Hey there, everyone! I'm Jess the Audiobookworm. I run The Audiobookworm, an audiobook review blog, and Audiobookworm Promotions, a web-based company offering audiobook promotional services. I'm also an admin over at Audiobook Empire.
I started blogging about audiobooks in 2015 and, although reviewing has recently taken a backseat to my promotional services, my audiobook listening lifestyle has never slowed.
I'm passionate about introducing people to the audiobook format and discussing our listening loves on social media. You can find me at any of the places listed below. Reach out. I'd love to hear from you!
What's your favorite thing to do while listening to an audiobook?
Coloring! I was introduced to the idea of coloring while listening by a fellow audiobook blogger and, at first, I admit that I thought it a little strange. But that was only until I tried it!
One of the best things about being an audiobook listener is the ability to multitask. You can accomplish all sorts of things while listening to a book. Things that you would never be able to do if you actually read it. However, I've come to find out that there's something really special about just being still and listening. Audiobooks are so transportive. But it's not always easy to be still and that's where busy work comes in. If you can find a truly mindless task, one that doesn't require a lot of brain power or concentration, the truly immersive audio experience can begin.
It could be washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, doodling in a sketchpad, or something like that. For me, it's coloring. Coloring allows my hands to be occupied while my mind listens to the audiobook. If I'm having trouble connecting with a certain story, I'll take a couple of hours and just color while listening to it. It works like magic!
What do you say to someone who looks down on audiobook listening as inferior to reading?
I say, check your privilege. Yes, reading is a privilege. Would you spew that kind of book hatred or snobbery to someone with a visual impairment or a physical disability preventing them from holding a book? Of course you wouldn't. Or, at least, I hope you wouldn't. You have no idea what causes someone to turn to audiobook listening. Yes, it may be a choice of convenience. But it could also be one circumstance. You just don't know.
Studies have shown that the best method of comprehension is actually a combination of reading and listening. Therefore, listening is of just as much value as reading. #NeuroscienceFTW
Oh, and don't come at me with the argument saying that reading is the older and, therefore, better form of literature. Oral storytelling was around way before books.
Are you doing anything special for 'June is Audiobook Month?
To be honest, every month is audiobook month for me, but I love that there's a recognized calendar month for audiobook appreciation.
In addition to what I normally do through Audiobookworm Promotions, I also put together an annual audiobook bingo game.
What is Audiobookworm Promotions?
Audiobookworm Promotions is an audiobook promotional company. We provide promotional services for an industry that has long been overlooked. Our aim is to correct that and over the last several years, I feel that we've done a great job at giving audiobooks the recognition they deserve.
Our primary service is coordinating blog tours for audiobooks, but we also have a highly popular audiobook request service called Adopt-An-Audiobook. In addition to these, we have a number of other services available to authors, narrators, and publishers, including our newest service: Audiobookworm Assistants.
From a consumer standpoint, what's the difference between a blog tour and the Adopt-An-Audiobook Program?
The biggest difference is who can participate in each of them. To participate in a blog tour, you need to have a blog or a website. For the most part, social media accounts are too limiting to allow for a participation in a blog tour (but check with me if you really want to participate and I'll see what we can work out!). You can review the title on tour or host a promotional (non-review) tour stop on your blog.
To participate in the Adopt-An-Audiobook program, all you really need is a free Audible account. You don't need to have a paid Audible subscription to participate. Most of the audiobooks in the adoption program are obtained through Audible, but not all. The only requirement is that you review the audiobook you select within three months.
You provide such a unique service to authors, but are they the only population you serve? How many of your clients are narrators?
I agree that the services I offer are unique within the book industry, but they aren't just for authors. In the four years since I've been promoting audiobooks, I’ve worked with a lot of narrators and publishers as well. I'll admit that the majority of my client base are authors, but I think that highlights an important imbalance when it comes to promoting books. Almost all of my narrator clients are new to book promotion and have no idea where to start.
Most authors, especially indie authors, know they'll probably have to promote your own work at some point, but that doesn't occur to a lot of narrators unless they have encountered a royalty share deal before and have been expected to carry their weight on the promotional end.
Why would someone tour with you rather than doing an audiobook tour through a regular book tour company?
That's an excellent question and one that I will readily answer. The simple answer is: Specialization.
Pardon the metaphor, but if you have a suspicious mole on your body, your general practitioner could probably take a look at it, but then they would refer you to a specialist. The same logic applies here.
I specialize in promoting audiobooks. It's all that I do. My time isn't split between this and other things. My focus is 100% on audiobooks and everything I do is designed with them in mind. From the tour hosts I work with right down to the level of technical support I can provide regarding audiobook websites, everything I do centers around audiobooks.
Likewise, why is hosting tours with you different for a blogger than hosting tours with another book tour company?
Long before I ever started my own tour company, I was just an audiobook blogger looking to participate in virtual book tours with some of the larger tour companies out there. I had seen some of my fellow book blogging friends hosting tours and thought they looked like fun! The only caveat was that I wasn't just a regular book blogger, but an audiobook blogger and there weren't a lot of tour hosting opportunities for me. I was told by several book tour companies that I would probably only be able to participate in a couple of audiobook tours a year, because that's all they ran. That's when I decided it was time to draw more attention to audiobooks and the bloggers who love them.
So I would say that hosting with Audiobookworm Promotions is a great fit for any blogger who loves audiobooks and/or feels that the audiobook format in general is worth promoting. I add the and/or in there because you don't have to personally enjoy listening to audiobooks in order to promote the format. Obviously, if you want to review them, it probably helps if you like listening! But I think it takes a really beautiful form of compassion to recognize that although something may not be right for you, there's still value in it for someone else. In those cases, not only are bloggers helping the authors and narrators whose books they promote, but they also may be changing the lives of their blog readers by introducing them to a potentially life-changing new hobby or audiobook.
In the four years that I've been doing this, those are the comments that I remember most. I've had people tell me that I helped them to view the audiobook format as a legitimate form of reading and now it has completely transformed an area of their lives. I mean, it’s not exactly life-saving work I'm doing here, but more like life-enhancing. My own life was changed for the better by discovering audiobooks and if I can help someone else discover something that they’ll enjoy, I'm all for it! I love working with like-minded folks who want to help me enhance people's lives, one audiobook at a time.
Anyone interested in learning more about hosting tours with me can sign up here.
What types of audio books do you promote? Are there any that are off limits?
Nothing is off limits and we will promote almost any audiobook out there. I say almost just in case something truly offensive ever comes along and I need a way out. I know a lot of book tour companies will say things like “No erotica, no LGBT etc, but I don't play that game. I've run successful tours for a lot of genres that other tour companies won't touch and I'm proud of it! All tour hosts have freedom of selection over which tours they participate in, so I'm not forcing these audiobooks on anyone. That also makes finding great matches between tour hosts and audiobooks super easy! With nearly 400 tour hosts, there's something out there for everyone.
Thank you so much for the interview Jess!
Thanks for having me, Kathleen!
ReplyDeleteIt is my pleasure, come by anytime!
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