Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 101 - Will Dages from Findaway Voices

10/22/19 • 60 min

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

On Oct 17, 2019, Mark Lefebvre and Kevin Tumlinson from Draft2Digital hosted a live webinar "Ask Us Anything" Q&A about audiobooks, relaying questions from authors to Will Dages, head of Findaway Voices.

This is a slightly abridged version of the audio track from this video, which you can see on YouTube.

Discussion includes the following topics:

Findaway Voices Giveaway Codes, how they work, how authors can request them and track their use
StoryOrigin promotion site for audiobook giveaway codes
How to get started with setting up an audiobook via Findaway Voices
Standard calculation for determing finished audiobook hours (9300 words = 1 finished hour - or, for easier math, assume that 10,000 words = 1 hour)
Typical studio production hours based on word count of the original manuscript (Most audio producers work on a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 ratio - it, if the manuscript is 100,000 words, that'd be 10 finished hours and would most likely take 30 to 40 hours of production time
The Voices Share royalty share program and how it works (50% up front payment for production hours and a 60/20/20 split for author/narrator/Findaway) - and how the buyout works if you want to get out early
The recent Audible text transcription controversy
Whether or not an author can narrator their own books (spoiler alert: YES, you can, with the right setup/equipment/software)
The origin of Findway Voices and the back story about the company Findaway, that has been around alot longer in the audiobook industry
The built in pricing suggestion tool in Findaway Voices
How easy/difficult it is to update your audiobook (both metadata and audio files)
The cost and benefit of using Findaway Voices for distribution VS going direct (spoiler: Findaway keeps 20% of your royalties)
A little bit about how exclusivity with ACX to Audible works
Thoughts about loading audio samples to YouTube or other ways of promoting their audiobooks
And more...

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

Links of Interest:

Draft2Digital's Blog Post: Everything Audiobooks with Will Dages from Findaway Voices (Full Transcript)
The YouTube Video of the Webinar
Episode 5 - Global Audiobook Opportunities for Authors
Episode 15 - The Process of a Writer's Life with Kevin Tumlinson
Episode 52 - The Three Co-Founders of Draft2Digital
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

This is a slightly abridged version of the audio track from this video, which you can see on YouTube.

Discussion includes the following topics:

Findaway Voices Giveaway Codes, how they work, how authors can request them and track their use
StoryOrigin promotion site for audiobook giveaway codes
How to get started with setting up an audiobook via Findaway Voices
Standard calculation for determing finished audiobook hours (9300 words = 1 finished hour - or, for easier math, assume that 10,000 words = 1 hour)
Typical studio production hours based on word count of the original manuscript (Most audio producers work on a 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 ratio - it, if the manuscript is 100,000 words, that'd be 10 finished hours and would most likely take 30 to 40 hours of production time
The Voices Share royalty share program and how it works (50% up front payment for production hours and a 60/20/20 split for author/narrator/Findaway) - and how the buyout works if you want to get out early
The recent Audible text transcription controversy
Whether or not an author can narrator their own books (spoiler alert: YES, you can, with the right setup/equipment/software)
The origin of Findway Voices and the back story about the company Findaway, that has been around alot longer in the audiobook industry
The built in pricing suggestion tool in Findaway Voices
How easy/difficult it is to update your audiobook (both metadata and audio files)
The cost and benefit of using Findaway Voices for distribution VS going direct (spoiler: Findaway keeps 20% of your royalties)
A little bit about how exclusivity with ACX to Audible works
Thoughts about loading audio samples to YouTube or other ways of promoting their audiobooks
And more...

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

Links of Interest:

Draft2Digital's Blog Post: Everything Audiobooks with Will Dages from Findaway Voices (Full Transcript)
The YouTube Video of the Webinar
Episode 5 - Global Audiobook Opportunities for Authors
Episode 15 - The Process of a Writer's Life with Kevin Tumlinson
Episode 52 - The Three Co-Founders of Draft2Digital
Findaway Voices
Patreon for Stark Reflections

The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Previous Episode

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 100 - Another Publishing Industry First with Mark Dawson

Mark interviews international bestselling author Mark Dawson about his journey through publishing, his author support business and the ground-breaking publishing deal he just signed.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some comments left on previous episodes and via Twitter.

He also shares a word about the episode's sponsor Findaway Voices.

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In his personal update, Mark talks about Canadian Thanksgiving, putting up Halloween decorations in the front yard and a new anthology, Cursed Collectibles, edited by Angela Eschler, that he has a story in.

In their conversation, the two Marks talk about:

Mark's background as a lawyer prior to becoming a writer, and how he has benefited from the skills he learned there
The kick in the pants Mark received back in 1999 that led to his entry into publishing
The surprisngly fast way he had found an agent and that agent had found a publisher for his first books
The disappointing experience that came with having his print books appear in book shops and the two strikes that led to the end of that part of his writing career
How John Milton was inspired by the original Equalizer television show staring Edward Woodward
When Mark's indie writing journey began and the approximate 30 books he has published in that way
The first time that Mark realized that writing could be a full-time endeavour - when the money he was earning from writing not only matched the money he was making working a full time job, but was more than double that amount for several months in a row
The origin of the Self-Publishing Formula courses and podcast
The 2020 Self Publishing Conference that will be taking place in London prior to the London Book Fair
How Mark is able to continue to write his novels as well as offer support to the writing community via his intimate network
The ground-breaking joint-venture print-only deal that Mark recently signed
The 3-books a year release plan within this deal
The international element of the deal to get the books into stores in multiple countries

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of this deal that Mark Dawson just signed and the significance it can have on publishing.

Links of Interest:

Next Episode

Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing EP 102 - NaNoWriMo Wisdom with Vanessa Ricci-Thode

In this episode Mark interviews Vanessa Ricci-Thode, a fantasy author, fiction editor and a NaNoWriMo veteran.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares some recent comments from previous episodes and Twitter.

He also shares a word from this episode's sponsor...

You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

In his personal update, Mark talks about how he is approaching NaNoWriMo this year. He skipped it last year; but this year he is focusing on getting 50,000 words written for at least 3 different projects and will be tracking that.

He is also curious to see how many listeners are doing NaNoWriMo this year.

In their discussion, Mark and Vanessa talk about:

Mark and Vanessa talk about:

How Vanessa, who is an experienced NaNoWriMo veteran (doing it since 2006), first got into NaNoWriMo
Managing expectations with family during a month of regular commitment to writing time
Writing 50,000 words in 30 days while working part-time and being a part-time student
The first few NaNoWriMo novels Vanessa wrote
Being an ML (Municipal Liason) in the Waterloo, Ontario region
The fact that there are always a lot of first-timers who try NaNoWriMo each year
Vanessa's most popular or common advice for writers interested in trying out NaNoWriMo
Advice for authors who end up slipping in their writing goal early on or mid-way through the month
The "Mad Dash to Midnight" NaNoWriMo event that is done on the night of Nov 30
How people can find their local NaNoWriMo region (nanowrimo.org), where they can search by country, state, province, city
How Vanessa got interested in writing which began with making picture books when she was a young child
Vanessa's change in approach to the business of publishing with the advent of digital
Looking for ways to become a better writer, which led to Vanessa becoming an editor, opening her part-time freelance editing business in 2010
The genres Vanessa most prefers to edit (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror), and why it's important to work with an editor who is familiar with and enjoys working in your particular genre
Common writer issues, such as starting their story in the wrong spot
The value of critique groups for writers, and how critiquing others can assist an author with their own writing
NaNoWrimo as a great place to meet and connect with other writers
Writing solo versus writing when in a group setting
What Vanessa is most looking forward to for NaNoWriMo 2019
The importance of "stubborning through it"

After the interview, Mark reflects on the importance of committing to something like NaNoWriMo as well as the element of being persistent and "stubborning through it" as Vanessa so eloquently said.

He then thanks Patrons of the podcast and closes out the show with a reminder that he's curious to hear from authors on whether or not they are doing NaNoWriMo and how they stubborn through things.

Links of Interest:

The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0