A Multi-tasking Writer’s Best Friend!

By Morgan Tarpley Smith

I think you will agree with me that - while I’m very grateful for the 24 hours that God gives me each day - there are just too many things that are left undone. There are always more things to do around the house, for work, with friends and family and with my writing to have much leisurely time to do much anything else.

So I’ve been faced with quite the conundrum for some time now. As an amateur novelist, how do I follow the advice of countless other authors to read, read and read some more… If my days were already crammed full with other responsibilities, how in the world will I read? 

Then, I made a discovery that I feel like I should have realized years ago. And since that breakthrough a few years ago I’ve been able to read dozens and dozens of books with my prior average being about one to two a month. I’d feel so bad for my ever-growing TBR pile, and the answer to this dilemma is now on my phone in an app and what I call a multi-tasking writer’s best friend—audiobooks!

I didn’t know about Audible until I saw an ad for it on Amazon.com and checked it out. I signed up for a free one month trial membership, got hooked and now I’m a proud and very happy member! It’s quite the bargain in my opinion at $14.95 US per month (which includes an audiobook credit a month), and the rest are heavily discounted. There are also several other plan options as well.

Plus the added bonus is that since it’s an Amazon company if I order a paperback or Kindle edition of certain qualifying books then I can get that book as an audiobook for under $5. There is also an email update you can sign up for through the site that sends you a notice to what the Audible Daily Deal is for that day.

For optimum use of Audible, I downloaded the Audible app to my iPhone as well as downloaded the audiobooks straight to my iTunes account. It really couldn’t be easier. And once I’ve downloaded my audiobooks to the app I use my iPhone to listen to the books. I plug up my headphones, slide the device into my pocket and get cleaning or organizing. It turns tedious tasks into dually productive ones, and I can’t imagine how I’d get by with reading more books per month without using this service.

Of course, there are many other options for listening to audiobooks besides Audible.com and CDs, so here are a few to investigate:

http://websearch.about.com/od/booksandprintedmaterials/tp/Free-Audio-Books-The-Best-Ten-Websites.htm

https://www.scribd.com/audiobooks-join?source=google&medium=cpc&campaign=Audiobooks+-+US&adgroup=General&keyword=Audio%20books

http://www.audiobooks.com/learn_more

http://www.loyalbooks.com/

http://www.audiobooks.org/

https://www.youtube.com/user/audiobooksfree

Do you enjoy listening to audiobooks? If so, do you use another audiobook source like Audible? Do you use audiobooks to multi-task?

Morgan Tarpley Smith

Morgan Tarpley Smith is an award-winning newspaper reporter and photographer in Louisiana. She is also an inspirational adult and middle grade novelist. 

Besides writing and traveling to over a dozen countries, her interests include acting, genealogy, photography, and essential oils (Facebook:Pura Vida Louisiana). She resides in Louisiana with her husband and is expecting their first child in 2018.  For more information about Morgan, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.