Questions, questions!
So many questions!
It’s already the beginning of February, and the clock is ticking. I start every year by planning to be organized, to maintain a comfortable, low-stress writing schedule, and to strike a healthy balance in our lives.
Invariably, I end up overwhelmed.
Writing deadlines start to pile up and interfere with the extra time I want with family, and I get behind on everything else—like decluttering and house cleaning. Thank goodness my husband will take over!
Does your life ever end up that way? I now have three book deadlines looming and wish I could create an extra three weeks in February! ?
One of those deadlines is for the final proof of my first boxed set containing three full-length novels.
It will be released March 11th on Amazon. It’s up for pre-order now (click here to read more about it) at a bargain price compared to buying each individual book.
Authors tell me that many of their readers prefer boxed sets, so they can easily move through the books in a series. Is that true for you?
I would love your opinion on boxed sets, before I create one for the final three books in this Montana Secrets romantic suspense series.
What do you prefer–buying books one-by-one, or buying boxed sets?
I have another question. ?
Do you prefer audio to e-books or print? Do you listen to many audiobooks per year?
It’s very expensive to create an audiobook if an author hires professional narrators. Less so, if one does this via a shared royalty contract with that voice talent. But either way, it takes a lot of financial commitment—possibly more than the audio book will ever earn back.
I deeply dislike the idea of AI (artificial intelligence) taking work away from voice talent.
Yet, I am wondering about readers who have visual impairment and struggle to read even the largest font size on their Kindles. Or those who simply prefer listening to audiobooks.
I’ve started seeing quite a few audiobooks for sale created with an AI voice. This doesn’t begin to compare with live voice talent, of course, though the AI quality is getting much better. And, I could offer them to readers at a much lower price this way.
Have you ever listened to an audiobook created in this way? What did you think?
Would it be better to have the option of audio versions of my books now?
Or should I skip audiobooks until I can afford to have them professionally produced? It’s a painstaking process….multiplied by the number of books in a series. So for me, this could take several years for a single series.
I would be so very grateful for your opinions!
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Wishing you all my best,
Roxanne Rustand
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I love audiobooks! They are very convenient and help my eyes to relax after working all day with numbers. I don’t like AI narration, prefer a real person but I get it about the cost.
I like print books more than audio books.
I like having the complete series so I can read through. I do NOT do audition except when traveling or when doing a mindless job.