More people are listening to books than at any point in publishing history. Audiobook revenue has grown every year for the past decade. Listeners are not a niche audience anymore. They are commuters, parents, professionals, and readers who consume two or three audiobooks for every print book they finish.
If your book does not exist in audio, it does not exist for a significant portion of the reading public.
At Digi Book Studio, we handle the full audiobook production process in-house, from manuscript preparation through narration, audio engineering, mastering, and distribution. You do not coordinate between a narrator, a studio, and a distributor yourself. We manage the entire process and deliver a finished audiobook that meets the technical requirements of every major platform.
Most authors are surprised by how many steps sit between a manuscript and a finished audiobook. It is not a narrator reading your book into a microphone and uploading the file. Every stage of the process has technical requirements, quality checkpoints, and platform-specific specifications that determine whether your audiobook gets accepted or rejected at submission.
Here is what the production process looks like from start to finish.
Before recording begins, your manuscript is reviewed and prepared for narration. This means converting your written text into a narration-ready script. Footnotes, headers, captions, URLs, and formatting elements that work on a page do not work in audio. We restructure these elements for the listening format, flag pronunciations for unusual names, terms, or locations, and build a pronunciation guide for your narrator.
If your book includes charts, tables, or images, we advise on how to handle these in the audio version, either with descriptive narration, a note directing listeners to a companion resource, or exclusion with appropriate disclosure.
Your narrator is one of the most important decisions in audiobook production. The wrong voice for your genre or tone can undermine a book that reads well on the page.
We work with a roster of professional voice talent across multiple genres, accents, and vocal styles. For fiction, we match narrator energy and range to your story’s tone. For nonfiction, we prioritize clarity, authority, and pacing that holds listener attention across long listening sessions.
You review narrator samples before recording begins. You make the final selection. If you want to narrate your own book, which works well for memoir, personal development, and some nonfiction categories — we support self-narration with technical guidance and studio access recommendations.
Recording is done in a professional studio environment that meets ACX and Findaway Voices technical requirements. Our narrators and engineers work together to maintain consistent audio quality across every chapter. Sessions are reviewed in real time for mouth noise, pacing inconsistencies, mispronunciations, and audio artifacts that would require re-recording.
Long books are recorded across multiple sessions. Each session is reviewed before the next one begins so problems are caught early rather than at the mastering stage.
Raw recordings contain noise, breath sounds, pacing gaps, and minor errors that are removed during editing. Every line is reviewed against the manuscript. Every deviation from the script is flagged and corrected. Chapter breaks, opening and closing credits, and any required retail audio samples are assembled at this stage.
Mastering brings the entire audiobook to a consistent volume level and audio quality standard. ACX requires audiobooks to meet specific technical specifications, room tone, RMS levels, peak levels, and file format. Findaway Voices and other platforms have similar requirements. A file that does not meet these specifications is rejected at submission.
We master every audiobook to meet the requirements of every platform we distribute to. You do not receive a rejection from ACX after waiting six weeks for your audiobook to go live.
Your finished audiobook is submitted to the platforms you select. We handle file preparation, metadata entry, cover art specifications, and compliance for each platform.
We distribute to all major audiobook platforms, including:
ACX offers two distribution models, exclusive and non-exclusive. Exclusive distribution through ACX gives you access to Audible’s promotional tools and a higher royalty rate on ACX sales, but prevents you from distributing elsewhere for seven years. Non-exclusive distribution gives you a lower ACX royalty rate but allows simultaneous distribution through Findaway and other platforms.
We walk you through this decision before you commit to a distribution model. The right choice depends on your genre, your existing audience, and your long-term publishing goals.
Audiobook royalties work differently from print and eBook royalties.
ACX Exclusive: 40% royalty on net sales through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes.
ACX Non-Exclusive: 25% royalty on net sales through ACX platforms.
Findaway Voices: Royalty rates vary by retail partner. Authors typically earn between 40% and 80% of the wholesale price depending on the platform. Findaway pays monthly with full sales reporting across all distribution partners.
Your Publishing Specialist will walk you through a royalty projection for your specific audiobook before production begins.
Audiobook production timelines depend on manuscript length and the availability of your selected narrator.
| Manuscript Length | Estimated Production Time |
|---|---|
| Up to 50,000 words | 4 to 5 weeks |
| 50,000 to 80,000 words | 5 to 7 weeks |
| 80,000 to 120,000 words | 7 to 9 weeks |
| Over 120,000 words | 9 to 12 weeks |
These timelines cover the full process from manuscript preparation through mastering. Distribution review times at ACX and Findaway add an additional 2 to 4 weeks after submission.
Rush production is available on a limited basis. Contact us before requesting rush turnaround to confirm narrator and studio availability.
Audiobook production is priced per finished hour of audio. A finished hour of audio corresponds to approximately 9,300 words of narrated manuscript.
Pricing varies based on narrator selection, project complexity, and distribution scope. We provide a fixed quote for your full project after reviewing your manuscript length and production requirements.
There are no per-platform submission fees. The price you receive covers production and distribution setup across all selected platforms.
Request a Quote — Send us your manuscript word count, genre, and preferred distribution platforms and we will send you a full production quote within one business day.
Your book is already written. The audience for audio is already there. The only step left is production.
Request a Free Audiobook Consultation — We’ll review your manuscript, recommend a narrator profile, and send you a production quote at no cost.
See Full Publishing Packages — Audiobook production is available as a standalone service or as part of our Global Publishing Package.
Call us: 443-247-5514 Email: kevin@digibookstudio.com
