Frequently Asked Questions

Currently, we distribute to over 50 retail platforms, library channels, and music streaming services. Check out Our Partners page to learn more.

We're talking to new distributors all the time and are working on some exciting new relationships in foreign markets that were previously inaccessible to most authors. Score!

Each of our distribution partners reserves the right to decide which titles they will carry, and have different processes and time frames for making new content available for sale.

No.

Yes!

Our distribution retailers are divided into three groups. When logged into your account, you can opt out of any of these groups before submitting your audiobook project for review and distribution.

1. Amazon/Audible
2. Retail Distributors 
3. Music Channel Distributors

If you would like to opt out of selling to specific retailers, please contact [email protected]. Our customer support team will be happy to help you.

We recommend distributing your audiobook everywhere to maximize your profits!

Each of our partners has unique criteria for the kinds of books they accept, and sometimes, your book won't fit the bill.

If a book is rejected by a distributor, we'll let you know.

Once a book has moved through the Author’s Republic approval process, it needs to be approved by individual distributors and platforms with their own processes. Once it’s in the hands of our partners, it can be available for purchase as quickly as five business days or as long as sixty.

We are not notified when your project is live, so keep your eyes peeled for your audiobook on each platform.

Yes, but it depends on whether your books are being distributed with a non-exclusive or exclusive agreement with Audible.

If you've got a non-exclusive agreement, you’re all set! 

When you add your book onto our platform, all you need to do is make sure the “Amazon/Audible” checkbox is unselected. 

This will allow you to keep selling your audiobooks through Audible and Amazon independently, and we'll sell it everywhere else.

If you've got an exclusive agreement with Audible, you can get in touch with them and ask that your books be distributed under a non-exclusive agreement instead.

Be aware that this may change things like your royalty terms with Audible, so make sure you check all the details. Then, proceed as above. (Note: If you've done a royalty-share agreement when producing your audiobook through Audible, you may not be eligible to change the terms of the agreement.)

When it comes to content updates for your audiobook, we will be able to send new audio files / metadata / cover art etc. to our retailer partners if it is within reason and a significant change.

Ultimately, it will be up to the distributors as to when that change can be pushed live, and it is possible that multiple versions of your book will be available for sale at the same time until everyone has caught up. We recommend avoiding this as much as possible.

Yes! We will still be able to distribute your audiobook for you.

During the course of our agreement, you won't be able to enter any other distribution agreements (other than your own personal channel of course!).

However, CDBaby, eJunkie, payhip, and gumroad are actually unique from the type of distribution agreement that we have, and are classified as "shopping cart sites", or posting / payment processing sites. So, absolutely yes - you'll be able to sell through them AND Author's Republic!

We are not notified when your audiobooks are listed on each retailer's website; we can only tell you when it was distributed to them. Generally speaking, it can take anywhere from five to sixty business days for our partners to list your audiobook. But this can vary between retailers.

If you do not see your audiobook for sale on a specific retailer's website after sixty days, please contact us and we will follow up for you.

Once your audiobook is completed through The Author’s Republic Studio, it will automatically be placed under the distribution tab (My Audiobooks>Distribution Audiobooks).

From here you can add your cover art, and review your audiobook description and other metadata to ensure everything is perfect and submit your project for distribution.

Author’s Republic reserves the right to, in its sole discretion and for any reason, reject the Master Recording for Distribution as an Audiobook, or, once Distributed, to withdraw the Audiobook from Distribution at any time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing but by way of example,  Author’s Republic reserves the right to not Distribute (or withdraw from Distribution) an Audiobook which it deems, in its sole discretion, as being offensive such that it, in whole or in part, includes, promotes and/or advocates for, without limitation, hate speech, abuse, sexual exploitation, rape, pedophilia, illegal activities, terrorism, and dangerous health misinformation.

Absolutely! Author's Republic has a direct partnership with Chirp, allowing us to seamlessly submit your book to their platform.

Yes, we'd be happy to help! Author's Republic can reach out to Chirp on your behalf and submit your title(s) for a Chirp Audiobook Deal. The process is straightforward, and we can handle most of it for you. For detailed instructions on getting started, visit our Help Center!

While we cannot provide a guarantee that Chirp's editorial team will accept your title for promotion, we are committed to optimizing your submissions.

No! Unlike other audiobook distributors, Author's Republic does not require you to have already listed your eBook or paperback on Amazon to sell your audiobook on Audible.

Unfortunately, we are not currently accepting new narrators to join our roster.

We do not currently handle SAG/AFTRA contracts.

Rights holders can choose to make projects visible in the Studio Marketplace, and/or privately request custom auditions from their favourite narrators.

As a narrator, you can explore the Studio Marketplace and audition for projects that suit your talents, or wait for an invitation from a rights holder.

You’ll submit your audition audio file along with the amount you wish to be paid for the project.

To submit a bid, there are a few fields for you to fill out:

1. Fill out your desired per-finished-hour (PFH) rate.
2. Calculate the estimated audiobook duration (in hours) based on the manuscript, word count, and your personal average words per hour (the average narrator reads at about 9,300 words per hour).
3. A total bid will populate – this is the total amount in USD you wish to be paid to produce the audiobook.

If you do not wish to audition for the role, you can decline the audition request. Navigate to the "My Auditions" tab and find the project you wish to decline. Click the tiny thumbs down on the project card, and confirm that you wish to decline the invitation to audition.

Absolutely! Within your account you can toggle between the author and narrator dashboard view (“Switch to Author” by using the drop down in the top right corner). If you decide you’d like to distribute audiobooks of your own through Author’s Republic you can use the same account.

Yes, as the producer of the audiobook, narrators are responsible for uploading the retail-ready audio files. If you hire an audio editor, please work that fee into your PFH rate.

Check out this blog post for detailed information on audio requirements. 

Your personal samples do not have to meet the retail-ready audio requirements.

Personal sample tracks must be between 0:30-6:00 minutes long and in mp3 format.

The excerpt from Little Women is currently required for all narrators who apply to join The Author's Republic Studio roster. It will have to meet our audio specifications.

The purpose of this is to ensure that all narrators who sign up can produce audio that is up to our retailers specifications.

Your Per-Finished-Hour (PFH) rate refers to the amount you wish to be paid for each completed hour of audio. Your PFH rate should include all time it may take to record, edit, and master the final files.

Example: If it takes 3 hours to record, edit, and master 1 hour of completed audio, you'll need to take that into account when deciding on your PFH rate.

Payment to narrators will be released by the last business day of the month following the month in which approval was given by the author (typically within 45 days after approval). 

In order to produce your audiobook through The Author’s Republic Studio, you’ll need an EPUB or PDF file of your eBook to upload for the narrator.

Yes!

We’ve curated a roster of professional audiobook narrators with beautiful voices. The Author’s Republic Studio allows you to effortlessly request auditions and hire a narrator to produce your audiobook.

Register for your free account to discover the perfect voice for your work or check out the Create page to learn more.

The Author’s Republic Studio is an audiobook creation platform with a curated narrator marketplace to enable self-published authors and publishers to effortlessly create and sell their audiobooks to millions of listeners around the globe.

The cost of a 6 hour audiobook produced by a professional audiobook narrator can range anywhere from $900 to $2,500 and beyond ($150 - $400 Per Finished Hour).

The cost of production will depend on the length of your audiobook and the payment structure the author and narrator decide on. It is estimated that a narrator will read at an average rate of 9300 words per hour (155 words per minute). Based on that estimation a 50,000 word transcript will work out to about 5.4 hours of finished audio.

Author’s Republic does not take any administration fees and there are no hidden percentage cuts. Your production budget goes directly to producing your audiobook.

We now offer virtual audiobook production through The Author’s Republic Studio!

Register for your free account to explore our curated roster of professional audiobook narrators, or check out the Create page to learn more.

Narrators are typically paid on a per finished hour basis. This will include everything it takes to create professional retail-ready audio files including:

• Meticulous time spent researching and reading through your transcript before recording
• Studio fees if applicable (though many narrators now record in a home studio)
• Time spent recording
• Pickups (Re-recording any mispronounced words or errors)
• Hiring someone to edit, proof, and master the final files
• Uploading the final retail-ready files

Each finished hour of audio typically takes around 3+ hours of work. That means that a 10 hour audiobook may take 30+ hours of actual work to complete.

Author’s Republic offers professional audiobook production and global distribution.

The Author’s Republic Studio is an audiobook creation platform with a curated narrator marketplace for authors and publishers to effortlessly produce and distribute audiobooks that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

Our extensive distribution portal delivers your audiobooks to over 50 retail channels, library platforms, and music streaming services. As the world’s widest audiobook distribution network, Author’s Republic ensures that the work of self-published authors is distributed everywhere great audiobooks are sold!

Nope. You’ll never pay a listing fee, a submission fee, a review fee, or a referral fee.

It’s possible, but it’s a long and laborious process and we can’t guarantee that all the distributors will be able to adjust your file in a timely manner.

It’s best if you make sure your files, cover and other metadata are correct before uploading.

Yes! Get in touch with us at [email protected] and we’ll talk about special solutions for high-volume uploaders.

Nope! We accept books of all durations, from a 3-minute children's book to an epic 40-hour novel.

However, keep in mind that shorter books will sell differently than longer audiobooks. Because so much of the audiobook market uses subscription models (where listeners purchase flat-rate credits that can be applied to any book on offer), it can be hard for shorter books to compete against full-length titles at the same price through those distributors.

For maximum success, we encourage bundling titles together into an audiobook collection to offer a more competitive value. You can then submit BOTH the individual titles and the bundle as separate works, allowing you to take advantage of all the different business models our retailers use to sell audiobooks.

In all cases, for Amazon to automatically enable Whispersync on your title, the audio and eBook version must be an almost-perfect word-for-word match. This process can take up to 6 months for the feature to go live.

Amazon won't let us know whether your book has been accepted for Whispersync; however, you can check your book's Amazon page to see if it shows up. If you don't see WhisperSync enabled after 6 months, then it's likely that your book was not approved.

Ultimately, it's Amazon's decision whether they choose to add Whispersync to your book.

Please note that even if you don't request Whispersync, your title may still become Whispersync-enabled if it meets Amazon's criteria. Currently, this cannot be disabled.

We're the best in the biz at digital audiobook distribution, but because of the direction of market growth, we're not involved with CD audiobook production/distribution. So, you're free to make any arrangements you like to produce and distribute your audiobook on CD.

There are many options available to you for how to go about producing and selling your audiobook CDs. If you'd like to have CD audiobooks produced to sell in person or online (sell at events, sell to your readers through your website, sell them on Amazon, etc.), we'd recommend working with a preferred partner of ours, Aspen Duplication. They're happy to offer special pricing to all Author's Republic users! Just reference "Author's Republic" to our friend Shane. Below is his contact info:

Aspen Duplication, LLC
Shane Griffin, owner
801-558-2164 or 801-444-2794
[email protected]

We don’t actually assemble an “audiobook file”, we supply the MP3s, covers and metadata you provide us to the retailers and they upload them into their system in a way that makes them accessible to users. When a user listens to your title they are merely accessing the same files you provided off of that retailer’s servers, in some cases streaming them and in other cases downloading the files into the retailer’s application for playback.

Yes.

Yes! Once logged in, you can request promo codes by heading to the “Marketing Tools” tab on the left navigation menu. 

Head to our Help Center to learn more!

Yes! To submit your titles for promotional opportunities, log into your Author’s Republic account and click on the Marketing tab. Select the Promotional Opportunities card and follow the instructions on the page.

Need help? Our Help Center article provides more detailed instructions.

You'll receive 70% of what your audiobook earns across over 50 channels, including all major distributors such as Audible, Apple, Spotify, Hoopla, Overdrive, and more.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Take home 80% of royalties on audiobooks newly submitted for distribution! Learn more.

We'll deposit any royalties we've collected for you into your PayPal account on a monthly basis once you've accumulated $10.00 or more in any given monthly pay period. Direct deposit is also available to US-based authors.

Our distribution partners all have unique schedules for sending royalties to us. Some will pay us within 30 days of the previous month's end; some will pay us 30 days after the previous quarter. Regardless, every month, we'll send you any royalties we've collected in your name.

No problem! They’re free and easy to create.

If you have a US bank account, direct deposit is also an option.

Contact customer service at [email protected], to get ACH payments set up.

When you sign up for an account, in the payment information section, you'll be able to fill out a tax form and save it to your account.

Depending on your country, we won't hold back any portion of your payment for income tax purposes. This means in some cases you are responsible for paying income tax on your earnings to the government of your home country; and we're responsible for proving that you're going to do it. This is the only reason we collect a tax form from you.

You can enter an MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) when creating your audiobook project. However, please be aware that not all distributors are able to honor your MSRP. In some cases, they offer fixed pricing (like a flat price for a credit) or price books automatically based on length.

Need more information about setting your MSRP? Check out our blog post.

Once your audiobook is submitted for distribution, you can contact customer support at [email protected] to update your pricing.

In order for your submission to be accepted by our partners, there are several specifications your audio tracks must meet.

Audio Requirements:

1. Be consistent in the overall sound and formatting of all files
2. Use either mono or stereo for all files
3. Maintain the same bit rate for all files
4. Include opening and closing credits (in separate audio tracks)
5. Include a sample track between 1-5 minutes in length
6. Contain only one chapter or section per audio file
7. Be no longer than 78 minutes each
8. Contain a section or chapter announcement at the beginning of the audio file
9. Contain 1 to 5 seconds of silence at the beginning and end of each track
10. Be free of extraneous sounds such as plosives, mic pops, mouse clicks, excessive mouth noise, and outtakes
11. Measure between -23dB and -18dB RMS
12. Have peak values no higher than -3dB
13. Have a noise floor no higher than -60dB RMS
14. 192 kbps
15. MP3 file format.
16. Constant Bit Rate (CBR)
17. 44.1 kHz
18. No larger than 170MB
19. Metadata, Cover Art and Opening Tracks must all contain the same information

Learn more information about audio requirements here.

Don't worry - If you run into any trouble, we are a always a quick email away at [email protected]

We ask for the following image specifications so that your work will be accepted by all of our partners:

Your audiobook cover must:
• Include author name and title
• No references to physical (CD) or other media editions
• No CD jewel case, promo stickers, or cellophane
• No offensive material
• No colored borders on the side
• 2400 x 2400 (H x W) minimum
• Must be a perfect square
• File size should be less than 8MB
• 24-bit minimum
• 72 dpi minimum
• RGB (Not CMYK)
• JPG Format
• File name alphanumeric only

Learn more information about cover art requirements here.