Audio Book Transcription – Doesn’t It Defeat Its Own Purpose?

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Do you consider transcribing your audio book into a physical book or ebook? Doesn’t getting your audio book transcribed defeat its own purpose – the ability of being listened to rather than being read? Let’s consider why and how audio books are transcribed and the advantages of audio book transcription.

What is an Audio Book?

An audio book is a book in audio format. Instead of being read it is listened to. Audio books may be in MP3 or iTunes or iPod format for portable audio players.

Audio books are an alternative to physical books and have become a popular medium of publishing books.
Audio book sales are increasing. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) reported an increase of 36.7% on audio book sales between 2010 and 2011 and, more recently, they announced an increase of 32.7% on audio book sales between 2011 and 2012.

Why then get an audio book transcribed at all? Doesn’t getting an audio book transcribed defeat its own purpose?
No. It doesn’t defeat its purpose. In fact, it helps meeting its purpose and then some.

Your main consideration for publishing an audio book is the convenience factor. It is convenient to have a book you can listen anywhere, any time. In this day and age, when people are so busy audio books make perfect sense and they also cater to the blind.

And it’s a growing market, as we can see above.
However, leaving your creation at that (as an audio book alone) is leaving money on the table. And, you’re not serving the larger market of people who still loves reading a physical book or an ebook.

The more people read your book, in whatever format, the more popular your book becomes and the more sales you acquire in all its formats. At the very least, you should consider publishing your audio book into an ebook as the latter outsells physical books now.

Your main purpose of publishing a book is to have it read by as many people as possible. It’s good to cater to the market that only listens to audio books; it’s also great to cater to the market that only reads via their digital players; it’s best to cater to all market sections and maximize the reach and sales of your book.

That is where audio book transcription comes in. Transcription is the conversion of audio into text. Transcription helps converting your audio book into text and therefore, easily converting your audio book into an ebook or a physical book.

Advantages of Getting Your Audio Book Transcribed

  • Audio book transcription allows more people to read your audio book. There are a lot of people who prefer reading over listening. Many a person love to read books using their iPad or any other portable electronic device. If you have a transcript of your audio book, you will enable these persons to enjoy your book and benefit from the information/entertainment you are providing.
  • Audio book transcription gives your readers an added bonus. Persons who are happy with just the audiobook will nonetheless appreciate the fact that you included a transcript of your book.
  • Audio book transcription is useful to you as the creator of the audio book. There will definitely be times when you would need to go back to certain points in your book. If you have a transcript of your audio book, you would be able to easily find the specific information you’re looking for.
  • Audio book transcription supports accessibility. Persons who cannot hear would appreciate your book if it is available in electronic format. If you have a transcript of your audio book, you would be able to show persons with hearing impairments that you care.
  • Getting your audio book transcribed into a physical book also establishes you in the traditional portals of publishing, especially if you get a well-established publisher.
  • Getting your audio book transcribed into an ebook allows for you to sell your own book without any third party and enjoy the “passive income” stream you’ve added to your income.

The sales of an eBook will feed both the sales of physical book and the audio book. And likewise, the sales of the physical book will help the sale of the eBook and the audio book. It’s a never-ending cycle.

How Much will it Cost to get an Audio Book Transcribed?

Audio book transcription services are affordable and can easily come under the “bulk transcription” for most transcription providers. I would estimate that for an audio book of less than 10 hours worth of audio, the transcription services cost would be around $750 only.

This is a one-time investment you make in order to convert your audio book into an ebook and a physical book. This potentially allows you to reach deeper and wider into the book market and increase your royalty and income a couple of folds, at least.

Getting your audio book transcribed is a smart move by any standard. I once read a quote that goes something like this, “best-selling authors are best-selling not because they are the best writers, but simply because they sell the most!”

To sell the maximum number of books, you have to find the maximum number of ways and means to sell your book. That of course means, having your book in every format possible to serve the maximum number of people.
Let us start transcribing your audio books today! We at TranscriptionPro would be delighted to create a transcript of your audio books. Simply contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

TranscriptionPro Services is a reliable transcription solution for writers and authors to convert their audio books into excellent transcripts which can then be effortlessly converted into ebook or a physical book. We provide audio book transcription services at affordable rates that saves you time, effort and makes you money. Contact us now for a Quotation.

Carey Suante is a writer and entrepreneur. He is also a transcriber who has been transcribing for over 10 years. He started TranscriptionPRO.net, a professional transcription service, after years of experience in blogging and internet marketing. He can help you in typing and transcribing your audio book recordings today. Contact him now! Get a no-obligation Transcription Quotation today for all your typing and transcription requirements.