Polling the Audio Book Readers
LEGO is doing Lord of the Rings! I believe the word I’m looking for here is geekgasm.
And now a question for fans and readers, especially those who listen to audio books. Hypothetically speaking, if my books were to be made into audio books, would you have a preference between Audible and Graphic Audio?
Both companies have published some big names. Audible is part of Amazon, which I suspect means the audio books would be more accessible. But I don’t know, so I’d love to hear from folks who are into audio books. Who do you buy from, and if you had the choice, which company would you prefer to see goblin and/or princess audio books from?
techdragon
December 16, 2011 @ 9:47 am
Audible! I have been a member there for years and use my credits plus some more each month. I would love to have your books on audio!
Jim C. Hines
December 16, 2011 @ 9:53 am
Thanks! I’ll share details as we get them, but it sounds like there’s a pretty good chance we’ll eventually be seeing audio books of my work, one way or another.
Ken Marable
December 16, 2011 @ 10:09 am
I will second Audible only because I have honestly never heard of any others. Audible has worked wonderfully for me, so I never looked elsewhere. It would be great if your books went audio! Honestly, they have been on my “I really ave to read these soon” list for far too long. Part of the reason is that I think my “reading” breakdown is 5% physical book, 15% Ebook, and at least 80% audiobook. It is by far the most common way I “read” books especially when I was commuting an hour each way jor my last job.
But I suppose even though I prefer Audible, I say go with wherever you get the best deal. 🙂 I’d be willing to try a different distributor if your books were there.
Jim C. Hines
December 16, 2011 @ 10:12 am
Thanks, Ken! The assumption right now is that the offers will be roughly equivalent, so my preference is to go with whatever would work best for the majority of my readers.
James
December 16, 2011 @ 10:38 am
Audible too, I have a subscription and usually have spare credits for work I enjoy.
Andrew Betts
December 16, 2011 @ 10:43 am
I’ve had an account with Audible on and off for 5 years. I’ve heard some of Graphic Audio’s productions as well and generally I’ve preferred the Auible ones.
Teresa
December 16, 2011 @ 10:51 am
Definitely Audible. Aside from the convenience of membership and sales, Graphic Audio has hit or miss quality. It really comes down to the narrator, but overall, I’ve had more enjoyable experiences from Audible.
Lomky
December 16, 2011 @ 11:11 am
I don’t listen to audio books regularly. But if I were going to go browse for one for a trip of some such, I would go to Audible. They seem to concentrate a lot on advertising (at least, I hear ads for them on 3 or 4 of the podcasts I listen to), so they have name recognition. I’ve never heard of the other one.
Beth
December 16, 2011 @ 11:15 am
Audible. It’s the only source of audio books I use. The convenience factor is huge for me on this.
Cassandra
December 16, 2011 @ 11:36 am
SQUUUEEEEE, AUDIOBOOKS. I’m not particular about where my audiobooks come from so long as the narrator does a good job and I can switch the book between devices easily.
Steve Buchheit
December 16, 2011 @ 12:12 pm
Audible, just because they’re the 800lb gorilla. However, I have a special place for Brilliance Audio Books. They do a lot of SF/F titles, their purchaser seems like a good guy (met him at last year’s Confusion), and they do a bangup job of production (http://www.brillianceaudioinc.com/).
And the reader has a big influence of if I continue listening to a book. Some are fabulous, most are okay, some turn me off to the work.
Michelle in Colroado
December 16, 2011 @ 12:51 pm
I have never heard of Graphic Audio. I have been using Audible for many many years.
Dawno
December 16, 2011 @ 12:56 pm
Audible
John Ottinger
December 16, 2011 @ 1:41 pm
I like Graphic Audio because they usually use multiple actors for different voices. Audiobooks read by one person, no matter how good a voice actor, tends to put me to sleep. Listening to a radio drama, on the other hand, is exciting. I have been please with everything I’ve ever heard from Graphic Audio. Because they put out less with more actors, they also tend to have a higher production quality.
Kat
December 16, 2011 @ 4:21 pm
Audible. Also, for what it’s worth, because of Neil’s new imprint with them, I suspect that more people who might be in your potential audience are looking at Audible for titles to listen to right now.
Sean
December 16, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
I still buy the CD’s or get them from the Library. I was actually looking at getting an audiobook from audible this week, but they use DRM and are not compatible with my MP3 player (it plays the format but not equipped to handle the DRM portion). Itunes (is there a reason that would was not mentioned as a place to release the audiobooks?) can import audible files and play them on your ipod/iphone if you have one. Audible are a great front for audiobooks and have stated in the past about dropping DRM in the future.
Of course i just ordered a sansa clip zip player today (completely unrelated to audible, wanted it for other reasons) and it supports audible so maye i will give it a try. I just hate purchasing something knowing i might not be able to play it in the future…
That being said it would be nice if more places popped up for selling audiobooks. Competition is always good for the comsumer
Sean
holly
December 17, 2011 @ 11:52 am
Although Audible is now producing some audiobooks, they are still primarily a distribution system. Blackstone Audio is the US’s largest independent audiobook producer. They’ve been around for many years, and always put out fantastic product. Recorded Books are also a fantastic producer. Once the audiobook is produced, there are multiple distribution channels. Digital audio downloads through Audible, Itunes, Overdrive….. Physical cds, MP3-cds, selfcontained flash players like Playaways…..
I really would love to be able to offer my library patrons your books on audio. You’d be surprised at how many library users use exclusively audiobook.
Lorien
December 17, 2011 @ 3:16 pm
I would prefer any non Audible audio because their format is not compatible with my Nook.
Jeff Dougan
January 4, 2012 @ 10:30 am
I’ll second the request for something that’s CD-compatible. We as a family use audiobooks on most of our long-ish trips, although we have to keep them elementary-school safe. That said, I “know” somebody who does audiobooks for Audible. Unfortunately, he’s male and I suspect that the Princess books need a female narrator — but hearing W. Eric Summerer do Libriomancer would likely be pretty cool.
I believe that Buzzy Multimedia is the imprint that has handled Jim Butcher’s audiobooks, FWIW.