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