Your narrator is your audiobook — the right voice can lift a good book, the wrong one can sink it. Here's how to hire well, step by step.
1. Where to find narrators
- ACX — Audible's own platform; post your title and narrators audition. Built-in, but crowded.
- Marketplaces — Voices.com, Voice123: large rosters, search by accent, genre and budget.
- Direct — approach a narrator through their own website. Often the fastest, most personal route, and you build a relationship for future books.
2. What to look for
- Genre fit — a thriller, a memoir and a children's book want very different voices. Match tone, not just quality.
- Authenticity — if your book has a specific culture, accent or setting, a narrator who genuinely embodies it beats a generic read. (For African or West African stories, an authentic accent is a real differentiator.)
- ACX-compliant audio — they should deliver to ACX spec (RMS, peak, noise floor) so you don't get rejected. Ask directly.
- Samples & track record — listen to their demos and, ideally, finished titles.
3. Always audition with your own material
Demos are curated. The real test is hearing your words in their voice. The gold standard is a free first-chapter audition — you hear an actual chapter of your book before you commit a penny. If a narrator offers that, take it.
4. Agree the pricing model
Two standard options:
- Per finished hour — a one-time fee, you keep all royalties.
- Royalty share — $0 upfront, split royalties 50/50.
Which is better depends on your budget and expected sales — see royalty share vs paying upfront, and what it actually costs.
🧮 Know your budget first
Before you brief narrators, see your cost, break-even and the upfront-vs-royalty-share trade-off.
Open the free Audiobook ROI Calculator →5. Red flags to avoid
- No samples, or samples that don't match the work they're quoting for.
- Won't do any audition of your material.
- Vague about ACX compliance or revisions.
- No clear agreement on deadlines, pickups, or who fixes errors.
6. Brief well, then trust the read
Give your narrator character notes, pronunciation of unusual names, tone, and pace up front — then let them perform. Build in a checkpoint after the first chapter or two so you can course-correct early rather than at the end.