Part 3: Look Before You Leap

Come to think of it…
I look AFTER I leap.

Audio is the fastest-growing corner of publishing. That’s according to Christa Lewis—and she would know.

As a voice actor, audiobook narrator, and coach, Lewis has assembled a comprehensive website, Audiobook Marketing Guide for (Frazzled) Authors. In 2025, she says, U.S. audiobook sales reached roughly $2.43 billion—up about 9%—with more than 750,000 titles available. A majority of American adults have listened to at least one audiobook.

It’s a growing audience and an exploding format, she says, which means audiobook discoverability is now part of the publishing journey.

She breaks discoverability into findability, i.e., noticing a single audiobook in a sea of products, and social proof, the reviews, recommendations, and other signs that tell new readers the book is worth reading. The good news, according to Lewis, is that both findability and social proof are doable.

The good news, according to Lewis, is that both findability and social proof are doable.

The bad news, according to me, is that I should have read her guide before I began audio production, because—as with so many aspects of writing and publication—I tend to look after I leap.

Chick Stories

A little background: I recorded Chick Stories—A Memoir of Adventures Lived, Laughter Shared, and Lessons Learned with My Girlfriends at Star Sound Studios in Cape Coral, Florida. Drew Howard, sound engineer, also helped me set up the distribution channels. Only then did I look at marketing.

I felt a little badass going through the initial items on Lewis’s launch checklist:

• Author website. Check.
• Accurate metadata and specific categories. Check.
• Strong hook. Check.
• Catchy, legible cover. Check.
• Promo codes. Huh?
• Early reviews by audiobook groups. Huh?
• Chirp submissions, retailer discounts, time-limited promotions, coupons, launch pricing, bundles, and… Huh, huh, huh?

Huh, huh, huh did not translate to Ha, ha, ha. It was more of a sob. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t even know the vocabulary. I started to tear up and tear out my hair.

Fortunately, I found solace in Jane Friedman’s common-sense approach to anything related to indie publishing. In A Book Launch Plan for First-Time Authors Without an Online Presence, the publishing guru empathizes with authors who are trying to launch an online presence—and get up to speed on social media—in conjunction with a book release.

She says it’s like trying to drive a car at the same time you’re building it.

“At some point,” she prophesizes, “you’ll end up on the side of the road.”

Yup. Having hit the road without direction, I was on the side of the road. So, I sat down and read the instruction manual. While her to-do list is daunting, I was already doing a lot of what she suggests.

• Market and promote to the people who know you. Check. I have a newsletter, a YouTube channel, and I excel with in-person events.
• Create a media kit with all the needed publicity information about the book and you. Check.
• Sign up for a service like BookFunnel to help securely share advance digital copies of your book. Check.
• Offer limited-time deals from your own store. Okay. I have an online store, and I’ve already sold a couple of audiobooks from it. I can do more.
• Encourage existing readers and fans to share your book with their network. Eh … I think I can do that.
• Market to strangers or readers who don’t know you yet—but have demonstrated interest in work similar to yours. Um, how?
• Get influencers to help spread the word. Influencers?

The Map on the Side of the Road

If done well, a book promotion will draw people to you online because they’ve read your book and enjoyed it, Friedman preaches, not because you’ve tweeted at them to buy it. When your book achieves a reasonable foundation of readership or success, so will your online presence; the two go hand in hand.

Friedman recommends that authors who are starting from “online zero” assess their strengths and opportunities. You can’t get somewhere if you don’t know where you are, right?

So, where am I?

I have 287 (and growing) subscribers to my monthly newsletter, Come to Think of It, with an open rate of 45% and few unsubscribers. I used this list to announce the launch of the Chick Stories audiobook and to regularly promote videos on the Chick Stories YouTube Channel (62 subscribers, 921 views since August 1). I have 289 followers and 282 connections on LinkedIn. And on Facebook, I have 1,684 views and no subscribers, but I’ve only recently begun to post with intention.

I already had a basic subscription with BookFunnel to allow advance readers to access and reviews my books. In order to sell my audiobook on my own website, I needed to upgrade my subscription. The upgrade also allows me to take advantage of group promos, author swaps, and book sales. I’m now engaged in a crash course in promos.

As a firm believer in the power of prizes, I’m also researching audiobook awards.

But am I doing enough?

“Aim for 10 honest reviews in the first few months,” Lewis says. “If you’re moving toward that slowly but steadily, you’re doing enough.”

Lewis’s final recommendation is making short (15–60 seconds) narration clips with shareable content that focus on curiosity, not explanation. She also suggests turning clips into audiograms — a clip paired with a moving waveform and captions — which are placed on your own book page, in social posts, and anywhere your retailer or author profile permits video content.

If this is starting to feel like a lot, she says in conclusion, that’s normal.

“You don’t have to do every step perfectly for readers to find your book. If you make your book cover arresting, make your book page clear and inviting, gather some early reviews, and give listeners a simple way to hear about your next release, you’ve already done the most important work.”

I’m still on the side of the road. But having built my car, I’m now learning how to drive it.