#Audiobook creator error series

I haven’t lost sight of that, and I continue to use ACX to this day and will into the future. So many people get to have such great careers and really turn their life around because of ACX. ACX was on the forefront of directly connecting authors and narrators. Without a doubt, I’d say “being able to make my own schedule and set my own working hours.” If something happens and this career goes belly up, I don’t think I’d be a good employee anymore!Įverything. What does being an independent creator allow you to do that you couldn’t otherwise? It makes me want to continuously keep my eyes up and well coached and trained. Now that I’ve stepped into publishing as well, I’m connecting with more narrators that are just dipping their toes in the water, and let me tell you, there is an amazing pool of talent out there. What’s your favorite thing about being an independent narrator/producer? And I think that’s instrumental in staying relevant. I think you can get to a point in your career when you begin to miss certain trends, and those that are newer to the industry keep me on my toes and help me look at things differently. Even all the new people that are coming up, I learn from them too. I wish I could name them all because they all deserve so much recognition. Johnny Heller, Sean Pratt, Jayme Matler, Scott Brick, and many more that I have had the pleasure of learning with. Who was most instrumental in getting your career going (besides you)? Solid relationships built on trust and mutual respect are indispensable in this industry. This community is so small, though it may seem big, and everyone knows everyone, and everyone talks to each other-be it indie publishers, authors, or other narrators. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about the industry since getting started? I define success as continuously working, continuously grinding, and having the ability to take some time off when I want to without feeling stressed financially. Success can be many things to different people. How do you define success in your career? That was something I never dreamed would happen, and when I signed on that dotted line and walked into it, and realized “wow, this is mine, I did this” it was the greatest feeling of all time. I think for me, the biggest thing was being able to move to Texas and buy my own house strictly from being an audiobook narrator.

We do Royalty Share because that allows us both to make more money than we would with major publishing companies. I’m not sure what’s next, but you can bet it’ll be a hit.

From there we’ve sold well over 25,000 audiobooks together. After listening to some of the samples I have on ACX, he approached me to narrate his book, Whispering Corridors, in 2017, and it just took off.

We teamed up and we created one heck of a little horror empire. I work with so many wonderful people on ACX, I want to say they’re all important! If I were to choose one – and this is no slight to anyone else-I’d have to say author Ambrose Ibsen. What important connections have you made on ACX? I want to be at the forefront of anything that comes up-be it with technology, or with new ideas, or what new listeners are wanting to hear. These days, I’m always paying attention to new trends, not just looking at old ones and staying the course. I enjoy the pace of this, I enjoy being a workhorse, and I enjoy the grind required to stay at the top of my game. I barely have time for myself these days, but I tell you what, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, I do a lot of work for a lot of different publishers, and I’ve even started my own publishing company, Fireside Horror. It’s really been a wild ride! When we last spoke, I was working mainly on ACX, with one or maybe two publishers at the time. My career has taken so many different twists and turns. Where have you taken your career since we last spoke?

#Audiobook creator error series

Read the latest entry from Audible Approved Producer Joe Hempel, below, then catch up on the rest of the series here. The true story of ACX’s 10th anniversary is told in the journeys of the impressive indie creators who have written their own career narratives via ACX.