How I expanded my offerings as an audiobook narrator/producer - By creating new audiobook release promotional videos.

I have just completed my third promo video this week. It is for my latest narration for "Dylan Stone's Journal" by W.D. Nelson. A thriller that takes the reader through several countries in Europe to solve two different mysteries along two different timelines. To fully explain the complex story and character arcs would not be possible. My task? Distill enough of it into a ~1 minute narrated promo video that teases just enough to make it interesting, yet paced so that some folks stay until the end! That is quite a feat I discovered. I am still not there yet, but I am working toward the goal. But why do I create these promos? How did I get here?

WHY SHOULD I MAKE A PROMO VIDEO?

Audiobook narration can be a one-and-done task when the book is complete. Deliver the audio files and wait for it to publish. Most promotion is done by the author, especially if it was a 'pay-for-performance' PFR (Per Finished Hour) project. Since there are no royalties tied to how the book sells, is there is real incentive to invest in promoting the book from a narrator/producer point of view?

I stepped back several months ago and thought... How can I bring more value to authors or rights-holders? I tout my desire to be collaborative with those I am voicing a book or script for. I started to explore what I could do. Maybe there is potential for it to be a win-win transaction for both the author and I, even without ongoing royalties. My first step was to consider pros and cons:

Pros:

• Builds a relationship for possible future projects with the author, or maybe gain their recommendation to others.

• Build my extended creative skills beyond book narration and producing the audio. This would mean creating concepts, scripts, video creation and editing, incorporating music, etc.

• Develop the new skills to a point to possibly sell the promo as an 'add-on' package when completing a book.

Cons:

• Learning new skills takes time. As they say, time = money right?

• Ramping up a set of skills means that your output, for a while at least might now be at the polished level it needs to be. You are a beginner. That never feels great, until you are producing a product you are proud of.

• Some initial investment may be necessary for the tools needed to create video promos. This may include video editing software, lighting, props, etc.

I came to the conclusion that I wanted to take a handful on over the space of a year or more and build my skills. I thought, hey I made some fund raising videos years ago (like 15+ years actually) that I put on a DVD. It should be easier now, right? I accepted the challenge and I went to work.

HOW DO I DO IT?

For this latest promo I started with concepts and ideas. I think the hardest initial step was to script the voiceover. I think I created six or seven drafts. They were all close to two minutes. I worried that cutting more out was going to make the whole thing confusing. The final draft was created by writing out the main few points of the book, the major themes and attributes. It ran on two timelines with two mysteries to be solved. Lots of locales and lots of characters. I then touched on most of those themes and checked them off as I wrote the script. I then came in a little over one minute. Not bad!

Next step was figuring out the visuals. I ran the voiceover narration over and over with closed eyes, trying to visualize what I would want to see for some of the key moments. There were several key elements in both timelines: Dylan's travel journal, guitar he traveled with, the envelope with the written verse, and the skeleton key. I developed a couple camera shots to stage the items and make it more real. I also filmed a short piece of me narrating in the booth. Left for last was seeing what spaces remained and needed to be filled with the book's cover, maps, or other visual items. Whew.

I was now ready to compose it all on my video editing software. I have been learning Davinci Resolve for this task and have been very pleased with the free version up until now. I may purchase it eventually to gain more effects and features, which for ~$300 is not a bad deal.

Now I edit and get the whole timeline complete. At that point I need to decide on what supporting audio to add. Does it need a music layer? Sound effect(s)? This one needed music, so I went through my musical sketches that I work on from time to time. This collection includes mostly short themes that I recorded when inspiration hit and I refined to be 50-75% complete. Once I have a promo or other use for a musical piece I go through the library and if something seems to fit I add the last percentage to get it to 100% and of a usable length. If nothing fits I will grab a guitar or keyboard and compose something I think might fit. This has been successful so far.

THEN WHERE DOES THE PROMO GO...AND WHEN?

With the video now complete, I run it by the author for approval. Once that is granted I share my plan for distributing it in concert with or soon after the audiobook's release day. I usually post in the order: YouTube Shorts, Facebook Reels, LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, TikTok. I use Microsoft Copilot AI to help me optimize the book's summary and find the best hashtags for each platform. I also recently joined the Amazon's "Influencer and Associates" program to provide me with links that will provide a small commission for sales of the audiobook or other products, separate from any royalty deal I may or may not have. I am still testing this tool to see if it in fact is worthwhile. I add this special book purchase link to my promo post text. Finally I add the new promo and book / retail narration sample back to my website https://www.CJStephensCreative.com

I have been very pleased at the approval I have been getting from authors and from promo video viewer feedback. Are there a lot at this point, no. But I see a steady increase with each new promo/book. I leave the promo active as is for usually a couple of months. I then revisit it and tweak the video to a version 2, tweak the posting text and hashtags a bit and post a new version to each platform to keep it fresh.

That's it! Simple, right? No, it's not. But it has been very rewarding. I think each one becomes part of a more efficient process, more comfort in the tools, and less mystery around distribution. For me, this is another creative outlet I enjoy feeding. As I have said, "Always learning, always a student. A project is never really finished. Just finally granted freedom."

You can find all my promo, audiobook narration, and voiceover samples on my website here.

If you're an author or rights‑holder looking for a narrator who brings cinematic storytelling and original music to your audiobook promotion, I’d love to collaborate.