The Rise of Audiobooks

Over the last five years, ebook sales have started to drop – but audiobook sales are steadily climbing. People who are too busy to sit down and read a novel have realised they can still experience their favourite books, just in a new way, by hitting play during long commutes, running or gym sessions, while travelling, gardening, crafting, cooking, doing laundry, at the dentist, in hospital, standing in line waiting, and a host of other activities that are perfect times to “read”.

“Audiobooks give us the opportunity to take time that would be dead time and make it into time that’s useful,” says Michele Cobb, executive director of the Audio Publishers Association.

This is reflected in the hilarious new ad Michael Bolton just did for Audible Australia, rewriting his classic nineties hit Said I Love You… But I Lied for their Said I Read You But I Lied campaign.

The company’s research found that people are increasingly listening to audiobooks in the same way they listen to music – and that one-third of Australians lie about having read a particular book. “We were shocked to discover so many Aussies would stretch the truth about the books they’ve read,” says Audible head Matthew Gain. “We’re here to relieve the pressure of unread books and transform gym or commuting time into a chance to conquer our reading lists.”

Their research also found that the average Australian work commute is a massive 93 minutes a day. “And that’s a great example of when people are turning commuting time, or dead time, into reading time. Any time your eyes are busy but your mind is free – at the gym, doing housework – that’s the perfect time.”

“Talking books” were initially created in 1931 for the visually impaired and injured war veterans, on vinyl records. The business expanded in the 1950s, extending to schools, libraries, veteran hospitals and other special markets. In the 1980s spoken word audio broadened in scope, with books available on cassette via mail order catalogues then finally in bookstores. Then in 1995, Audible created the first mass-market digital audio player and pioneered digital audiobooks, and have continued to develop the technology ever since.

The Game Changer

Being able to download an audiobook onto your phone or tablet in seconds and start listening straight away has revolutionised the format. Today, Audible has more than 200,000 audiobooks available, you can buy them from a range of retailers or borrow them from libraries online, and they’ve become a standard format for new book releases, alongside hardcover, paperback and ebook options. No longer are they only enjoyed by the visually impaired or those who drive long distances for work – as our lives get busier, more and more book lovers who can’t find time to curl up on the couch and read are turning to audiobooks to get their literature fix.

British best-seller Menna Van Praag, author of The Witches of Cambridge, The House At the End of Hope Street and Dress Shop of Dreams, says she’s addicted to audiobooks, and has hardly read a “real” book since having kids. “I started listening to audiobooks when my son was born. I found I couldn’t breastfeed and hold a book at the same time. So, since I couldn’t stop reading, I needed a solution. My son was fed all night for the first six months, so audiobooks really saved my sanity!” she explains. “I’m always telling my friends about the many virtues of audiobooks, and I’ve converted a few of them.”

Aside from the joy of being able to submerge herself in fictional worlds even when she doesn’t have time to sit down and read a physical book, Menna also adores the format. “I love being read to. It reminds me of being a child, cuddling up with my mum and dad and an enchanting story. Who doesn’t love being read to? And they are so convenient – I listen in the shower, while doing the washing up, while stuck in traffic in the car…”

Australian writer Rebecca Bosevski, author of the Enchanting the Fey series and Alpha 9, is also an audiobook fan, and “reads” them frequently. “I love audiobooks. I love that I can listen to them whenever I like – driving is a big one, where I play them regularly, and a lot of my day job is spent doing repetitive tasks on my own, using my hands, so I can listen to audiobooks while I work, and it makes the day fly by way faster.”

They can also be a great distraction – Rebecca listened to a Harry Potter audiobook while having her wisdom teeth pulled out at the dentist, and says it was the perfect thing to keep her mind off what was happening.

She admits she’s a fan of increasing the speed, so she can get through even more books on her to-be-read list. Many audiobook users play them at double (or even triple) speed to be able to consume more books – I haven’t tried that yet, but apparently you get used to the new speed within a week or two.

K. A. Last, author of The Tate Chronicles, Immagica, The Lovely Dark and the upcoming All The Things series, has only listened to two audiobooks so far, but she does appreciate their potential advantages. “I listened to The Wastelands by Stephen King because I needed to get through it quickly for uni. I listened to it at 2.5x speed, because I know I can’t read that fast. It didn’t sound distorted, it wasn’t like chipmunks – just talking faster.”

The Benefits

Audiobooks can make you a better listener, encourage reluctant readers to discover stories, be listened to in the dark, help you become familiar with and learn different languages, and provide a fresh way to “read” after studying text books all day. They also allow kids to experience books above their reading level.

Story Queen Selina Fenech, author of The Memory’s Wake Trilogy and The Empath Chronicles, only occasionally listens to audiobooks herself, but has found them to be a wonderful tool for her daughter.

“They are excellent for kids. My daughter has been listening to audiobooks since she was four. We put them on at bedtime after we’ve read a picture book or two, and let her listen as she falls asleep. Her favourites have been Harry Potter, Half Magic, and Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures. It means she can experience these worlds even though she hasn’t learned to read yet. She also listens to some great Japanese fairytales on Spotify – Plum Boy, one about a snail boy, and one about two rival cats – they’re very cool, and different to European fairytales – and they’re not actually as gruesome and women-equals-bad as European fairytales!”

The Voice

Of course not all audiobooks are created equal, and a great narrator has a huge impact on the finished product. When I decided to transform the three novels of the Into the Mists Trilogy – Into the Mists, Into the Dark and Into the Light – into audiobooks, some people assumed I would narrate them myself. Aside from being way too shy for that, I also recognise that it’s a very specialised skill. It’s not just about reading your book aloud – without facial expression or movement, audiobook narrators weave a magical story with the power of their voice alone, including different voices and even accents, and can bring subtle new dimensions to the story.

I am so grateful that British voice actor Gabrielle Baker auditioned to narrate my books, because she did a beautiful job, bringing the stories and the characters – from a five-year-old English boy, a seventeen-year-old Australian girl, a sixty-ish high priestess to an Otherworldly being – to life in a really magical way.

“You do need acting training of some kind before embarking on a career in voice over or voice acting,” she explains. “It’s not just “talking”, and you need to be able to access a full range of emotions and delivery styles as well as the ability to direct yourself. You also need to know your way around the equipment and studio set-up.”

You can read my interview with Gabrielle here.

It’s certainly a very strange thing (in a good way!) to hear your book being read by someone else, as they give voice to characters who have existed in your head for so long. Now while writing other books in the Mists world, I’ve noticed that I hear some of them speaking in Gabrielle’s voice.

Selina also found the process fascinating. She has audiobooks of The Memory’s Wake Trilogy – Memory’s Wake, Hope’s Reign and Providence Unveiled – as well as Emotionally Charged, with more in the works. “I got literal chills when I first heard my book narrated professionally. It’s a very interesting way to experience your own creation, and I’ve found I changed some of how I write based on the experience of hearing it in spoken form,” she reveals.

“I’d never narrate my own books though, because voice acting is very much a specialist skill to do it properly. I might consider it for a non-fiction project, but not fiction. And if I could choose anyone, Emma Watson would be fantastic for Memory’s Wake because I love her voice and accent. I can already hear her as Eloryn, but she has enough attitude for Memory as well.”

Story Queen L. L. Hunter has had three of her books made into audiobooks too – First Glance, Second Sight and The Chronicles of Fire and Ice – although she’s been too busy writing to listen to any other audiobooks. “I’ve only listened to my own so far, just because I kinda have to. It takes some getting used to! I found listening to my books in audio to be quite strange, but in a good way. It gave me a new appreciation for my ability to write a book. Not to sound egotistical or anything, but it got me thinking, did I actually write that?”

She currently has several more of her novels in production, and is enjoying the process of auditioning narrators and finding the best fit for her book. And in a perfect world? “I’d love Tom Hiddleston to narrate one of mine! Hugh Jackman would be awesome too.”

Rebecca also has plans to move into audio. “I’m really excited to start the audiobook journey, so perhaps I should pencil it in for after the Enchanting the Fey series wraps up later this year. It would be cool to have Margot Robbie narrate that series, as she would portray the attitude Des exudes perfectly. And Alpha 9 would be fantastic read by Liam Hemsworth.”

K. A. isn’t a big fan of the other audiobook she’s listened to – Embrace by Jessica Shirvington – but she is looking forward to expanding into the format later this year too. “While I loved the story of Embrace, I didn’t really like the narrator. It was weird because she sounded nothing like the voice I’m used to reading with in my head,” she explains. “But I would like to eventually publish audiobooks for my own work, because there is a market for it, and it’s great to have all the options available so readers can choose. As for a narrator, I have no idea. Someone with a decent Aussie accent, that doesn’t sound like an American doing an Aussie accent!”

Menna, who has four audiobooks of her novels available, hasn’t managed to listen to them yet. “When I heard my own books for the first time, I was acutely embarrassed! Sadly, I’ve never been able to listen to any of my audiobooks – I’d be too self-critical and wouldn’t be able to listen, as I’d be editing all the time. It’s a shame.”

Her readers have asked whether she’ll ever narrate her own stories, and while she wouldn’t have in the past, she is finally at a point in her writing career where she feels ready and able to narrate one of her new books. “I never would have attempted it before – it takes a long time – but I’d like to do the next one. Now, six books in, I’m ready! I used to be mortified reading my work at book reading events, but now I love it, and this would be a wonderful next step.”

Many authors – and actors, singers, motivational speakers and athletes – now narrate their own books, and it’s also become popular with celebrities, with everyone from Claire Danes narrating Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to Rachel McAdams doing Anne of Green Gables, Benedict Cumberbatch narrating Casanova, Sherlock Holmes and Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Johnny Depp reading Keith Richards’s Life, and star of the movie Eddie Redmayne narrating JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

“As a listener, being able to tune out and be taken into another world, an atmosphere, an environment, that is being created entirely for you by somebody else’s voice is really a wonderful, magical thing,” says Kate Winslet, who’s narrated Roald Dahl’s Matilda, Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree and The Enchanted Wood. “It is challenging, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well.”

With the growth in audiobook sales climbing around the world, you might think traditional, paper-based book publishers would be quaking in their boots — but that’s not necessarily the case. Most publishers are jumping in and capitalising on the new audience, and seeing the rise of the audiobook as a positive development.

“We don’t think of ourselves as a print book publisher – we bring stories to life. And we are determined that our readers can enjoy those stories in any way they want,” says Louise Sherwin-Stark from Hachette Australia. While Hachette has dabbled in audiobooks for years, they are now a growing focus for the company, as society becomes more plugged in to technology from their smartphones and tablets. “Audio has been really exciting recently, because technology has developed and allowed us to spread audiobooks much more widely. And it’s growing really rapidly. The expansion in technology, being able to listen on an app, is amazing, and there are more people coming to listen to audiobooks as a result.”

Of course there are already people taking sides and proclaiming they will never stop reading “real” books or listen to an audiobook, and audiobook fans decrying the physical version – but the wonderful thing is that we can consume literature in whatever format we like! We can curl up on the couch and read a paperback when we have the time, then play an audiobook on the drive to work. Amazon even offers whispersynch now, so you can switch between reading an ebook and listening to its audiobook.

And surely anything that helps us enjoy more books is a good thing!

WIN! If you want to try out an audiobook – or you already love them and want to hear ours – I’m offering a copy of Into the Mists, Selina is offering a copy of The Memory’s Wake Trilogy, and Laura is offering The Chronicles of Fire and Ice. Just head to the Story Queens Facebook page and comment on the pinned post featuring this blog, letting us know when you would listen to an audiobook, and which one you’d like to hear, for your chance to win… (No cost to enter. This contest isn’t affiliated or endorsed by Facebook. Game of skill/judges choice winner. The contest is open to anyone 18 and older, where law allows. If you’re younger, ask your guardian to enter for you. Good luck!)

On which note, here’s another fun, hilarious ad from Audible Australia.

I first published this article on the Story Queens website…