I've finally put the text editing of the eBook to rest, and the final first edition will be hitting the interwebs shortly, followed by the audio book as quickly as I can turn it around. I still chuckle at myself because I thought this would be a fairly quick and painless audiobook to make, just as soon as… well I was wrong, mkay?
I've learned that there are many unexpected differences among the three branches of 'book' publishing methods.
eBooks: If you're going for formats other than PDF, stick with all text all the time.
* The more simple and streamlined text you can manage, the better the result will be.
* Stick with one font that is completely universal, and don't get fancy.
* Anything like a picture or photo book won't work in several eBook reader formats. Stick with text or PDF versions.
* Do your homework! I've blogged here previously about the many differences in eBook vendors and distribution methods. Find the one that is completely right for you, not the first one that looks like it might fit.
audiobooks: There is nothing standardized. Some audio books have everything edited into one huge MP3 file that is therefore hard to navigate and requires bookmarks (or not, if you're using eztolistento.com). Other publishers have everything discreetly in separate chapter files, but with the same nauseating introduction material, copyright notices, and whatever legal disclaimers all munged together on EVERY freaking chapter. This is what happens when you're doing marketing with lawyers.
There are some well intentioned audiobooks out there that use music and sound effects, but if the music doesn't match the story (fusion jazz in a medieval setting) and the sound effects are canned, you've lost me as a listener. I'd rather have just a well trained reader telling me the story without the distracting theatrics, thanks. This is why I think indie audiobook narrators can potentially do just as well as the major houses.
The problems for freelance audiobook narrators are:
* Finding content to read that isn't already covered by twelve audiobooks. That's why I'm going for the older public domain materials.
* It's difficult to monetize audiobooks when there are many outlets giving them away, even though done by inexperienced or volunteer audiobook readers. It is always hard to compete with "free".
* I'm still exploring the idea of podcasting, so I can't comment on it just yet.
Paper publishing: This seems to be a dying breed, but I'm not expecting books to go away any time soon, and I would be sad if they did. This is the world of hidden legalities and piled-on fees. Free publishing may not be worth the price, and the package you need to buy to get stuff done may be cheaper elsewhere.
Something as innocent as an ISBN number can skew how you can handle your own work, or move it to another publisher. This is why I am insisting on my own ISBN number. If a publisher gives you a free ISBN number, you are NOT the publisher, and you are tied to that publisher and distribution system (perhaps exclusively) unless you do a major revision and take your marbles to play elsewhere.
The bright spots:
Smashwords.com. Those guys are trying very hard, and their automated system is trying to make the best document conversions possible from your source document into many online formats. Thanks to Mark and Bill! It's a unique solution that would cost a fortune to be done by hand by some other trained professional.
@TheCreativePenn. If you are getting started (or are established) as a writer, author, publisher, or just a fan of books you need her tweets on Twitter. She must have an army of elves (or maybe it's gnomes, I don't know) helping her find the links she forwards. Every one is a gem, and they just.keep.coming! Plus she podcasts and does very informative interviews. I think she may have secretly cloned herself.
One last word – don't hold your breath for the Google eBook format. Move forward and establish yourself now, if that's what you're doing. There is a healthy dose of concern about what Google's eBook project is going to mean to the rest of the publishing world. I'm not concerned at all. For any gloom and doom scenario, there will be an equal and opposite opportunity for more eBooks. Things are changing quickly (eBook sales are up over 200% May 08 to May 09), so just stay alert and stay informed!
