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524 Views 4 Replies Last post: Jun 18, 2017 5:38 PM by jmyers RSS
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Jul 8, 2016
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Apr 21, 2017 11:24 AM

Createspace to ACX audiobook - What constitutes abridgement?

Dear all,

 

I am planning on taking my self-pblished Createspace book to Amazon's ACX audio. My book is a fairly dense history/biography with numerous footnotes, endnotes, and appendices.

 

So my question is...what, exactly, constitutes abridgement? Does the narrator actually have to read the endnotes, footnotes, bibliography, and appendices, or is this something that can be left out of the reading, with the book still being published as "Unabridged?"

 

I remember listening to Nathaniel Philbrick's "Mayflower" on audio. I don't recall any footnotes/endnotes/bibliography being read, and it was published as unabridged.

 

My concerns are that (1) Abridged books are not able to be part of Amazon's Whispersync, and (2) there seems to be a general "stink" around abridged books, i.e., people don't like to buy them as they feel they are missing something (which they are). However, I think it would be tedious for the narrator to read the bibliographic info and the appendices.

 

There doesn't seem to be anything on the ACX site to address these issues. Any feedback here would be greatly appreciated.

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1. Jun 16, 2017 2:08 PM in response to: BenMiller
Re: Createspace to ACX audiobook - What constitutes abridgement?

I have the same exact questions. Anybody have answers?

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2. Jun 16, 2017 2:30 PM in response to: jmyers
Re: Createspace to ACX audiobook - What constitutes abridgement?

I've narrated a couple of heavily footnoted and illustrated reference books for ACX, and both are listed as "unabridged" in the catalogue, despite the spoken version not including any of the notes (that there would be no pictures rather goes without saying). My impression is that the term refers to the main body text only. Speaking as a narrator, it's generally impractical to include footnotes and photo captions. Doing so tends to confuse the listener.

Level 1 252 posts since
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3. Jun 17, 2017 9:13 AM in response to: J.T.Mc
Re: Createspace to ACX audiobook - What constitutes abridgement?

You must read the footnotes! See "Adelaide's Lament", sung by the incomparable Vivian Blaine, at about 1:30.

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4. Jun 18, 2017 5:38 PM in response to: J.T.Mc
Re: Createspace to ACX audiobook - What constitutes abridgement?

I sent a request to ACX. This is what they said:

 

Good day from ACX.

 

The approach to footnotes is tricky. If you include the footnotes in the audiobook, hen we recommend that you take the approach that sounds like the best listening experience to you. Otherwise, you can leave the footnotes out of the audio and have them added as a PDF to be downloaded by the listener.

 

We do not recommend reading the Appendices and "End Matter" unless they are pertinent to the story. Some front matter and back mater, including the glossary of terms, index, etc., do not offer the listener the best experience. When you are stuck on what to include or exclude, we suggest putting yourself in the shoes of a listener and think of what offers a good experience. After that, discuss the matter with your author to see how they feel. This content can always be included in a PDF. Whispersync only judges from page one after the front matter to the final page before the back matter.

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