Audible | Amazon | Apple Books
Yay!
We are really pleased with how it turned out. Suzanne Freeman gave us a great performance. We hope you will enjoy it.
The names are pronounced the way they are supposed to have been pronounced all along. If you are going to complain about the names, your comment will be removed. 🙂
Q&A
We’ve received some questions regarding business of audio and after writing the answers, I realize that it’s kind of ranty, so I have inserted cute random kitties to make things a little lighter.
Audio Self-publishing
Thanks for sharing the business aspect of publishing. How do audio versions fit into the self publishing versus traditional publisher? Also, will you consider including identifying the English narrators of each book on your site?
Cate
You are welcome. Self-publishing audio requires a significant investment but the author also earns significantly more money, just like with publishing ebooks. Typically, there are a couple of options. You can do a profit share where Audible and sometimes the narrator takes a slice of your royalties but shares in some of the upfront costs and the one where you pay everything out of pocket but keep all of your royalties. The greater are your sales, the more sense it makes to go with option 2 and shoulder those costs.
The narrators are identified in the posts announcing the audio and they are clearly marked in the description of the audio book by retailers. 🙂
More Audio Self-Publishing
I’m a self-published author and while I don’t have your following, the numbers are much the same. I am looking into audio–if you have any advice on that, I’d love to see a post. I’ve looked into Amazon’s “partnership” and the numbers don’t add up to being a great deal for me. They get too much control and too much of the money. SCRIBD is doing a similar deal (but you go through a submission process). The problem with SCRIBD is exactly what you talked about for print/trad: There’s an advance (a very small one) and the author cut is very small.
Finding a narrator and a production team or expert who can do the production can be done via various companies. That’s looking like my best bet. At this point, with my sales, it’s more of a vanity project because I’ve read that unless you have a certain amount of ebook (or print) sales, there’s not going to be a lot of audio sales. Thanks for the great books and all the information you share.
Maria
This is such a can of worms.
Numbers are the crux of this matter. I don’t mind investing $7,000 into audio production because I know I will make it back. Unfortunately, I have no idea what your sales are, so I don’t know what to recommend. Do you sell thousands of copies every month or dozens? Do you have a small but strong following that will buy your fiction no matter what? To put it bluntly, I can’t offer any meaningful information, because I have no idea where you career is. And even then, I am probably not qualified to advise you.
This is why agents are essential. 🙂 I can outline the process in general terms. It’s up to you to apply it.
Speaking in very general terms, self-publishing audio is a large investment. You invest time. You have to find the right narrator, and it isn’t as easy as listening to samples. You have to listen to the books they’ve recorded. Does it sound like they are talking into an empty barrel because their sound quality isn’t great? Can they deliver on time? The best narrators have a sound studio. Some also have their own sound engineer.
You also invest money. You can expect to pay between $3,000 to $4,000 for a quality narration of an average length novel. Then the file must be processed and edited and a master must be created with very specific parameters such as 192kbps or higher MP3 and so on at additional cost.
Then comes distribution. Here again you will be investing a lot of time to figure out the best path for you. ACX is an obvious choice but you could also pay someone like Findaway Voices to distribute your audiobooks. I have no experience with this company, so this is not a recommendation.
Price all of your costs, settle on a price point, calculate your royalties, and see if you can realistically make your investment back in the first year. Read the fine print. Findaway Voices, for example, allows you to set wholesaler price, but not the retailer price, so you could price it $5 but Apple might put it up at $9. Who pockets that difference? Does their contract lock you in for a specific number of years? What happens if you terminate their contract? All good questions.
Unfortunately, without an agent, only you can do this research. Most larger agencies actually have a specific agent dedicated just to audio and foreign rights – hi, Cheryl! – who keeps track of the marketplace. It is a such a quagmire that it requires a full time commitment.
If you have done all of your calculations and determined that the investment of time and money is worth it, self-publishing an audiobook might be a good idea. Theoretically, the audiobook will just sit there and make money year after year. It becomes a passive income stream. In theory. More on that below.
Audible Controversy
Can you explain the Audible controversy?
Sam
Oy. I didn’t address this before because I try to be mindful of people’s enjoyment of our books. This is a conflict between authors and retailers, and readers shouldn’t be affected by it. We don’t want anyone to feel guilty. But now there is some resolution to it, so it’s probably safe to discuss it.
Until very recently Audible had a type of return policy that allowed you to read the whole book and return it literally a year after you bought it. Normally such refunds would be handled by the retailer. Instead, Audible passed the return costs onto the authors. That meant that some authors would see negative sales. They would owe Audible money.
How can that happen? Let’s say you sell 20 books over the course of 3 months. You earn $5 per book, or $100 total. Then these people simultaneously decide to return all of their books to make room on their device or whatever, and in the third month you are hit with a bill for $100. You are welcome.
This is fucking bullshit.
I don’t get to buy a pair of jeans, wear it for six months, and and then decide to get a full refund. If Audible wants to function like a library, than it should pay the authors per listen.
Worse, Audible refused to provide a clear accounting of the returns. It doesn’t state anywhere how many returns occurred. It just tells you the total money you earn. Or the total money you owe.
Even worse, Audible actively encouraged its users to get refunds. They make their money on the monthly membership, not on book royalties. Here you are, paying all of the costs to produce an audiobook and uploading it in good faith, and Audible is telling its members, “You can read this for free. The content creators don’t need to get paid. As long as you pay your membership dues, we don’t care.” This is a dishonest and predatory practice.
What is the incentive to produce an audiobook under this circumstances? You are right, there isn’t any.
Predictably, this eventually resulted in an industry-wide outrage. Author Guild and other organizations got involved, 12,000 authors protested, and Audible changed its policy.
I will tell you right now that after 12 emails, our agency is still unable to obtain the statement of our returns. We are with a robust, aggressive agency. They would’ve kept demanding accounting on our behalf, except that Gordon and I pulled the plug after 12 emails, because Audible promised to provide these numbers to everyone.
This is dumbfounding. I simply want to know how many returns we had in any given month and that information is denied to me. This is simple business accounting. One would imagine Audible is running its business out of a rickety barn on their grandparents farm using index cards and hamsters. Except we all know that it doesn’t. You can draw your own conclusions as to why they wouldn’t provide an accounting of returns.
Audible has made promises to be more transparent and we will see how it plays out.
Audible Alternatives
For those of us who do not want to commit to Audible, is there an alternative place to purchase your Audiobooks?
AMT
Do you want a honest answer? Nope. And here is why: Audible has been in business since 1995. It is older than Kid 1. It has a huge slice of the market. There are other retailers, but right now none of them rival Audible + Amazon combo. Apple Books/iTunes is definitely a contender and there are boutique audiobook retailers, which someone will likely list in the comments, but the majority of distribution happens through Amazon/Audible.
Yay!
“Index cards and hamsters” Bahahaha!!! Cute kitty pictures very much appreciated. Ranting about Audible’s sketchy business practices also okay. Cause sketchy company is sketchy.
+1 I don’t listen to books except on long drives, which aren’t happening currently. In any case I always bought those books on tape or CD at the bookstore. So this isn’t an issue for me, but I’m glad to know about it because I had no idea. Now I’m glad I never went that route.
I used to do the same ! (Also not driving anywhere at the moment)
A lot of the driving was done in rental cars though, and the ones I was in haven’t had CD players for awhile. So now I’m into podcasts.
^^^ Sketchy places being sketchy are worth calling out. Similar sketchy to how Kindle deals with ebooks and libraries.
I purchase most of my ebooks through libro.fm now. Its a great website and each purchase helps support a local bookstore. Downside is there are no Amazon-style discounts, it’s basically full price.
Same here. It’s great to be able to support my local bookstore.
Wait, I meant all my audiobooks. Alternatively, I purchase the MP3 CDs when they’re available for purchase. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been an option for Blood Ryder nor Sweep of the Blade. Maybe when the currently contract with Audible runs out? One can only hope.
Still, thanks for taking the time to answer my question. ????
I love Libro.fm And, same reason, because it supports my local bookseller. They also have a pretty decent size catalog, which means I’m never hurting for choices.
I also like them because they allow you to download the audiobooks in a drm free format. Meaning I can listen on any app or device I want – I’m not tied to their audiobook app. I like to retain copies of all the media I own, in case a company goes under (it has happened to me before) or I find a media app I like better. (Currently all in on Plex)
I never knew Audible passed the cost of returns down to the author, that just sounds shady. I have only ever returned 2 or 3 books months after purchasing before, because I thought I would read them and never actually did… but I always assumed that the cost was taken on Amazon, who surely can afford it.
I hope this gets changed soon..
I’m just very thankful you go to the trouble you do to provide us the option of buying your books in audio. Because I love audiobooks! Hope the situation with Audible will continue to improve and they follow through on their promise to be more transparent. ????
Off to Audible to get my copy of Blood Heir.
I love how the cats got progressively more aggressive, in tune with your rant.
Until the last one. 🙂
Your writing is always so fun to read no matter what it’s about (I don’t listen to audiobooks, but found myself totally engrossed in this blog post).
I don’t know, the last cat looks a bit on the aggressive side to me! Tempered with I’m-about-to-slip-off adorableness.
Honestly, I had been unaware of the Audible controversy (although I suspected something existed), so I’m very glad to hear about it. I haven’t bought audiobooks before but I’m tempted to hear how Casa Andrews wants all the names pronounced and whatnot. I hope someone will post a nice, independent little audio retailer we can all support!
I’ve only listened to a few audio books. Either the book I wanted wasn’t available to read or I had a long car trip and thought it would be handy. I borrowed them from my library because I knew it was a listen once kind of thing. My library is very small, but it’s part of Bridges (online lending for e-books, audio books, and other digital media). You might try your local library. They also usually have cd’s of some books to listen to. ????
However do you explain Audible’s secretive accounting practices to the IRS? The whole issue makes me glad I would rather read than be read to!
I cancelled my audible account and now buy through kobo. I found their return policy outrageous and also wanted to move away from the integration with Amazon. It’s working pretty well so far. Most titles on audible are also on kobo.
Cool! Thanks for the info. I’ve started buying my books on Kobo, as in my opinion it’s possibly slightly better than Amazon.
If you’re looking to move away from Amazon, you could also look into Story Graph – an alternative to GoodReads (owned by Amazon). I’ve recently joined, and it’s quite nice (still in Beta, keep in mind).
It has a free version and a paid version, but no adds.
There are a couple of things that it does that GoodReads didn’t do which I enjoy. Not as many people as GoodReads, though that is changing.
https://www.thestorygraph.com/
*Ads!
Reading the information makes me so glad that I do not write. It isn’t the writing it is the publishing/getting it to readers that is a killer. So glad that you make the effort for us, your readers.
I don’t do ebooks so I was totally unaware. Shocking. Absolutely disgusting behaviour from a company and makes me glad I’m not an audible user.
I love the Kitten inserts!! LOL
Thank you for sharing this information! The rant is well deserved, because they just seem shady.
I recently listened to Emerald Blaze during a trip and just wanted to say that the narrator did a wonderful job! I really appreciate that you take the time to find a person that is right for the main character’s voice in the series. While I might not listen the Blood Heir (I usually prefer to read), I’m excited to hear a sample of your narrator and I’ll be recommending it for purchase to my library. ????
Ok, not an audio books person, but my best friend is…. did not know that audibles ran that way…..that completely and utterly sucks! I’m sorry they’ve been ripping you authors off like that.
Is there any chance of Magic Triumphs coming to Audible.co.uk? My partner is dyslexic, and though I’ve bought him Blood Heir today, he doesn’t really want to read it until he’s managed to finish Late Daniels story first.
Hey Victoria,
Progress is underway to get all the KD audiobooks available outside the US, hopefully we’ll have Magic Triumphs in the UK in 3-4 weeks time. I hope this helps 🙂
Sorry to jump on the comment, but I live in Australia and have noticed that the audiobook for Magic Slays will finally be available here next week. Was just wondering if you had an ETA on when the other KD audiobooks will be available here? No worries at all if you’re not sure, I was just excited to see that there was some progress 🙂
Hello A,
If all goes well, the same rough ETA of 3-4 weeks. ????
Brilliant, thank you!
This helps massively! Thank you so much. It’s been so hard not spoiling it for him!
I’m not usually one for Audiobooks, but knowing the definitive pronunciations of some of the names is a tempting lure. I may just have to buy one… (And keep it, my precious. Returning a book, that I didn’t get from the Library? And expecting a refund? Does not compute.)
I loved the cat pictures in this article. I had to put my lil one down yesterday. Feel free to use the photo, if you wish.
((Hugs)) I’m sorry for your loss.
So very sorry for your loss. Sending hugs ????
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s absolutely heartbreaking when we have to say goodbye to our furry family members.
oooo, sending warm hugs your way!
What a sweet picture
Losing pets is always hard. Sorry for your loss.
The cats are adorable 🙂
“This is dumbfounding. I simply want to know how many returns we had in any given month and that information is denied to me. This is simple business accounting. One would imagine Audible is running its business out of a rickety barn on their grandparents farm using index cards and hamsters. Except we all know that it doesn’t. You can draw your own conclusions as to why they wouldn’t provide an accounting of returns.”
Here’s hoping it means you’ve had few to no returns of the audible books?
And thank you for the index cards and hamsters statement. Made my afternoon!
Yes, I’ve long known that both kindle and audible were monopolistic. I looked at that return policy and couldn’t believe they weren’t being sued. There are times when I’ve not particularly enjoyed a book, but that’s too darn bad. You buy it, it’s yours.
I still deal with audible, but only if I can’t find the audiobook at another retailer. I’ve got a list I check first.
I’m very glad to hear amazon has ended that fundamentally unfair policy. Talk about bald faced theft!
Thank you for the very interesting conversations about the publishing industry! Enlightening.
Although I’m not a writer, I love these publishing posts.
Ugh @ Audible. I’m glad I’m not into audio books because I wouldn’t want to support them, even if they actually do change their shady ways. Ugh.
Also, I love the kittens, lol!
Would it be a huge bother for you to post the audio of each character’s name as it should be pronounced? I don’t buy audio books but I’m curious about how the names are supposed to be pronounced.
Hey Tink,
A great source for that are the Q&A sessions or interviews House Andrews appear in- they talk about most main characters!
Some YouTube links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_dCom-ac3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbeVrR_6V_U&t=1081s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLnZbUET3eM&t=1s
Ultimately, pronunciation and physical aspect are in the mind of each reader :).
+ 1
I had no idea about Audible. That is just wrong.
I always wanted to know the proper pronunciation of Saiman and Ghastek. That’s the only reason I would use Audible.
But I like to read books . In my hands.
Love the cat photos. Even random cat photos. I have cats , is that why?
Or does everyone like cat photos? Why?
Thank you for educating everyone on the different aspects of publishing.
It sounds very complicated and would discourage most people .
Me, too! I always assumed Ghastek was Gas tech, because of the story he tells Kate about his dad. Saiman, I have no idea. In my head, it’s similar to Simon.
I’ve heard Gordon pronounce it “Sigh – MAHN.”
I think it’s an evolutionary thing. We bread them to be cuter (pushed in nose, fluffier fur, etc.) and some of it was natural selection. Google the “domestication syndrome”, very interesting. Especially the research done on domesticated foxes. They started exhibiting floppy ears and such.
I just got the Audio version of Blood Heir. I am currently reading the ebook version.
I must admit I did not know audible return policy, I have returned 2 book, but both within 1 week of purchase, and only listening to the first 2 chapters. Once, I could not handle the narrator, once it was same narrator as a favourite series, and I kept expecting to hear… damn it Skippy…. in a totally different series
You didn’t do anything wrong. 🙂 If the retailer provides an option to return something and you are unhappy with the purchase, you should return it. Like I said, this fight is between authors and retailers.
Oooooh! I’m not good with audio books but now I’m so curious to know how the names sound!
The Audible affair is (unfortunately not) out of this world…
Wow did not know I could return some books. I have always just sucked it up. I would not have returned any Ilona Andrews books! Love kitten pictures!
i listen to audio books from the library, either from their libby app or actual cd’s. unfortunately my library doesn’t have many Kate Daniels books on cd, but i did get to listen to the Hidden Legacy and Innkeeper books that were available. i’m an avid reader but also a crafter so i love to be able to listen to a book while keeping my hands busy. or in the spring, weeding just to get outside… 🙂
Yes! I am way too cheap to buy audiobooks when I love to read so much, but I do adore audiobooks on a car trip, especially of books that I have already read and enjoyed. Ditto for the Libby app and CDs from our library! Also, maybe we share a library LOL because those are the same casa Andrews audiobooks that ours has. Presumably, the library is not returning the books, even if they purchase them from Audible.
Don’t panic everyone, I own the print or e-book (or both) version of all Ilona Andrews books! 🙂 And now, I will certainly never patronize audible. I will be curious to see how their policy change actually shakes out for authors in the years to come.
This reader is really good. Thank you
Fell in love with the first audio book I got from you (Iron Magic) and have now all audio Books from you available. Still my favorite speaker. Thank you for the option. And thanks for the kittens.
Thank you for your explanation of Audible’s business practices. I have long resisted joining Audible, and now I know to keep on resisting. Audible, and other businesses in the publishing world, exist only because of the hard work, talent, and skill of writers like House Andrews.
knew about amazon and their IMHO criminal methods to get their hands on small publisher some (10y?) back, a major reason why I refuse all related to kindle nor have even an account direct at audible, even if they can be cheaper. In the long run they are more expensive with their greed, like authors, niche publishers,… give up or have to give up, lessens the creative sum.
Thank you for the heads up, I bought it today at itunes, use it as it seems to be one of the few places in my non-English speaking country that do list your titles mostly time near to your release date(I only read / hear in the original languages).
If you get better conditions eg at Kobo or, … I can start to look out for those here too, let us please know if possible
This is why I always buy a cd of I can. Plus 1) 1 don’t like being told that I am only renting a book. 2) I want to use one of my small, lightweight mp3 players, that go forever on a battery charge. I don’t want to have to carry around my large phone, and keep using up its battery.
Do I have audible – yes. As you said, sometimes there isn’t any other choice.
Precisely! I’ve even bought used multi cd books (generally old library copies) and converted them to MP3 just so I could put them on my tiny MP3 player to listen to something as I walk out the door for exercise. And in the car everywhere I go!
I need to finish my Kate Daniels reread so I can listen to Blood Heir. I’m not sure I’ve ever read them back to back like this but I’m loving it.
I’m really surprised to see you say that about Audible returns. From the customer side, I have had a terrible experience with that.
I don’t use audible (small a) books. No books on tape (dating myself), not on Kindle, never. I have a couple of CDs of poetry.
For a while, Audible set up their “add audio for only $17.99” so that it was incredibly easy to hit that and the “buy now” for the Kindle at the same time. They also, if you were buying via a Kindle or Kindle Paperwhite, had the page loading so that you thought you were hitting the “Follow This Author” button, only to have it insert “buy Audible version” at the last second. So twice I mistakenly purchased audio books (each time learning an important lesson).
Nowhere could I find a way to return them. Each time, I had to call and sit for almost half an hour on hold to return them (I had no idea how they treated their authors. If it’s any consolation, each return was initiated within a couple of hours).
Both times I was told by a very polite operator who had clearly heard this story too many times, that calling and sitting on hold was the only way to return an Audible book.
I know people exist who demand stores honor their 10-years-expired 15¢ off coupon, so I can extrapolate that people will sit on hold to return every book they hear, but it didn’t SEEM like encouragement to return. But again, as I am not a book-listener, I can’t speak to that end.
Must have been very newly hired operators you spoke with both times, as the return/exchange process is as simple as a couple of clicks.
Maybe it’s only simple if you have an account with them? I can see where it might be difficult to return without an account. ????♀️
I do not have an Audible account. Just my Amazon account. And have learned to click very carefully and wait for the page to load all the way.
Best of all, I’ve learned to unclick— the first time, the operator warned me that sometimes that “add Audible for $X” box is already checked. But I haven’t had to do that in years.
I had no idea about the Audible practice. That’s just absurd that people do that! It reminds me of my sister’s former employer, a well-known bath works store. Apparently, they have to honor all returns…..including used bath poufs. Blech…..
I for one have great respect for the service that Audible provides me personally. But when I think of how much I love my audiobooks and listen to them over and over, I find the idea of people being so bitchy and cheap as to use it as a rental service completely baffling. I get more than good value for my money every month without returning books and I’m not sure I could give it up, but I hope the authors will keep up the pressure. I couldn’t stand the idea of a service that has given me so much joy not paying proper dues to the artists that make it all possible.
The insight of the production Prozess is very interesting. While I read most of your books in english for various reasons I realy like listening to audiobooks especialy while driving. Now i’m from Germany and while reading is not a problem because rereading a sentence until you got the picture or using a dictonary is usually enough doing any of that while steering a car is out of the question. So on audiobooks i need them in german. When i first stumbled upon your books audible offers the first KD books. Later i got too much bothered of waiting for the translation and the making of an audiobook and switched to read your books in english.
Now i’m wondering what you as authors earn from books in foreign languages and what the process might be?Or is translating something that audible/amazone does on it’s own?
I’m just here for the kitties. The death glare kitty is the best. Nothing does judgmental antipathy like a kitty.
OK, I’m torn. I hate monopolies of any kind, but you can’t argue that audible has the game on lock. I wish there were other alternatives that could hold a candle, but there simply aren’t. It sucks that it’s so convenient, too. As a blind person, I can honestly say I read about 99% of my books on audible. It wasn’t until I saw a Facebook post about the whole return policy BS that I really started questioning their business practices. I mean, I’ve returned some books, don’t get me wrong, but it was always because the book wasn’t for me. I couldn’t imagine just returning a book so I could get a credit back. I mean, how would you re-read it? I’ve re-read books easily 20 times or more. I guess that’s not what everyone does, but I’m thoroughly confused as to why they don’t.
On a related note, I was about to fight all of audible because Blood Heir wasn’t coming up in the search. I Felt personally attacked, like, uh uh!!! Y’all are not about to do my people like that! Where’s my d*** book!
The search feature got itself together and it finally came up, so everyone can live. All‘s well that ends well.
Interesting post, thank you. Ilona andrews.
Dad was an avid science fiction reader. During chemotherapy he could no longer read regular print nor could he turn physical pages. I subscribed to Baen books website so He could blow up page on monitor until he could read it. His last months were Harlequin romance audiobooks because he could no longer read printed letters and I couldn’t find quality science fiction audiobooks.
Thank you for the behind scenes look.
I for one am glad you overcame your inital reluctance to tell us about Audiobooks’ rapacious behaviour. I try to be an ethical consumer and prefer not to reward bad corporate business behaviour. Clear factual explanation much appreciated; helps me make informed choices I’m comfortable with.
I am primarily a print consumer, but have started of recent years listening in addition to text as having it well performed is like seeing/hearing a different artist do the same role; different emphasis brings text/characters alive in differing interpretations.
Thank you for the care you bring to all aspects of your craft, the writing as well as the business; it’s a huge joy to immerse myself in the worlds you create.
My youngest son has a reading disability. He taught himself to read in 7th grade because he fell in love with the Warrior Cat series by Erin Hunter.
Then he stopped reading.
We were coming back from visiting his aunt in another state and I put in the audiobook of Magic Bleeds. He got sucked into the story and read all the Kate Daniels books and stopped reading. So I “made him” listen to a Mercy Thompson story. He started that series and eventually realized that there was a whole bunch of stories out there that he liked. He plowed thru Harry Dresden, then all of Seanan Macguire and then and then and then.
He still has about an 80% comprehension of books he reads, which works fine for fiction… But in a science textbook that’s an issue. Fortunately he’s a chef and he never has issues with a recipe.
Ever since Apple DELETED MY PURCHASED AUDIOBOOK (with an excellent narrator) and replaced it with a different version (with the worst, most wooden narrator ever), I’ve refused to buy from them. Sad to say it, but I agree that Audible seems to be the best option out there (for me). I absolutely love your books in print and audio so I hope they straighten up!
It is always so interesting to hear about your industry. Thank you for sharing your knowledge as well as your wonderful stories.
I love the kitty snips, and thought I’d share a favorite shot of my George.
And of course, the picture didn’t post – trying again
Your George is beautiful. He also has a glare on him. It’s adorable ????
I am so excited. I have purchased all your books both physical and audio. At least once a month I am re-listening to one of your books. The audiobooks allow me to get other things done while still enjoying the comfort and excitement of your stories.
And here I come to advocate for Graphic Audio again. Though I imagine the author returns are much lower than self-published works on audible. The production is cool and it looks like a model Audible (in typical Amazon fashion) is starting to rip off, ie: Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman audible production.
I wish GraphicAudio had a bigger library. But they do have some heavy hitters in genre, Brandon Sanderson, Peter V Brett, Brent Weeks.
> Apple Books/iTunes is definitely a contender and there are boutique audiobook retailers
We stopped buying audiobooks through iTunes because their vendor is… Audible
We cannot use Audible customer service but have to use Apple’s tier 1 which contacts Audible’s tier 1. Argh.
We have lost several audiobook purchases over the years. This was before Amazon bought Audible. So the situation may have improved.
I have never purchased an audio book but I can’t imagine requesting a refund long after the fact. It would be like going to see a movie and 3 months later wanting a refund. There have been a few books that were Did Not Finish for me but you roll the dice and take your chances ???? ????????
I use a combination of the public library, and use OverDrive, and Hoopla, and I also have an Audible account. This covers a lot of ground. I only returned one book and didn’t even realize I could as I take a lot of time picking out what I want to listen to because I want to be careful with my money and not waste it.
What I really do not like are readers who brag about doing returns and not spending money on books, those are the same folks who brag how they get books for free on pirate sites. There are a lot of writers out there who write regularly and publish but still have to work a regular job to pay the bills. It is not an easy business.
Audible must be doing something very shady. It is all on computer and you just need to get to the logs to see what is happening. I am not saying the entire company is shady but the accounting department needs to have a full forensic audit done.
Just purchased Blood Heir something wonderful while I do my taxes and roadmaps for work.
I listen to audiobooks all the time while I’m working. I use Audible, but I also check out library audiobooks through Hoopla for free and I really like eStories and Kobo. Kobo is the best alternative to Audible and is only about $10 for 1 audiobook credit.
Good information to know. I have a 20 minute commute to work now so I listen to old books on CD, mostly just to keep my mind occupied without distracting me from traffic.
On the plus side Amazon is having to cough up all the tips they ripped off from the driver’s. Justice grinds slowly, maybe Audible will be next.
You’re not joking about the share Audible has on the market. Most of my audio books are off Audible but there are a couple I got off iTunes because of gift cards. Imagine my surprise when they ended with the “Audible hopes you enjoyed…” tag line.
Interesting to see the intersection of audiobook fans & book fans ( or print vs digital as in prior blog post comments). I prefer reading romance & scifi in written format and can’t really listen to the same books in audio. I guess I like doing the voices in my head at my speed, horrible pronunciation and all. Interestingly non-fiction or less read fiction genres work for me as audiobooks when they take more persistence & effort to read in written format.
One YouTuber I’m subscribed to said the people who listen to his podcast sometimes never know there is a YT channel and vice versa. Those audiences actually overlap a lot less than one might think.
Maybe someone will do a podcast release like a serial. That monetization model is rather different.
Very happy the audio is up
When I read the audio was available, I immediately went to audible to purchase. However, I was confused by the categories : mystery, thriller & suspense. No paranormal category listed. I never would have found it if I was only searching by category.
Hi!. I need a bit of help here… this audible version, do you listen in you phone?. Because I have a kindle but as far as I know it’s not possible to listen audio books.
So, where do you listen the book?. Laptop? Phone?. Is there any special device??.
Thanks!
I believe that the Kindle Fire (it’s in color and looks more like a tablet) and possibly the Oasis will let you listen to Audible, but not the Paperwhite or regular Kindle. At least not the older versions, newer ones may (mine is 5ish years old). I think that you can use the Audible app on a phone, tablet, and probably a computer (????♀️). As far as I know, there isn’t a special device just for it.
You can put the Audible app on your cell phone and download and listen to the audiobook that way.
OR
You can use the Audible app for your PC and transfer it to an MP3 player.
I use both methods.
Also can use the Amazon Fire tablet.
You can also put the audible app on an iPad or any other tablet. I have audible on my phone, my pc, my iPad mini, my MP3 players. No matter what I’m doing, there’s often a book on in the background.
I don’t touch audible anymore as I intensely dislike the idea of someone else having “the power” over my purchases.
So, it’s _Downpour_ for me – I select, I buy, I download and then they are mine. The watermark that’s somewhere in the files, I don’t care about as I only use those books myself.
The prices are acceptable. They have great sales once/twice a year (omg the money I’ve spent) and the monthly (not mandatory) subscription of $12.99 is ok with my exchange rate.
So do your narrators change based on whether it’s self-published or not? I really like Renee because she literally introduced me to good audiobooks. I am actually glad we got Emily for Catalina’s books because she needs a different voice. Just curious how picking the narrator is done. Like why not go with Natalie or Emily for Julie’s book too? Or is it all just personal preference?
Hello Katelin,
House Andrews have stated before that they will have a different narrator for each series going forward. This is to avoid main characters confusion, which was happening when one narrator read all the books.
I hope this helps ????
I’m sorry Audible is such poos. That being said I’ve been saving a credit just for this book! I own the ebook version too but for right now audiobooks just work better with my schedule. Thank you for all that you and Gordon do.
I like CDs, though, how do Playaways fit into the picture? With the small size they are better for wearing while walking.
I read this, and I wondered where you got the idea that it sounds “ranty”. Legitimate complaints are not rants. I never use audible, because I like the sounds in my own head when people speak. I also cannot stand listening to people read aloud. *shudder* Amazon is pushing it hard, though.
I do want to congratulate you that the names are all pronounced correctly. I won’t hear them, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter to me. I despise that people refuse to ask how to say a name that’s confusing and insist on just using whatever they think it should sound like instead of getting the correct pronunciation.
But the cats are so cute that I have to tell you thank you for the photos. You put the right attitudes with the right words, and they fit perfectly. SOP for you, impressive to me.
I know one author I enjoy has gone self published and he has started using Bookfunnel for his audiobooks.
I buy my audiobooks through Audible. I have never returned any of them. I buy only authors I like and want to keep. I have audio books for House Andrews because even though I have bought and read them in ebook. It is a different experience to listen to them being read. I also quilt and listening to your books while I quilt is a favorite thing to do for me. I had no idea Audible was so sketchy but I don’t belong to their membership just use the app to buy my books. Hope everyone has a restful weekend!
Thank you – such great information!
Being hearing impaired I don’t pay attention to the audio versions of books. But I get most of my books from the library. Either in print or as e-books. And they have audio versions of many many books. Does a library system have to get your permission to purchase and loan your books? Is this a good, bad, indifferent thing for you? I always wondered.
Hello Brenda,
House Andrews are very happy to get their books into libraries and always grateful for readers who access the books that way.
The subject has been mentioned here https://ilona-andrews.com/2019/best-strategy-to-support-a-new-book/ as well as here https://ilona-andrews.com/2021/flowers-and-questions/ .
I hope this helps ????
Thank you!
I live not far from Audible headquarters. their mistreatment of authors is horrific and needs to stop.
But, I would like to mention they moved to Newark NJ in 2007 and do help fund all sorts of local programs including feeding folks, student programs, local hires etc.
Newark needed major companies to move to the city and they were one of the first.
Plus they sold me Blood Heir. I bought the ebook but my vision is so variable I could not read it. (But did not return it!)
I need audiobooks to be a sustainable income stream for my beloved authors. Hope audible straights up and flies right.
Thank you for answering audio questions, including mine. Even without knowing my specific sales, you have answered the question with enough detail to help guide me. Thank you!
Congrats on getting the audio of Blood Heir out. I just finished Emerald Blaze yesterday. LOVELY read. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Jumped on the audiobook version as soon as I saw this post!!
I love audiobooks. Audible needs to do right by its authors. Deceptive business practices doesn’t sound like a good long term plan.
P.S. I’m not an author and have no plans to get an audiobook published but I love reading whatever you write about. I also love learning about new stuff. Cute cat pictures were definitely a nice touch. 😉 We don’t even have any cats at home but still enjoy cute cat pics.
I am so sorry to learn about the Audible problems. As an avid listener with almost 1000 books in my library it makes me sad they are such a barrier for new or self published authors. I no longer have the patience to read e book or paper for that matter because I stare at computer screens for a living and I really enjoy the performances of the narrators (especially yours). Plus I can multitask while listening. In short (ha) I appreciate the extra effort for publishing audio versions and I wish all authors could. I know I’m missing out on the ones who can’t or don’t bother with audio. I am NOT one who returns books even if I hate the narrator.
My main problem with audio books is that I can read a book so much faster than someone can read it to me.
I also concentrate on my book. If I want background noise, it’s music.
(I am weird. I haven’t had my TV on in months. My son watched a football game back in November. I haven’t watched anything in years. It just no longer interests me.)
I had heard about the Audible mess. RJ Blain addressed it on her blog as the reason she was not doing new audio books. I thought at the time “Audible is going to shoot themselves in the foot with that policy.”
I am glad that they’ve changed their ways (hopefully, anyway) and will be offering audio to those that want / need it without bankrupting the authors.
Thanks for kitties. Always a day-brightener!
Question: how do library e-books work? I love that I can easily borrow e-books without leaving my house (especially good during COVID) but honestly I always feel a bit guilty for doing that. If a library buys a copy of an e-book and 50 people are willing to wait to borrow it, does that mean the authors are only getting paid once? Or is there also some sort of fee that is paid based on the number of times it is borrowed? I hope it’s the later! ☹️
Hello Kat,
There is no reason to feel guilty, libraries pay licensing fees for ebook copies (different types depending on publisher arrangements).
Thank you! I always suspected that this was a case of my not understanding how this works, so I’m glad to hear this! ????
If you want to find audiobooks but not through audible there is a website called chirp that is an off-shoot of bookbub. They do short time deals (between $0.99-$4.99 usually) but also have other books available. It used to require an invitation, but I don’t think it does anymore. It also has it’s own app. Just checked and there are a bunch of Ilona Andrews on there.
What about the new audible plus catalog we were all grandfathered into? How does that affect authors? I personally have only ever returned an audible book when I realized I already had that book from another source soon after purchase. It doesn’t feel right to return it after I listen even if I dislike the narration, and really isn’t that what the ‘preview’ is for? So you know when they do the obnoxious dual narrators where each narrator does a voice for every character? I HATE that style of narration.
NEWS:
ADUBLE UK has Magic Slays – Kate Daniels Series, Book 5
For those of us waiting since forever. Book 5 will be available on the 9th of February 2021.
Yes, I obsessively check every so often and periodically send e-mails to Audible the get all of Kate available in UK 🙂
If everything goes well, the entire KD series should be available in the U.K. in 3-4 weeks ????.
This is very exiting. Makes me so happy!
I just finished reading my print copy of Blood Heir and I absolutely love it. Thank you for all your hard work. Now that i finished reading it I see the audio is available. So I bought my copy there also. I now own paperback and audio and have never returned a single purchace as that has alwas seemed wrong.
I wish u got a bigger cut as your books have ment many joyful hours reading your amazing work.
Thank you again pls stay safe and healthy I wish you joy, happieness and love. From my house to yours
I hate Audible. I have had to “cancel” membership three times because I either accidentally hit an order with a book, or got an audible that I didn’t know where the hell it came from. They have a sneaky way to hide check boxes. They make it so difficult to cancel unless you actually call on the telephone to speak to an agent. Finding the number is also a bit of a challenge. I will say the agents have been polite and not been resistant.
Now, I have another reason to hate their “fucking bullshit”.
Squee! So excited!
I listen to a ton of audiobooks because I listen at work at my desk, driving (even short trips), and while doing things around the house. I have almost all Andrews books on ebook AND audio. ????
I’m not crazy about Audible but mostly use it because it’s what I’m used to. I need to see what else is out there.
I do wonder about the kobo audio is that an option worth any consideration?
I am a long time listener to Audible. It has been a great way to “read” books that otherwise I would not have the time to read. It has never occurred to me to return a book that I have listened to. It boggles my mind people would do that. They give you the option to uninstall from your device, so it is not like space limits should be a problem. I also take advantage of being able to go back and re-listen to the really good books, just like I would re-read a book that I really like.
Thank you for all the good information, peek into behind the scenes aspects that never even occurred to me. I really enjoy all your books and can’t wait for the next one – doesn’t matter from which series or if it is a stand alone. I will read it!!
I used to hate audiobooks, but a recent vision issue has made them the only way I can read. I stubbornly still buy ebooks. Reading that way is much more difficult. Audiobooks to the rescue. 🙂 Amazon is the best for us listeners. I’m sorry it’s so shady for the authors. That really sucks. I’ve returned two books. One I kept falling asleep by chapter 3 (LOL I should have kept it for insomniac nights!) and one I had no idea was so religious. Couldn’t take all the judgement from the author on a religion I don’t follow. ????
Thank you for all the information and everything you do for us your readers. Your books help keep me sane during these trying times.
Thank you also for the kitties and here’s my “kitty”. Well, actually not a real kitty, it’s a rabbit but he does behave like a cat most of the time and like a dog the rest of the time but he still is a rabbit.
Hmmm…. tried uploading the photo several times. Here’s my last try. If it doesn’t work this time please accept my apologies.
He is soooo cute! Thank you for the picture!
What size picture are you trying to upload, Lena? ????
I tried different sizes. First 1024 X 768 then 594 X 480. None worked.
I mean file size, sorry, not resolution. There is a limit of 1 MB if I remember correctly 🙂
Thank you for all of your efforts
I’m so excited about blood heir being out on audio…just nipped across and bought it…I always read the book first but any book I love i always get on audiobook as well.
I feel you get a different experience from audio and I like to get both. So thank you for putting all your books out on audioas well…and you always pick the best narraters too.
Thanks again for the best books x
Just bought Blood Heir on Audible! Will start listening tonight.
I’ve been a member of Audible for years and had no idea this was their policy (refunds yes, but shorting the author’s No). I feel for you and all the other authors this affects.
I’ve returned books only within a day or two of purchasing if the material wasn’t what I liked and on one occasion because I wanted to buy the book instead of using a credit (sometimes its cheaper). How do I know this? Because Audible has an area where they list all of our Refund History, in my case since 2014. So they can Definitely provide this information and they should! (I can send screen shots if it would help.)
Reading what it takes I really appreciate that all of your books have been on Audio. Thank you! I listen to Audio books while doing household chores, working out, or even playing games. It’s often more convenient then getting to sit down and just read.
Thank you and your entire team for putting up with all these shenanigans that we don’t know about or appreciate enough, it allows us to enjoy the work you do and to fall in love with your worlds.
Ilona/Gordon,
Thank you for being!
You provide so much in so many ways! Great stories which keep getting better and better…feedback to readers and how-to’s to writing and publishing…
I’ve been a fan for awhile and read a lot…I will pause on a book when your new books come out so I can read yours then return to what I had been reading…
So glad to hear it’s available for pre order on Audible. I’m disappointed in how Audible has behaved to authors, but I have such a large investment in their audio books I really don’t want to switch. Rest assured I won’t be returning my book. I will admit to having returned 2 audio books to Audible (none of them yours), but it was within 24 hours when I realised I couldn’t stand listening to the narrators.
I have always been too mean to pay the audible subscription, so I listen to audiobooks provided via my local library. I have always assumed that the audiobook providers – they use two – pay an enhanced purchase price because they are lending their copies out, I hope so but am ashamed to say that I have never tried to check. Surrey libraries use RBDigital and Ulverscroft. I think the latter is smaller, but that RBDigital provides its services worldwide. Because their library of audiobooks is so much smaller than the physical library I have found authors new to me and gone on to buy their books, so, for me anyway, it also provides publicity for its authors.
Thank you for the kitties, they brighten any day.
I’ve been a member of Audible for nearly 20 years. My audio library is huge, and I re-listen to favorites regularly. I’ve returned two in all of that time.
I just don’t seem to have the time to sit down with dead tree or ebooks anymore.
I still remember when I listened to the first Kate audiobook – I was shopping for a new series, Audible had a two for one sale, and I took a chance. I never looked (listened?) back (plus, love Renee Raudman). I own ALL of House Andrews series in audio.
There are very few authors/series that I will pre-order – normally I want to preview the narrator, check out reviews, etc.
I never hesitate with House Andrews. I know I will get another winner.
I am so sorry you have had this issue with Audible, and hopefully they improve their practice soon.
I tried to attach a photo of one of my cute kitties but no luck:(
Thought you might like to know that Dr. Emily Zarka has done a video on boudas though the history has them as hyena-weres though she called them were hyenas. You can find it on the Storied channel on YouTube. She has also covered Baba Yaga, the yule kat, and a variety of undead.
I’m glad I don’t have an Audible membership anymore. Companies should not be able to get away with this. Even if I still listened to audiobooks, I would not want to give Audible any of my money. I wish all the authors impacted by this could sue their pants off.
It is shameful how Audible/Amazon treat their authors. Audible should bear the lion’s share of return cost since they’re offering their customers unlimited returns. I always thought Audible buys the content, bearing the burden of returns and using subscription fees and credits sales as compensation. Not recharging the author/publisher. It seems to me they’ve set themselves up as middlemen, profiting from both parties and not taking any risks. The Empire of things at its finest.
You shouldn’t have a money loss with me or my husband. He buys the books and the kindle version and then he buys the audible version for me when it comes out. We love all your books. We’ve read the Edge books, Kate’s books, the Innkeeper books and even the Alpha story. I am looking forward to Ruby Fever and then the Arabella stories. I hope audible will add the short stories for Arabella too. Cool Aunt saved my sanity. My husband laughs at me when I stress over novel people. They a very real to me and I laugh every time Runa yells “Dead!” at Alessandro in Emerald Blaze. Keep writing.
The answer to all this Audible crap is, if you are a fan of an author/s, and purchase their audio book, DON’T RETURN IT! Support authors! Let them keep the money they earned churning out wonderful reads!!!
Anyone out there wanting to start up a more fairer, transparent audio book platform? I’m sure there would be plenty of us who’d like to invest and get it going.
It’s so frustrating to hear about the wiggly stuff being done in the writing profession. I’m really glad to know about it though and terrifically pleased that the authors grouped together to complain… only way for change to occur. Plus new companies that develop positive reputations offer choice.
I totally enjoyed the cat pictures too!
Try chirp, maybe? I personally hate Audible but I like chirp when they have sales.
I have a question about Audible. When I buy a book with a credit, does the author get a reduced amount versus when a customer buys for cash? I commute 110 miles a day for work. I listen almost exclusively to audiobooks, so I go through a LOT. I’ve been an Audible member since 2009 and I’m grateful for their extensive library, but not a fan of their practices (they’ve pulled books from my library with no notification or reimbursement until I called them on it.) I think I’ve returned 2 audiobooks that I didn’t care for and never after finishing the entire book. I’m so glad I didn’t return more! The information you share about the publishing world is so interesting. Thank you!
Genuine question: Is it bad if I use audible because the free credit is usually more affordable for me than the full price of an audiobook, but I don’t pull the shady practice of returning the book? I guess my real question is — if you have the audible subscription and use a credit to get a book do the authors get the full amount they would have gotten if someone paid rather than used the credit?
I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind wanting to return an Ilona Andrews book.
Thank you for the image of Audible in the barn! I LOL’ed !
Hi! I am a content acquisition manager at an international audiobook retailer called Storytel. If you ever do decide to go non exclusive with Audible, I’d be delighted to set up a distribution agreement so your books reach our 21+ territories around the world.
I bought this yesterday and listened to it while I had PTO from work. I really enjoyed the performance!
Thank you for that info. There will many authors we don’t get to enjoy because of these weird practices and possibly corporate grift.
Thank you! I adore audio books. I adore your books. This is very much a winning combo.
Own BH and love it. My library has it available in ebook format. Will the BH audiobook be available to libraries?
I’m sorry if this has already been asked, but will the audio be available through Libro.fm? Libro is an audiobook service that partners with independent bookstores, so it’s a great alternative to Audible. I’m sure y’all already know about it, but some readers might not. 🙂
This was super interesting to me because when I asked the audible employee who told me about their return policy if returning books hurt the authors he told me it actually helps authors because they get credit for selling the book twice. I had no idea authors were penalized for it. Thank you for letting me know!
It was worth the wait!
I loved it!
I currently have 143 Audible books in my library, and have probably returned twice as many. I keep the ones I love, and return anything I lost interest in or don’t want to keep in my library. The easy returns have encouraged me to try several new authors, but I had no idea Audible went after the authors for refund money; I thought there was a returns allowance included in the subscription cost. I can see how it would hurt the author to get paid and then be required to return their pay days, weeks, or even months later. But I can’t imagine returning one of your books, because they are always worth listening to… repeatedly ????
You might find this funny… I have been anxiously looking for a release date of Blood Heir audio.
I submitted a query through audible’s site – and on 2/2 I received a response. They had no date as to the audio version of Blood Heir, but told me I could purchase an electric copy or paperback of the title.
I’m so happy BH is out in audio! I’ve been an avid (okay, voracious) reader all my life. Lately I’ve been having trouble with my eyes. Without audio versions of my favorite books, I think I would have lost my mind, particularly over the last year. I’ve been an Audible customer since 2005. I’ve purchased at least two audiobooks a month; during sales, up to a dozen.I’m so grateful that my favorite authors take care selecting good narrators. I get really frustrated when an inexperienced one reads poorly. There’s nothing like being yanked out of the story by a mispronounced word (grr!). That said, I have returned several books over the years, when I’ve bought the audio by mistake, or when I couldn’t stand the narrators. Despite the liberal return policy, the idea of returning a book I’ve finished has always seemed like a cheat; Audible is a store, not a library.
For anyone who has been an Audible customer for a while, heads up! Since I’ve had so much time to listen to my books lately, I’ve looked through my whole library. I noticed that more than a dozen of my books are marked as unavailable for download. The rep explained that sometimes Audible has lost the rights or there’s a new version, etc. I made a list of each of my “unavailable” titles and Audible gave me credits to replace them all. So, check your Audible library!
Thanks for info about unavailable Audibles and getting credits to replace it…
I’ve learned to do the ‘Audible Sample’ on Amazon. One time, I purchased an audiobook on sale by a new author (new to me.) I hated the slightly high pitch voice of the narrator. I couldn’t listen to it. Now, I first listen to a sample of the audiobook before buying it. Even if the Audiobook is on sale for $1.99, if the narrator talks too fast, doesn’t pause, etc.., I don’t buy it.
I am a huge audio book fan, it gets me through housework, driving, flying, knitting, sewing and my husband’s bad choices in tv shows.
I do borrow through my library and overdrive and then download onto my phone and use the smart audio book app. It works fantastic with my Bluetooth earbuds at keeping the rest of the world crazy to a minimum. ????
I prefer not to use Audible – I’ve got almost all your other audiobooks (and Patricia Briggs’) through Downpour or Tantor.
So far, I haven’t found Blood Heir anywhere other than on Audible. Is it exclusive to Audible? If not, could you direct me to another source?
Hello Anne,
The link to Itunes as is provided in the article https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/blood-heir-kate-daniels-world-book-1-unabridged/id1552144128
I hope this helps 🙂
I’m a holdout. I refuse to be an Audible and Prime membership based on practicality. I don’t read enough books to make subscriptions for Prime and Audibles worth it. I’m willing to pay full price for my favorite authors like Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Juliet Blackwell, Karen Chance, Seanan McGuire, Honor Raconteur and Jessie Mihalik on ebooks. As for Audible, I’m only willing to buy Audiobooks mostly on Briggs (Mercy’s series) and Andrews (Kate’s and Innkeeper). Paying Audiobooks at full price (or anything over $7.99) becomes a luxury. I remember setting aside $7.99 or $9.99 every other month to buy the audiobook. It took years but I think I finally got 100% of the 3 series.
I’ve always wondered how the whole author payment worked at Audible especially when I was part of the Romance Readers club (no longer offered). Now, they have PLUS which is like a lending library.
I purchased a bunch of audio books back in the day when you bought the Kindle version and could get the audio for only $1.99. Great for me, but wondered who made money on that deal besides me.
I’d like you to know I returned one of your audio books and it was because for some reason, there were 2 versions. I purchased the earlier version. Then later purchased unknowingly the same book, same narrator, but was considered a separate book. If you search for the book on Audible, the second version only comes up. It was quite strange. The first version is still in my Library.
I’ve been with audible over 10 years and have over 1000 books (I’m set if/when my eyesight goes). I’ve returned a handful of books usually after reading a few chapters and shuddering thru the whole experience. I’ve never read the whole book and a year later returned it. One book gave me nightmares and it was also returned. It’s not fair to the author to treat the service like a library. I like happy authors.
I love your books on Audible and am especially happy with the new narrators on the Hidden Legacy series and the Sweep Series.
Is there any chance you will put your books on CD? I’m not interested in any of the audio services and usually only listen to books on CD when travelling.
Thank you for the post! Lots of great information.
OMG! I have never purchased an audio book. LOL, I guess I only like the voices aleady in my head. Seriously, if I was an author I would be so pissed off. I’d be opening my spreadsheets and databases and asking my newsletter and blog followers on a dedicated blog post to post title of audio book, date purchased and date of return. Then I would compare to any data audio company sent me. The nerve to encourage returns! Good luck.
Knight Ryder, snicker, snicker, snicker. I chuckle every time I hear it.
I had no idea that all was gong down with Audible! I have a hard time listening to someone read aloud and so have never gotten into audiobooks, but I’ve always wanted to try it because it seemed so convenient for car rides… and to help with how to properly pronounce some words/names, lol.
Hi
at itunes the audio version is twice listed – in my country at least.
One version is by Little, Brown Book Company, it losts a run time of 13:26 hours, size is 630MB
The other version is by Macmillan Audio (St. Martin’s Press) lists 13:42 hours, size is ‘only’ 414.5MB
As it is only a difference of 16 minutes I guess its not about abridged and unabridged, but as the longer version is also smaller in size I am really wondering what/why… is up here?
Dear WoasNed,
You appear to have the wrong Blood Heir book. Please follow the link here https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/blood-heir-kate-daniels-world-book-1-unabridged/id1552144128.
The length is 11 hours and 19 minutes for a size of 587 MB, released by NYLA Publishing.
I hope this helps ????
Thank you I mixed up the titles, it was about another book, I shouldn’t write posts whilst having a bad headache