted author who would provide no value to the listeners. Instead, you would position yourself as someone who increases audience interest with your specialized insight and comments about current stories.

First, keep a list of topics covered in your book. Authors who research topics for fictional stories would develop expertise in those areas. When it’s time to publicize the book and audiobook, look for hot topics in the news which tie into your subject matter knowledge.

Google stations in your locale. You then can find them on social media and/or call the station to ask for the email address of the person who books the most interviews.

As you can see, you can market your audiobook with your book and as a standalone product. Want even more ideas for audiobook marketing? You’ll find them on my Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet! If you have questions, please leave a comment on the blog or book a personal consultation on my Shop page.

Most of this article originally appeared in the February 2016 issue of InD’Tale Magazine. I’ve updated some of the info and links.

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The post 6 Low-Cost Avenues For Greater Audiobook Sales appeared first on Karen Commins.

To learn more about me, my narration, and audiobook production, please check out my comments and interviews on other sites:

Narrators Cup of Joe with host Daniela Acitelli

1/18/24 If Not This, What Else? You Never Know How Close You Are To What You Seek! with Anne Flosnik

10/5/23 10 Minutes with Joc with Jocqueline Protho

Audiobook Lovin’ Podcast with host Viviana Izzo

9/29/23 Season 5, Ep 3 Narrator Karen Commins

Narrators Cup of Joe with host Daniela Acitelli

12/8/22 People Spend More Time Planning Their Vacation Than They Do Planning Their Lives!

Clubhouse Narrator Focus with hosts Danielle Gensler and Alex Picard

10/27/22 Time Management

The Audiobook Club podcast with host John York

10/22/22 Karen Commins, Chief Cartographer of Narrators Roadmap & Audiobook Narrator

Clubhouse 

9/16/22 My Ask Me Anything

Audiobook Reader’s Review podcast with host Sarah Bacaller

8/1/22 Episode 2

Clubhouse Audiobook Industry Chat with hosts Stephanie Németh-Parker and Amanda Stribling

6/21/22 Public Domain Audiobooks

Clubhouse Ask an Audiobook Pro with hosts Hillary Huber and Vikas Adam

3/14//22 Narrator’s Roadmap

Narrators Cup of Joe with host Daniela Acitelli

10/5/21 What You Focus on Is Important So Focus On What You Want, Not What You Lack

ACX blog

6/8/21 Celebrating 10 Years of Storytellers: Narrator Karen Commins

The Journal

12/11/20 I was mentioned in the article Instructional writer reads, reviews all 940 bestselling novels of 20th century.

Wall Street Journal

11/1/20 The Secrets To Success as an Audiobook Narrator by Kate Murphy
The journalist quoted producers, publishers, and several narrators in this piece. Since I’m not a WSJ subscriber, I can’t see beyond their pay wall. I therefore researched ProQuest at my library and saved this PDF of the article.

VoyageATL 
4/29/20 Meet Karen Commins

Audiobook Narration for Beginners Podcast
Fellow narrator J. Rodney Turner hosts this podcast to help newcomers learn about audiobook narration. Audiobook narration is my favorite subject!

7/1/19 Episode 26: Karen Commins – Part 1
7/8/19 Episode 27: Karen Commins – Part 2
7/15/19 Episode 28: Karen Commins – Part 3

Georgia Radio Reading Service
4/17/19  I’m honored to be highlighted in the April 2019 newsletter as Volunteer of the Month.

ACX University
11/2/18 Acting With Intention
In this 16:31 video, I talk about setting career goals and staying motivated as you continue on your path. In the concurrent chat, I offered resources and answered many questions. You can find all of that ancillary material in this post.

The Audiobook Speakeasy Podcast

7/23/18 Episode 26: Karen Commins
Host Rich Miller is also an audiobook narrator, so it was a special delight to have a drink together and discuss all things about audiobooks in this 1:03.51 show.

The Postcardist Podcast

6/22/18 Episode 22: Greetings From Karen Commins
In this fun and interesting 59:11 show, host Frank Roche and I talk about how I use postcards in marketing my business and so much more!

Build Book Buzz
4/4/18 How To Promote Your Audiobook
In this guest post, I answered 8 questions about audiobook marketing.

Spin Sucks
12/18/17 The Big Question: Audiobooks vs Reading
I explain 2 factors I use to determine whether I listen to or read a book for pleasure.

Animatron
11/29/17 4 Awesome Examples Of Social Media Contests (+ Tips How To Run Your Own Contest)
Hint: I entered a contest for a reason other than the prize.

Acuity Training
9/12/17 Adobe Productivity — 69 Experts Reveal Their Top Tips
I always say technology is my friend, and I offer 2 tips here: 1 on Photoshop, and 1 about Adobe Export PDF

Business News Daily
6/15/17 Evernote: 7 Features You Should Be Using

FanGirlNation Magazine
5/24/17 Interview With A Narrator: Karen Commins

The Author Biz podcast

1/30/17 Marketing and Promotion for Audiobooks, episode TAB104
Author and host Stephen Campbell and I talk about ways authors can promote their audiobooks.

Stacy Juba, author of Fooling Around With Cinderella
1/5/17 Part 1 about me as a person
1/7/17 Part 2 about the audiobook production process

The James Altucher Report, Dec. 2016 (private subscription)

Amy Metz, author of Murder & Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction
10/14/16 part 1 about me as a person
10/20/16 part 2 about the audiobook production process

East-West Audio Body Shop webcast with hosts George Whittam and Dan Lenard
6/22/15 EWABS Episode 193 Audiobook Roundtable

Wendy Pitts, fellow narrator
3/5/15 Monthly Mentoring column

April Holgate audiobook listener/reviewer
12/30/15 Update
12/28/14 Original Interview

Advertising Age Magazine

2/15/10
I responded to an editorial about Super Bowl ads and noted that those without voiceover were not as effective.

LibriVox Community Podcast

12/19/08 Episode 93  Starting at :28, I talk about getting started as a volunteer reader.

The Publicity Hound blog

1/28/07
I advised a voiceover talent who wanted to know actions they could take to market themselves.

Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine

June 2006
I was profiled in a story about home improvements after we learned some hard lessons about contractors in building an addition on our house for my studio.

The post Press Page appeared first on Karen Commins.

Each Twitter list is for reading tweets from a curated group of people. You can’t tweet to the list.

Its usefulness lies in the fact that all of these people are grouped together in one place. You’ll be able to stay focused on audiobooks and correspond with audiobook folks without following all of them individually.

• Audiobook Narrators
• Audiobook Publishers
• Audiobook Blogs and Reviews
• Audiobook Podcasts
• All Audiobooks includes industry professionals from all areas of the business (publishers, narrators, bloggers, reviewers)

To subscribe to any of my Twitter lists:

Using your browser, login to Twiitter.
Click on one of the links above.
From the List page, click Subscribe to follow the list.

You can follow lists without following the individual accounts in that list.

How to find and contact audiobook reviewers on the list

If you click on Members, you can see the description of their Twitter profile. (See the picture.) You may be able to tell at that point whether they are a good candidate to review your book.

You also can click on each one and see their tweets and link to their web site.

Once on the reviewer’s web site, you can look at their review policies and get their email address. This page from the Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog outlines details you’ll want to include in your pitch.

The publisher list has over 100 employees from various audiobook companies. The list makes it easy to reply to and/or retweet them, which is a soft and convenient way of keeping your name in front of them!

I hope this info helps! I encourage you to create your own lists of authors and others who are important to your career. You can choose to make your lists private or public. If you have other questions about Twitter lists, check out this page from the Twitter help center.

If you’d like more tips about being organized for success, check out my blog article Putting the “I’ In OrganIzed, I use Evernote.com as my info and idea storehouse. If you decide to get an Evernote account, I’d love it if you used my referral link.

Last updated 8/14/20 to change to new Twitter URLs

6/11/19 to include link to podcasts

19 June 2018 to correct a link, include a comment about the publisher list, and add a couple other explanatory lines

1 December 2017 to include links to Literate Housewife and Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog

The post How to use Karen Commins’s Audiobook Twitter lists appeared first on Karen Commins.

Don’t you just LOVE to market your audiobooks?

I think many people would answer an emphatic NO! to that question, in part because they feel uncertain how to proceed.

This page will give you plenty of creative ideas for promoting your audiobook!

Before we get to those ideas, I want to point out that the author and publisher should do most of the marketing and promotion of the title. Even on royalty share contracts, the narrator’s role in and effect from promotion is minimal. Narrators typically have larger portfolios than authors and have shorter deadlines, making it impractical for a narrator to do prolonged and/or substantial marketing on individual books.

I hold the view that the best long-term marketing any narrator or author can do is to narrate or write their next book. Being prolific in your field improves your skills, builds the fan base of buyers (with sales and royalties to follow), and always gives you something new to promote.

In addition, authors and publishers would do well to spend the bulk of their time and money in promoting the BOOK rather than a particular edition of it. Some of the methods on this page will work very well for promoting the book, while others will help you give the audiobook greater visibility, at its release and beyond.

Visibility is the key to strong sales.

Why do audiobooks need greater visibility? I answered that question and many more in the interview I gave to Sandra Beckwith at BuildBookBuzz.com. This interview is a good place to start when you’re developing a marketing plan for your book and audiobook.

Distribution Channels

Many authors are expanding their distribution platforms to offer their audiobooks on as many sites as possible. The number and variety of distributors is increasing. Each offers different royalty rates, sales data update frequencies, payment frequencies, and promotional support. You may not be able to publish under your company name.

You need to do your research and pick the distributor(s) that best serve your goals. Note that you can be non-exclusive with ACX/Audible and concurrently distributing on other sites. Some to consider are:

• ACX.com
• BigHappyFamilyAudio.com
• FindawayVoices.com
• Ingram.com
• PublishDrive.com
• SpokenRealms.com

I examined 6 popular distributors across 22 points and offered my recommendations in my Audiobook Distributor Comparison Chart, available exclusively to members of my NarratorsRoadmap.com site. 

Some authors are selling audiobooks from their own site. They use a service like Stripe.com or PayHip.com to process the payment and BookFunnel.com to distribute them.

Even if your audiobook is only available as a digital download, you can still sell it through independent bookstores (as long as you have not signed any exclusive distribution agreements) by distributing it through Libro.fm. This article outlines a number of ways that Libro.fm helps booksellers promote your audiobook. You can even become a Libro.FM affiliate and earn commissions on your sales.

Libraries are important for both discovery and sales of your books. The report on this site discusses libraries’ impact on buying and consumers’ relations with books.

Book store and libraries are looking for programming and may be willing or even eager for authors to give a talk in person or in a livestream video. If you want to do a signing but only have digital editions of your book, you could get postcards printed with your book cover and blurb.

Author Mentions

My article in the February 2016 issue of InD’tale Magazine, “6 Low-Cost Avenues For Greater Audiobook Sales” lists 7 ways authors can mention their audiobooks on their sites and in their newsletter mailing list (you ARE developing and maintaining a mailing list, aren’t you? Check out this 4/27/23 Bookbub author survey for info and ideas!), references my 2 ACX articles below and offers even more promotional and marketing ideas: AudiobookBoom.com (discussed below), Whispersync (explanation and video below in Other Resources), QR codes, podcasts (see this article for a case study), and radio shows.

Author Melissa Storm created this video that shows her attractive sales buttons on her site and her links on Soundcloud. She also discusses email automations to send info about your audiobooks to your mailing list.

The best type of author mention might be a Kickstarter project to secure funding to produce the audiobook! While you might not have Cory Doctorow’s reach or results, you can learn from his 3/31/23 article in Publishers Weekly.

Social Media and Other Tactics

I had the pleasure of being a guest writer on the ACX.com blog to discuss audiobook marketing in depth. Both articles and their comments include examples from other narrators and me.

In Part One, I explained some reasons why people are resistant to listening to audiobooks. I then offered 3 ways to make your audiobooks more discoverable to an audience, with related tactics for each:  be authentic, be consistent, and be creative.

Note that the category of being consistent includes the idea of creating an annual promotions calendar so that you have reasons to promote the audiobook at times other than the release day. I talked about my promotions calendar as one of my narrator hacks on the APA Webcast in Sept. 2020, which APA members can view on the APA site. As you can see in the picture below, my promotions calendar includes my bi-weekly newsletter to NarratorsRoadmap.com members and bi-monthly newsletter to my mailing list. I insert info about my new releases and upcoming projects in the newsletters to my mailing list.

You might be interested to read this article to see how I promoted a book 8 years after the release date based on something in it.

Part Two contains 4 more ways to promote your audiobooks, including marketing based on any locations in the book. I offer some very specific tactics on 5 social media sites (Goodreads, Twitter, Soundcloud, Facebook, YouTube) such as instructions about adding the audio edition to Goodreads and subscribing to my Twitter list of audiobook reviewers and bloggers. Be sure to read my comments for updated info about the Goodreads process. This page gives more detailed instructions about subscribing to and using my Twitter lists to find reviewers.

I created an Evernote check sheet of my minimal publicity actions, which you can view here.

This post from Kate Tilton lists 25 ideas from a March 2015 ACX Twitter chat about audiobook marketing tactics. It includes my organized Storify recap with threaded Q&As.

ACX published a great article on their blog highlighting 7 successful tips and tactics from authors interviewed at 2015 Romantic Times and BookExpo conventions.

You’ll find a growing number of groups of audiobook fans on Facebook. Be sure to read their rules and post promotions only where allowed. A few are listed below, but you can search Facebook for more generalized and genre-specific groups relevant to your topic.

• Audiobook Addicts
• Audiobook Lovers
• Audio Books!
• Audio Books Rock!
• Aural Fixation

You can sign up to receive the free, 3-times-daily alerts from journalists who are looking for sources for stories at Help A Reporter. I especially encourage non-fiction authors to take this step because it’s a great way to share your expertise of your topic with the media. However, fiction authors and narrators still have many opportunities to pitch their ideas and experience as a source. Review their rules for sources before responding to any of the queries. If a journalist uses your information, you can increase your publicity by sharing your media coverage as I did in this Facebook post.

Audible Tools

Share the link to your audiobooks listed on Audible in the most favorable light to you as I explained in this article.

You can add the Audible sample of your audiobook to your web site and social media. If you don’t have the file, you can use this free, nifty utility from narrator Steven Jay Cohen to extract the MP3 sample file from Audible’s site.

If you published your audiobook using ACX, be sure to use the bounty referral links found in your dashboard each time you post about your audiobook.

This article on the ACX blog shows you how to create a 30-day free Audible trial. The free trial may lead to an ACX bounty payment!

Once you have the audiobook in your Audible library, Audible lets you send it for FREE to as many people as you wish! The catch is that each person can only receive 1 book for free. After that point, they have to pay for books sent to them.

Best of all, Audible has created Author pages that take information from Author’s Central on Amazon. This post in the ACX blog explains how to find and share your Author page.

Per this 2019 article on The Verge, ver 100 million Amazon Alexa units have been sold worldwide. This site notes that Amazon Echos have more than 50% of the smart speaker installation base in the US. Not surprisingly, Audible has a list of audiobook-related Alexa commands.

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Reviews

On my AudiobookVillage.com site, you can access my exclusive Reviewers Directory that is searchable by genre and sub-genre and contains contact info, review policies, a link to a sample review and more info for each reviewer.

Publishers and authors can pay to distribute review copies to stores, libraries, journalists, and bloggers through Edelweiss+ and NetGalley.

The Literate Housewife blog offered these tips about submitting requests for reviews. This page from the Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog outlines additional details you’ll want to include in your pitch.

This blog post contains my Storify of an ACX chat about submitting your audiobooks to the premiere industry publication AudioFile Magazine for review. You can access their Review Consideration form here and from the Contact Us page on the AudioFile website.

Library Journal is a major influencer in library sales, as is the Booklist site and magazine from the American Library Association.

Publishers Weekly discontinued its audiobook reviews but started including audio clips with web reviews of the print book. Contact the person named in this article if you’re interested.

AudiobookJukebox.com is an incredible site that indexes thousands of audiobook reviews for all genres. You only have to fill out a simple form to request a review. Reviewers can check the list and request your title if they are interested in it.

AudiobooksUnleashed.com is the brainchild of narrator Sarah Sampino. She automated the fulfillment process of promo code distribution. You load your codes on the listing page, and the site gives one to each listener requesting the audiobook. You can even re-load the codes. A nice value-add is the addition of your mailing list sign-up form.

A similar code fulfillment site AudioFreebies.com created by narrator Amy Soakes allows you to specify whether your promo codes are ACX/Audible or FindawayVoices/AuthorsDirect.

The popular FreeAudiobookCodes.com site (formerly known as AudiobookBoom.com) was developed by audiobook narrator Jeffrey Kafer. It’s like BookBub but is for audiobook promotion. You can advertise your audiobook on this site and use your ACX promo codes to give copies of your audiobook to eager listeners in exchange for a review.

Thanks to the efforts of narrator and audiobook columnist Ann Richardson, InD’tale Magazine accepts audiobooks for review.

Fellow narrator Paul Heitsch created this document that lists sites for audiobook reviews. This Google doc of Audiobook Marketing Resources lists additional reviewers and was created for a panel at the 2017 Romantic Times Convention by narrator Karen White, bloggers Felicia Sparks and Viviana Izzo, and Michele Cobb, the executive director of the Audio Publishers Association.

You can find other reviewers and bloggers on Twitter by subscribing to my Twitter list of audiobook reviewers and bloggers. This post shows you how to subscribe and use the list.

I’ve interviewed several blogger reviewers. You can read those interviews at this link.

In this video, author Chris Fox describes his successful tactic of giving away a significant number of review copies to gain a spot in the top 20 in the Audible category. As I explain in this comment, I advise you against guaranteeing that every person requesting a free audiobook will receive one.

Advertising

BookBub has announced ChirpBooks, its audiobook promotion service for limited time price cuts. You need to distribute your audiobook through Findaway Voices in order to fulfill orders from Chirp because other distributors don’t allow you to set or change your audiobook price. You can submit a Chirp deal on this page. You can even promote your Chirp listing with a BookBub ad. This webinar explains how to apply for and maximize your Chirp deal. Both authors and narrators can even add “Follow Me on Chirp” buttons and icons to your web sites as described in this article.

This article shows 12 BookBub audiobook ads that they say achieved high click-through rates.

You can pay to advertise your audiobook in AudioFile’s Indie Press Showcase.

If you’d like to run Facebook ads for your audiobooks, Melissa Storm covers them in her paid course.

You can use the Bookfunnel service to advertise and deliver short audio to others. Delivery of complete audiobooks is still in beta.

Awards

In this article, audiobook narrator and columnist Ann Richardson explores many of the awards available for audiobooks. I want to highlight 2 awards programs to make you aware of their deadlines:

1. The Call For Entries in the annual prestigious Audies competition, sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association, usually begins in late June.
2. The Voice Arts Awards, presented by the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences, has entry deadlines (before late fees) running from May to August each year.

As Audie winners commented in this article, you can update your cover art to show the award designation and the audiobook’s description to include information about its awards.

Other Resources

When I was a guest on Stephen Campbell’s The Author Biz podcast to talk about audiobook marketing and promotion, I mentioned the ripple effect of BookBub ads for ebooks. As I demonstrate in this 3:03 video, Amazon has created technology called Whispersync that enables you to seamlessly go between the ebook and audiobook or even immerse yourself in both concurrently. Many avid listeners will acquire an Amazon Kindle ebook when it is free or heavily discounted in order to buy the Audible audiobook on Amazon at a lower price. In fact, the ripple effect is so high that the money made on the audiobook royalties following the promotion oftentimes pays the cost of the BookBub ad!

Audiograms are short videos that consist of an audio file added to a picture, like the one shown below. The visible audio wave on the image(s) can be attention-getting on social media. Be aware of the video duration limits set each social media platform.

In this article, narrator and publisher Steven Jay Cohen explains their use and a free audiogram generator named Headliner. I used the service Wavve.co to create the audiogram in this tweet. Wavve lets you create one 1-minute video per month for free; they offer a sliding scale of prices for additional videos. The site allows you to choose different shapes and colors for the wave form, and the support team was super responsive when I ran into an issue with the progress bar not lighting as expected.

You could include your audiograms or other audio samples in your messages sent to your mailing list. This article, which is aimed at podcasters, discusses that audiograms seem better at building brand awareness on social media more than generating click-throughs to the product.

You also could run a contest associated with a new release. This email from narrator Scott Brick gives a great example you could follow.

It’s important to size graphics appropriately for each site. To create interesting and unique images, you might want to use the graphics on BookBrush.com, which has various template book-related mock-ups, or Canva.com.

You could also make or hire someone to produce a video trailer to promote the audiobook. I’ve written text and created a trailer describing the audiobook and others like this one and this one where I used a snippet from the audiobook’s narration and timed the videos and images to go with it. You can share your videos anywhere you’d share an audiogram. Unless you already have lots of followers, though, be aware that getting eyeballs on your trailer could require its own marketing plan!

You might decide to hire someone to help you with specific marketing for your audiobook. Prolific narrator-turned-author Karen White offers an array of services and packages at her site HomeCookedBooks.com.

Members of the ACX Narrators and Producers group on Facebook may also want to check the FAQ in the group’s pinned post. I created the FAQ from that group’s discussions, and it contains 5 excellent discussions about audiobook marketing that may reveal additional tactics. Note that you must have a profile on ACX in order to join the group.

I also recommend that you join the Marketing Audiobooks Wide group on Facebook. Authors and audio rights holders discuss tactics that have worked for them.

Obviously, marketing is such a broad topic and is subject to one’s availability and creativity that I couldn’t possibly write about or include every idea. 

For instance, I don’t have much to say about Pinterest. I pin the audiobook cover on a board of my titles, and I like seeing which titles have been re-pinned. Authors and publishers also use Instagram and other sites to promote their titles.

Rather than being on every social media channel, I stick with the few I enjoy using. It takes time to build a following, and I hold to the belief that “scattered thinking leads to scattered results”!

You’ll find good examples of many tactics discussed in this post in this Bookbub article. Author Penny Reid described her experiences with using these ideas in this post on the BookBub blog.

By steadily employing multiple techniques from this page to promote your audiobooks over time, you’re sure to have consistent sales!

The post Karen Commins’s Audiobook Marketing Cheat Sheet appeared first on Karen Commins.

I debated about listing all of the panelists’ names below as I believe in giving credit where it’s due. I decided not to include the names because a main value in attending the conference is to meet and learn from people who are in a position to hire narrators. My freely sharing all that was said and the names and positions of those influential people would not be fair to the narrators who paid the conference and associated travel costs.

Instead, I’ll share 3 of my take-aways from the day and offer 2 ideas to help you plan for future similar networking opportunities.

Take-aways

1. Find a way to offer video in support of your brand.

Yoel Flohr, a longtime leader in digital media, gave the keynote presentation about the ever-increasing need to incorporate video in support of your brand, whether you’re a publisher or narrator.
Surprisingly, I don’t recall that he used any video in his presentation. Instead, he discussed numerous figures about the staggering amount of video content uploaded each day and the number of users and views for several media channels. He stated that half of all usage is mobile.
He noted that you should not expect to make money directly from your videos for the next 3 years. However,  Flohr maintained that video is the way to stay relevant.
He suggested that you super-serve a niche audience. You need to think like a network TV programmer, meaning that posting new content consistently and regularly is crucial for your success.

2. Create and maintain a narrator web site separate from your commercial work.

I attended 2 panel discussions of great interest to narrators:  Getting To the Next Level, and Ask A Casting Director. Panelists in both sessions made numerous comments about narrator web sites, noting that narrator sites are increasingly important in casting decisions as they show you are a professional performer.

I heard the following advice:

• All of the panelists prefer to receive links to clips rather than samples attached in email.
• Make sure your site is responsive on desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone browsers.
• Include on your site information about your recording environment, language fluency, accents, and musical training.
• If your site links to your social media profiles, only link to those sites you use professionally, such as LinkedIn. Keep your business and personal content separate.
• One casting director said it’s easier for them to send an author to a specific sample on your site rather than referring them to a narrator’s profile on Audible.

3.  Be a problem-solver, not a problem.

Casting directors are extremely busy people. It’s their job to find new talent; they are always hoping to find the perfect person to narrate each book.

They offered a number of ways that narrators can help them, including:

• Be judicious in sending follow-up messages. Unless you have something big to report, every 2-3 months is probably frequent enough contact.
• Learn how to manage your time so that you are not overcommitted on project deadlines or straining your voice.
• Respond very quickly with your best read to audition requests from casting directors, but don’t ask for or expect to receive feedback.

Networking Tips

Here are 2 ideas to help you maximize your future networking opportunities.

1. Set goals for the event BEFORE you go.

Between the educational workshops or panels and the individual discussions, a conference quickly can become overwhelming, especially to an introvert like me. When I say I’m an introvert, I don’t mean I’m shy — far from it. I’m introverted in the sense of how I draw energy and process information, as explained in this article in The Atlantic and this one from the Huffington Post.

When I haven’t created a goal before a networking event, I’m likely to come home with the thought that my time — and money, if I traveled — wasn’t spent well. I’ve learned that I need to decide in advance:

• the presentations I’m most excited to attend and those I can skip
• the 3 people whom I most want to meet

Why only 3 people? First, I research the people I want to meet so I know something about them. In addition, at a conference like APAC with hundreds of people milling about, actually finding the 3 particular people can be difficult!

Your number might be different. The important point is to know who you want to meet and actively look for them. I usually meet far more than the 3 people I was seeking, which is always a wonderful bonus!

Conferences are also a time to catch up with industry friends. I was delighted to see so many narrators I know from our on-line groups, and I wish I could’ve spent quality time with all of them!

One of my goals this year was to finally meet my friend Ann M. Richardson in person. Ann and I have been partners in writing a monthly column about audiobooks for InD’tale Magazine for the past year. While we’ve had many video chats, we hadn’t actually met in person until this APAC! We started texting early in the day so we could find each other and get a picture together!

2. Remember it’s not all about you.

It would be easy to go to a conference or networking event with only my goals in mind. However, I firmly believe it’s better to give than receive, or put another way:

What you put out in the world comes back to you,
usually in a time and way that you don’t expect. 

That thought has always compelled me to help others as much as possible, and the Universe returns the energy to me in some other way. While it was exciting to meet the 3 people in my plan, I was very pleased to be able to introduce some people to each other, knowing they would be good connections for each other. I also enjoyed talking with other narrators and giving them ideas about people to contact and projects to undertake.

Do you have memories of APAC or networking tips to share? Please leave a comment on the blog!

The post 3 Take-aways from APAC 2016 and 2 Networking Tips appeared first on Karen Commins.