Questions and Answers of Audio Books
In as much as the audiobook phenomenon isn’t too new, there are still lots of people that don’t know certain things about it.
I must confess that I was also ignorant about certain aspects of audiobooks myself.
During my early days of audiobooks, I had to ask certain questions and today I hear a lot of people asking the same such questions.
Who knows, you might also have such questions and you really want to find the answers to them.
If yes, then below are some of these questions and their answers:
What is an audiobook? An audiobook is simply a book in audio format. Instead of receiving a physical hardcover or paperback book that you have to read, you will be able to have someone reading the book to you when you download the audiobooks online in MP3 format.
What is an MP3 audio book? MP3 is simply a compression technique that makes it possible for reduction to be made to audio books so that they use less space (sometimes as little as 80%) compared to that of cassettes or CDs.
How can MP3 audio books be played? MP3 audio books can be played on any new version of CD players that support the MP3 technology – mostly those that can accept a 4.75 diameter disk. They can also be played on any PC that has Microsoft’s Windows Media Player or other related music software such as Real Media Player. Lastly, they can also be played on any mp3 player such as Creative Zen or Apply iPod.
What is an unabridged audio book? An unabridged audio book is one that was narrated word for word. In such an audio book, nothing was removed from the printed book. It has the exact content with that of the printed book, albeit in audio format.
What is an abridged audio book? An abridged audio book is one that is shortened and doesn’t contain the exact word for word narration as the printed book. Instead, it contain the main and most important points of the original book. In short, it is more concise and straight to the point.
What is a dramatized audio book? A dramatized audio book, as the name implies, is a dramatized “play-life” version of the printed book, with usual full cast, music and sound effects.
How can I find the audio book I would like online? You can visit audio book store and search for the particular title you need.
What are the more popular online book store available? There are a few online book stores with huge collections, please do a search using keywords “Audio Book store” from your favorite search engine
Are these audio book expensive? On the contrary, they are cheaper as there is no physical product or delivery. Most online book store allow user to download it directly.
To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer attractive commissions, you can visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
10 Best Audio Books To Improve Your Mind
It’s indeed incredible that not many people pay a great deal of attention to what gets into their minds. You see, the mind is the single most important factor in determining who you are and what you do as an individual.
If your mind is positive and creative, you can become all you ever dream of becoming.
Most of the highly successful people you see in the news today took a great deal of time to work on improving their minds.
Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference and through body language.
People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive persons and shun negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive. They dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.
Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.
Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situations. Use positive words in your inner dialogues or when talking with others. Smile a little more, as this helps to think positively. Disregard any feelings of laziness or a desire to quit. If you persevere, you will transform the way your mind thinks.
We develop our minds by what we put into it. If we are continually putting negative information into our minds, this results to negative thoughts and ultimately negative actions.
So, if you want the opposite creative thoughts, it is pertinent to always get the right kind of information into your mind.
The most common way to do this is by reading the right kinds of books.
Sadly, because of the great demand on our time, only few people still read lots of books, especially after college.
We mostly only have time to read the newspapers and magazines. And guess what? Most newspapers only end up giving us bad news that further increase our negative state of mind.
In order to turn the mind toward the positive, inner work and training are required. Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight.
Read about this subject, think about its benefits and persuade yourself to try it. The power of thoughts is a mighty power that is always shaping our life. This shaping is usually done subconsciously, but it is possible to make the process a conscious one.
Thankfully with the advent and popularity of audio books, anyone can get the right information into his or her mind without having to “read”.
You can enjoy the benefits of audio books while exercising, commuting to and from your work, etc.
For those who don’t know exactly the audio books to go for, below are some of the 10 best audio books to improve your mind.
1. Build Your Self Esteem Author: Glenn Harrold Publisher: Diviniti Publishing
2. Awaken the Giant Within Author: Anthony Robbins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
3. Develop a Powerful Memory Author: Glenn Harrold
Publisher: Diviniti Publishing
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Author: Stephen
R. Covey Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
5. How to Win Friends & Influence People Author: Dale
Carnegie Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
6. Awaken the Giant Within Author: Anthony Robbins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
7. Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway Author: Susan Jeffers
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
8. The Power is within You Author: Louise L. Hay Publisher: Hodder Headline Audio books
9. Creating Inner Peace and Calm Author: Glenn Harrold
Publisher: Diviniti Publishing
10. Get Up and Do It! Publisher: BBC Books
Even if the idea seems strange give it a try, as you have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you, if they discover that you are changing the way you think.
To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer attractive commissions, you can visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
A Closer Look at Radio Drama
Similarities do abound of course between radio drama and pieces performed on the stage, film and television, however, the ability to move, inspire, and create solely through the collaboration of the human voice and the mind is a magnificent feat that requires the utmost discipline, insight and flawless interpretation of a voice actor.
To recognize the obvious, radio drama lacks a visual component and therefore is subject to the interpretation of the listener through sound and speech. Theatre, film, and particularly, live performances, are all visual experiences that generously communicate to their audiences through additional senses such as sight, smell, and touch while incorporating sound and speech.
As radio drama caters specifically to sound and speech, the most universally heightened of the senses, opportunities arise for a richer listening experience free from external distraction while enabling an audience member to conjure up their own visual version of the radio drama.
In radio drama, the script needs to be expertly written, accommodating the intellectual needs a listener. The voice actors role is to breathe life into the script and the producers role is to observe all Foley elements as are required to enhance the performance while providing additional mental stimulation for the audience. I liken this parallel to the intellectual experience and satisfaction that reading quality literature brings.
Performers of radio dramas are indeed actors. There is no question about it. It is simply a different application that provides its own unique set of challenges and adventures. In order to perform a voice-acting role, a person needs to be first and foremost an actor at heart.
In fact, many people use physical gestures and dialog with each other in sessions similarly to how actors feed off of each others energy on stage, film or television. There is a real chemistry that comes across when voice actors have synergy with their cast mates, quite comparable to the same electricity that face-to-face acting brings.
Now that we’ve looked at radio dramas in general, let’s explore marketing audio dramas and increasing the number of listeners for a radio drama.
Independent producers and groups have an enormous opportunity to reach new listeners on a global scale by means of podcasting. Using podcasting as a means to attract new listeners is fundamental to the success and continued discovery of this art form through popular and new media.
There are several independent radio theatre troupes around the globe that have sought to expand their listener base through podcasting and have affiliated themselves with websites that facilitate the spreading of their message, including organizations such as LibriVox, a group of people dedicated to recording audiobooks and making audio dramas more accessible to the public.
Submitting an established radio drama to podcast directories is also a brilliant way to increase the circulation, mind-share (and ear-share) as well as awareness for the craft. One popular radio drama I discovered this year, The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd, leveraged the celebrity status of one of their cast members, June Foray, to boost its appeal and gain a larger audience.
Voice actors who perform audio dramas ally themselves with Voices to help promote their work and gain a wider reach concerning new listeners and even new members of their radio drama clubs. For instance, there is the Amateur Voice Acting Group (AVAG) in San Diego, California established by David Johnson.
When he launched his voice-acting group, the VOX Daily voice actor blog was there to help with promoting David’s organization to other talent in the San Diego area through Voices.
A membership to an online voiceover marketplace is without question one of the best investments and outlets for voice professionals in the radio drama field. Each voice actor is encouraged to upload a sample of their voice and list their work or voluntary experience. Many voice talent have started out as narrators for audiobooks produced for the blind as a steppingstone in their careers.
Stephanie Ciccarelli is the Vice President of Marketing with http://www.Voices.com, an online marketplace hosting more than 8,000 professional voice talents from around the world. Stephanie is the author of The Definitive Guide To Voice-Over Success, and The Voice-Over Script Collection.
The Next Big Thing…Find Out Why
Do you want to be the NEXT Amazon in new special niche; Audio Books Did you know that audio books are becoming more and more popular by each day? For example, in 2004, over $124 million worth of audio books were sold in the UK and $120 million in Germany during 2005. Experts say that this year the market is expected to rise by 20% in Europe, and audio books seem to be even more popular in the USA.
According to the report from digital trends, research firm iSuppli is predicting that shipments of MP3 players are expected to rise by nearly a factor of four from 2004 to 2009 which means total MP3 player shipments will expand to 132 million units in 2009, rising at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 29.1% from 36.8 million units in 2004.
The audio books industry is the next big thing to watch out for.
But why are audio versions a convenient way to “read” a book?
1) You save time, because you can listen to an audio book anywhere and everywhere, and you can even do other things at the same time. You can listen when driving to and from work, when walking the dog, cycling, working around the house or at the computer, exercising, and so on. The possibilities are endless.
According to a recent survey, in the USA a person is driving an average of 1 hour and 13 minutes daily, which means over 440 hours a year for each driver, or 11 full-time work weeks. This is huge! Imagine how many things you could learn during this time by simply having your MP3 player with audio books at hand.
2) If you love reading but don’t have a enough time, audio books can give you the opportunity to read many more books that you would otherwise have time for. Audio books are a great way to fill the “dead” moments we all have in our lives.
3) Audio books are good for older, ill or recovering people and can be a wonderful gift for someone in a nursing institution. This is a gift they can remember and enjoy time after time.
4) Audio books can be a blessing for blind people, disabled people or people with impaired vision. Everyone should have the chance to experience and enjoy a book and in many cases, this is the only way for such persons to do it.
Spoken books can help these people improving their education, help them developing new hobbies and habits and greatly enriching their life, both personally and professionally.
5) The most important skill a child can ever acquire is probably the ability to read, and audio books can be easily used to stimulate literacy in children. Books can be listened to by children while following the story in the paper book. Or they could listen just to gain and improve vocabulary and communication skills. If you want to instill in your child the love of reading, audio books can be a excellent start.
There are many more benefits of using audio books, but even these few reasons should be enough to convince you to enter the exciting world of the spoken books.
You can select a vast range of audio books from the following categories:
Arts & Drama Biography Business Crime & Thrillers Fiction Foreign Language Study Health & Recreation History Humor Juvenile Misc Radio Shows Religion & Spiritual Self Help TV & Film!
To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer attractive commissions, you can visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
Benefit From 50 Books Each Year… Without Having To Create Extra Time To Read It
I didn’t believe it the first time I heard a friend of mine say – “I benefit from the reading of 50 books each year… in my spare time”.
Knowing how demanding her time was because of her top position in her job and because she is a single mom, I was certain she was lying and I told her so.
Smiling, she insisted that it was the truth. I would have continued arguing with her until she pointed out to me that she didn’t have to physically “read” them, but they were “read” to her while she listened… in her spare time.
Not giving me any opportunity to argue, she went ahead and played an audio book on her CD player for my perusal.
She explained that this was how she had almost any book she wanted read to her as audio books while she prepared for work in the morning, while she prepared her daughter for school, while she did her exercises each day, while she commuted to and from work and any free time she had on hands that didn’t involve using her mind.
I was surprised, to say the least, that I could have been doing the same thing in my spare time, instead of just commuting to and from work doing nothing.
You see, my work is one that requires a lot of my time involvement. I have to leave home quite early, spend over an hour on the road because of the constant heavy traffic and when I get to work, I work all day until break time and closing time.
From what this friend of mine explained to me, I knew I had to give audio books a try.
I did and was very impressed.
Now, I can proudly say I also benefit from the reading of up to 50 books each year.
Still don’t think it’s possible?
Fine, let’s do the math:
For an audio book that takes 4 hours, you can have it read to you in just two days – 1 hour each day while preparing for work in the morning and 1 hour each day while commuting to and from work. That’s 4 hours in 2 days.
So, if it takes you 2 days to have one audio book read to you, that will be 365 days in a year divided by 2. That will equal about 133 books each year!
That’s over double the original 50 audio books we were targeting, right?
Audio books are indeed the secret formula that many people use to get the value from the best books they want to read. With audio books, you can forget the frustration you always had whenever you force yourself to read any book.
For the bookworms back in college that want to continue reading but can’t afford the time anymore, you now have a solution in audio books.
Whether you want to use your PC, cassette tape player, CD or even any PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), it is now possible and within your reach for peanuts.
To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit http://www.merlionaudio.com
If you are interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer attractive commissions, you can visit http://www.merlionaudio.com