What is an Audio Book?
An Audio Book is a talking book. It comes in digital format and does not have any words that you can read. The words are read out by a narrator and you simply listen through a digital media of your choice. A narrator is a person who tells the story to a listening audience. They can also be a character within the book, or maybe the hero of the story. A narrator or storyteller can be a trained actor who uses his voice to portray actions and bring depth that may otherwise not be felt just by reading. In some books the author and the narrator are the same person.
The beauty of an Audio Book is that the storyteller conveys all the imagery of an author's unseen world. The characters are given a voice and personality. The storyteller has the ability to make the characters stand out by adding personal touches, for example, by giving a character a gruff voice.
Using different voices to portray different characters would make a story more believable especially for young children. A bedtime story is a traditional way of preparing a child for sleep and the stories are often told by an adult. Audio Books relay stories for children in a fun and exciting way. By adding sound effects it helps a child to create imagery of their own. Audio Books can also be a good way to introduce them into reading.
Audio Book Formats
Audio books come in all different types and formats. You will find abridged Audio Books are where words are removed by the abridger and also unabridged Audio Books which are read word for word as written by the author. The different types of media formats are as follows:
1.CD
2.Cassette Tape
3.MP3
4.Audio Streams or Podcasts
5.Radio programs that serialise books
Benefits of Audio Books
Looking at the different media formats in which Audio Books can be delivered then you can quickly understand the benefits. Audio books can be played whilst driving too work, or whilst stuck in a traffic jam which if you think about, is also a great way to reduce stress. If you are sat in your car in traffic queue what better way to shift your attention elsewhere than by listening to an Audio Book. An Audio Book can be anything you like, from music to storytelling to anger management to learning a new language. The main advantage of Audio Books is that you can play them over and over again while doing other activities. If you're using Audio Books to learn a different language then the ability to play something repeatedly until you fully comprehend is a feature that hardback or paperback books do not have.So being able to multitask as you listen to them and the fact that Audio Books are also portable is a big advantage and a great selling point if you wanted to make money from Audio Books.
Using Audio Books to make money
You can make money from anything if you use a little imagination. Audio Books are no different. So here I have listed some of the ways that can be used to make a profit from Audio Books.
Affiliates
If you set up a website or blog to promote Audio Books by writing articles and adding links to them then you can earn a percentage of every Audio Book that ends up as a sale. For example take a look at http://www.abacmotors.co.uk/Audio-Listening.php
Resell rights
Once you have bought the rights any money made is yours. So if you set up a website or blog you can then create a niche market selling specialised Audio Books.
Create your own
Making your own Audio Book is not as hard as you think. If you go to Google and type in the search box 'make you're own Audio Books' you will receive thousands of results. You can also use public domain books to help you create your own audio masterpieces. One enterprising fellow did just that. He found some old nursery rhymes and translated them into another language and recorded them as Audio Books for children. If you have been listening to Audio Books as a learning tool then use what you have learnt. For example, if you have learnt a new language and are now proficient enough, go ahead and create your own Audio Book, such as 'How To Order A Beer In French' or 'How To Say I Love You In 10 Different Languages'. There are hundreds of different ways to use what you have learnt.
Media Formats
The different ways in which Audio Books can be delivered can also be used to make money. Podcasting, audio Streaming or MP3 disks can all be used to deliver courses in instalments. If you use the methods above to create Audio Books and then download free software from the internet to turn you courses into podcasts or a streaming audio, then the consumer gets immediate access to the product and your business becomes fully automated. Running seminars based on the knowledge gained from an Audio Book can also be lucrative. The seminars can then be recorded and sold in the variety of formats already listed such as an MP3 audio disk for use with an iPod or on a PC with headphones or even in a car.