AuthorVoices FAQ

Yes — AuthorVoices users get audiobook distribution at no upfront cost. There are no submission fees, no annual fees, and no payment required to publish. You only share royalties when the book actually sells.

Your audiobook goes to over 50 of the leading audiobook retailers worldwide, including Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Spotify, Storytel, BookBeat, Scribd, and many more. Audible and Amazon are not included because their terms of service prohibit AI-narrated audiobooks — they require human narration only. That's why our distribution channel is described as "All except Audible and Amazon."

Distribution is done directly from your project page. As soon as you've created the audiobook files (MP3 ZIP and M4B), the "Distribute Audiobook Globally" button activates. Click it, fill in the book details (description, categories, retail price, etc.), and submit. We handle the upload to retailers from there.

Distribution is operated through SelfPublishing.pro, our sister company. They manage the upload to retailers, monitor sales reporting, and handle royalty payments to you.

On average, authors keep about 50% of the retail price. SelfPublishing.pro's share is 15% of the net royalties (the amount paid out by retailers after their cut). The author keeps the remaining 85% of net royalties — that typically works out to around half of every retail dollar.

Royalty payments are made by PayPal or bank transfer. Payouts are sent once your account balance reaches $25. Below that threshold, royalties accrue and roll forward to the next payout cycle.

No — distribution is non-exclusive. You can continue selling your audiobook on your own website, as a direct download, or through any other channels you choose. You're never locked into one platform.

Refund requests are handled case-by-case. If you believe you qualify for a refund (for example, a duplicate or accidental purchase), please email hello@authorvoices.ai with your order/transaction ID, the email used for the purchase, and a short explanation. We'll review your transaction and whether any credits were used; approved refunds are processed via Stripe and typically appear on your statement within 5–7 business days. For complex disputes or suspected fraud, we may follow up for additional verification.

Your purchased credit balance and full transaction history (purchases, usage per section, subscription grants) are on the Credits page (accessible from your Dashboard). For Studio subscribers, the Billing page (/account/billing) also shows your Studio Credits remaining, subscription Instant Credits, and when your monthly buckets reset. Purchases are applied immediately; check the Transactions table for details on each line item.

AuthorVoices.ai is an AI-powered audiobook narration platform that helps independent authors create professional-quality audiobooks using curated AI voices.

Upload your EPUB, DOCX, or paste text directly, select a narrator voice, and our system will generate your audiobook chapter by chapter. You can edit individual sections with Quick Fix and re-narrate just the parts that need changes — no need to rebuild the whole book.

Yes — when creating a new project, choose the 'Pull a book from SelfPublishing.pro' option and search by title or author. If your SelfPublishing.pro and AuthorVoices accounts share the same email address, your SPP books will appear in the list and can be imported with one click. The EPUB is fetched and the project is created automatically, ready for narration. If no books appear, make sure both accounts use the same email address. You can also start a project the usual way by uploading an EPUB or DOCX directly, or by pasting text.

Cloned voices created from your uploaded sample are private to your account. If you create a cloned voice before buying credits, we retain it for a short trial window (approximately 24 hours) so you can experiment. To keep the cloned voice longer-term, purchase any credits in your account — cloned voices are preserved while you have credits. If you delete a cloned voice it cannot be recovered; you can upload a new sample to recreate one.

Studio plans are flat-rate monthly or annual subscriptions that let you render audiobooks without paying per character. Each plan includes Studio Credits (used for whole-book queued narration) and Instant Credits (used for real-time section edits). Three tiers are available — Starter ($49/mo), Basic ($99/mo), and Pro ($149/mo) — with a 17% discount when billed annually. Studio renders are queued and typically finish in 2–5 hours; you can start one Studio book per day. Studio supports 48 of the 55 narrators in our catalog across Studio 1 and Studio 2 — use the Studio eligible filter on the Narrators page to see which voices each engine covers. To subscribe, visit the Pricing page and choose a Studio plan.

Instant Credits are flexible, real-time character credits used for individual section narration, Quick Fix edits, and one-off renders — they work with all 55 narrators and are delivered in near real-time. Studio Credits are included in monthly Studio subscriptions and power whole-book batch narration with Studio-eligible narrators; books are queued and typically delivered in 2–5 hours. Studio subscribers also receive a monthly allotment of Instant Credits (use-it-or-lose-it) for real-time edits, and can buy additional one-time credit packs that never expire. Your Dashboard and Billing page show all three buckets — Studio Credits, subscription Instant Credits, and purchased Instant Credits — with remaining balances and the period reset date.

No — subscription Instant Credits are granted fresh each billing period and reset when your period renews. They are use-it-or-lose-it: any unused subscription Instant Credits expire at period end. One-time Instant Credit packs (purchased separately) are different — those never expire and stay on your account regardless of subscription status. To see your current balances and when your period resets, visit the Credits or Billing page from your Dashboard.

Yes — you can try voice previews without purchasing credits. The site provides a limited number of free voice-preview attempts so you can hear narrators and pick the right voice before buying credits. If you run into limits or need more previews for testing, contact support.

Of the 55 narrators in our catalog, 48 are Studio-eligible — meaning they work with whole-book batch narration on Studio Starter, Basic, and Pro plans. Studio 1 and Studio 2 each cover different groups of narrators, and some voices are available on both. All 55 narrators are available when using Instant Credit packs. On the Narrators page, tap the 'Studio eligible' filter (green, star icon) to see exactly which voices are included before you start a project. Each narrator card shows a color-coded badge indicating which Studio engine(s) it supports.

Some older/imported projects are preserved as "Download Only" — this means the project files and final audio remain available for download, but the project is not editable in the new editor. Editable projects can be updated and re-narrated as usual.

Processed output files are available for download for approximately 6 hours after the job finishes. After that they are automatically deleted from the server. Download your files as soon as processing is complete — they cannot be recovered once the retention window expires.

The fastest way to reach us is via the Contact page at /contact or by emailing hello@authorvoices.ai. When you contact support, include your account email, any relevant project or section IDs, and screenshots or error messages to help us investigate more quickly.

The Distribution Ready Fix (/distribution-ready/fix) is a paid done-for-you service that re-masters your complete audiobook to common retailer delivery specs — consistent loudness, clean room tone, and correct encoding — across every chapter at once. Upload your full audiobook as a ZIP of MP3 chapters, or select all your MP3 files at once. We measure the total run-time, show your exact price up front (no surprises), and after payment your re-mastered files are ready to download. Optionally, AI-narrated opening and closing credit files (book title, author, narrator, copyright) can be generated and included at no extra charge. Pricing is based on total audiobook length; audiobooks over 20 hours can email for a custom quote. This is separate from the free single-file Spec Checker at /distribution-ready.

Cloned voices are private to your account and will appear in your narrator list when you create or edit projects/sections. Select your cloned voice as the default narrator for a project or override the narrator for individual sections when editing. Note: cloned voices created during a trial window are preserved while you have credits (see the Clone Your Voice page for details).

Go to Voice Clone (in your dashboard) and upload a recording of your voice — supported formats are MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, AAC, OGG, and WEBM. At least 30 seconds of clear speech gives the best results. The system trims and processes the sample, creates a private voice on ElevenLabs, and immediately adds it to your narrator list. You can replace your cloned voice at any time by uploading a new sample. Note: cloned voices are private to your account and are preserved while you hold credits. Free accounts may upload up to 3 voice samples per day; paying accounts may upload up to 10.

Yes — when uploading your voice sample on the Voice Clone page, check the "Clean up my sample before cloning" box before submitting. This runs a light audio cleanup pass: it trims the sample to 10 minutes, reduces background noise, tames low rumble and hiss, applies light compression, and normalizes loudness. Leave it unchecked if you want the sample used exactly as recorded. Cleanup helps most with room noise or recordings made on a phone or laptop microphone; studio-quality recordings usually don't need it.

Yes — each section can have its own narrator, speed, stability, and style settings, overriding the project default. Open the section editor and change the Voice Override field (and any speed/stability settings) before regenerating that section. The project default narrator is used for any section where you have not set an override. This lets you give different chapters distinct voices, or adjust pacing section by section, without re-narrating the entire book.

Yes — new accounts receive a small registration bonus (5,000 characters, roughly 5–6 minutes of finished audio) so you can test narration quality before purchasing a credit pack. You can also preview any narrator voice on the homepage without using account credits. To produce a full chapter or book you will need to purchase a credit pack from the Pricing or Credits page.

Yes — use the Quick Fix (advanced selection) feature in the section editor. Highlight the specific text passage you want to re-record, choose an alternate phrasing or regenerate with a different voice setting, and only that passage is re-synthesised and stitched back into the section audio. This saves credits and is much faster than regenerating an entire chapter.

Yes — open the section from your project page and use the section editor to update any or all of the source text, then re-narrate the section. The previous audio is replaced; the rest of your project stays untouched. For smaller targeted changes — fixing a word, a sentence, or a passage — Quick Fix is faster and uses fewer credits because it only re-synthesises the selected range and stitches it back into the existing audio.

Yes — if you have an account on SelfPublishing.pro, you qualify for a 10% AuthorPass discount on credit pack purchases. The discount is applied automatically at checkout once your cross-site membership is verified. If you believe you qualify but are not seeing the discount, contact support with both account emails so we can verify and apply it manually.

Yes — open your project and use the Cover Art option to upload a square image (JPG or PNG). The cover is embedded in the M4B export so it appears as album art in audiobook players, and is used as chapter art in the ZIP export. For distribution submission, your cover must be square and at least 2400x2400 pixels — the project page will show a warning inline if your image does not meet this spec. If your cover is close but not quite right, you can use the one-click 'Convert to Distribution-Ready' option on the project page, which uses AI to resize and remaster the image to spec. For personal listening exports that are not being distributed, 1400x1400 is fine. You can replace the cover at any time; re-export the project to apply the updated art.

Distribution requires a square cover image at least 2400x2400 pixels. If your cover does not meet this, the project page will show a warning banner above the book title with an 'Update Cover Image' button. From the cover upload modal you can upload a replacement file, or use the one-click 'Convert Current Cover to Distribution-Ready' option, which automatically resizes and reprocesses your existing cover to meet the spec. Once your cover passes the check the warning disappears and the Distribute button becomes available.

Yes. On any project page you'll see a "Narrate Whole Book" button. Click it and AuthorVoices shows a pre-flight summary — how many sections will be narrated, exactly how many credits it will cost, and your current balance — then kicks off the whole book in the background. You can leave the page and come back; narration keeps running. When you return, each section will show its live status and the top card will show overall progress.

The Quality Control report analyses your finished audiobook sections by transcribing the audio and comparing it to your original text. It flags passages where the narration diverges from the script, long silent gaps, and gives each section a match score. Minor transcription quirks — homophones, number formatting, compound-word splits — are hidden by default so the report focuses on genuine problems; use the "Show quirks" toggle to reveal them. You can also dismiss individual flagged items to keep the report tidy as you work through it. To run a QC report, open your project and go to the Quality Control tab. From the report you can jump directly into Quick Fix to correct any flagged passage without re-narrating the whole section. Quality Control is free for Studio subscribers; Instant Credit users are charged a small credit fee per job.

Yes — on the project page, drag and drop sections into the order you want. The new order is saved immediately. Reordering does not affect the audio files already generated; it only changes how sections are sequenced when you export.

Changing the project-level default narrator does not affect sections that have already been narrated — their existing audio files are preserved. Only sections you re-narrate after the change will use the new voice. You can also override the narrator on individual sections without touching the project default, which is handy for giving specific chapters a different voice. To update previously narrated sections, open each one and regenerate it manually (or use Narrate Whole Book with the 're-narrate already rendered' option checked).

Marking a section as Proofed is a personal quality-review flag — it simply means you have listened to that section and are happy with it. It does not affect generation, downloads, or billing. The project page shows how many sections are proofed so you can track your review progress across a long book.

When you enable Autoplay next section on a project page, the audio player will automatically start the next narrated section as soon as the current one finishes — useful for listening through your audiobook straight through without clicking between sections. The toggle is visible on your project page next to the section list and only affects your current listening session.

Our Terms and Conditions are at /terms (also linked in the footer and the homepage voice preview widget). They cover voice-cloning consent requirements, manuscript ownership, your responsibility to comply with each retailer's AI-narration policy, and how credits work. If you have questions about a specific section, email hello@authorvoices.ai.

No. As of the current Terms, Audible and ACX do not accept AI-narrated audiobooks produced by third-party tools such as AuthorVoices — they permit only their own in-house AI narration tools where offered. Submitting AuthorVoices audio to ACX or Audible violates their content policy and may result in your retailer account being closed. AuthorVoices audio is compatible with most other retailers and distributors; see /terms for the full policy details.

Visit the Billing page from your Dashboard (or go directly to /account/billing) and click "Manage subscription." This opens a secure Stripe portal where you can update your payment method, switch between monthly and annual billing, change your plan tier, or cancel. Cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period — you keep full Studio access until then. Upgrades are applied immediately; downgrades take effect at the next renewal.

Yes — once your project is fully narrated, open the project page and click the Distribute button. AuthorVoices will send your finished audiobook files to SelfPublishing.pro, which handles InAudio submission to major retailers on your behalf. Note that Audible/ACX does not accept AI-narrated audio produced by third-party tools; see the Terms for the full retailer policy list.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you keep full Studio access until then, and your account reverts to the free tier after that. Rendered audio files are retained for 30 days post-cancellation so you can download everything; after that they are removed from the server. Any Instant Credit packs purchased separately remain on your account and never expire, regardless of subscription status.

Yes — each section has individual speed, stability, and style controls in the section editor. Use the speed slider to make narration faster or slower, and adjust stability and style to control how expressive or consistent the voice sounds. Changes apply only to that section; regenerating it does not affect the rest of your project.

No — cloned voices work with Instant Credits for real-time, section-by-section narration, but not with Studio whole-book batch narration. Studio uses separate narration engines (Studio 1 and Studio 2) that together support 47 of the 55 curated narrators. To see which voices are included, use the "Studio eligible" filter on the Narrators page. Your cloned voice remains available for all Instant Credit narration.

Studio subscribers have access to two whole-book narration engines — Studio 1 and Studio 2 — that run in parallel, helping reduce wait times when one engine is busy. When you click Narrate Whole Book, you can choose Studio 1, Studio 2, or 'First available (auto)' before starting the batch. Auto-route picks whichever engine is idle first. Once a project starts rendering on a particular engine it stays on that engine throughout, so all sections of a book are produced consistently. Both engines produce ACX-mastered audio; the two engines support different sets of narrators — use the Studio eligible filter on the Narrators page to see which voices each engine covers.

Yes — when you click Narrate Whole Book on your project page, a panel lets you pick Studio 1, Studio 2, or 'First available (auto)' before starting. Auto-route sends your book to whichever engine is free first, which is the fastest option when one engine is already busy. Once a book starts rendering on a particular engine it stays on that engine so all sections sound consistent. You can preview sample audio from each engine side by side in the narrate modal before committing.

We send occasional helpful reminders — for example, if a project is sitting without any audio after a few days, or if you have narrated sections but haven't yet exported your audiobook. After you export, we may also ask for a quick review. Each email includes an unsubscribe link.

AuthorVoices narrators cover a wide range of languages and regional accents, including American (including Southern and Indian accents), British, Australian, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Taiwanese Mandarin), and more. To browse by language, visit the Narrators page. Most narrators are English-language; non-English voices are fully available with Instant Credits. Studio whole-book narration availability varies by narrator — look for the Studio badge on the Narrators page to confirm which voices work with your plan.

Yes — on your project page, use the section menu (the three-dot or action button next to any section) to insert a new section immediately after it or delete an existing one. You can also create a new blank section from the project page and paste in text directly. Deleting a section removes its audio permanently, so download anything you want to keep first.

Yes — you can sign up for free and explore the platform with no credit card required. New accounts receive a one-time registration bonus of 5,000 characters (roughly 5–6 minutes of finished audio) so you can test narration quality before purchasing, and you can preview any narrator voice on the homepage at no cost. When you're ready to produce a full chapter or book, purchase a one-time Instant Credit pack from the Pricing page, or subscribe to a Studio plan.

There are two ways to narrate on AuthorVoices. For pay-as-you-go, purchase one-time Instant Credit packs from your dashboard (Credits) or the Pricing page — multiple tiers are available to match different manuscript lengths, and credits never expire. For a flat monthly or annual fee, subscribe to a Studio plan (Starter, Basic, or Pro) from the Pricing page; Studio includes a monthly allotment of whole-book rendering credits plus real-time editing credits. Purchases and subscriptions are applied immediately. For help with a specific transaction, contact support.

We use a character-based credit model. One hour of finished audiobook audio corresponds to about 9,300 words or roughly 50,000 characters, and credit packs are sized accordingly. Use the Pricing/Credits page to estimate how many credits your manuscript will need.

AuthorVoices offers two pricing tracks. Instant Credits are one-time pack purchases billed per character (50,000 characters is approximately 1 finished audiobook hour); credits never expire and all 55 narrators are available. Studio subscriptions ($49–$149/month, or save 17% annually) include a monthly allotment of whole-book rendering credits plus real-time editing credits; Studio works with a curated set of narrators and books are queued. See the Pricing page for exact tier amounts and any active sale prices; charges appear at checkout exactly as shown on your statement.

You can upload EPUB and Microsoft Word (.docx) files to create a project and auto-detect chapters. If you prefer, you can create a project manually by pasting text. The server accepts files up to 200 MB — well above the size of any real manuscript (typical novels run 1–5 MB). If you hit an upload error, try splitting the file or contact support with the file type, size, and any error message shown.

Yes. Once your audiobook sections are generated you can download the audio. From the project page you can export a ZIP of individual MP3 files (one per chapter) or a single M4B audiobook file with embedded chapter markers and cover art. Audio generated on AuthorVoices is mastered to ACX-compatible levels, so it is ready for most audiobook retailers. For MP3s recorded outside AuthorVoices, use the Distribution Ready Tool to convert them to retailer specs.

Yes. The system is built around section-level narration so you can update specific parts of a project without having to rebuild the entire audiobook every time. That makes revisions faster and more practical.

AuthorVoices has two distribution audio tools. The free Spec Checker at /distribution-ready analyzes a single MP3 against common retailer audio specs — no credits used, no charge, login required. The paid Distribution Ready Fix at /distribution-ready/fix re-masters your entire audiobook: upload a ZIP of MP3 chapters (or select all your MP3 files at once), get an instant price quote based on total run-time, pay securely, and download re-mastered retailer-ready files. Opening and closing credit files (ACX-style) can be added at no extra charge. Output files from both tools are available for approximately 6 hours after processing, then automatically deleted.

Manuscript uploads (EPUB and DOCX) are capped at 200 MB — well above the size of any real manuscript (typical novels run 1–5 MB). If an upload fails, check that the file is a valid EPUB or DOCX; if it still fails, contact support with the file type, size, and the error message shown. The free Distribution Ready Spec Checker (/distribution-ready) accepts a single MP3 up to 100 MB. The paid Distribution Ready Fix service (/distribution-ready/fix) accepts a ZIP of MP3 chapters or multiple individual MP3 files, up to 2 GB total. Output files from both tools are available for approximately 6 hours after processing, then automatically deleted. If a user hits an upload error, collect: the exact error message, file type, file size, their account email, and which upload page they were using.

Generation time depends on which track you use. With Instant Credits, short sections often complete in minutes; a full book of many sections can take an hour or more depending on length and system load. With Studio narration, your book enters a shared queue — most books finish in 2–5 hours, but peak demand can stretch to 48 hours; you will receive an email when your book is ready. You can monitor live progress on the project and section pages. If you see unusually long delays, contact support with your project details.

Credits are charged per section, not up front, and only right before that section actually renders. That means: (1) if a section errors, you are not charged for it; (2) if you run out of credits part-way through, the batch stops cleanly at the section it could not afford — already-narrated sections stay; (3) if you click "Stop After Current Section", AuthorVoices finishes the section in flight and then halts — no half-finished audio files. By default, the batch skips sections that already have audio, so you will not be re-billed for work you have already paid for. If you've edited the source text of an already-narrated section and want it re-rendered, tick the "Also re-narrate sections that are already rendered" checkbox in the pre-flight modal before starting.