All About Audiobooks

Audiobooks are thriving in our digital world with readers of all ages falling in love with the format. While there is a time and place for physical books and e-books, audiobooks were made for the busy lives we lead. Let’s take a look at audiobooks and their importance to authors today.

Does your life seem busier now than ever before? We live in an age of instant communication, where we read the news on our phones and are constantly on the move. It may be nostalgic to think of the times before computers and the internet existed, but they are a thing of the past. The only thing we can do now is to keep moving forward.

An easy way to do that is to keep up with the times. Over the past couple of years, audio has become increasingly popular, primarily in the forms of podcasts and audiobooks. According to a survey done by the Audio Publishers Association earlier this year, 50% of Americans said they had listened to an audiobook in 2019. Though it isn’t necessarily the preferred reading format, it is definitely becoming a popular way to consume the written word.

With so many genres to choose from, readers are able to choose from books on self-help and business strategies to sci-fi novels and young adult fiction.

To give you a better idea of the range available, here are the top 10 bestsellers on Audible.com this year:

1. Calypso (David Sedaris)

2. Talking to Strangers (Malcolm Gladwell)

3. Unfu*k Yourself (Gary John Bishop)

4. Harry Potter: A History of Magic (Pottermore Publishing, Ben Davies)

5. The Guardians (John Grisham)

6. Empire of the Summer Moon (S.C. Gwynne)

7. The Goldfinch (Donna Tartt)

8. Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

9. Can’t Hurt Me (David Goggins)

10. Atomic Habits (James Clear)

Of these 10 audiobooks, 5 have been narrated by the authors who wrote the books, 2 were released in 2019, and only 3 are works of fiction. These statistics show give us insight into audiobook trends. From this list we are able to see that readers are interested in books that are narrated by the authors who wrote them, they are willing to give backlist books a chance, and non-fiction audiobooks are far more popular in this format than fiction.

So what does this mean for you as an author? It means that readers want options when they go to buy a book and it’s your place to decide which options you’d like to provide them with. Whether you decide to read the book yourself or find another narrator to step in on your behalf, this is your chance to give your book another life through the spoken word.

From physical books to e-books to audiobooks, there are so many different options out there for authors today. We know it can be a little daunting to enter the digital arena, but there is no need to be worried. With our help, you’ll be an audiobook expert ready to tackle the future of books in no time!

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