The Listen2aBook Record a Classic Audiobook Contest is open to any narrator interested in recording an audiobook of an existing work in the public domain. Three cash prizes will be offered. A $500 first prize, and 2 $250 runners up.
In addition to the cash prizes, all qualifying applicants will have their audiobooks published to Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. And they will receive an ongoing 40% royalty on all sales. That’s double what narrators receive via royalty share projects on ACX.
Why is the royalty doubled? Since these books are in the public domain, there is no author to collect the other 20%. So, you earn their royalty as well. You are the only rights holder.
But, without an author, things like cover art, promotion, and sales copy, are also left to you. Your skills in these areas will be judged in the second round — see below.
To enter, follow the steps below:
- Apply to become an approved narrator at this link
- Propose a project of at least 6 hours in length via the Project Tracker and mention that you’d like it to be entered in the contest
- Complete the entry form that will be emailed to all applicants ($10 entry fee)
- Submit your finished production before midnight Eastern Time on February 29, 2016
The judging will consist of three rounds.
Round 1 – Technical Quality
Beyond hitting all the specs, projects will be assessed for their consistency and clarity from file to file. The top 50% of this round will advance to round two.
Round 2 – Saleability
Retail samples, cover art, and sale copy will be posted for each entry. Audiobook listeners across the internet will be encouraged to choose the projects that they would most likely purchase. Projects will be rated both in-house and via social media. The two scores will be combined and the top 10 entries will advance to round three.
Round 3 – Performance
Each judge will rank the entries. The top 3 scoring entries will be the winners. In case of a tie, a run-off vote will be taken. Judges may choose to provide private feedback to any of the entries in this round.
That’s it. Pretty simple. If you have any questions, contact us.