Audiobooks are the fastest-growing segment in publishing and increasingly, a welcome extra revenue for authors and publishers alike. In this interview, Michele Cobb from the Audiobook Publishers Association talks about the expansion of the market as well as tips for marketing audio. In the introduction, I talk about Ingram Spark's Catalog Integrity Announcement which included AI-generated material [Ingram Spark blog], and extra comment on the Alliance of Independent Author's blog; plus the death of Clive Cussler, a hero of action-adventure writers. I also mention I'll be speaking at the Slow Business Adventure in Norway, Sept 2020 and the Superstars of Writing conference in Colorado Springs, Feb 2021. Today's show is sponsored by my book, Audio for Authors: Audiobooks, Podcasting and Voice Technologies, available (from 6 March 2020) in ebook, paperback, large print, hardback and audiobook editions. Michele Cobb is the executive director of the Audio Publishers Association, the publisher of AudioFile magazine, and a consultant for the audiobook business at Forte Business Consulting. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and full transcript below. Show Notes * Was 2019 the tipping point for audiobooks and podcasting? * The shift in listenership and why people listen rather than ‘read' text * The growing global reach of audiobooks * The different types of works available in addition to books * Thoughts on how AI will affect audiobooks and the narration industry in English-speaking markets as well as abroad * The subscription model for audiobooks * Tips for marketing audiobooks * What makes for an award-winning audiobook? You can find Michele Cobb at AudioPub.org. Transcript of Interview with Michele Cobb on Audiobooks Joanna: Michele Cobb is the executive director of the Audio Publishers Association, the publisher of AudioFile magazine, and a consultant for the audiobook business. Welcome, Michelle. Michelle: Hi. Glad to be here. Joanna: It's great to have you on the show. Tell us a bit more about you, because you are one busy lady, and also how you got into the audiobook business. Why do you love audio so much? Michelle: It's funny because I actually came from the world of theater and I used to travel around and direct plays and I would be on the road a lot. So I started to become an audiobook listener. When I moved to Los Angeles, I got connected with a company called L.A. Theater Works that records plays in front of an audience and then makes them available on audio as an audiobook. I became the resident expert in audiobooks for that company and I got stolen away by the BBC and have been in the industry now for 20 years.