Reading takes a lot of time. Most books take between four to eight hours to complete, and most of us can only scrounge up about one or two hours a day for it. But what if there was a way to steal more reading time?
What if you could read while you did all your boring daily tasks like brushing your teeth and cooking a meal? Reading in the car, on your way to and from work? What if you could read in the shower?
Welcome to the world of audiobooks. The amazing, hands free way to steal over a whole extra hour of reading time per day. Audiobooks are amazing, but it can be a pricey habit. Most audibooks go for around twenty dollars, which makes sense, having to pay the narrator as well as the author.
The most common place to get audiobooks right now is Audible.
Audible is Amazon’s audiobook service. They offer one free audiobook a month if you sign up for a subscription at $14.95 a month. (Note: not free, you paid $14.95 for it.) So you save about five dollars off the cost of a twenty dollar audiobook.
But this not about convincing you to get a membership, this is about how to get audiobooks for cheaper than the cost of an Audible membership.
First Steps
Make sure you have an Amazon account.
Install the Audible App on the device you use most.
Sign in with your Amazon account. Ignore the adds trying to get you to sign up for a membership.
Now let’s find you something to read.
Shop on Amazon not on Audible
On Amazon search for the book you want to read. Make sure you are searching for the ebook format. Do not search for audiobooks!
If the book is also available in audio then you will often see a discount for buying both the ebook and audio version together. Keep in mind that this will not work if you use Kindle Unlimited. You must purchase the Ebook to get the Narration discount.
Underneath the buy now with one click button you will see a check box that says add audible to your purchase, and a price. This price is almost always $7.49. ($8.01 after sales tax) Still almost half what a membership costs.
But once in a while you will find a better deal.
Here is a deal to start you off.
The book Off to Be the Wizard by Scott Meyer is a hilarious fantasy about computer nerds who learn to code reality.
Screenshot is from amazon.com on 3/29/2020.
Right now you can get it for 99 cents and add the audiobook for $1.99. This is an eleven hour narration people. Eleven hours for $3! (Amazon prices can change on a whim, always verify prices before buying.)
And that’s not all. Has your favorite author ever offered their ebooks for free on Amazon? Well go ahead and snag it, because if they have it in audio, that’s a $7.49 audibook, that you don’t have to add the cost of the ebook to.
Follow Authors and leave reviews
Now I don’t mean follow them on Amazon, though that helps too. I mean really follow them. Subscribe to their email list, like their facebook page, and if they have one, join their fan group.
Why? Because Audible gives authors review copies. If you are following an author when they release an audiobook, they just might ask if you want to review it.
A review copy is a completely free to you audiobook that you just have to listen to, then leave a review on. And the easiest way to get these is to be a fan. Read their other books and leave reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and a blog if you have it. Authors are more likely to give you a review copy if they know you will actually review it. (It doesn’t have to be a favorable review, but if you claim a review copy please always read and review as soon as you can. That’s just good manners.)
Reviewing on Audible is super easy. After you finish a book a screen will pop up to rate and review the book right away. Do it while it’s fresh in your mind. If you must wait. Simply go to the books page on audible.com and click write a review.
I know that’s not how audiobooks work. Still it would be cool if you could do this.
Happy listening!
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C. O. Bonham 