Readers who are listeners
Jim sells specialized industrial equipment in a territory that includes most of the Southern United States. He drives a lot.
On the long miles between stops he schedules some phone calls, but mostly he listens. He listens to music on satellite radio. He listens to talk radio because “it’s cathartic to yell at the dashboard.” He plays music from his iPod playlists. And he listens to audiobooks.
Gerrie listens to audiobooks, too. She listens while taking the walks that are part of her exercise regimen. I listen mostly while I’m doing chores.
We all listen to full-length recordings of nonfiction books. Business is our favorite topic. Jim and Gerrie are both friends of mine and we’ve often talked about what we listen to.
Audiobooks
I was reminded of those conversations when I read Penny C. Sansevieri’s Huffington Post article “Audiobooks: The Next Big Thing.” Here’s what caught my eye.
“Audible has been around for a long time, we see the deals everywhere via Groupon and others for a free month on Audible to try and coax people into the system. Now, however, with the Audible technology changing and Whispersync becoming a popular way to both read and listen to books, there may be no stopping this form of book delivery.”
If you’re the author of a business book, you need to read the whole article. You’ll get some solid tips on finding and selecting a narrator for the audio version of your book. “But,” you may be asking, “why bother?”
Why you need an audio version
The answer is: because of people like Jim and Gerrie and me. We consume business books in audio format. In my case I supplement the audiobook with a Kindle version where I can highlight passages and make notes. But I don’t read the book on the Kindle. I listen to it.
Think about this. There are a lot of business book “readers” who don’t read at all, we listen. If you want to reach us, you need an audio version of your book.
