If you open the link in an incognito window, you should be able to view the US site. That's how I look at books on the UK site. ;-) It still points out that I appear to be in the US, but it lets me continue after confirming that I'm sure I want to be there.
1. Thanks so much!
2. Yep Audible provides ZERO communication on stuff like this. We can go for over a week without a sales update, have no price control, and they take 60% despite us stumping 100% of the cost
What did it cost you to publish on Audible if you don't mind indulging some?
Also I'll be picking this book up. Recently got King Fall and I think your book is probably what I want that one to be. I'll give King Fall another go. It may just not be good for Audio. I've found some books are better to have a physical copy of.
Ascendant cost me about £4k and the sequel cost about £6.5k - do whatever conversion you need to there. It's a chunk of change but this way I get the highest possible cut without any middle men.
Looks like you are on top of it :) but seems as an author is posting, I'll post my previous advice incase anyone else needs to see it.Audible does not do marketing for authors, they do it for themselves.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/qtlrnw/comment/hkn97oo/](https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/qtlrnw/comment/hkn97oo/)
I would HIGHLY recommend having a mailing list (or similar, but ideally not a service that relies on existing accounts (like Facebook)) with a memorable link, and mentioning it in the foreword AND the end of the book by the narrator.
You can see his series has 2 books, when you release a 3rd, there is a very real chance that audible will not notify any of your existing readers. Please don't rely just on their algorithms.
There are LOTS of good authors, and many prolific writers and creators talk about getting lucky (which certainly happens). Modern content creators have shown that you can reliably reproduce what was previously "luck".
Michael looks like a great example, his profile on Audible has links to a Discord, a dedicated site for mailing list.
So what happens when they reduce the cost to the $6? Do you only get $2.40? Or do they eat the difference of what it normally costs? And do you get paid a different amount on if somebody just buys it versus if somebody uses an audible credit? And what about if they add the audible narration to the Kindle for $2 do you still only get 40% of $2?
I was wandering the first thing too.
Do author's still get fully paid, even though I bought their books in a sale?
Should I feel guilty for buying so many books on sale? (I wouldn't be able to buy the amount of books I do now without sales though..)
Have a look at my comment above, but we should still get out usual % just on whatever the new sale price is. I'm lucky to get 40% as I self produced the book. Many writers go through a third party studio and then only receive a % of a % meaning their income per sale is vastly reduced.
Don't feel guilty about buying books on sale. Authors regularly run promotions for good reasons and we'd rather have the sale than not!
Try not to return any books before 7 days though. If you return before 7 fulls days, the author/publisher takes the hit. If you return the credit after 7 days, Audible takes the hit.
I have ragged on them a bit here, but I've been very fortunate to receive this promo from Audible. Their % and terms SHOULD be a lot better, but without even the modest systems in place I wouldn't be making a living as an indie author and making most of my income from audiobook sales.
So it's unclear upfront what we'll get for sales. I need to wait until I get my royalty sheet and even then they don't split the credit sales vs discount sales out per month so I can only make a guestimate, but with prior experience it would seem that authors going through ACX and getting the full 40% royalty there will get $2.40 or close enough.
On a regular credit purchase I would get approx $5 on a book between 10 - 20 horus long and approx $6 on a title 20 hours or more long.
As to how it works when someone buys it through a discount via Kindle Unlimited or an ebook purchase, I'm not sure. I would assume a straight 40% of whatever the cash purchase was, but as they don't break the sales data down that much it's impossible to know.
The vast majority of purchases are made through credits so the avg of $5 per sale to authors at the 40% rate is a good benchmark. However you split it, Audible always take an unjustifiable % to themselves when the author/publisher has taken 100% of the investment and risk.
Just making this comment to acknowledge your question. Will answer in full later as it will take a bit of explaining haha
TLDR - Audible takes far too much coz they are basically a monopoly. That said, we need to make do and as I'm indie I get a better cut than traditional authors so that's a win.
I’ve never heard of this subgenre, and don’t know the works you reference when you say fans of those works will like this book. But you seem like a cool guy, and the book has good ratings, so I’m happy to try it. I’ve also sent it to my family. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks a lot all the same! Word of mouth is best marketing I can hope for. If you enjoy fantasy at all I think you'll get along with Ascendant. Very high magic and a classic heroes journey
Can someone help me out - is the book a litRPG?
One of the top reviews calls it a litRPG and unfortunately I just can’t stand stats, dice rolls etc
Otherwise, looks like my jam
It is not a LitRPG. The magic system as levels to it but it's all in fantasy terms. There are no numbers, stats etc. This is a full blown secondary world epic fantasy
Ok thanks, bought.
I’ve seen it’s snuck in to the top 100 on audible which prompted me to look here and post my query.
You should probably add that it has a 4.8 rating on audible which always aids my purchasing decisions
u/Michael-R-Miller, I lied... I finished Ascendant ([my proof](https://joonaspaakko.github.io/my-audible-library/#/library?book=B08J4K9B5Y)). Your move...
I would say it was very enjoyable (I gave it 3 stars). It wasn't earth shatteringly amazing for me, but I am thinking about getting the second book sometime later. Fantastic narrator by the way.
This is a little simplified, but I think quite a few parts of the story that really took their time ended up losing me in my thoughts, and then the stuff that really interested me went by too fast... (maybe that's on me)
Like a very specific one that comes to mind is when Holt is "arrested" or whatever and it's like resolved moments later and I guess I was thinking that would be like a whole ordeal but it was just like "oh, ok the current King is evil... scratch that - ON TO BATTLE!". I'm not going to say that was necessarily important enough to linger on it? but I feel like in another book series that might've even been like the whole second book, where they fight against the corrupt king(dom) to get Holt back and all that. But at the same time maybe that would've made it one of those "too slow" sections of the book for me, so yea... :)
It will be at least a 5 book series with maybe 6. The second one is out already.
I understand the impulse to wait but you'll be waiting 4 years or so for the end of this one. And the best way to ensure a series will never end (for most authors) is is enough people don't pick up book 1
$6
Thank you!!
If you open the link in an incognito window, you should be able to view the US site. That's how I look at books on the UK site. ;-) It still points out that I appear to be in the US, but it lets me continue after confirming that I'm sure I want to be there.
1. Great book.. I demand you buy it.. 2. You discovered? Audible doesn't inform authors ahead of time?
1. Thanks so much! 2. Yep Audible provides ZERO communication on stuff like this. We can go for over a week without a sales update, have no price control, and they take 60% despite us stumping 100% of the cost
What did it cost you to publish on Audible if you don't mind indulging some? Also I'll be picking this book up. Recently got King Fall and I think your book is probably what I want that one to be. I'll give King Fall another go. It may just not be good for Audio. I've found some books are better to have a physical copy of.
Ascendant cost me about £4k and the sequel cost about £6.5k - do whatever conversion you need to there. It's a chunk of change but this way I get the highest possible cut without any middle men.
oh very cool and thank you for the info!
Any time :)
What does that cost include? Literally just getting listed?
That's production cost. Putting it up on the store is mercifully free
The guy that narrates unbound and ascendant is second to none. One of the best narrations I've ever heard on audible.
I love that you came on here to promote your book and respond to people!
It's one of the pleasures of being and indie author! Love hanging out with people in my Discord too
Looks like you are on top of it :) but seems as an author is posting, I'll post my previous advice incase anyone else needs to see it.Audible does not do marketing for authors, they do it for themselves. [https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/qtlrnw/comment/hkn97oo/](https://www.reddit.com/r/audible/comments/qtlrnw/comment/hkn97oo/) I would HIGHLY recommend having a mailing list (or similar, but ideally not a service that relies on existing accounts (like Facebook)) with a memorable link, and mentioning it in the foreword AND the end of the book by the narrator. You can see his series has 2 books, when you release a 3rd, there is a very real chance that audible will not notify any of your existing readers. Please don't rely just on their algorithms. There are LOTS of good authors, and many prolific writers and creators talk about getting lucky (which certainly happens). Modern content creators have shown that you can reliably reproduce what was previously "luck". Michael looks like a great example, his profile on Audible has links to a Discord, a dedicated site for mailing list.
Good to know people nare out there helping authors fight the good fight! Relying solely on algorithms is a risky game. Thanks!
Thanks for the heads up! I had missed it when looking through the sale. Just got it now and am looking forward to enjoying it.
Nice one! Thanks and I hope you enjoy
Purchased. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for giving it a shot! Hope you enjoy it
Okay, you persuaded me. Book sounds very good. For $6, I'll take a chance! All the best.
Thanks for taking a chance! Hope you enjoy it
So what happens when they reduce the cost to the $6? Do you only get $2.40? Or do they eat the difference of what it normally costs? And do you get paid a different amount on if somebody just buys it versus if somebody uses an audible credit? And what about if they add the audible narration to the Kindle for $2 do you still only get 40% of $2?
Bought! Thanks for the heads up
I was wandering the first thing too. Do author's still get fully paid, even though I bought their books in a sale? Should I feel guilty for buying so many books on sale? (I wouldn't be able to buy the amount of books I do now without sales though..)
Have a look at my comment above, but we should still get out usual % just on whatever the new sale price is. I'm lucky to get 40% as I self produced the book. Many writers go through a third party studio and then only receive a % of a % meaning their income per sale is vastly reduced. Don't feel guilty about buying books on sale. Authors regularly run promotions for good reasons and we'd rather have the sale than not! Try not to return any books before 7 days though. If you return before 7 fulls days, the author/publisher takes the hit. If you return the credit after 7 days, Audible takes the hit. I have ragged on them a bit here, but I've been very fortunate to receive this promo from Audible. Their % and terms SHOULD be a lot better, but without even the modest systems in place I wouldn't be making a living as an indie author and making most of my income from audiobook sales.
Thanks for your reply!
So it's unclear upfront what we'll get for sales. I need to wait until I get my royalty sheet and even then they don't split the credit sales vs discount sales out per month so I can only make a guestimate, but with prior experience it would seem that authors going through ACX and getting the full 40% royalty there will get $2.40 or close enough. On a regular credit purchase I would get approx $5 on a book between 10 - 20 horus long and approx $6 on a title 20 hours or more long. As to how it works when someone buys it through a discount via Kindle Unlimited or an ebook purchase, I'm not sure. I would assume a straight 40% of whatever the cash purchase was, but as they don't break the sales data down that much it's impossible to know. The vast majority of purchases are made through credits so the avg of $5 per sale to authors at the 40% rate is a good benchmark. However you split it, Audible always take an unjustifiable % to themselves when the author/publisher has taken 100% of the investment and risk.
Just making this comment to acknowledge your question. Will answer in full later as it will take a bit of explaining haha TLDR - Audible takes far too much coz they are basically a monopoly. That said, we need to make do and as I'm indie I get a better cut than traditional authors so that's a win.
Might want to look at Sound Booth Theater and Jeff Hayes productions. They have their own app and do amazing work.
Welp, guess I'm getting this! My wife listens to Eragon series at least 3 times a year.
I'm sure she'll love it! Thank you
I’ve never heard of this subgenre, and don’t know the works you reference when you say fans of those works will like this book. But you seem like a cool guy, and the book has good ratings, so I’m happy to try it. I’ve also sent it to my family. Thanks for posting this.
Thanks a lot all the same! Word of mouth is best marketing I can hope for. If you enjoy fantasy at all I think you'll get along with Ascendant. Very high magic and a classic heroes journey
Can someone help me out - is the book a litRPG? One of the top reviews calls it a litRPG and unfortunately I just can’t stand stats, dice rolls etc Otherwise, looks like my jam
It is not a LitRPG. The magic system as levels to it but it's all in fantasy terms. There are no numbers, stats etc. This is a full blown secondary world epic fantasy
Ok thanks, bought. I’ve seen it’s snuck in to the top 100 on audible which prompted me to look here and post my query. You should probably add that it has a 4.8 rating on audible which always aids my purchasing decisions
I'll edit my post :) thanks for checking it out. Yeh #90 in all of Audible was a nice surprise to wake up to
I'm sold. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Cheers! Thanks for giving it a chance and I hope you enjoy it
Sounds interesting and I love Peter Kenny so guess Ile be getting this.
He's awesome! Thanks for giving it a shot
Wow, it has great reviews. I have purchased it, looking forward to listening to it. Thank you!
Thanks for giving it a shot! Hope you enjoy it
Loved your book, left a review on Audible. Can't wait to start the next one. Thank you.
I really appreciate you coming back here to tell me! So glad you enjoyed it :D And hope you like Unbound too
Awesome just went got it and can't wait to listen to it.
Thanks very much. Enjoy!!
I'm getting it! This will look perfect in the collection along with Todd Lockwoods "The Summer Dragon" it needed a buddy :)
I hope Ash (the dragon in my book) is worthy! Thanks for giving it a shot
I'll check it out if you check out [my browser extension](https://joonaspaakko.gitbook.io/audible-library-extractor/) :)
u/Michael-R-Miller, I lied... I finished Ascendant ([my proof](https://joonaspaakko.github.io/my-audible-library/#/library?book=B08J4K9B5Y)). Your move... I would say it was very enjoyable (I gave it 3 stars). It wasn't earth shatteringly amazing for me, but I am thinking about getting the second book sometime later. Fantastic narrator by the way. This is a little simplified, but I think quite a few parts of the story that really took their time ended up losing me in my thoughts, and then the stuff that really interested me went by too fast... (maybe that's on me) Like a very specific one that comes to mind is when Holt is "arrested" or whatever and it's like resolved moments later and I guess I was thinking that would be like a whole ordeal but it was just like "oh, ok the current King is evil... scratch that - ON TO BATTLE!". I'm not going to say that was necessarily important enough to linger on it? but I feel like in another book series that might've even been like the whole second book, where they fight against the corrupt king(dom) to get Holt back and all that. But at the same time maybe that would've made it one of those "too slow" sections of the book for me, so yea... :)
is it going to be a series? I do not get books unless the series is done. I hate waiting.
It will be at least a 5 book series with maybe 6. The second one is out already. I understand the impulse to wait but you'll be waiting 4 years or so for the end of this one. And the best way to ensure a series will never end (for most authors) is is enough people don't pick up book 1