I wrote this article based on my professional experience as an audiobook narrator-producer for Amazon's Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX). The purpose is to help others interested in breaking into the audiobook narration field by sharing my learnings on startup costs, earnigns, and technical equipment/software how-tos.

Independent narrators aren’t just reading books aloud into a microphone. We have to create an environment for studio-quality recording, read for hours without excessive mouth noise, and edit and produce a polished digital product that adheres to strict technical guidelines set by ACX.

Their submission requirements cover things like noise floor, RMS levels, peak values, bit rate, file size, and more. Don’t let the technical jargon frighten you. A newbie like me has a steep learning curve, sure. But I’m no expert techie, and I managed to figure it out. Eventually.

There are easy things you can do to guide the process. For example, I use a free plugin called ACX check that tells me everything I need to know about my audio levels and whether or not they’ll pass. There are similar tools in Audacity’s free editing software— like filters and equalization — that help with mastering and creating quality sound.