A Novel Experience...

Recording in a professional studio for the audiobook version of 'Degrees of Intelligence' has begun. It's just me, a soundproof booth, a studio engineer with 30 years under his belt, and ACX's stipulations for how to submit files.

I have an extensive background in acting, singing, and broadcasting, so being in front of a perfectly positioned mic is so much fun for me. Because so many of the characters in my novel are based on family members or their colleagues, I have more than the usual amount of fodder to bring these people to life.

With several British accents to be mastered, I've done Skype sessions with a former newswriter I know who's British. I've also listened to videos of Churchill, Queen Elizabeth, and numerous accent-promoting tutorials. I've discovered I cannot master Cockney--fortunately, there are other, less specific working class accents I can handle. Posh comes easily to me, as does the slightly watered down "grammar school" RP that is the accent of broadcasters and many Londoners.

Make no mistake: you need time and professional equipment to do a high-quality audiobook book. Yes, it's an expensive project, but at least I don't have to pay the talent haha.  I think writers underestimate how difficult it is to create a truly soundproof studio--where I am recording, there are double heavy metal doors to the outside, like a CIA bunker. And the engineer makes sure the mic is positioned perfectly, has me do two general takes of each page and pickups on flubs or where my voice may have gotten gravelly. 

Best of all, he really likes the story. And I enjoy bringing it to life.

It will be a year to get this out, because both to protect my voice and my wallet, we are doing just four chapters per month in the studio. The engineer then works his magic and sends me each chapter as a file.

I think it will be worth waiting for. Stay tuned.

I am reasonably well-versed in marketing, and I also think writers are too dependent on "advice" from people who make money selling advice. 

You have to think about who your core demographic is and what they likely read the most.

One key demographic for my new geopolitical thiller 'Degrees of Intelligence' is the military and IC crowd. But even within that, I have to try to zero in on specifically who this story will most likely resonate with. My guess is: active-duty and retired over-40 and probably predominantly male (I don't want to discourage any women from reading the story, this is just my gut feeling).

I decided to try some advertising with 'Stars and Stripes,' the pre-eminent news source for the military and Washington/defense crowd. I have to say, I've been super impressed with the ad sales guy I got: not even slightly slick, incredibly informative, and really willing to stretch my small ad budget for max effect.

I asked him if he'd had any other authors advertise on Stars, and he could only recall one. That's just less competition, in my eyes.

They have many ways to reach audiences, and he's gone above and beyond in being helpful with trying to tailor-make an ad program for me. Will it work? Who knows. We're going to do a three-month trial and see what happens.

I did the math, and if I get .002 return (i,e, sales), I am slightly in the black. Just 2/10ths of one percent:  that seems like a very low number, but I am assuming book sales ROI and say, car sales ROI are not comparable. You have to assume you will get a lower buy-through rate, and all the ad really does is get people to your website with a short headline and book graphic and a hyperlink to your site.

I do have my site set up for an easy buying experience already (I always say, when you want people to do something, make it easy!)

Here's the thing, my fellow writers: you have to take some chances in life. Personally, I think social media is overrated as a place to hawk books, generally speaking. On top of which, I am off all sm and have no desire to return.

So I'm going to give this a try, and we'll see what happens. The thing with Amazon is every sale boosts your visibility, so potentially that's doubling your ad dollars.

Stay tuned. If this is a success, I can make more big bucks pretending I know what I'm doing with other authors.