At Bloomsbury, Morgan Jones has been promoted to associate editor; Elizabeth Ellis to assistant editor; Mia Kwon to associate designer, adult trade; Nicole Jarvis to marketing director, adult trade; and Emily Fishman to associate publicist. At Tom Doherty Associates, Laura Etzkorn and Libby Collins have each been promoted to senior publicist, and Giselle Gonzalez has been promoted to assistant publicist. Marc Visnick has joined TKO Studios in the newly-created position of vp of sales and business development. Previously, he worked at Ingram as senior business development manager. Colleen Lindsay joins the company as senior manager, marketing and social media, reporting […]
Audio
PRH Launches Voiceover Casting Platform to the Public
Penguin Random House Audio today launched a voiceover casting platform, Ahab, to make it easier for audio content creators to hire voice actors. Ahab was originally developed as an internal tool at PRH, first used in the US and then adopted by PRH audio teams internationally. Now its creators, svp of content production Dan Zitt and senior manager of digital production platforms Julie Wilson, are opening its use to the public. “Ahab has been an invaluable tool for our team, both to streamline the casting process and to expand our talent pool,” says Dan Zitt, co-creator of Ahab and SVP of content […]
Authors Guild Praises Audible Changes, Presses for More
The Authors Guild called Audible’s recent changes to its ACX policies, combined with the earlier decision to pay authors royalties on books returned after seven days, “a significant step in the right direction.” At the same time, the Guild notes the new policies “do not include all the changes that we, together with the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), were hoping for” and that “we will continue our dialogue and demands for changes on the substantive issue of returns discrepancies and other issues affecting authors, narrators, and content providers.” Susan May, an author who has […]
Audible to Provide Authors with Returns Data, Starting in March
Beginning in March, authors using Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange will be able to see data on returns, including number of units per title, both in their account dashboard and in monthly financial statements. The move, announced on the ACX blog, is a response to continuing pressure from the Authors Guild and ACX authors for changes to the company’s returns policy, after its negative financial impact (reportedly reducing sales anywhere from 15 to 50 percent over time) became apparent last fall. This follows Audible’s decision last month to pay authors royalties on returns made more than seven days after purchase, which […]
Audible Will Pay Author Royalties for Audiobooks Returned After Seven Days
Responding to strenuous objections from authors and a number of groups that represent writers, Audible will reduce the extent to which their liberal returns and exchange program is conducted at authors’ expense. Starting in January, Audible will only debit authors’ earnings for audiobooks returned within seven days of purchase. Previously, an author who distributed their audiobook via Audible’s Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) forfeited their earnings any time a customer returned their title within 365 days of purchase. The extent of those returns charges was not transparent to authors until last month. Audible will continue to allow liberal returns and exchanges, […]
Authors Demand Audible Stop Aggressive Exchange Policy that Reduces Earnings
Following an accounting adjustment in October, authors who produce and sell their own audiobooks through Audible’s ACX became aware of the significant extent to which “returned” and “exchanged” audiobooks — encouraged by Audible itself — have been cutting into their proceeds. Returns and exchanges turned out to comprise “15% to 50% or more of lost sales over time” for many authors. One author, Susan May, published a lengthy post about her experience. More authors have traded stories and strategies in a Facebook group “to come together to persuade ACX & Audible to give us a fair deal on our audiobooks.” […]