Beyerdynamic M201 vs Shure MV7

i'd spend the extra cash on better mics. forget the 'cheap kick mic' and '57 clone' and by better mics. some examples in your budget: Beyerdynamic m201, Beyerdynamic m88, Electro Voice RE320, Warm Audio 47jr. If you want to stick to recording yourself then in the long run you will have way more from better mics than an external preamp or other ourboard stuff

Also, if you don't already have jobs reading audiobooks, a very cheap setup isn't going to get you any, especially paid jobs. Taking a job just because it is willing to pay is also hurting the entire economy in the long run, as the value per recording drops significantly if you agree to an extremely low pay. You should be charging ideally X amount up to X amount of words, and then an additional fee per word, per rewrite. You shouldn't be doing a book for less than a few hundred dollars