Listening, instead of reading, has considerably increased the versatility of Make Your Own Job: Anytime, Anywhere, At Any Age, by making it accessible to commuters and drivers through their internet connections as a downloadable audiobook. If inconvenient to listen to on a laptop or tablet, the book may be downloaded on a phone or thumb drive that plugs into your vehicle’s sound system. Other advantages include being able to increase the listening volume for those whose hearing is not as sharp as it once was.

I selected LisenUp Productions of Atlanta to do the audiobook because it was convenient to me here in Central Georgia as well as to promote another industry in the state. I had the opportunity to audition three readers, and I selected James Edward Thomas as the reader, rather than recording it myself. Recording a seven-hour book requires a sound-insulated recording room, high quality mikes, editing skills, very much patience, and a voice that remains consistent over time. While I possess some of these items and personal qualities here at Whitehall, I lack others. Another very considerable problem is distribution. It may be well and good to produce an outstanding reading of a novel or piece of music, but the challenge is putting it in the hands of the distributors who market it to individuals, public libraries, business firms, etc. Some large public libraries, for example, will buy only through a particular distributor. Not only does ListenUp produce audio books, they also market them to all of the major distributors of audiobooks including Amazon, the elephant in the room.

Another beneficial result of the audiobook is that it also drives sales of the companion softcover and e-book versions. While listening is wonderful for getting an overview of the contents, Make Your Own Job is designed to be used, as it describes a unique method of conceiving of and selecting among self-generated business concepts that most readers would want to reference from time to time. The print version also allows the user to quickly look up materials on say, trademarks, without having to re-listen to an entire book to recover this information. With a novel the easy location of textual material would not be so significant, unless readers wanted to check back to see if the author pre-shadowed a significant clue earlier in the text. Unless they were avid fans, they would not likely lay out significant cash to buy a physical copy of the book.

Although business books have the reputation of being long, dry, and boring, listeners will find that Thomas’ reading of Make Your Own Job to be entertaining as well as informative.

FEBRUARY 19, 2021HOVEYSMITH LEAVE A COMMENT ON AUDIO BOOK OF “MAKE YOUR OWN JOB” COMPLEMENTS PRINT AND E-BOOK VERSIONS