At the end of the day, you’ve got two different options. Either produce the book yourself or pay someone else to do it. If you do it yourself, you’re going to need to pull out all the stops. I’m talking outlining, writing, narrating, cover art etc. You’ll also need to invest in mic’s, headphones, and software. Honestly, most people who buy the Mikkelsen twins’ course don’t go this route.
All that said, if you wanna go at this yourself you’ll be looking at about $700 for all that stuff. But it doesn’t end there. Most people don’t realize that once they’re done making it that they’re not done spending. See you need sales right? Audible isn’t gonna make you the number one recommendation overnight, you gotta start running ads to convert sales and that can take thousands of dollars each month additionally.
Then, if you want to turn that audiobook into an ebook, a paperback, or something else and sell it on Amazon or elsewhere, guess what? More software, tools, promotion, and money are all on the table. If you’re handy, you can come up with a solution. You could always team up with someone who has all the resources and a lot of self-publishing expertise and ask them to assist you in exchange for a percentage of the profits. However, A) getting someone to agree to this is difficult, and B) if it fails, it will cost you far more in the long run than DIYing it from the start.
The most likely scenario is that you’ll spend two grand on a course like AIA, learn everything there is to know, and then outsource everything. As a result, you’ll need to engage a ghostwriter to create the book (which will be turned into an audiobook). That’s a lot of money. Then, to narrate the entire thing, you’ll need to employ a professional voice over performer. It’s also rather costly. After that, you’ll have to pay for cover art. Although not particularly costly, every dollar matters, right?
In all, a completely done-for-you audiobook (that’s actually quality) will probably cost roughly $400 multiplied by the length of your book (in hours). So, for those mathematicians out there, if you wanted to generate a 10-hour audiobook, you’re looking at a total cost of around four grand. When you add it to the course fee, you’ve reached the four-figure mark. Not to mention a little extra for converting it to different formats. And a little to a lot more for marketing and advertising, right?
Honestly I don’t hate this business model. I’m just giving you a realistic run down of what to expect cost wise if you want to be successful. The only thing I really just don’t like is how easy the Mikkelsen Twins try to make Publishing Life look. And if my numbers are right, I believe they are, then you could be fighting hard just to get your money back from the thing. But I suppose if you make a truly quality audiobook, you’ll be just fine.
