TitleProducer ChecklistURL Namethe-acx-producer-s-checklistAnswer People interested in becoming narrators or audiobook producers can explore potential income opportunities through ACX. In this article, we'll show you step by step how to become an audiobook producer (narrator) and get paid to narrate audiobooks on ACX. We'll cover everything from creating your producer account to setting up your profile, adding audio samples, negotiating offers, and getting paid. Note: As a producer, you'll handle everything from recording the performance to ensuring the sound quality meets professional standards. You'll need to familiarize yourself with the ACX's audio submission requirements before getting started. In this article: Residence eligibilitySet up your dedicated recording spaceCreate an ACX accountSet up your ACX profileAdd an audio sampleAudition for audiobook projectsNegotiate your offerProduce an audiobookGet paid Residence eligibility ACX is currently open to individuals and companies resident in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland who have a mailing address, valid local Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and banking details for one of these countries. Set up your recording space To narrate and produce audiobooks, you will need a dedicated space to record, master, and edit your audio. Once you have a dedicated space, you will create a complete ACX profile which will include samples of your audiobook narration, a headshot or logo, and details about your production capabilities. If you've never produced an audiobook, we recommend you check out our Video Lessons and Tutorials, ACX Blog and Audio Terminology Glossary to understand the process. Create an ACX account Follow these steps to create an ACX account: Sign up on ACX.com using your existing Amazon email and password, or create a new account.Confirm your name and location, ensuring you are a resident of one of the eligible countries listed above.Select the role that best describes you or your company: Narrator or Studio.If you are a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), you can enter your member ID.Mark the eligibility boxes that apply to you.Select Register. Ensure you have opted in to receive email notifications in order to receive updates from quality assurance (QA):1. Sign in to your ACX account.2. Go to Account Settings.3. Select the Notifications tab to view your Email notifications options.4. Make sure notifications are turned on for Production updates and Change requests. Set up your ACX profile When you set up your ACX profile, enter information about your voice over experience, training, and awards you've received for past work. To get an idea of what your finished profile will look like, you can search for a few narrator profiles on the ACX website or check out some examples of excellent ACX profiles on our blog. Follow the steps in this article to create your ACX profile. Add an audio sample Great profiles feature a variety of samples to demonstrate your narration range. You can upload an unlimited number of audio demos. We recommend using book-specific audio clips for your samples, as rights holders are searching for a narrator for their books. If you do not have audio samples that are from audiobook projects, consider recording a sample from a public domain title to get started. Follow the steps in this article to add an audio sample to your ACX profile. Audition for audiobook projects Follow these steps to audition for audiobooks on ACX.com: Once logged in to ACX.com, select Find Projects and search for titles accepting auditions. Genres that match your preferences will appear first.Search by keyword or use the filters in the right menu to narrow down search for an open project.Select Audition next to the title.On the title profile page, look for the audition script and record your audition file.Once your audition file is ready, select Upload file.On the upload page, select Browse and select the file you wish to upload.Include a message in the message box to the rights holder introducing yourself, sharing why their project interests you, details about your availability and rate.Select Submit Audition. If you've never performed an audiobook before, look for titles that are suited for your voice, start with genres that interest you, and listen to sample audiobooks in that genre for ideas. You can also visit our ACX Blog to learn more about how to choose the right audiobook project, or watch award-winning narrators discuss this topic on the ACX YouTube channel. Negotiate your offer When embarking on this process, it would be helpful for you to know your production costs and decide what rate you want to charge. You can learn more about our payment models by visiting our How royalties work article. We suggest considering your costs to produce one hour of finished audio (For new producers it generally takes between 5 and 7 hours to record one hour of an audiobook. As they get more fluent with their tools that time should go down) when determining your rate. If you are selected for the project, you'll receive an offer including due dates and pay rate. If these align with your production schedule and rate needs, you can accept the offer. If you would like to make changes, decline the offer and send a message to the rights holder with your counteroffer. Learn more on how to choose the right ACX project on our ACX blog. Learn more about how to accept and decline offers on our ACX Help Center. To view an offer, including accepting or declining an offer, please visit our Manage your offers article. Produce an audiobook The following are some considerations when producing an audiobook as a narrator or producer: Set a proper production schedule based on the rights holder's needs and your availability. Make sure to leave yourself time to prepare your script, and produce and QA the finished audiobook and make any corrections requested by the rights holder. Limit your production schedule to give yourself enough time to produce a high-quality audiobook. Audiobook production can be a time-consuming, intense effort, requiring both your attention and that of your rights holder. Be efficient. Taking on more than one project at a time puts your productions at a high risk of missed due dates or cancellations, and rejected audio files containing low audio quality. All submitted audio will be reviewed and may be rejected by the Audible quality assurance team. Get and read the manuscript. The rights holder can upload the finished manuscript via ACX.com, or if you prefer other delivery methods, send them a message on the ACX website. We recommend reading the manuscript from beginning to end before you begin recording to ensure you're prepared and comfortable with the content. Produce a brief portion of the audiobook. The 15 Minute Checkpoint serves as a gut check for both you and the rights holder on the most critical aspects of the production including accents, pronunciations, character voices, pacing, and tone. Before producing the full audiobook, decide with your rights holder what section (or combined sections) best showcase each of these attributes. Produce and upload the title. As a reminder, make sure your production meets the ACX audio submission requirements. You should consider and discuss with your rights holder uploading chapters as you record them and getting feedback from your rights holder along the way to ensure you're both happy with how the production is going. Receive approval or feedback. The rights holder is permitted to request up to two full rounds of changes. Once the rights holder has approved your recording, the rights holder will pay you if you negotiated an upfront payment. Once payment is confirmed, the audiobook will be reviewed by our quality assurance teams. Receive approval from ACX quality assurance. Our team will review your audio files within 10 business days from submission to ensure they meet the ACX audio submission requirements. If your title does not meet one or more requirements, the files will be returned to you for correction. You can get feedback about your finished audio file by using our Audio Analysis Tool. Once all requirements are met, your audiobook performance will be in store on Audible, Apple Books, and Amazon. If you elected to receive payment by sharing royalties with your rights holder, visit your Sales Overview to see updated daily sales. To create a professional audiobook, you may want the guidance of other audiobook experts, including hiring an engineer for editing and mastering. If you need to hire one, we have independent contractor agreements you may use. Get paid To get paid as a producer on ACX, you'll need to create a producer profile, successfully audition for a project, and complete the audiobook narration. The production will then be submitted to the audiobook rights holder for their approval. When the book is approved, you'll be paid according to the agreement you made with the rights holder. For Pay-for-Production deals, narrators receive full payment upfront. In Royalty Share Plus deals, you'll receive the agreed-upon stipend upon delivering the finished audiobook. It's important to note that producers must confirm they've received payment before the audiobook can be released to retail platforms—whether it's by check, PayPal, or another agreed-upon method. For more details about payment options, check out our Royalties guide.