EPISODE 24: How to bring your audiobook to market using Draft2Digital with Kevin Tumlinson

Today’s interview is with award-winning and bestselling author, podcast host, keynote speaker, and Director of Marketing for Draft2Digital, Kevin Tumlinson.

Kevin has dozens of novels, novellas, and non-fiction books available and is producing more every day. We were lucky enough to get another interview with Kevin, and today he talks to us all about using Draft2Digital’s new service to turn your books into AUDIO BOOKS!

In this interview Kevin covers how to get your audiobook to market with Draft2Digital:

  • How having an audiobook can expand your author offerings and help you reach more readers.
  • Draft2Digital has partnered with Findaway Voices to produce your audiobook and distribute it to more than 170 countries. And no exclusivity required!
  • You can choose which distributors to sell your audiobook through, including through iTunes and Amazon. This is particularly useful for authors in countries who cannot use ACX to produce their audiobooks.
  • You can record your own audio files and upload them, or you can work with Findaway Voices to find a narrator for your book. There is no royalty split available. You own all the rights and pay for the narrator up front. And your book is professional quality!
  • Lots of great information from Marti about the process involved for the narrator to record your book.
  • Using Findaway Voices through Draft2Digital also means you save the $49 fee!
  • You keep 80% of the royalties from your book sales.
  • The potential to get audio books into schools.
  • You can use this service to distribute your books and still go direct with ACX so you get the lovely bonus money when someone signs up to Audible through your book.

You can find out more information about Draft2Digital and how to partner with them to create your audiobook HERE. You can find FindAway Voices here. And you can find Kevin at www.KevinTumlinson.com, follow him on AMAZON, and get social with him on TWITTER.

Enjoy the show.

LISTEN HERE:

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EPISODE 23: How to increase your chances of a Bookbub feature with Tara Ellis

Today’s interview is with Young Adult and middle-grade author Tara Ellis.

Tara Ellis, an Amazon best selling author, lives in a small, rural town in Washington State set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Tara was a firefighter/EMT, and worked in the medical field for many years, before committing herself to writing young adult and middle-grade novels (almost) full-time.

She grew up on sci-fi, and has since found a love for conspiracy theories. This background, combined with a wild imagination, has led to The Forgotten Origins Trilogy. The first book in the series, Infected, was a finalist in the IAN 2015 Book of the Year Awards, was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2015 Reader’s Favorite Book Awards, and voted as ‘Top 50 Indie Books of 2014’. (readfreely.com)

Her on-going middle-grade mystery series, The Samantha Wolf Mysteries, has hit the best-seller status on Amazon in the children’s detective story genre several times, and continues to grow in popularity. The engaging, fun stories herald back to the days of Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon, and several readers have commented that the series is of the same caliber.

                                

 

In this interview, Tara covers lots of different topics and especially helps with some great advice for getting a Bookbub feature.

  • Tackle the writing craft seriously and don’t be afraid to try new writing techniques. Tara’s middle-grade series is written in third person, present tense.
  • Marketing is the other 90% of being a writer!
  • Use certain elements or themes that are similar to movies or other books to help promote your own books.
  • Discover your “why” motivation in what you’re writing and why you’re writing it. Understanding yourself better and who you’re writing for will help with your longevity as an author.
  • Goodreads can be a great place to get feedback about your books. You need to be able to take on constructive criticism as an author.
  • Writing a new book every three months if you can is a great way to gain traction on previous books and stay relevant in the Amazon algorithms.
  • At the end of your e-book put a link for people to review the book, and you can even add free chapters for the next book to encourage read through.
  • Getting featured by Bookbub helped Tara gain lots more readers. She recommends:
    • Always make your date flexible
    • List any awards your book has won
    • Let them know why their Bookbub readers would enjoy the book
    • Make sure you have a great cover
    • Boxsets have better success at being featured
    • Bookbub will read your book before accepting it, so write a great book. They will also re-write your blurb if it’s accepted which you can then borrow from!
  • Here are some great other services to promote your book through that Tara recommended in a follow-up email:
    • Bookscream (free, 5 donation, or a 6-book feature for $15) (Tara’s feedback on this one: “These guys are my favorites. They give GREAT feedback, including click rates”)
    • My Book Cave (prices vary 10-15)
    • The Kindle Book Review (10$)
    • Ereader Obsession (free)
    • Choosey Bookworm (Free – submit week in advance, they pick books on Sundays)
    • Bookhearts (Free)
    • Ebook Soda (Prices vary)
    • Reading Deals (Free)
    • Book Angel UK (free)

Enjoy the show.

You can find Tara online at TaraEllis and follow her on AMAZON.

LISTEN HERE:

WATCH HERE: