The Diary of a Canadian Author: Part Five

Posted on September 1, 2017

We asked Sci-Fi Romance author Susan Hayes to keep track of her progress publishing Double Down in audio, and we’ve been sharing her journey over the past few weeks. Missed Parts One, Two, Three, or Four?

07/06/17 – Day 36: Telling My Fans About My First Audiobook… And Planning the Next One

It was less than six weeks from the date I started on this audiobook adventure until I was ready to approve the final version of Double Down. The only thing that could have made the moment more satisfying is if ACX included a brief digital set of fireworks that went off when I hit the “approve” button [We'll take it into consideration! - Ed.].

My title passed through ACX QA within 48 hours with no problems, and then I began waiting for my title to become available for sale at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. During the wait, I put together some promotional images, wrote marketing copy, and researched what blogs I could submit my new audio title to for reviews. I found both the Audiogals and Eargasms Audiobook Reviews receptive. I teased my readers with “coming soon” posts on social media, too. I wanted to be sure my readers were as excited as I was!

By the time I had approved Double Down, plans were already in motion to produce All In, the second book in the series, as an audiobook. I wanted to make sure that readers could continue with the series right away. There are currently four books in the Drift series, and I plan on having them all available to readers by early next year. Now that I have the fantastic Tieran Wilder and know more about how the process works, I’m eager to keep up the momentum. [All In is now available for sale as well - Ed.] From my research, I’ve learned that audiobook production is a marathon, not a sprint, though. It will likely take some time to earn back the money I’m investing, so I’m trying to temper my excitement and make sure I stay within my budget.

Looking back over the last two months, I’m amazed at how quickly everything came together. Despite having listened to a number of audiobooks, it was stunning to hear my narrator bring my characters to life. It gave me a much greater appreciation of the work that goes into every audiobook. Listening to the completed work also got me thinking about ways to deepen the characters on paper, especially the way they speak. Going forward, I know I’ll be using what I learned by including more information about the character’s verbal tics, accents, and cadence to help enrich the story.

I’m very happy that ACX finally opened its doors to Canadian authors. It’s given me an opportunity to expand my markets, reach new readers, and think about my craft in new ways. Having taken the plunge, I can say it was worth the risk to try something new.

Susan lives out on the Canadian west coast surrounded by open water, dear family, and good friends. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and accidentally swum with sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

To contact her about her books or to arrange end of the world team-ups, you can email her at susan@susanhayes.ca or find her at susanhayes.ca. If you'd prefer to stalk her from afar, you can sign up for her newsletter http://susanhayes.ca/susans-newsletter/