ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange): How to Produce and Distribute Your Audiobook

ACX, the Audiobook Creation Exchange, is Amazon's platform for producing and distributing audiobooks. It connects authors and publishers with narrators and audio producers, handles the production workflow from audition to approval, and distributes finished audiobooks to Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. For indie authors who want their books in audio, ACX is typically the first platform they encounter — and for many, it remains the primary one.

The platform is free to list a book on, and authors can choose to pay a narrator upfront or enter a royalty-share arrangement where no money changes hands until sales come in. That flexibility makes ACX accessible to authors at nearly any budget level. The tradeoff is that higher royalty rates come with an exclusivity lock-in that restricts where your audiobook can be sold.

This guide covers how the ACX audiobook creation exchange works end to end: listing your book, finding a narrator, understanding payment models, and deciding whether exclusivity makes sense for your publishing strategy.

What ACX is and how it fits the audiobook landscape

ACX is owned and operated by Audible, which is itself an Amazon company. When your audiobook is produced through ACX and approved, it distributes to the three largest audiobook retail destinations: Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. These three platforms together represent the majority of audiobook retail sales in the US and UK.

Because of its connection to Audible — the dominant audiobook subscription service globally — ACX gives indie authors direct access to the largest single pool of audiobook buyers. Audible's credit subscription model means subscribers are actively looking for books to spend credits on, and a well-placed audiobook on Audible can generate consistent passive sales without ongoing marketing effort.

ACX is not, however, the only audiobook distribution option. Authors who want their audiobook available on Spotify, library platforms like OverDrive, or other retailers need to look at platforms like Findaway Voices in addition to or instead of ACX. The Findaway Voices guide covers that option in detail, and the decision between the two platforms often comes down to the exclusivity question covered later in this guide.

Two production paths on ACX

Authors have two distinct production paths available on ACX:

Path 1: Find a narrator through the ACX marketplace. You list your book with a sample script (typically a few hundred words representing your book's tone and style), and narrators submit audio auditions. You review auditions, select the narrator you want to work with, negotiate terms, and the production proceeds through ACX's production management tools. This is the most common path for authors who don't plan to narrate themselves.

Path 2: Upload your own narration. If you narrate your own audiobook, you can produce the audio files according to ACX's technical specifications and upload them directly without going through the narrator marketplace. This requires your own recording setup and audio editing capability, but eliminates the cost or royalty share associated with a hired narrator. Many authors who narrate nonfiction, memoir, or books with a strong authorial voice find self-narration works well for their content.

Both paths end at the same place: ACX reviews your finished audio for technical and quality standards, approves it, and distributes it.

ACX payment models

The payment arrangement between author and narrator is one of the most important decisions you'll make on ACX. There are three structures available:

Payment Model	How It Works	Author Cost	Narrator Compensation
Royalty Share	Narrator receives 50% of the author's ACX royalties for the life of the contract	$0 upfront	50% of author royalties, ongoing
Per Finished Hour (PFH)	Author pays narrator a flat rate per finished hour of audio	$150–$400+ per finished hour, upfront	Flat fee, no ongoing royalties
Royalty Share Plus	Hybrid — author pays a reduced hourly rate upfront plus a smaller ongoing royalty share	Reduced PFH rate upfront	Lower royalty share + upfront payment

Royalty Share is attractive when you have no upfront budget. A typical audiobook is 8–12 finished hours; at Royalty Share, the narrator earns proportionally to sales rather than getting paid upfront. The downside is that you're giving up half your royalty income for the life of the contract — potentially years or decades. On a book that sells well, this can cost more than any PFH arrangement would have.

Per Finished Hour gives you full royalties from day one. Rates vary considerably based on narrator experience: newer narrators may accept $100–$150 per finished hour, experienced narrators with strong review histories often charge $250–$400 or more. For a 10-hour audiobook, expect to pay $1,500–$4,000+ for professional narration at mid-to-upper rates.

Royalty Share Plus is a middle ground — useful when you have some budget but not enough for full PFH rates, and when you want to attract experienced narrators who would otherwise decline a pure Royalty Share arrangement.

ACX distribution and exclusivity

After your audiobook is produced, you choose a distribution option that affects where it can be sold and what royalty rate you receive:

	Exclusive	Non-Exclusive
Royalty rate	40%	25%
Distribution	Audible, Amazon, Apple Books	Audible, Amazon, Apple Books
Can sell elsewhere?	No	Yes
Contract term	7 years from distribution date	No lock-in period
Royalty base	List price or sale price depending on sale type	Same

Exclusive distribution gives you a higher royalty rate (40%) but locks your audiobook into Audible's ecosystem for seven years. During that period, you cannot distribute through Findaway Voices, Libro.fm, library platforms, or any other retailer. For authors who are already in KDP Select for ebooks and committed to the Amazon ecosystem, exclusive audiobook distribution is a natural fit.

Non-exclusive distribution at 25% lets you simultaneously distribute through other platforms, including Findaway Voices for Spotify, libraries, and smaller retailers. The royalty rate is meaningfully lower, but authors going wide with their ebooks often choose non-exclusive audiobook distribution for the same reasons — diversified income and reduced platform dependency.

How ACX royalties are calculated

ACX royalties are calculated as a percentage of the customer price on a per-unit sale basis. Audible's pricing is not fully transparent because of its credit subscription model — when a subscriber uses a credit to purchase your book, the price ACX uses for royalty calculation may differ from the listed retail price.

In practice, indie authors on ACX report royalty payments ranging from roughly $1.50–$4.00 per sale on typical-length audiobooks, depending on whether the sale was a credit redemption or a cash purchase, and the book's retail price. Audible also participates in subscription programs and promotional pricing that can affect per-unit payments.

This opacity is one of the criticisms of ACX. Unlike ebook publishing where royalty calculations are straightforward (70% × list price on KDP), audiobook royalty math on Audible is harder to project in advance.

How to list your book on ACX

Listing is straightforward:

1. Create an account at acx.com using your Amazon author credentials
2. Search for your book title (it needs to already exist in Amazon's catalog — it will be in there if you've published on KDP)
3. Claim the rights to your title
4. Create a producer profile with your project details: genre, target audience, production deadline, payment terms you're offering
5. Write and upload your audition script — a selection from your book that represents its tone, pacing, and any character voices

Your audition script is the most important element of your listing. Choose a passage that showcases the range of your book — dialogue, description, and any voices that will challenge narrators. A script that's too generic (plain narration with no variation) won't give you useful information about how a narrator handles your specific content.

What to include in your producer brief

The producer brief is your instructions to potential narrators. Include:

• Genre and intended audience — helps narrators self-select based on their experience
• Tone and pacing — fast-paced thriller vs. meditative literary fiction need very different approaches
• Character voice notes — how many distinct characters, any regional accents, character ages and demographics
• Any specific pronunciations — character names, place names, invented words
• Your timeline — when you need the finished audiobook by
• Production terms — Royalty Share, PFH rate range, or Royalty Share Plus

Clear briefs attract more targeted auditions and reduce back-and-forth once you've selected a narrator.

Reviewing auditions and approving audio

Once auditions start arriving, you'll typically receive 5–20 auditions over the first few weeks depending on how attractive your terms and project are. Review each with your audition script in hand. Listen for:

• Tone match — does this voice fit how you imagined your book sounding?
• Technical quality — room noise, breath sounds, mic quality, dynamic range
• Consistency — does the narrator maintain character voices and pacing throughout?
• Pronunciation — do they handle your specific content correctly?

After selecting a narrator and agreeing on terms, the narrator produces chapter-by-chapter audio, uploading files to ACX for your review. You can request QC (quality control) corrections before final approval. Once you approve all chapters, ACX submits the project for their own technical review.

ACX quality standards

ACX has specific technical requirements for audio files. Submissions that don't meet these standards are returned for correction. Key requirements include:

• Noise floor below -60 dB RMS
• Peak levels between -3 dB and -6 dB
• Each chapter as a separate MP3 file
• Consistent room tone and recording quality throughout
• A retail audio sample file (typically the first chapter or a selection from it)

Professional narrators familiar with ACX will know these specifications. If you're self-narrating, review ACX's current technical requirements carefully before recording, as reprocessing hours of audio after the fact is time-consuming.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an audiobook cost to produce via ACX? With a Royalty Share arrangement, upfront cost is $0 — the narrator is compensated from future sales. With Per Finished Hour rates, expect $150–$400+ per finished hour of completed audio. A standard novel produces roughly 9,000–11,000 words of audio per finished hour, so a 90,000-word novel runs approximately 9–10 hours — putting PFH costs at $1,350–$4,000+ depending on narrator rates.

How long does ACX approval take? After you submit your completed, approved audiobook, ACX's technical review typically takes 4–6 weeks, though this varies with their queue. After approval, distribution to Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books takes additional time. Plan for 6–10 weeks total from final audio submission to the audiobook being live for sale.

Can I leave ACX exclusivity early? The 7-year exclusive term is a binding contract. ACX does not offer early termination for exclusivity agreements. Authors who want to go wide with their audiobook and accidentally signed exclusive need to wait out the full term or pursue a formal rights dispute if they believe the contract was entered in error. This is why the exclusivity decision deserves careful thought before signing — see our audiobooks for indie authors guide for a broader look at audiobook strategy.

What if my auditions are poor quality? If you're not receiving strong auditions, consider whether your terms are competitive (low PFH rates attract fewer experienced narrators), whether your audition script is representative of your content, and whether your project description is detailed enough. You can close a listing and re-open it with revised terms without penalty.

Does ACX work for nonfiction? Yes, and nonfiction is often well-suited to ACX because many nonfiction authors self-narrate effectively — a business or memoir author's own voice often adds credibility that a hired narrator wouldn't. Self-narrated nonfiction on ACX is common and well-accepted by listeners.

The bottom line

ACX is the most direct path to Audible — the platform where the majority of audiobook sales happen in the US and UK. For authors who want their audiobook available where most buyers are, it's hard to bypass ACX entirely. The exclusivity question is the critical decision: if Audible's ecosystem suits your publishing strategy, exclusive distribution at 40% royalties is a reasonable deal. If you're going wide with your ebooks and want the same flexibility in audio, non-exclusive ACX distribution combined with Findaway Voices for wider reach is a common and effective combination.

Take time with your audition script and producer brief — the narrator you choose will shape how readers experience your book in audio, and the right match matters more than finding the cheapest available voice.

Get started with LiberScript to format your manuscript for print and ebook before moving to audiobook production.