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Why none of my books are available on Audible

doctorow.medium.com

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Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#31

Post by BugsJustFindMe »

Agingcoder wrote: post #22

Tangential question (and a serious one, since I'm pretty much baffled by the whole thing) : I don't use audiobooks, since I find them 'slow'. Why do people listen to them instead of reading books? Is it because, say, listening to one while driving is better than not being able to read since you have no time to do so? Or is there a specific pleasure in listening to a book read by someone else?

> I don't use audiobooks, since I find them 'slow'.

Audiobook players all have speed controls that let you make them go faster.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#32

Post by bikingbismuth »

Agingcoder wrote: post #22

Tangential question (and a serious one, since I'm pretty much baffled by the whole thing) : I don't use audiobooks, since I find them 'slow'. Why do people listen to them instead of reading books? Is it because, say, listening to one while driving is better than not being able to read since you have no time to do so? Or is there a specific pleasure in listening to a book read by someone else?

There a lot of times in my day when I can listen to a book (commuting, chores, taking a walk), but not as many when I can sit for a decent amount of time and read (usually around bed time). I do both, and on balance I slightly prefer actually reading myself, but I don’t think of listening to a book as a lesser experience.

There are books that are enhanced by a great narrator (Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson) or the author gives a bit of extra info/context while reading (Good to Great by Jim Collins).

Also, Audible has a huge selection of “Great Courses”, which are lectures from professors. Obviously, they aren’t as rigorous as a real college class, but I love being able to listen to 12ish hours of lecture about something I find interesting.

I listen to books at 1.2-1.5 speed depending on the narrator and topic, so that helps to not feel “slowed down”.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#33

Post by tomjen3 »

Agingcoder wrote: post #22

Tangential question (and a serious one, since I'm pretty much baffled by the whole thing) : I don't use audiobooks, since I find them 'slow'. Why do people listen to them instead of reading books? Is it because, say, listening to one while driving is better than not being able to read since you have no time to do so? Or is there a specific pleasure in listening to a book read by someone else?

You can play them at faster than normal speed in the audible player, but I have to ask you a question, do you also find movies slow?

For my personal use, I tend to do podcasts/audiobooks in my car and sometimes when doing chores around the apartment. I can't read while I am driving or vacuuming, but neither takes much mental capacity.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#34

Post by m4lvin »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #13

I missed the call to action. Is there an alternative store the author recommends? A policy cure? Or is this a pure problem statement? (Which is fine.)

Cory is sometimes crowdfounding his audiobooks, see the campaign for "Attack Surface" some time ago.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#35

Post by Mordisquitos »

failrate wrote: post #8
Mordisquitos wrote: post #7

I very much agree with him regarding DRM, and I understand why it puts him off launching audiobooks on Audible. Still, it is worth commenting that there are trivial ways to remove DRM from Audible files. I myself do it to my own collection, partly out of "lockout prevention", and partly so that I can listen to the books using apps that I find infinitely more covenient and feature rich than Audible's own (shout-out to…

It is trivial for you, but it is impossible for most audiobook listeners. Most people do not have the same computer wherewithal as us.

Yes, that is why I suggest making the explanation and process more readily available. Non-tech savvy users who already care about the problems of DRM should kmow it is possible to remove it, and ideally have access to a user-friendly way to do it. On the other hand, those who don't even know what DRM is or why it matters may get greater exposure to the issue.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#36

Post by icyfox »

Audible has some flagrant dark patterns in their design for consumers as well. While you _could_ buy independent audiobooks at cost, their most popular model is to subscribe to a monthly membership where you earn one credit a month. This monthly credit can buy any audio book.

The dig comes if you decide you have too many credits cached. Perhaps because you can't get through one audiobook a month. If you cancel a subscription for an account with remaining credits, you'll lose all your credits. Your choice is to either spend them all at once or keep your account active and keep paying the monthly fee while hoping to eventually pay down the credit debt enough to cancel.

The only thing that's compared in my experience is for Adobe Stock.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#37

Post by rapind »

exotree wrote: post #14

“ My agent tells me that if I’d been willing to set aside my ethics and allow Audible to slap DRM on my books, I’d have made enough money to pay off my mortgage and save enough to pay for my kid’s entire college education. That’s a price I’m willing to pay.” I have to be honest and say… I think I would be very frustrated with my spouse if this principle cost us so much potential financial freedom in other parts of ou…

I'm guessing Cory Doctorow's spouse knew what she was getting into. For all you know, it might have been her idea to eschew Audible. Plus she sold a company to Disney, so they're probably fine financially. Cory's mortgage reference was probably less reality and more just to illustrate a point.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#38

Post by shaky-carrousel »

ChildOfChaos wrote: post #30
itsoktocry wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think I would be very frustrated with my spouse if this principle cost us so much potential financial freedom in other parts of our lives. This mindset is a driving force behind our corrupt politics: sacrificing morals for money.

It’s not really a big deal though is it? this person is just being a little weird and stubborn about this. Audible members know what they are getting and choose to do so. Audible DRM is not a big deal, just use this Audible app, some of the arguments made in this article are invalid.

It is a big deal for some of us, author included. And you are being a bit rude by disregarding our opinion like that.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#39

Post by jiggunjer »

idontwantthis wrote: post #12
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

99% of scams work because the scammee didn’t do due diligence. “Why wouldn’t you check property records to see if the person renting you that sweet apartment actually owns it?” Sounds like common sense yet people fall for this scam all the time.

Because most people do check and a scam only occurs if one person doesn’t.

At the very least you'd check their ID so the police has something to go on. And don't pay cash.

Re: Why none of my books are available on Audible

#40

Post by tomohawk »

exotree wrote: post #14

“ My agent tells me that if I’d been willing to set aside my ethics and allow Audible to slap DRM on my books, I’d have made enough money to pay off my mortgage and save enough to pay for my kid’s entire college education. That’s a price I’m willing to pay.” I have to be honest and say… I think I would be very frustrated with my spouse if this principle cost us so much potential financial freedom in other parts of ou…

I'm glad my spouse would be unhappy with me if I sold my integrity for money. It makes for a great marriage, knowing we have each others backs and will be loyal to one another and can count on one another.
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