AudioTransitions

… full creative production for audiobooks


__________________

 

      I was a military kid, so travel is part of my heritage and cultural diversity my choice. I've lived in Alaska and Okinawa, Texas and Illinois; worked in India twice; traveled in the U.S. and Europe. And, of course, traveled in imagination, via books and audio, to more places than I can count. That's one reason the two are such happy complements. Here are a few of the ideas and tips I've collected especially for travel-related publishers.

¾  Best, Judith        

__________________

Tips & Ideas for Travel Publishers
a baker’s dozen !

 

1.   Cooking with Audiobooks ¾ As a devoted cook of regional and ethnic cuisines, I know that a day or evening in the kitchen is enriched by pairing the menu with the perfect wine and the right audio. Complement your cookbook with an audio featuring culinary anecdotes and lore, travelogue, adventure stories, food-related fiction, you name it…preferably with musical accompaniment.

Book + Audio Package ¾ Audiobooks aren’t substitutes for reading ¾ and travel literature ideally illustrates this fact.

2.   Bundle your print and audio versions together at a special price, so buyers can listen to the book they’re immersed in even when it’s not convenient to read ¾ while driving, walking, working out.

3.   Today’s technology even offers options for both formats in a single e-book/audiobook package, for traveling lighter.

Audio Additions ¾ Audiobook versions of print books aren’t the only way to capitalize of the audio medium.

4.   Consider spinoffs of your books in the form of audio travel games for families and kids. Trivia games via audio can keep kids occupied without distracting adult drivers. Timed travel games let children and adults play together. You can even include hints.

5.   Add value to an audiobook by including end-of-audio bonus material. An interview with the author creates extra interest, as DVD-makers have successfully shown. Biographical information is a good option, as are “the making (or writing) of” features. Be creative!

Audio Adaptations ¾ Travel-related audio adaptations provide special opportunities to add value to your product lines.

6.   Adapt your guidebook series to customized audio tours. Map and pattern existing text to a walking, biking, driving, bus, or train route for travelers.

7.   Multiple narrators can provide energy and new interest to titles you might not think of as audio-friendly. Transform your guidebook into a conversational dialogue. Or adopt an interview format.

8.   Highlight your book’s central points and popular information in an abridged version designed for people who don’t have time to read up on their destination.

9.   Create an anthology audio that collects stories, anecdotes, folklore and tales, urban legends, or other narrative-style literature ¾ from a single title or several related books.

10.  One Audiobook = Multiple Formats ¾ Production costs for audiobooks are generally lower than for print, especially when it comes to manufacturing and packaging. You can make a single audio production into at least 5 formats: cassette, CD, MP3, audio download (via Mediabay.com or Audible.com, for instance), or streaming media (e.g., RealAudio). An MP3 can store many hours of audio, significantly paring manufacturing costs. And downloads and streaming require no physical packaging at all…a major production savings!

11.  Keep Your Subrights Profits ¾ Many author-publishers or travel publishers who own their books’ subrights choose to license audiobook rights to others. But why settle for only 7-10% of those retail sales when developing and producing your own audio versions can net you so much more. With the distribution channels you’ve cultivated for your print books, and the additional avenues opened up by audio, shouldn’t you reap all the benefits of these options?

The Multi-Cultural Audio Advantage ¾ Audiobooks allow travel publishers to offer particular language-related benefits.

12.  You can provide authentic pronunciation ¾ of place-names, cuisines, and other non-English words ¾ without the sometimes iffy prospect of phonetic spellings.

13.  For fiction, folktales, and other story-form literature, this adds enormously to the atmosphere of your audience’s experience.

      There are lots more ideas, tips, and audiobook insights where these came from! For consultations and to book productions, contact Judith via e-mail, phone, or fax.

 

e-mail Judith West
phone/fax 773.338.8813

__________________

Copyright ã 2004 by Judith West. All rights reserved. For permissions, contact Judith West.