The Nominal Hero Audiobook

Tl:dr; I’m asking for 2.5 ETH to produce an audiobook of The Nominal Hero (funded in Prop 271) including original CC0 music and an exclusive interview with the author, and published across nearly every major audiobook platform, including Audible, Spotify, and Apple Books.

Why an audiobook?

I think it’s safe to say that most of us wish we had the opportunity to read more than we do. In my experience, and that of many others, audiobooks are a way around this problem- a way to still experience literature while our eyes and hands are occupied. More importantly, audiobooks have a global distribution of dedicated listeners, with Audiobook publishers in 2022 reporting 10 straight years of double digit growth.

The Plan

Typically producing an audiobook takes anywhere from 8-12 weeks, due to studio scheduling, editing time, music, etc. As a voice actor and composer with over a decade of experience, I can leverage my expertise to shorten that timeframe significantly. After the proposal is executed, I’ll spend the next month working on the audiobook full time, with the completed book uploaded to Soundcloud and YouTube by the end of that month. After the audiobook is completed, approval across the various streaming services takes anywhere from 2-8 weeks- I’ll be providing updates via propdates and on Warpcast biweekly during that process, as requirements vary across platforms.

As publishing to Audible specifically requires a Kindle listing, part of this proposal’s fulfillment will be adding the epub to Kindle as well, increasing distribution of the text format of the book further.

Why RobotFishGirl?

As I’ve already mentioned, I’ve been a voice actor for over a decade, with a large portion of my work being in Audiobook narration. This is a medium I have an intimate familiarity with, and as I specialize in fantasy narration (a genre that requires greater vocal flexibility than almost any other) I’m uniquely suited to bring this story to life.

I’ve recorded a short sample of the end of Chapter 1. Click the image below to give it a listen!

(note: This was recorded on my streaming setup, and the sound quality is not at the level required for an audiobook. More on that below.)

The Budget

I’m asking for 2.5 eth on this proposal. The breakdown is as follows:

• 1 ETH for the narration, editing, and music composition on the book itself, as well as the bonus author interview.
• 1 ETH compensation for time spent on publication across the many audiobook platforms out there, most of which have their own format requirements. The list includes Audible, Spotify, Apple Books, Google Books, TuneIn, Scribd, Audiobooks.com, and more.
• 0.5 ETH for home studio upgrades to produce a high level recording
  • Typically for audiobooks I would go to a professional studio at the expense of the author or publisher- however, that would both be almost double the price and would significantly extend the project completion time. With a few upgrades I can produce studio-quality sound at home. Actual cost of these upgrades is a bit over 1 ETH at time of writing (ETH being around $2170 USD), but as these are permanent upgrades to my personal studio I’ll be paying for a bit over half of those costs with my compensation.