Buy the Audiobook for Unclutter Your Life in One Week without DRM

Unclutter Your Life in One Week - AudiobookThree years ago, the first printing of my book Unclutter Your Life in One Week hit bookstores. Since then, I have been working to get an audio version of the book available for purchase. My publisher passed on doing one, so I had to wait for the audio rights to revert back to me and then finance it myself to make it happen. After receiving some help from an amazing group of people, I’m am extremely pleased to report it’s finally available:

Since I’m in control of this arm of the project, I have decided to release the audio version of the book in a bit of a non-traditional way. My hope in doing this is to make purchasing and listening to it a truly enjoyable experience across the board.

First, it means that anyone in the world with access to PayPal can buy the audiobook. If the print version hasn’t been available in your country, this is no longer an issue for you if you have a PayPal account or can use their credit card payment function.

Second, there is no DRM on the file, so you can listen to it on as many media devices as you choose. However, it also means you could give it away to someone for free. I’m asking you to please not share the audiobook with anyone outside of your household. As I mentioned previously, I financed this audiobook personally. I spent thousands of dollars on voice talent (the incredible Bhama Roget), a professional recording studio (Cedar House Audio), editing, the server space to house the files, the creative designer to make the cover for the audiobook, etc. I need to sell hundreds of copies of this audiobook to even recoup my costs. I’m not complaining — as I very eagerly took on this expense — I’m just requesting that you please respect what we have created and pay for the audiobook if you plan to listen to it.

Third, speaking of price, I was able to set this since I decided not to go through Audible for distribution. This means the audiobook is currently priced at a fraction of what it would have been otherwise. The $8.99 price is a special sale price that will exist until January 31, 2013. After that date, the price will increase a dollar. (Most audiobooks entering the market on Audible are in the $20 to $30 range, and often require an ongoing monthly subscription.) The price of the audiobook also includes the PDF worksheets, which I couldn’t do with the print or digital versions of the book.

Finally, I was able to ensure the audiobook includes the full text. It is unabridged and just shy of being six full hours in length. This means it’s a little weird in a couple places where the charts are read word-for-word, but I know we have numerous Unclutterer community members who have visual impairments and I didn’t want them to miss out any parts of the book. And, if you are sighted, the PDF worksheets contain a visual representation of those charts for you to reference.

Again, I am truly delighted to be able to offer the audio version of Unclutter Your Life in One Week for sale. If you purchase it — and thank YOU so much if you do! — I hope you enjoy the book and Ms. Roget’s reading of it. I think the finished product is truly top notch.



14 comments posted

  1. Posted by ninakk - 11/02/2012

    Congrats! What a nice project to finish, if it’s been cooking for so long. I already have the printed version but hopefully this one will be very successful.

  2. Posted by Jennifer - 11/02/2012

    At the risk of asking a silly question – what is the difference between the two formats? If I’m listening on an Apple device should I purchase the Lossless version?

  3. Posted by PJ Doland - 11/02/2012

    You should be able to use the MP3 version on just about any type of device. They’re encoded at 64 kbps, which is a pretty high bitrate for spoken-word audio.

    The Apple Lossless version is higher quality. In fact, it’s the exact quality you would get if you were buying a physical CD. The drawback is that the Apple Lossless files are much larger than the MP3 versions. You can play the Apple Lossless files on Apple devices or transcode them for use on other devices.

  4. Posted by Tracy G - 11/02/2012

    Very excited I purchased the book awhile back from ereader however they no longer have an iphone/ipad app so unable to read it and stanza support was stopped with the previous os update. If anyone has any ideas on how to read these books without ereader/stanza I would love to hear it.

  5. Posted by Chris Guillebeau - 11/02/2012

    Congrats on getting this out to the world! I love the DIY approach – hope you sell a million.

  6. Posted by Tammy H - 11/03/2012

    I just wanted to thank you for keeping the sight impaired in mind. I have several family members who are blind, and I will be some day, so I always appreciate when this demographic is remembered and included. Thanks! I will be purchasing soon!

  7. Posted by Renaud - 11/04/2012

    Hello Erin, I usually like audio books when they are read by their Author. I feel it adds to the book, since you are not getting someone to read words he/she has not writtenbut the Author, who has carefully crafted the words, paragraphs and chapters.

    Anyway, just got the lossless version. Excellent idea. Is there by the way another book in preparation?

    Kind regards from France

  8. Posted by Erin Doland - 11/04/2012

    @Renaud — It was my intention to read the book on the audio version. Then I went into the studio. After that failed miserably, I decided, along with everyone involved with the project, that I should hire a voice actress. Maybe one day I’ll have the skills to be audiobook voice talent … but as of today, I do not possess those skills.

  9. Posted by WilliamB - 11/05/2012

    Kudos to you for the choices you made, including no DRM (and the plea re distribution). Thank you.

  10. Posted by Barbara - 11/11/2012

    Echoing all the kudos on the choices you made, especially having the self-awareness to hire a professional to read. There’s nothing worse than listening to an author who SHOULD have made that choice, but didn’t. Looking forward to hearing this in my car on the way to work, and planning my week off in December!

  11. Posted by Deb R - 02/07/2013

    Can this audio book be used on my cd player or computer?

  12. Posted by Erin Doland - 02/07/2013

    @Deb R — You download it to your computer, unzip it, and then you can transfer it to whatever device you want that plays compatible files.

  13. Posted by April - 02/16/2013

    Perhaps this is slightly off topic, but where did you find those desks (on the audiobook cover)?

  14. Posted by PJ Doland - 02/16/2013

    All that furniture is available from Herman Miller, who graciously allowed us to use that photo. The desk is a George Nelson design. You can find more information here:

    http://store.hermanmiller.com/.....g-Leg-Desk

Subscribe to this entry's comments

Post a comment