Audiobook Updates, Etc

I keep getting a lot of commentary about how I don’t have many of my books in audiobook, complaints about why it takes so long, etc, so I’m just going to address this so it’s off my plate. (And I will just point at my blog for future requests regarding this; I’d really rather be spending my time writing more books rather than answer the same questions over and over, yanno?)

All the samplers of the current audiobooks can be listened to here.

Please note that I have not finished repopulating the Patreon Store after they changed their system. It’s on my list of things to do, but being blunt and direct about it, I am absolutely frickin’ swamped right now and it’s a low priority.

But the main issue in the room is as such: I do audiobooks for accessibility reasons. This ultimately means a few things.

1: I do not hold eBook editions back for audiobooks. Frankly spoken, audiobooks are not a high ticket / profit item for me, and I’m paying for these out of my pocket because I do believe that people who cannot read books in eBook format should have access to books.

That said, print and audiobook editions are beholden to the following:

A: My time. I only work on these things when I have extra time, finish other tasks early, etc. These formats do not put food on the table for me. I take losses on producing them for years, and I’m only just now seeing profits from the first batch of audiobooks I have made.

B: My money. At approximately $3,000 to $5,000 a pop per audiobook, just to pay the production studio, these things are unholy expensive. It literally doubles the cost for writing a book just from having the audiobook format. There are other fees associated with audiobook production that is not included in this figure.

I’m establishing a boundary here: yes, I know some folks want audiobooks. The fact I’m still doing them despite the heavy losses I take doing them says a lot. I want you to have audiobooks… but the absolute first thing that gets cut if money is tight are the audiobook editions.

I get paid less than what I do for an eBook version for every retail copy of an audiobook sold. (I try to keep the pricing on them reasonable.)

I do not have enough people buying them on Patreon to cover their costs. (Fun fact: I earn approximately $300 at launch of an audiobook on Patreon, and combined with retail, I consider myself fortunate if I earn back $1,200 on an audiobook out of the gate.)

Essentially, there are 30 awesome people who buy the books over at Patreon. (Thank you, to the 30 or so of you who snag them there!)

Note: the Cindercorns and Spicy Ponies with Bite who receive the audiobooks through the Patreon are not counted; they pay via subscription, and their subscriptions are why there are audiobooks at all. (I take a percentage from Sirens, Cindies, and Spicies to pay for the audiobook production fees.) So, the folks in those fields are NOT forgotten, they’re just not a factor in “post production performance of audiobooks.”

(No offense is meant, but I don’t include Patreon for retail performance because Patreon is its own thing with its own rules in the background.)

BECAUSE of Patreon, Audiobooks exist, period. At current, my audiobook earnings do not make enough to produce more than two audiobooks a year, approximately. I release many more than two audiobooks a year.

2: I will not use AI to appease impatient people. I do not support generative AI. I do not support driving creators (myself included) out of business because some water-sucking toy can do something faster. Hell, I barely use spell-checker when I’m writing. I hire real people because art is the domain of people and not unemotional machines.

So no, I will not use AI on any of my books to make it faster for you to receive.

3: My narrators are both heavily booked and I wait patiently in line for my turn. Currently, wait times for production to begin is between six to nine months. (Another reason why I do not hold back eBook editions for audiobooks.)

I simply cannot afford to lose that much income to “keep things fair” for the audiobook listening community.

Patience will be required for audiobook editions.

Now, that said, I’m going to just debunk the whole “why haven’t you put much of your stuff into audiobook??” argument here and now:

• Magical Romantic Comedies: 22 of 23 are in audiobook edition.
• Witch & Wolf: 4 of 4.
• Balancing the Scales: 3 of 3. (Old Secrets has been released on Patreon.)
• Nature of the Beast: 0 of 1. (I will have this done at the same time I do the second book in the series unless my narrator has extra time.)
• Seeking the Zodiacs: 1 of 1.
• Jesse Alexander: 2 of 2.
• Vigilante Magical Librarians: 2 of 3. (Booked for Theft is in the proofing stage of production.)
• Lowrance Vampires: 2 of 3. (Death Dance is queued for production.)
• Fox Witch: 2 of 2.
• Tales of Catalina de la Corona: 0 of 1. (I will probably have this done the same time I write the next book in this duology.)
• Wolf Hunt: 0 of 2: This is queued with the narrator, and I’m expecting a 1-2 year wait for production.
• Dae Portals: 2 of 2.
• Space Vixens / Shiftgem Universe: 2 of 2.
• A Magically Hellish Comedy: 1 of 1.
• Standalones / Anthologies: 3 of 4. (I don’t actually know if the 4th has been done yet, need to check.)

That is 45 of 53 books by R.J. Blain completed in audiobook edition. 8 titles are missing.

Please keep perspective here.

Susan Copperfield has all but one audiobook done, and the only reason the one isn’t done is because I haven’t downloaded the finalized files, renamed them, and uploaded them. (This week or next it will be available on Patreon.)

That is 12 of 13 books only because I am swamped and haven’t had a chance to deal with Prince of New York. (I do have to do some sound file checks but that’s usually a short / easy thing.)

Lilith Daniels is 1 of 2, and it will be 2 of 2 within 2-3 weeks. Grave Intentions is in final proofing.

Audrey Green is 2 for 2 of audiobooks.

G.P. Robbins is 2 for 2 of audiobooks.

Bernadette Franklin is 5 of 5 for audiobooks.

Essentially, ten of roughly eighty books have NOT been produced as audiobooks and are either queued or being produced.

And no, I will not kickstarter, crowd fund, etc, for audiobooks. That is way too much stress for way too small of a portion of my business. Ultimately, I do audiobooks because I want to and believe in accessibility.

Thank you for your understanding.

Here is an easier-to-read list of what’s upcoming soon in audiobook format:

Prince of New York: Final pre-publication stuff is being worked on, expect next week.

Old Secrets will head to retail in the next week or so. (It is already on Patreon, and you can purchase it here.)

Reminder: I put on Patreon first because it’s literally a difference between $10 in received royalties versus $2 or less royalties at retail.

Favoring retail in this situation just does not make any fiscal sense.

Booked for Theft: proofing phase, expect a month, but it could be earlier.

Grave Intentions: proofing phase, except a month, but it might be later. There were an unfortunate number of problems with the file due to an equipment failure, so this one required heavy revisions.

If it is not on this list, it’s queued and will be done when it gets done.

Please enjoy this photograph of a miniature rose that is currently blooming on my patio.