How to Make an Audiobook: 6 Steps for Self-Published Authors

This guide walks through each step for authors who self-publish, with ACX’s exact audio specs, the 2026 royalty changes and a calculator for how long your book will take. If you’d rather hand it over, our audiobook recording add-on finds the narrator and delivers finished files.

The 6 steps at a glance

Step 1: Check your audio rights and prepare the script

Audio rights are separate from ebook and print rights. If you self-published and never signed the audio rights to anyone, they’re yours, unless a co-author, ghostwriter or license agreement says otherwise. If a publisher released any edition of the book, check your contract before you record, because the audio rights may be theirs.

Then prepare the script: the final, edited text of the book. Fix errors now, because a correction after recording means re-recording the line. Mark names and unusual words with a pronunciation note, and decide what to leave out, such as page references, image captions and tables that don’t work when read aloud.

The copyright in your text stays with you; who owns the recording depends on your narrator contract, so get it in writing. For the rights lines in the print and ebook editions, see our copyright page template.

Step 2: Choose who narrates: you, a narrator or a digital voice

Hiring a narrator through ACX. ACX, Audible’s audiobook platform, lets you post your book for auditions and pay a narrator in one of two ways: a flat fee per finished hour, or a royalty share where the narrator (ACX calls them the producer) takes an equal share of your royalty instead of a fee. Royalty share needs exclusive distribution.

Digital voice rules, as of October 2026:

• ACX requires a human narrator “unless otherwise authorized.”
• Amazon’s Virtual Voice turns a live Kindle ebook into an audiobook for free, but it’s an invite-only beta, the audiobook sells only in the US, and it pays a 40% royalty.
• Apple Books offers free digital narration through three partners (Draft2Digital, Ingram CoreSource and PublishDrive) for English ebooks already on Apple Books. Sign-ups aren’t always open, and production takes one to two months.
• Google Play Books auto-narration is still a beta and free while it lasts.
• Spotify for Authors accepts AI-narrated audiobooks but doesn’t pass them on to its partner stores, and Voices by INaudio accepts them only from approved tools (Google Play Books, ElevenLabs and Spoken Press) and only for stores that take it.

Step 3: Set up a quiet space to record

You don’t need a professional studio, but the room matters more than the microphone. A small room full of soft things, such as a closet of clothes, absorbs the echo that makes home recordings sound hollow.

A basic home setup:

• A microphone made for voice (a USB microphone is simplest), with a pop filter in front of it.
• Closed-back headphones, so you hear mistakes as you record.
• Recording software, such as Audacity (free), GarageBand (free on Mac) or Adobe Audition (paid).
• A quiet time of day: turn off fans, fridges and phones, and record at the same mic distance every session.

Record a short test, play it back on headphones and fix the room before you start chapter one.

Step 4: Record the chapters

Record one chapter or section per file, and keep each file under 120 minutes. Each file must include its section header, such as “Chapter 1,” read at the start. Record the opening credits (title, author and narrator) and the closing credits as separate files.

• Warm up and pace yourself. Steady energy matters more than speed, so stop when your voice tires.
• Stop and re-read mistakes rather than carrying on. A clean pause before the retake makes the edit easier.
• Keep the sound the same from day one to the last day: same room, mic position, levels and pace.

ACX says new narrators generally take 5 to 7 hours to record one finished hour, and that this drops with practice.

Step 5: Edit and master to the audio specs

Editing removes mistakes, retakes, breaths that are too loud, mouth clicks and long pauses. Mastering sets the final volume so every file sounds the same and meets the store’s specs. ACX checks every file against these:

ACX audio submission requirements, updated April 2026. Other distributors set their own specs, so check each one before you export.

Listen to every file in full before you upload. A level meter catches loudness problems, but only listening catches a misread line.

Step 6: Upload and distribute

You upload the audio files, a square cover and the book’s details, then choose where it sells. Audiobooks are published separately from the ebook and print book, and you can see every audiobook platform side by side in our guide to audiobook self-publishing platforms.

What to know before you upload to ACX, as of October 2026:

• Your ebook must already be on Amazon.com. ACX finds your book by its Kindle ebook listing, and it’s open to residents of the US, UK, Canada and Ireland.
• Exclusive or not. Exclusive sends the audiobook to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books only and earns 50% of sales under the new royalty model (40% before); non-exclusive earns 30% (25% before) and lets you sell elsewhere. ACX doesn’t distribute to libraries, so to reach them you need non-exclusive rights and another distributor. Like KDP Select for ebooks, exclusivity trades reach for a higher rate.
• Membership listens are paid differently. Under the royalty model ACX opened on 26 May 2026, each Audible member’s monthly plan value (minus taxes and fees, plus any extra credits) is split across the titles they listen to, in proportion to each title’s a la carte price, then multiplied by your royalty rate. Titles still on the old model must be enrolled in the new one by the end of 2026 or stop selling on Audible. To enroll, open My Projects in ACX, select the title, click Enroll titles and confirm; the new model takes effect on the 1st of the next month.
• Audible sets the price. You can suggest one once your title is in the new model.
• The cover is square. At least 2400 x 2400 pixels, RGB, JPG, PNG or TIF up to 8 MB, with the title and author, and no price or barcode. Our guide to book cover sizes lists every format. Your print cover won’t fit as it is.
• Allow time for review. ACX’s quality team reviews uploads within 10 business days.
• Pre-orders are possible. Since October 2026, ACX lets you set up a pre-order for a finished audiobook, with a release date up to two years ahead. The files must pass review first, the pre-order must start at least 72 hours before release, and dates can’t be changed in the last 72 hours.
• You can advertise it. Since August 2026, authors in the US can promote audiobooks with Amazon Ads (Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands), once their pen name is claimed in Author Central.

Spotify doesn’t require an ISBN for audiobooks, and Voices by INaudio gives you one free if you don’t have your own, though you can’t use it with other distributors.

How long it takes to make an audiobook

ACX puts the average narration pace at 9,300 words per finished hour, and estimates about 6.2 hours of work for each finished hour: recording, editing, mastering and checking. An 80,000-word novel works out at about 8.6 finished hours and roughly 53 hours of work.

Mistakes that get audiobooks rejected

• Files too quiet, too loud or noisy. ACX checks loudness, peaks and noise floor on every file, so check yours against the specs before you upload.
• Missing or merged credits. ACX asks for opening and closing credits as separate files.
• Chapters over 120 minutes. Split them and give the second part its own header.
• Mixing mono and stereo files. All files must match.
• A cover that isn’t square, or one that shows a price, barcode, running time or web address.
• AI narration on a store that doesn’t accept it. Check the store’s rules before you produce.

When to get help

Recording yourself costs your time: about 6.2 hours for every finished hour, plus equipment. A professional narrator gives fiction its characters and a consistent sound, and saves you the editing.

Our audiobook recording costs $0.045 a word, with an $899 minimum: $4,050 for a 90,000-word book. We find the narrator, record, edit and master it, then submit it to Audible (ACX) or INaudio. Our Global tier ($999) lists the finished audiobook, and you have 12 months to add the audio.

Audiobook questions authors ask

Can I narrate my own audiobook?

Yes. Many nonfiction authors and memoir writers narrate their own books, because listeners want to hear them. You need a quiet room, a voice microphone and editing software, and the files must pass the store’s audio checks. Expect about 6.2 hours of work per finished hour, by ACX’s estimate, and record a test chapter first.

Can I use AI narration for my audiobook?

Only on some platforms. As of October 2026, ACX requires a human narrator unless it authorizes otherwise. Amazon’s Virtual Voice is an invite-only beta for US books, Apple’s digital narration is English only and needs the ebook on Apple Books, Spotify doesn’t pass AI-narrated titles to its partner stores, and Voices by INaudio accepts them only from approved tools.

Do I need an ebook before I make an audiobook?

For ACX, yes: your ebook must already be for sale on Amazon.com, because ACX finds your book through its Kindle listing. Apple’s digital narration also needs the ebook on Apple Books. Voices by INaudio lets you submit an audiobook with no ebook, though its Audible channel still needs the ebook on Amazon.

How long does it take to make an audiobook?

It depends on length. ACX puts narration at about 9,300 words per finished hour, and estimates about 6.2 hours of work per finished hour to record, edit and review. An 80,000-word novel is about 8.6 finished hours, so roughly 53 hours of work, plus up to 10 business days for ACX’s review.

Related reading: Self-publishing platforms compared · What is KDP Select? · How to self-publish a book