ACX Audiobook Publishing Services: Get Your Book on Audible

Our ACX audiobook publishing services take your book through Audible’s ACX marketplace, from setting up your rights holder account to casting a narrator, approving the recording and publishing the finished audiobook. We handle the steps and explain the terms, so you reach Audible listeners with a professional production.

ACX is the platform Audible uses to connect authors with narrators and publish audiobooks. It has its own technical standards and contract terms, which is where first-time audiobook authors usually need help. This service is part of our Amazon book publishing services. For the full production process, see our audiobook publishing services.

Publish an audiobook on Audible: how ACX works

1. Account and title. We set up your ACX account and claim your book.
2. Audition script. We choose sections of your book that show a narrator’s range.
3. Auditions. Narrators audition, and you listen and choose.
4. Offer and agreement. You agree the terms and the payment option with your narrator.
5. Recording and review. The narrator records, and you review the audio and request corrections.
6. Quality check and publishing. ACX checks the files, and the audiobook goes on sale after approval.

ACX narrator casting

The right narrator makes the book. We help you decide what you need: voice type, accent, pace and experience in your genre. Auditions let you hear narrators read your own words before you commit. You can pay a narrator by the finished hour, or in some cases share royalties with them, and the options available depend on the distribution choice you make.

Audible self publishing: exclusive or non-exclusive

ACX asks you to choose between exclusive and non-exclusive distribution. Exclusive distribution commits your audiobook to Audible and its partners for a fixed term set out in the ACX agreement, and it pays a higher royalty rate. Non-exclusive distribution lets you sell the audiobook in other stores and libraries, at a lower royalty rate. ACX updated its royalty model in 2026, so we confirm the current structure before you decide, and we explain what each choice means for you.

ACX quality standards

ACX checks every audiobook against technical standards for loudness, background noise and file format, and it rejects files that fall short. Our production team edits and masters the audio to those standards before submission, so your book passes the review the first time.

Choosing between royalty share and pay for production

ACX gives you two ways to pay a narrator. With royalty share, the narrator takes a share of future sales instead of an upfront fee. That lowers your cost, but narrators tend to choose titles they expect to sell, so your book has to look promising. With pay for production, you agree a fee for each finished hour and you keep the whole royalty. The right choice depends on your budget, your genre and how well the book already sells. We explain both options in plain terms, help you judge how your title will look to narrators and set up the offer so it is clear and fair.

Preparing your book for audio

An audiobook is heard, not read, so a few things change before casting. Tables, footnotes, images and links need an audio plan. Long lists, unusual names and invented words need pronunciation notes. Last-minute text changes cause expensive re-recording, so we recommend finalising the manuscript first, ideally after a proofread. We prepare an audition script from a representative passage, a short brief on tone and pace and a pronunciation guide, so narrators can audition well and you can compare them fairly.

Listening, approving and fixing problems

Every finished hour is yours to check. We help you review the files against ACX technical and quality requirements, which cover consistent volume, background noise and clean chapter files, and we help you write corrections the narrator can act on. Catching a mispronounced name or a missing line during review costs far less than fixing it after publication. Once the audio is approved, we help with the retail description and cover requirements so the audiobook is ready for ACX review.

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