My Backwards Audiobook Launch

So, it’s been two and two-thirds-of a-month since I published my audiobook.

21 August 2019 to be exact, a year to the day after the paperback/Kindle became available.

I mentioned it in passing in last Friday’s Sales, Pods and Audiobooks post.

But aside from emailing my newsletter subscribers and telling a few folk I know well, I’ve not launched it yet.

So you probably won’t know.

Because although most people might issue a press release, pay for numerous Facebook ads, and launch on day one, I’m doing it 80 days after publication via a humble blog post. This one. Today.

Why is this? Well, I’ve been busy, see. Doing stuff. And the audiobook launch thingammy has kinda fallen by the wayside.

(Apologies to all my PR brethren, this is not a classic strategy.)

Plus it’s been progressing pretty well anyway; in fact just this morning sales hit 800 (that’s 10 a day).

So, as befits a launch, here are the 11 things I’d like to tell you about my new audiobook.

(If you’re interested in all the detail, how I did it and how you could, too, sign up to my newsletter so you get the “how to self-publish an audiobook in 2019” post first when I write it in the next two weeks).

Those 11 things:

#1 Length

It’s 10h 50 minutes long.

#2 Self

I narrated it.

#3 A Bridge

It’s unabridged (meaning I didn’t change it at all, I just read it verbatim).

#4 Research

I did untold amounts of research before committing. But much like the book self-publishing process, eventually you just have to get on with it and leap in the dark.

#5 Pillow Talk

I dearly wanted, just like the book, to produce the audio version myself.

However, this would have involved such things as converting my bedroom cupboard into a makeshift studio and recording with a pillow over my head to muffle the ambient noise.

This did not seem like a good way to go. So I got a man in to help (much more on that in the follow-up post).

#6 Anti-Big-A

For those who haven’t bought my book because it’s been unavailable to buy anywhere other than Amazon, today’s your lucky day.

The audiobook is for sale on iTunes now, too. Just “search up” (as my kids are fond of saying) “reset david sawyer”.

#7 Audible

For most audiobook-lovers in the UK, Audible is the only game in town.

You can subscribe for an audiobook a month. Or not subscribe and just buy discrete ones then listen on your smartphone through the free app.

#8 1.25

If I’m too slow for you, speed me up to x1.25 pace. Easy in the free Audible app.

#9 Consumption Habits

Those who really like my book tend to listen to it first then buy the paperback version to make notes in.

You can also do this using the “highlights” function on the free Kindle app.

Pro tip: go one step further and sync your Amazon account with Readwise and get the stuff you’ve highlighted sent to you via email every day.

#10 Knockdown Price

Amazon/Audible’s pricing structure is bewildering.

The full price of the RESET audiobook is £22.89.

However, it’s a little-known Amazon-wide hack that if you buy the Kindle version of a book first, you get to buy the audiobook for a knockdown price.

RESET’s been selected for a Kindle Monthly Deal, which means that you can buy it from now until the end of November for just £0.99.

And if you do, you can then buy the RESET audiobook for a ridiculous £3.49. That’s cheap as chips.

#11 Better Still

But how about if you could get a copy of the audiobook for free?

Well, to reward the fact you’ve read all the way to the bottom of this post (and to celebrate today’s 800th sale) I’m giving away eight copies of my audiobook.

All you need do is answer the following question and commit to posting an honest review of my book on either Amazon or Audible.

I’m not looking for War and Peace. Many opt for one short paragraph.

Drum roll please…here’s the question…which number-one rated personal finance blogger said of RESET:

“Hidden in plain sight within the 300 or so pages of RESET is an elegant synthesis of the latest thinking in financial independence, lifestyle design, and age-old philosophical wisdom – cunningly disguised as a breezy pep talk from your witty mate down the pub. In a world that’s forever racing past us on a screen, it’s a reminder of the potentially life-changing power of a book.”

Answers via email only please to dave@zudepr.co.uk, subject line “RESET Abook Comp”. And please be sure to say whether you’re based in the UK or overseas.

Closing date for entries: 5pm Monday 18 November.

Thanks for listening.

RESET is the first book to translate the huge predominantly US-based financial independence (FI) movement to a UK context. It’s available in no good (walk-in) bookshops.

Here’s the audiobook cover.

It clicks through to the sales page.

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