Creating Audiobooks on ACX: A Practical Guide

You wrote the book, congratulations! You handled publishing, built a readership, maybe even landed on a bestseller list or two. But if your work only exists in print or as an eBook, there's a whole audience you're not reaching... yet.

The audiobook market is growing faster than any other format in publishing. Millions of people listen to books during commutes, workouts, and downtime. In fact, per 2024 consumer data from the Audio Publishers Association, more than half of the US population age 18 or older has listened to an audiobook. If you want to reach them, producing your audiobooks through ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) is a great way to do so.

What Is ACX?

ACX is a free service from Audible that connects authors and rights holders with narrators and audiobook producers. You provide the manuscript; they provide the voice. Once production wraps, your titles are made available for sale on Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. Did you know that almost a third of all audiobooks in the Audible catalog are ACX titles?

Getting Started Is Simple!

The process looks like this:

1. Create a free account at ACX.com and claim your title. You'll need to hold the audio rights, and your book must be available as an eBook on Amazon.

2. Set up your project by adding a description, selecting your genre, and uploading a short audition script (a few pages that showcase your book's tone and characters).

3. Find your narrator or produce the audiobook yourself. You can browse ACX's marketplace of thousands of producers or open your project to auditions and let narrators come to you. Listen to samples, review profiles, and choose the voice that fits your vision. If you don’t want to hire a narrator our DIY option was built just for authors like you!

4. Collaborate on production. You'll approve the first 15 minutes, provide feedback along the way, and give final approval on the completed audiobook before it’s published.

5. Go live. Once approved, your audiobook hits retail shelves within about two weeks.

   
   

Flexible Production Options

There are two main ways to pay your narrator:

• Pay-for-Production (PFH): You pay your narrator a negotiated per-finished-hour rate upfront. Your royalty rate is 50% with exclusive distribution.

• Royalty Share: No upfront cost. You and your producer each receive a share of royalties at a combined 50% rate evenly for a 7-year contract term. This is a good option for authors on a tight budget, but it does require exclusive distribution.

• DIY: Once you claim your eBook, you simply upload finished audio, and your royalty rate is 50% with exclusive distribution.

  
  

For Pay-for-Production or DIY titles you may also choose non-exclusive distribution at a 30% royalty rate, which allows you to sell your audiobook on additional sites outside of Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books.

Why Audio Matters for Your Author Brand

An audiobook isn't only a new income source. It's also a discovery tool. Audiobook listeners often find authors they'd never encounter through text alone. Read + Listen lets readers switch between your Kindle edition and the audio version, which keeps them engaged longer. 

Ready to Take the Leap?

Head to ACX.com to set up a free account and look around. The process is straightforward, and you might be surprised how quickly you can get your book into listeners' ears.