Your book, in a voice worth listening to
Audio is the fastest-growing format in publishing and the one most authors skip. Auditioned narrators, proper mastering, and distribution everywhere that matters.
How much does it cost to produce an audiobook?
Audiobook production costs £1,200–£3,500 for a typical book. Recording runs about one finished hour per 9,300 words, so a 60,000-word book is roughly six and a half hours. Arkedia auditions narrators against your text, masters to ACX and Apple specification, and distributes from £1,450.
- From£1,450
- Audio ratio1 hour per 9,300 words
- Narrators3–5 auditions
- PlatformsAudible, Apple, Spotify
Audiobook listeners are loyal, they finish books, and they pay more per title than print buyers. They are also unforgiving about production quality — an inconsistent noise floor or a narrator who mispronounces a key term will cost you the review.
We audition narrators against your actual text, record in treated studios, and master to the technical specification Audible and Apple require, then handle distribution and rights setup across every significant platform.
Fixed price, quoted in GBP before you commit. Milestone payments.
- Free 1,500-word sample first
- Mutual NDA signed before we start
- Two revision rounds included
- Full rights and royalties stay yours
Everything in the Audiobooks service
Narrator auditions
Three to five narrators record the same passage from your book. You choose on the evidence, not a showreel.
Studio recording
Professionally treated recording environments and directed sessions, not a spare bedroom.
Pronunciation guide
Names, technical terms and place names agreed and documented before recording starts.
Mastering to spec
RMS, peak and noise-floor levels mastered to ACX and Apple requirements — the specs that cause most rejections.
Full QC pass
A human listens to every minute against the manuscript, checking for misreads, breaths and edit points.
Global distribution
Audible, Amazon, Apple Books, Spotify, Kobo, Google Play and library platforms including OverDrive.
How audiobooks works, step by step
You approve before we proceed. Every time. No stage begins until you have signed off the one before it.
Manuscript prep
The text marked up for audio, with a pronunciation guide agreed.
Auditions
Narrators record a passage from your book. You pick.
Recording
Directed studio sessions, typically 1 finished hour per 9,300 words.
Edit and master
Editing, noise-floor control and mastering to platform specification.
QC
Full listen-through against the manuscript, with pickups re-recorded as needed.
Distribution
Uploaded, rights configured and live across all platforms.
What authors say afterwards
I came with eleven years of workshop notes and no idea how to make a book out of them. The outline stage alone was worth the fee — it was the first time I could see the shape of what I actually knew. The finished book reads like me on a good day.
I had three self-published titles that were not selling. They showed me my covers side by side with the top forty in my category at thumbnail size and I understood the problem in about four seconds. New covers, re-optimised listings, and the back catalogue started moving.
Writing about my mother's illness was not something I could do alone. The interviews were handled with real care, and they were clear from the start about what would be in the book and what would not. My family have all read it. That matters more than sales.
Audiobooks — your questions answered
Can I narrate it myself?
For memoir and personality-led non-fiction, an author narration is often the stronger commercial choice. We will direct you, provide the studio and handle everything technical — but we will also be honest after a test recording about whether it serves the book.
How long does recording take?
Roughly one finished hour of audio per 9,300 words of manuscript, and around two hours of studio time per finished hour. A typical 60,000-word book is about six and a half finished hours.
Do you use AI narration?
Only if you specifically ask for it, and we will tell you what it costs you. Synthetic narration is cheap and is increasingly flagged by retailers and disliked in reviews. For most titles, a human narrator is the better investment.
Which platforms will it be on?
Audible and Amazon, Apple Books, Spotify, Kobo, Google Play, and library distribution through OverDrive and Findaway, giving you effectively worldwide coverage.
Services that pair with this one
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Print, eBook and global distribution set up properly — in your name, with your ISBN, and 100% of royalties paid to you.
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Launch plans, Amazon optimisation, author platform and paid campaigns — measured in books sold, not impressions served.
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Short-form video built for the feeds that actually sell books — cut for TikTok, Reels, Shorts and your Amazon listing.
Learn moreTell us about your book
A 45-minute call, no charge and no pressure. You will leave with a realistic timeline, a fixed price and an honest view of whether the book is worth writing.