The Audiobook Question

In my last post I noted that making Forget Me Not and Bleeding Heart into audiobooks might be a viable option - if I could see that it was something readers would be interested in. I sent out an e-mail to my influencer team, posted about it on several discussion boards on Goodreads, tweeted about it, shared it on Google +, and received a couple of responses here, as well. I thought I would share my findings with you all - so here you go!

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Queries sent via:

• e-mail (41)
• Goodreads
• Google +
• Twitter
• Blogger

Responses received:

• 21 by e-mail
• 4 through Goodreads
• 3 through Google +
• 4 through Twitter
• 2 through Blogger

Total responses received: 34

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Question: Do you listen to audiobooks?

• 8 Yes
• 8 Seldom
• 15 No
• 3 No response to this question

Number of people who mentioned they knew of others who listen to audiobooks:

• 12

Number of people who noted they would help spread the word in some way if "The Heart's Spring" was made into audiobooks:

• 13

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Now, several things should be noted: some of the responses were from other authors sharing their thoughts or experiences; these are just the responses I received within the two days after most of the queries were sent; not everyone was asked about helping to spread the word; and I didn't specifically ask people if they knew of others who listened to audiobooks - that information was volunteered by some of the respondents.

And I also received some interesting comments from readers and authors alike. Here are some things I gleaned from them:

• Notes were made about getting audiobooks from the library, for free, or would consider purchasing if the price were reasonable.
• A couple of authors haven't had overly profitable experiences with audio endeavors.
• Narrator plays a big part in the success of an audiobook.
• One author believed it would be a worthwhile endeavor, stating that since the selection is smaller for audiobooks, readers would find me - and if I did a profit share with a narrator, I'd have nothing to lose.

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Conclusion

So...while this wasn't a scientific study by any means, nor will it necessarily be overly helpful to other authors (as I think a lot depends on genre, popularity, etc.), I feel like this was very helpful for me! It showed me several things:

1. The readers who play the biggest part in spreading the word about my books online aren't overly interested in audiobooks. Yes, they might know of others who listen to audiobooks, and they might still be willing to spread the word - but there's no clamor and little interest for this. If it's already a challenge to spread the word about my e-books and paperbacks, imagine how much bigger the struggle would be for a format that no one's really asking for. 
2. Some of the readers who actually do listen to audiobooks on occasion tend to get them from the library. Or those who might be interested in purchasing audiobooks would prefer for them to be affordable. So...that doesn't really sound promising for making sales.
3. Other authors aren't necessarily seeing a lot of sales from audiobooks or other audio-type endeavors. Granted, I've only talked to a couple! But as a newbie author, if "audio land" is a hard place for other authors to succeed, it's probably not be for me - at least not right now.

I think it's exciting that the possibility of making audiobooks is available and doable! I could make it work by sharing royalties with a narrator...but only if there was faith in the salability of the product(s). And right now, I don't think my audience is large enough, diverse enough, and eager enough for this sort of endeavor. So I'll file this away under "Someday" ideas, as something that could be pursued after I have more books released and if I gain more attention as an author. For now, I'll stick with my e-books and paperbacks, both of which I'm quite fond of anyway. ;)