Where To Find A Professional Narrator?

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You can find an audiobook narrator two ways: on ACX, where the narrator is paid from a royalty share, or by hiring a narrator yourself, for example on Upwork, so you keep the full royalty. I started with Upwork and recommend it. Below is the cost of each route and how to hire a good voice cheaply.

Why make an audiobook?

I didn’t think about audiobooks at first because they seemed the most difficult. I started with Kindle, then paperbacks. When my friends were making plenty of money from audiobooks, it was clear I needed them too. If you have a paperback and a Kindle book out, you may be losing money by not having an audio version. Remember, ACX is open to rights holders living in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland, and you can import titles you already have on Kindle (ACX help). For the steps, see how to get your audiobooks produced on ACX.

What is the free route on ACX and what is the downside?

The simplest route is to post your book on ACX and let narrators audition. Narrators who join a royalty share take no upfront fee. This is probably where to start, but the quality of independent narrators can vary, and you want listeners to give you five stars.

The downside is that you split the royalty. On ACX’s new model, which since 26-May-26 covers new offers, new titles and existing titles that opt in, the rights holder gets 50% for exclusive distribution and 30% for non-exclusive. A royalty share splits the exclusive 50% equally, so you get 25% and the narrator 25% (the legacy model was 40% and 20% each) (ACX royalties). Royalty share is only available with exclusive distribution, which limits sales to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books, and Audible has the right to distribute for seven years (ACX distribution options). That is a long time, and you don’t control the process the way you do when you hire the narrator yourself.

How do you hire a narrator yourself?

Post a job on a freelance marketplace such as Upwork, which is where I started. Look at similar job postings, set a price, and give the text. Ideally find someone who has already narrated for ACX and knows the process. If you pay the narrator, you keep the full royalty and the rights. On ACX this is called pay for production: a flat fee per finished hour that you agree up front.

One difference is the files. With ACX auditions, the narrator uploads the files directly. When you hire your own narrator, you upload them, and they go through ACX’s quality check. It can take weeks to get a book through the pipeline. If a mistake is found, it comes back to you and you must go back to the narrator. Write into the contract that you own the rights to the whole book, and that the narrator makes adjustments until ACX accepts it. I have seen people get frustrated going back and forth, especially with narrators new to ACX.

What if my narrator is late or the audio is poor?

Read ACX’s page on canceling your production before you say anything final. If the producer misses the due date for the first 15 minutes or for the completed audiobook, send a written request through ACX’s messaging system, with a copy to [email protected]. If they still haven’t delivered 48 hours later, you can end the contract with no fee. If you reject a finished audiobook, the producer gets a chance to revise first, and if you then terminate you pay a cancellation fee. After you approve the completed audiobook, you cannot cancel.

So check early. When the first 15 minutes arrive, I would listen for whether the voice is the one that auditioned, while changes are still cheap. That check is my advice, not an ACX rule.

ACX’s audio requirements say unauthorized text-to-speech or AI in ACX titles is prohibited, and “Do not remit payment to a producer if you suspect unauthorized use of text-to-speech.” If you suspect it, don’t pay and tell ACX.

If a narrator asks to move the deal off ACX, I would say no and keep the contract, the messages and the payment on ACX. That is my advice. For unsafe or abusive contact, report it to ACX support.

How do you keep the cost low?

Start at the absolute lowest rate per finished minute that you see in other postings. I won’t say what rate I pay, because it varies. Higher-paid narrators don’t always produce better work. I started with someone just getting started who was fine with a lower rate, but whose voice sounded professional, and they went back and forth until it was right. Be patient.

Ask for samples and find the voice that matches your book. If you can’t find one at the lowest rate, raise it slowly. Every dollar you spend on narration is a dollar you must earn back before the audiobook makes a profit, and a high price can take years to earn back. I like to earn it back in a couple of months, and after that the whole royalty is yours.

Once you find a good narrator, stick with them. When you bundle audiobooks, readers expect the same voice, and bundling saves money, because the narrator only has to record an opening and an ending.

If you’d rather not use a human voice, KDP has a Virtual Voice beta that is invite-only, limited to books for the US marketplace, and pays a 40% royalty (KDP). A Virtual Voice audiobook can also be in Kindle+, which is US only and goes through KDP Select; I explain how in how to get your audiobook into Kindle+. For converting a book you already have, read how to convert your Amazon book to an audiobook. For the rules of each store on AI voices, see can I publish an AI-narrated audiobook.

Not sure which route fits your books? Book a free 25-minute discovery call and we will go through your audiobook plan together.

What does ACX check in the audio files?

ACX wants MP3 files at a constant 192 kbps or higher and 44.1 kHz, with every file in the same channel format, mono or stereo (ACX audio submission requirements, 15-Apr-26). Average loudness must sit between -23 dB and -18 dB RMS, peaks stay below -3 dB, and the noise floor is no higher than -60 dB RMS. Each chapter is its own file with its header, and the opening and closing credits are separate files. No file may run longer than 120 minutes.

This is the list to put in your brief. Ask the narrator whether they deliver to these specs, and you avoid the back and forth when ACX rejects a file. ACX also says narration must be human unless it has authorized otherwise.

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