The ease of access and the availability of audiobooks have increased dramatically over the recent years. The potential to reach more readers and have increased sales is too critical for you as a writer not to explore. In his article, Audiobook Statistics by Market Size, Sales and Demographics, Pramrod Pawar of Coolest-Gadgets.com states: 

In 2022, audiobook sales in the United States generated over USD 1.81 billion.The number of US adults listening to audiobooks has more than doubled in the past 10 years.Younger people are more likely to consume audiobooks, with 57% of Americans under 50 listening to audiobooks in 2021.Mystery and Thriller are the top genres, enjoyed by 55% of listeners.Science Fiction and Fantasy are also popular, with 48% of listeners enjoying these genres.

On a personal note, as a new author, I never thought I could have an audiobook version of my book. The investment costs and finding quality talent were quite daunting. However, when I took the plunge and started the ball rolling, I found the whole experience very rewarding and valuable. My story became a “play inside my mind” when I listened to the audio version for the first time. The Elude series is my best-selling books and I credit the audio version for the reason why!

So first, you create your account on ACX.com (a division of Amazon.com). Then you’ll need to “Claim Your Title” which is a button found at the bottom of the screen. You can use your book’s title, your author name, or the ISBN to bring up your book. From the list provided, you should then be able to see and select your book.

Decision #1: Are you going to work with a narrator or use previously recorded files. 

Here you will need to decide if you are open to getting narrator auditions or if you want to go with a known narrator (someone you have already contacted and worked out an agreement for them to do your story) OR if you have narrated the story yourself and already have a prepared file. ACX does have very specific requirements and quality expectations. (Here is the link to those standard expectations.) Be sure to review those and match them before submitting your story for Quality approval.

Decision #2: what kind of narrator do you want?

ACX has literally thousands of voice actors waiting to audition and willing to work hard on your story. To narrow down the list, they have filters for genre, language, accent, voice age, vocal style, and location. These will help you to select the few actors you want to reach out to directly. I’d recommend maybe a dozen to start. You will also get auditions sent to you if you want. 

Decision #3: what kind of financing amount are you willing to invest in the project?

One other key aspect you’ll want to determine is how you want to pay for the narrator’s service. Professional narrators can charge $200 to 400 per recorded hour upfront. One recorded hour is around 9,000 words. If you cannot afford that, another possibility is what is called Royalty Share. Amazon decides on the total sale price of the audiobook and then takes 60% of the retail price. The remaining 40% royalty is then split between you and the narrator for each sale. When you filter for narrators, you can set it to show only Royalty Share, Royalty Share Plus (narrators who will share the royalties as before but want a little extra upfront too), or Pay Per Hour Costs (ranging from $50 to $1000 per hour). 

Decision #4: working through the auditions and finding the right voice for your story.

It is very important you find the right person to tell your story. I know I have stopped listening to a story if I didn’t like the voice. Many other readers will too. The voice captures the reader’s attention and brings the story to life in a whole new way. You will get all sorts of types of actors and auditions. I have even gotten auditions read with very heavy accents or even “broken English” which is not at all what I was looking for. Be kind, be tactful, but be honest and know what you want. Once the recording is finished and published, it is extremely difficult to get corrections or changes made!  

Decision #5: determine due dates of the 15-min sample and when the final recording is due.

Once you have contacted the narrator that you like and they have agreed to do the project, you will send them a business contract through ACX. It will stipulate the payment plan and the due dates. Normally, I give the narrator one to three months to produce the recording based on the size of the project. The 15-minute sample is a recording the narrator will make and send to you showcasing their tone, pacing, accents, etc. This is a binding business contract but if I have a good relationship with the narrator, I will give them leeway for personal events like illness or other life disruptions. If you rush or pressure the narrator, it could impact the quality of the production. Should you and the narrator have any serious issues or conflicts, you can contact ACX Support to end the contract and stop the production. It is a hassle so be sure you really want to go that route. 

Decision #6: Approve and submit to Audible for their approval. Carefully review the audio files listening for mistakes, word omits, mispronunciations, file recording glitches. The narrator can send you the work chapter by chapter or they may send it all at once. I like to review as they go in order to stop errors from being repeated throughout the book (i.e. mispronounced names, etc). The narrator is expected to read and perform the writing as closely as possible. To reach a bigger audience, some readers look for a feature called Sync (formerly Whispersync) which allows a reader to go from listening to Audible to reading in Kindle and then back to Audible without losing their place in the book. That feature requires the narrator to be at least 96% accurate. 

Of course, there may be other considerations and/or minor decisions you will have to make during this process, but I hope I have taken away some of the mystery and fog hiding this key market from new writers. It’s been a great addition to my work and helped me reach even more readers.