Marva Dasef talks about how she made Tales of a Texas Boy into an audio book!

HOW DOES AN AUTHOR MAKE AN AUDIO BOOK?
by Marva Dasef

There may be more ways to skin the audio cat, but this is how I went about it.

Sometime or other, Amazon let me know about their audio book production site, acx.com. That may have come through CreateSpace, which is the Amazon POD (print on demand) site. I've had good experiences using CreateSpace, so I clicked on over to see just how hard...and expensive...it was.

Before I did the clicking, I had some assumptions:

1) I'm going to have to do my own narration, and that would be impossible since I don't happen to have a sound studio at home. Matter of fact, I'd have to search through the Big Box O' Computer Stuff for a microphone.

2) Since someone else will need to narrate, I'll have to spend a lot of money upfront to hire someone to do it.

3) It will take months to produce a final product and have it up for sale.

4) I don't have a lot of money to spend.

The only true point from above is 4). What I discovered when I browsed through ACX is that there were professional narrators for hire. Okay, that meant I wouldn't have to do my own talking. Then, I found the Royalty Split option. I wish I could put little stars and sparklies around ***Royalty Split*** (stars, but no sparkles).

Audio books are the new big thing just like ebooks were the new big thing a few years ago. If you haven't already jumped on the audio bandwagon, you should at least start thinking about it.

On the site, you'll find producer/narrators who want to do business with you. You can browse the available narrators via samples they have posted.

When you're ready, register your account, assert your rights to your book (by selecting it from your works available at Amazon) and upload a 1-2 page sample script. You can either wait for narrators to approach you, or you can make an offer to ones you like the sound of. They may not find your book in the available list since there is always a lot of books waiting for a marriage of author to producer, hopefully one made in heaven.

Some might be quite willing to work with you on a 50-50 royalty split basis. There are lots of them (including mine) who do it that way. If not, you can spend a little money upfront by offering a flat rate per finished hour. In the Narrator search, you can set your price so to speak: $0-$50, $51-$100, and so on.

With the 50-50 split, the most lucrative way to proceed is to let Amazon be your exclusive distributor. Your audio book will be offered at Amazon (with a link through to Audible.com), Audible.com membership (if you like audio books, this is a good way to keep your listening pipeline filled), and iTunes (good old Apple).

Okay, once you have signed up with a producer/narrator, they'll need the full DOC or PDF copy of your book. Give them a nice clean copy. Title page, page breaks on chapters, no headers or footers, no blurb, no About the Author, no nothing except your book's words.

You'll also need to set a deadline for completion. I asked my producer what he wanted for the completion date. I figured he'd know better than me. Consider that the completed narration will take 4-8 weeks depending on the length of your book. So you don't have time to waste!

The producer/narrator will then begin recording chapter by chapter. You'll get email notifications from acx.com, and you have a direct message line to your producer if you want to communicate. My producer, Don Baarns, and I have become chatty friends over the last few months. We have talked by phone to go over some pronunciation issues, mostly lots of stabs at how to pronounce my last name. I'd take bets that most of you would not say Dasef correctly on the first try. You'll have to listen to the audio book to answer that burning question.

As soon as your narrator uploads a chapter, listen to it immediately and make notes on things that require change. I indicated where the change was by the time stamp and a few words to identify where the change was needed, and the change itself. This seemed to work for my guys (my narrator is my producer's son).

We got through all the chapters, my producer uploaded the revised chapters. I listened again and noted changes (very few) like we did on the first round. When everything was ready to go, I clicked the Publish link. At that point, ACX takes over to ensure your audio files are usable as is (mine were), and they do other arcane things to it, and, finally, make it available for sale.

A hint especially if you're doing a royalty split or a flat rate per finished hour: Don't get too fussy about changes. Certainly, do NOT change the wording after the chapter is uploaded. You want to mess with your words? Do it before you upload the document.

The narrators are taking a chance on you, particularly with royalty split, so be as prompt and organized as possible. I think your producer can 'fire' you if you're a prima donna. Stay humble. It's okay for "I am" to become "I'm" in the narration. Don't harp on nitpicks. That's why my producer liked me enough to ask to produce my next book. He found me easy to work with, and he says likes my writing.

Go for it. You really don't have anything to lose. The ACX site has lots of Help info that explains all parts of the process. Go through those first.

Now, here are the links to my finished product. I hope you consider buying it if you buy audio books. If you join Audible.com, please select Tales of a Texas Boy as one of your first three books (it could be the freebie you get for joining). You'll find out about the bonuses when you jump in to acx.com.

TALES OF A TEXAS BOY
Also in paperback and ebook formats

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-of-a-Texas-Boy/dp/B00HLPLG8M/

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Tales-of-a-Texas-Boy-Audiobook/B00HJCF7BY/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/tales-texas-boy-unabridged/id790270290

How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.

Find me on my blog at http://mgddasef.blogspot.com and on my website at https://sites.google.com/site/mdasefauthor/home

D. M. Sears and The Ellethny Series

Eden's Mark, Book One in the Ellethny Series

What would you do if you had to save a world you knew nothing about?
Eden Arik was a typical teenager who lived the typical teenage life...until the pale eyes showed up in her dreams. The birthmark, Eden had always ignored, burned at the new nightmares, raising questions about her past. Eden finds out she is more than a mere human that is destined to save a world she never knew existed. Her only solitude is the woods behind her house where she meets a mysterious stranger with steel eyes. With the help of her guardians, two unlikely shape shifters, and a vampire who can bring her to her knees with one glance, Eden goes on to search the secrets of her past, present, and future. Along her way to discovery, Eden comes across Circenn; her grandmother, consort to the Darkness and the evil magic he possess. Circenn will stop at nothing to bring Eden to the darkness so she can harness her granddaughter's limitless power. Seduction, power, and death pave the way towards Eden's destiny and the fate of Ellethny.

Excerpt from Eden's Mark

When Gregor opened his eyes, my world shifted a tiny bit. The blood rushed through my veins and I felt it pool at my wrist. My skin tingled, my mark glowed a golden white. He sent back an expression of curiosity. I felt compelled to kiss him. I wanted, no, needed to kiss him. My soul reached out to his knowing he was meant for me alone. Our faces were closing the inch gap between us and I felt his cool sweet smelling breath on my face. My wrist pulsed out the faint golden light leaving an effervescent trail in my blood.
His lips touched mine; electricity arced down my skin fueling my desire. I pressed against him fervently as images faded in and out before me.

COMING SOON

Eden's Darkeness, Book Two in the Ellethny Series

Time waits for no man, or so they say. Darkness has but a little time to find a vessel to inhabit so he can find his true form, only problem is...Eden is the key. She is tied to his future, giving him his true form, or casting him back into the shadows for another millennium. Circenn is mad with jealousy at the revelation and wants to destroy her granddaughter more than ever.

For Eden, things just go from bad to worse. Terrifying nightmares of death and betrayal surrounds Eden, nightmares about her beloved. With a child on the way, she must protect the future ruler of her new home and raise an army to defeat Circenn and Darkness.

The life she hoped would be hers hangs in the balance in the second installment of the Ellethny Series. To be released in Feb/March 2014 from Solstice Shadows.

Excerpt from Eden's Darkness
The stone courtyard lay in the midst of large dead trees. The branches were gnarled and knotted, linking into the others forming a halo over the stone below. Night blooming flowers of scarlet and snow white covered the ground. Candles were abundant, placed in trees giving the glow of a thousand fireflies. The space held the presence of beauty and evil combined, just like Circenn. A large boulder had been placed in the middle of the courtyard, off to the left, a roaring fire blazed on.  

The sliver of moon showed her silvery beams on the giant flat rock. Linden and Bronie each had a prisoner in tow, bringing them to their fates, to the end of their lives as they knew them. Gregor struggled against his shadow bonds as he was pulled before Circenn and the vaporous figure of Darkness. Marcus had no need for restraints, he walked willingly behind Bronie, his face filled with longing and hopes to see Eve in the afterlife.

D.M. Sears lives in Missouri with her daughter and one crazy cat. Her first paranormal fantasy, Eden's Mark, was recently published by Solstice Publishing. D.M. Sears is a Director of an early childhood center and bakes cupcakes on the side. She loves most genres of books and has just signed a publishing contract for Eden's Darkness, Book 2 in the Ellethny Series, which will be out Feb/March 2014.

@DMSears1
https://www.facebook.com/diana.sears2

http://myrissaeden1.wix.com/ellethnyseries
http://www.amazon.com/Edens-Mark-D-M-Sears-ebook/dp/B00GIZPNLM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1383916338&sr=8-3&keywords=eden%27s+mark

Beverly Stowe McClure reveals the cover of her new book on Penny's Tales!

 A girl.
A dream.
An accident.
A dream shattered.

Ten-year-old Kate Taylor wants to be the star of her basketball team, Angels, but when her tooth is knocked out at one of the games, her goal is in jeopardy. Even though the dentist replants the tooth, her mother, who is also her coach, refuses to let Kate play unless she can come up with a way to protect the tooth.

 With the encouragement of her friends and teammates, Kate tries everything. She asks her sister, Zoe, how her boyfriend, Ray, protects his teeth when playing football. Zoe is clueless. Kate wears her friend Simon’s catcher’s mask to practice, but it’s too big and blocks her view of the goal. Kate stuffs cotton balls in her mouth and thinks she’s swallowed one. Nothing works.

 To add to Kate’s problems, Emily, the new girl at River Bend Elementary, is great at basketball. Kate worries Emily will be the star of the team. On top of that, Simon, the school brain, as well as klutz, says he plans to join the Angels, even though boys are not allowed.

 In the final game of the season, Kate faces a decision that will not only decide who wins the game, but whether she’s star of the team or not.

                                                              ###

                                                   Coming in January.

                                      The publisher is 4RV Publishing.

Author Bio:

Beverly Stowe McClure is the author of picture books, early readers, middle grade and teen novels. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, both national and North Texas. A fourth generation Texan, she lives in the country with two cats, and a variety of wild critters. 

http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com

http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com

Sarah Ashley stops by Penny's Tales

Forbidden to use her 'real' name by her children Sarah has been saying for years that she has a book "in her". Finally finding the time, she quite literally let the words flow as her first novel, Freeing Alex, was created, the characters coming to life on her laptop. She describes herself as a true Piscean with an over-active imagination and says that it took a great deal of courage to release 'Freeing Alex' however, motivated by her husband and family she finally took the plunge in August 2013.

'Freeing Alex' is the first book in the three part Alexandra Drake series, the second part, Loving Alex is complete, official launch date being 8th November 2013. Sarah is already working on Book 3, title to be announced on 8th November with anticipated publication during early 2014.

The series tells the story of the once abused and down-trodden Alex Drake, how her life is transformed following the legacy left to her by the woman she always regarded as "aunt".

The UK links to my books are below, both are available on .com as well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freeing-Alex-Alexandra-Drake-Series-ebook/dp/B00EGT789M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385206255&sr=8-1&keywords=freeing+alex

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Loving-Alex-Alexandra-Drake-Series-ebook/dp/B00GD1KKU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385206301&sr=8-1&keywords=loving+alex

My FB Pages, which has lots of extracts from the books, some full on inuendo, some not, is:

https://www.facebook.com/AlexDrake?ref=h

Twitter is :  @SarahEAshley1

This Christmas buy a book for the kids in your life!

Ten-year old Andy Thompson disobeys his mother and sneaks into the basement of an old abandoned house that’s due for demolition. He stumbles upon a mysterious box under an old cabinet. And his troubles begin when he looks inside.

The Crew brothers, twelve-year old Jason, and ten-year old Danny, also find their way to the basement. New to town, Jason has established himself as the school bully. A struggle ensues between Andy and Jason, and the bully ends up as a toad.

Somehow, the boys must reverse the magical spell. And that means hiking up the dreaded Devil’s Mountain to find the only person that can help them.  Hike up Devil’s Mountain is fast paced, lots of action and has some scary, hair-raising turns on the way! There is a surprise at the end, you just don’t see coming.  The lives of all three boys seem destined to change forever, if they survive…

Twelve-year old Pam Simpson gets dumped on when her mother is called into work. She must cancel her plans for the mall to babysit her younger brother and his friend and take them to the public pool.  To make matters worse her cousin, Candy, is also coming over for the day.  She doesn’t even like Candy!

Much to Candy’s dismay, transportation to the pool is on inner tubes, floating down the canal.  One thing leads to another and it is Pam who, once again, must save the day.

When things couldn’t seem worse, the day takes a drastic turn for the better and it is Candy, and the float down the canal, that makes this the best day of Pam’s life!

The Wickware Sagas

Billy Cooper’s seventh grade class has been given a last minute, weekend assignment.  An oral book report, due Monday, on some stupid historical figure, he draws from a box.

Who the heck is William Tell?

Billy’s weekend is way too full to worry about some legend – that is, until he meets his subject face to face!

Jim Abernathy is the new kid at Langdon Middle School - and a bully. With the death of his mother, and his father having to work two jobs, Jim has been on his own for the last year. In that year, Jim has become a bitter and brooding young man. A new job in Phoenix is just what Jim and his dad need for a new start.

Miss Wickware, and all the students in her history class, get a dose of Jim’s surly attitude the second he walks through the door. Everyone holds their breaths when their teacher and Jim go nose to nose. Miss Wickware wins the first round.

The class must draw historical subjects out of a box and present oral reports on whom or what they have drawn. Jim draws Sybil Ludington. “Great, another seamstress!”

Jim’s ideas about women in history take a whole new turn when he walks out of class and into the Eighteenth Century and the life of Sybil Ludington.

Can snooty, seventh grader Kristy Sawyer’s day get any worse?  It’s a Monday at Langdon Middle School and first thing in the morning Kristy is sent to see Principal DeWitt. His long, drawn out lecture makes her late for Miss Wickware’s history class. But the worst is when she finds out she is being partnered with nerdy Larry Peables to do an oral report on some historical Molly Picture, or Pincher, or Pitcher.  And the report is due tomorrow!

Her plan to bat her eyes and flirt with the little nerd, sure that he will jump at the chance to do whatever she wants, blows up in her face when he flat refuses to do the research.  Her day takes a drastic turn for the worse when she and Larry find themselves in 1778, Trenton, New Jersey.  During their trip back in time, Kristy and Larry come face to face with the British, George Washington, become involved in the Battle of Manmouth, and of course, meet their oral report subject, the famous Molly Pitcher.

She has only Larry to help her figure out why they are there and how are they going to get home.

 

Sammy Brown, winner of the first junior sailing regatta for kids, ages twelve to fourteen, is walking on air Tuesday, after being absent the previous day, due to the race.  Miss Wickware, her history teacher, asks Sammy to stay after class because she needs to draw a subject out of a box and give an oral report on the drawn subject.

“UHG”  History and Sammy are not friends, but her good mood won’t be dampened until a fall and a bump on the head sends her back to 1814.  It’s her expertise in sailing that helps Francis Scott Key rescue an imprisoned friend from a British ship that leads to a historic battle and a famous poem!

Dylan Jones, seventh grader at Langdon Middle School lives the good life. His family has money. He gets most everything he wants.

Even so, everybody likes Dylan ’cause he is a happy go lucky kid.  Miss Wickware, his seventh grade history teacher, tells the class they will be studying the United States in the late 1800s for the next few weeks. Everybody will be expected to present an oral report on a subject that is drawn from a box. Dylan draws The Orphan Train.

A penniless Dylan finds himself at the train station in New York in 1875 and he is as scared and unsure as the children getting ready to ride the Orphan Train.

How will Dylan make it when money is nowhere to be found?

* * * *

Merry Christmas everybody and thanks for stopping by.  All my stories are in eBook form and they range from 99 cents to $2.50. Hike Up Devil's Mountain is also in print and audio form.  You can find them all at:

http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Estelle/e/B006S62XBY

The Wickware Sagas can also be found at:

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=82

 

A Writer's Blog That's Not Just About Writing - Patrick J. Worden

A Writer’s Blog That’s Not Just About Writing

                                                              By Patrick J. Worden

Like many of us, I eased into the writing lifestyle. Kept my day job, wrote when I could, submitted sporadically, worked hard on improving my craft. It was years before I granted myself the tepid appellation “semi-pro.” Becoming a reasonably well-published author, novelist, and freelancer? That took decades.

Every career is different, no doubt about it. There are a few constants, though, or at least commonalities, that help define the expectations our readers and potential readers set for us. Head-strong individualistic creatures that we are, we might be tempted to defy expectations, and there’s surely nothing wrong with that. But do so cautiously, I’d suggest, lest it hobble your chances for success.

I learned that lesson the hard way, because for years I defied the expectation that every working writer should have a blog. Oh, I tried, to be sure. Enrolled in just about every blogging platform available in the Late Nineties and Early Aughts. I had no clear idea what to do with them, though, and inevitably turned each into an open, electronic journal, along the lines of “and HERE’S what I did today.” Within weeks, with every such attempt, I grew bored and disillusioned, and gave up. Soon I gave up on blogging altogether.

But here’s the thing about expectations: they don’t just go away. Every time I’d tell someone I was a writer, they’d say something like, “Great! Send me the URL of your blog!”

So round about early 2011, I decided to give it another go. This time, I vowed, I’d do things differently.

I began by thinking critically about blogging, and what I wanted from the process. The answer, simply and mercenarily enough, was that I wanted it to help further my writing career. So, I asked myself, what sort of blog might do that? At once I could see that the “daily diary” I’d tried creating so many times before was an absolute dud. If I found it boring, what might my readers think? 

My next idea was to tweak the diary format ever so slightly, and use my blog to report on my writing endeavors. I discarded that idea almost immediately. I was writing one book per year, roughly, and publishing shorter pieces just a bit more frequently. I couldn’t see myself generating enough bloggable content to keep an audience engaged.

What I needed, I decided, was a blogging subject, or at least unifying theme, that I could write about on a regular basis, that an audience might find interesting, and that I could spin occasionally into a bit of gentle self-promotion.

I’ll pause here to point out what’s probably already obvious: the ideas and solutions I’ve had (and continue to have) about blogging work for me. Are they right for you? I cannot say.

But again, there are constants and commonalities. For instance, every blog should keep readers coming back. That means frequent updates. How frequent? I recommend weekly, at a minimum. The blog should be easy to read, and visually appealing. Don’t go crazy with typefaces and backgrounds, lest reading it becomes a chore. Remember, you’ve got a lot of competition out there in the blogosphere. Clicking away from your page, and onto someone else’s, is one of the easiest things your audience can do. You’ve got to give them reasons to stay.

What I finally decided on was to occupy a niche—not necessarily writing-centric, but one with which I could occasionally discuss writing, when events warranted. And when I wasn’t writing about writing, I wanted to make sure I still had plenty of interesting content.

Thus was born Worden’s Cultural Deconstruction (pworden.com), which I subheaded “Culture critique, current events, and commentary.” With an e-colophon like that, I reasoned, I could concentrate on arts, literature, and the universe of pop culture (all things that I and millions of others find fascinating), but also stray into almost any other subjects that might tickle my fancy…up to and including relevant events in my own writing career.

It was a decent idea, I think, but even the best ideas don’t pull their weight unless they attract some attention. That’s what my blog needed: attention. It needed readers.

Here’s where the blog-slog begins. Because there’s no quick solution for building readership. It takes time, commitment, and constant effort. First and foremost, blog and blog often. Post quality content that’s well written and fun to read. Keep doing that, even if your hit counter is telling you that just you and your mom are the entirety of the audience.

Leverage social media. Build up a platform of friends and followers, and let them know every time you post. Be topical—find current events and trending memes that impact your niche, and opine upon them. And engage the blogging community. Find similar blogs, or even not-exactly-similar ones that you like, and read them, comment on them, and help promote them. Those bloggers are sure to return the favor.

As for platforms and tools available to today’s blogger, there are so many, of such varying utility, that I won’t make many recommendations, other than to say that if any of them seem interesting or valuable to you then give them a try. I will heartily recommend the Google Adwords Keyword Planner (https://adwords.google.com/keywordtool). You’ll need an Adwords account, but that doesn’t mean you need to create any costly advertising campaigns. The keyword look-up tool simply helps you find frequent Google searches, based on keywords you enter, that might help direct browsers to your blog. For instance, searching on the keyword “Culture,” I found that millions upon millions of people were Googling the phrase “What is culture?” every day. So I began tagging that very phrase in almost every post I wrote.

So where did this all take me? I won’t say my blog is setting the world on fire, but my readership has steadily improved. I’m getting about 400-500 hits per month, with noticeable spikes every time I post something new. Archived posts are pretty popular too, which validated my commitment to create good stuff even when no one was reading it. And at last count, I had about 1,500 subscribers. Not too shabby.

These days my blog has morphed from a self-promotion platform, to a central part of my writing life. I spend a lot of time planning content, I truly enjoy writing it, and I love the reception it gets. For someone who once foreswore blogging completely, I’m happy to now self-identify as a blogger. In fact, I’m as a happy to think of myself as a blogger as I am a working writer.

So for any other working writers out there who might be looking for a leg up, I heartily recommend the blogging life. I won’t say you should follow my program to the letter—in fact, I’d urge you to chart your own course. But hopefully my lessons learned might guide you a bit. The only advice I’m sure applies to us all, and it applies to all our writing, is this: Go for it. Happy blogging, and happy writing.

-Pat Worden (http://www.amazon.com/Patrick-J.-Worden/e/B002JB732Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1) is the auther of several novels, collections, and non-fiction books. He blogs frequently on culture and current events at Worden’s Cultural Deconstruction (http://pworden.com). He lives with his wife and daughter in Northeast Ohio.

Alex Smith presents Planet Rush, Beginnings on Penny's Tales

Blurb:  In a universe far away their is a group of intergalactic protectors, the Intergalactic Order. The Intergalactic Order protects not one nor two but three galaxies so to do so they must train soliders. These soldiers are pulled from their planets as teenagers and trained four the next four years to protect and serve. Like any type of military, the Intergalactic Order has a set of soldiers that are trained to handle the more delicate situations that a rise between planets. These soldiers are known as Squadron students and are seen as the best of the best. These Squadron students are look up to but all pale in comparision to the highest of the high Squadron Alpha.

Excerpt: Olympus Academy play’s host to 3 different galaxies and when the Squadron Program is restarted, only the Squadrons will study on the planet their first year.  The next year the standard Intergalactic Order students return to the planet to train with the Squadron members. The Squadrons are the best of the best, the people who create legends and are valued above all for a very good reason. Why? We may never know but the Intergalactic Squadron Program is a cherished tradition and only the beginning of certain students lives.

 http://www.npuniverse.com/books/planet-rush-beginnings/