Audio Books-Help

I’m inquiring of my readers their opinions. I was approached a few days ago with a proposal to put out my novels, starting with Shadow Soldier, as audiobooks. Yes, production costs are a concern, because, while they consider Shadow Soldier a highly underrated book and something they could use to promote the quality of their literature, my daughter, the film director, wondered why I didn’t just offer the audiobooks to my own readership and distribute it myself.

Well, I’m getting a little long in the tooth to be engaging in every new advent of the publishing industry, climbing every steep and expensive learning curve for little or no actual financial remuneration. If you get what I mean. The costs of production, the understanding of the file format and etc., the distribution. I’ve already navigated these waters for the publishing of books and the distribution of a film. Do I really want to go through it all again for the audiobook market when those folks will do all of that for me, but also take a large piece of a small pie?

My curiosity extends beyond whether you think it would be a good idea or not, though that is the larger question, but also, should you choose to listen to it, what would be your preferred method of receiving it? Chapter by chapter, or a couple of chapters at a time, or the whole book at once? Also, would you find some place where it would be worth something to you? Do you think I should offer the audiobook to all subscribers of this substack free of charge? Would you consider a paid subscription if the audiobooks would be free as a result? Should I put these out on this substack or create a new one? Other options will be considered.

These are novels and largely for entertainment. They’re not political non-fiction and are largely what many would call Westerns, though they aren’t, they’re literary character studies that take place during the Civil War (Northern War of Aggression) and in the aftermath of that conflict. They’re well-reviewed, as attested to by going to my author’s page. They are full of political aspects of the time as the character might have experienced having been a Confederate and the son of a powerful figure in the Confederacy.

I appreciate the loyalty so many have shown me over the years and respect their opinions on such matters. Any help or advice you can offer on this subject would be greatly appreciated. If you are not a paid subscriber, I would still like to hear your opinions, so the email is tld@tldavis.com. Thank you.