In conversation with Katie Cross: Self-narration, smart marketing, and letting readers lead

Katie Cross, a beloved YA author, made a name for herself with thrilling tales of dragons, witches, and magic. From her expansive fantasy world, Alkarra, to her stand-alone contemporary romances, Katie’s built a devoted following by meeting her readers wherever they prefer to consume stories—on page, screen, or audio.

Few authors can speak to the audiobook journey quite like Katie. Having narrated many of her own stories and found success distributing her work on Spotify, she's experienced every aspect of bringing books from page to playback.

We sat down with Katie to chat about her evolution from author to narrator, how she uses Spotify data to make strategic decisions, and the creative ways she markets her audiobooks to reach new listeners.

Finding her voice: Katie’s path to self-narration

Katie had already dipped her toes into audio publishing, working with professional narrators to bring a handful of her books to listeners. The positive response from her fans convinced Katie that her entire catalog deserved the audio treatment. But with 30 titles to produce, the traditional route of working with third-party narrators was creating inconsistent timelines and unpredictable releases.

This uncertainty was impacting Katie’s relationship with fans. The turning point came when she asked them a simple question: “What would you improve about my company?” Her audiobook listeners were clear: “We never know if or when we’re going to get the book.”

“A lot of people were asking if I'd ever narrate, and I was like, no. But I realized that in order to create trust and consistency, I had to launch in audio. If I didn't have audio, there was this giant market that was doubling year over year, and I was going to be left behind. So I decided to start narrating on my own.”

So Katie decided to take control of the process herself. “A lot of people were asking if I'd ever narrate, and I was like, no. But I realized that in order to create trust and consistency, I had to launch in audio,” she recalls. “If I didn't have audio, there was this giant market that was doubling year over year, and I was going to be left behind. So I decided to start narrating on my own.”

Learning the ropes

Katie didn’t step into the world of self-narration free of doubts. By her own admission, she had to “work through a lot of mindset issues” around listening to her own voice. Still, she marched on, and her journey from author to narrator began.

Since she had no previous experience, Katie invested in a voice acting course and hired a professional voice actor as a mentor. Together, they developed a streamlined process that would become her foundation for years to come.

"What I want to do is step into my booth, record, send you the files, you make them pretty, send them back to me, and we're done," she told her mentor. "I just want to do that over and over and over again. I just want this to be really consistent."

That consistency paid off in two ways. Not only did she catch up on her entire back catalog within a year, but she also transformed her publishing strategy moving forward. Thanks to a shorter audiobook production process, Katie is now able to release a new novel simultaneously across all formats—ebook, paperback, and audio. So from the get-go, her readers have the freedom to choose how they want to experience her latest stories.

The narration process has even improved her writing. "It's a wonderful final check for me, too, because I have to see every single word in the book narrating it out loud," she explains. "Then I get to really act out and bring to life the characters in the story the way I've seen it in my head."

Today, Katie maintains a library of character voices for her fantasy series to ensure consistency across books. She records snippets of each character’s accent and keeps them in a project folder for safekeeping. “If I haven't said that character in a year, I can go to my audio library and listen to a snippet of their voice and be able to replicate that,” she explains.

What started as a solution to inconsistent releases has become one of her favorite parts of the creation process. While Katie admits she was “super nervous and insecure” at the beginning, she’s glad she took that step—especially because she’s able to bring stories to readers who wouldn’t otherwise experience them.

“I love giving it to them because it's more fun for them to have the author narrate it and bring life and experience to it. So it becomes this whole passion.”

A particularly heartwarming anecdote relates to one of her fantasy characters who loses her sight and remains blind for ten books. “I have a lot of blind readers who follow me because of her. And I had a lot of blind people come in to be sensitivity readers, and they've brought other blind readers into my world. And I love giving it to them because it's more fun for them to have the author narrate it and bring life and experience to it. So it becomes this whole passion.“

Katie reassures her fellow authors that the monetary investment isn’t as high as they might believe. In fact, her recording studio isn't a state-of-the-art facility—it's her closet, surrounded by clothes that actually help with sound dampening. "I think I did it for less than $2,000," she shares. "And I haven't ever had to upgrade it. It's phenomenal. I just go in and record and come back out, and my microphone just stays right where it's at."

Audiobook marketing that moves

Katie’s marketing philosophy is refreshingly straightforward: consistency builds trust. "What I noticed is that readers buy when they think that things are predictable, and then things feel safe, and they feel like they can trust my schedule," she explains.

Katie walks us through her approach to audiobook marketing: community building that spans platforms, and promotional tactics that think outside the conventional marketing box.

Katie’s marketing efforts extend across multiple platforms, but her email list remains the backbone of her business. "It’s my bread and butter," she says. "In terms of what makes me money, it's my email list for sure." Consistency is the name of the game here, as readers know to expect updates every Friday, often followed by news on Sundays.

Promotional emails, like launches, are a staple. But Katie also uses this channel to involve her readers in the audiobook production process or the stories themselves. “For example, we're running a Kickstarter, so I sent out a message and just said, I'm going to write a free short story that anyone who backs the Kickstarter gets. These are the four topics, vote for which one you want.”

As far as social media goes, Katie tailors her approach to play to each platform’s strengths. Facebook is ideal for authors to create dedicated groups where they can interact directly with their fans. Katie’s group, aptly named "The Witchery," is a prime example of a thriving author-reader ecosystem. The engagement runs so deep that her readers have even created their own Messenger chat, connecting fans from Australia to Guatemala, and Canada to the UK.

Members of “The Witchery” also enjoy exclusive content, which further builds a sense of community and rewards their engagement. As Katie explains, “people in the Facebook group get videos no one else does. There are videos that I put in “The Witchery” that I don't put on the Facebook page or my personal profile. So they are welcomed in, and they get special content for being in that group together.”

“When I record, I'll just do it live on TikTok so people can listen to me, and then they get to be part of the audiobook process, which is so fun.”

Then there’s TikTok and YouTube. The latter is Katie’s sampling station, hosting the first 10 chapters of her audiobooks with links to the full versions. Meanwhile, TikTok is her virtual recording booth, where she offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of her narration process. "When I record, I'll just do it live on TikTok so people can listen to me, and then they get to be part of the audiobook process, which is so fun," she explains.

Readers as decision-makers

One thing we were curious about was whether Katie had any unorthodox marketing tactics to share. Her answer might surprise a lot of fellow authors: she brings readers into the fold and lets them drive major business decisions.

This "guided decision-making," as Katie calls it, goes deeper than just casual feedback. For instance, in the beginning, not all of her audiobooks were self-narrated. So when the time came to select voice actors, she experimented with putting the final choice in her readers' hands. "I had my assistant go through and pick her top five, and then I would listen to the top five and pick my top three. And then we would have the readers vote, because they’re the ones that are going to listen. So they can tell me which choices they like the best."

“It's my business, it's my creation. And while that's true, people buy what they want. And so when you actually give them what they want, they buy, and you make more sales.”

While some authors might balk at giving readers this much input, Katie sees it differently. "It's my business, it's my creation. And while that's true, people buy what they want. And so when you actually give them what they want, they buy, and you make more sales."

Far from finding it overwhelming, Katie says this approach actually simplifies her work. "People think it's a hard, scary thing, but it actually takes so much stress off of you. It's a decision you don't have to make," she concludes.

How Spotify supports Katie’s audiobook strategy

When Spotify announced its acquisition of Findaway Voices, Katie knew it would be a game-changer for authors everywhere. "I was really excited because it just seemed like an instant audio expander," she shares.

A few months in, Katie has already fallen in love with the demographic data available in Findaway Voices (and now available in Spotify for Authors for eligible users). This data helps shape Katie’s strategy in surprising ways. “I can see where in the world my listeners are, which helps me bring more specific targeting for advertising my books in general,” she explains.

"In terms of sheer platform size, the opportunities and visibility that come from being on Spotify alone are above and beyond anything else I see. There's no doubt in my mind that Spotify is one of my favorite top places for audiobooks to go. I feel like they're invested in my success as much as I'm invested in my success."

But the impact goes beyond just numbers and insights. "In terms of sheer platform size, the opportunities and visibility that come from being on Spotify alone are above and beyond anything else I see," she reflects. "There's no doubt in my mind that Spotify is one of my favorite top places for audiobooks to go. I feel like they're invested in my success as much as I'm invested in my success."

Learn more about how Spotify amplifies your author voice.