Audiobook production · USD 497 per finished hour
ACX-ready.
Casting, narration, editing, mastering and delivery — priced by finished hour, so you pay for the final mastered runtime rather than studio time.
Tell us roughly how long the manuscript is and we’ll map it into finished hours and quote it exactly.
Get an exact audiobook quote
We map the word count into finished hours and quote the production cleanly — no call required.
Simple pricing
That keeps the pricing easy to understand. You are paying for the final mastered runtime, not the raw recording session. The quote includes production-ready files built for real platform delivery.
Worked examples
Priced by finished hour
Investment
USD 497 per finished hour, from USD 1,497.
Most popular
Typical for many business books, memoirs, and shorter novels
Reviews
Verified reviews from authors across our editing and publishing services. These are the clients who can be named, and each one shows the book we actually worked on.
“This was my first time for this and they help me all the way. There attention to details was great. I love the eloquence of the work. The response time I thougth it was alil slow, but that's realy me, I'm still working on being patient..lol. I will definitely us them again. I do have some more projects.”
Rodney GuptonAuthor of Forgiven Before You Were Born“I'm a first-time book publisher, and I could not have found a better partner than HMD Publishing. They did both my cover design and the work of uploading the manuscript to Amazon KDP and IngramSpark. The team was consistently knowledgeable, professional, responsive, detail-oriented, courteous, and above all patient. I had dozens of questions as we worked through the process, and they answered each one thoroughly and without ever making me feel ridiculous for asking. My book launched two days ago, and HMD has my highest recommendation for anyone looking for professional services to help make your writing dreams come true.”
Barbara WoolardAuthor of Beyond Words: The Power of Action in a World of Thoughts and Prayers“This is my second book working with them. My first experience was good. This time it was even better. Will use again for my next book. Really loved the formatting design. Very professional. Quick on replies. Great Cooperation. Fast delivery.”
Byron Headrick IAuthor of Ahead of the Curve: Strategic Foresight for the Next Decade in Public Education“Very good experience. Edits were clean, grammar and structure improved without changing my voice. Solid communication and professional throughout. Would recommend.”
Joe MarquesAuthor of The Unmasking: Why We Hide and How We Find What's Real“HMD Publishing truly SHINED in the Proofreading & Editing domain. Their PROFESSIONALISM and adaptability EXCEEDED my expectations, delivering exceptional quality. They were quick with my edits as well, for a book that’s around 51,000 words! Working with them was a breeze thanks to their cooperation, quick responsiveness, and kindness. 👏”
Kashana RuthAuthor of Empower Your Faith: Practical Strategies for Women to Prioritize God, Improve Self-Esteem, and Discover God's Plan for Your Life“Once again, HMD Publishing has done an excellent job! Their professionalism and willingness to work with me as a team resulted in my first children's book being published ahead of schedule and looks exceptional. Their responsiveness made working together a smooth and enjoyable experience. Thank you!”
Marie ChristmonAuthor of Marissa's Big Day“Quick turnaround and adherence to editing requests are exceptional. I strongly recommend to others.”
Ronald J. ChooAuthor of Entropy Universe Quantum Physics AI & ConsciousnessSwipe to read more
Named client reviews·Read them all →Voice casting
Audiobook listeners decide fast whether the production feels trustworthy. Casting is not just about a pleasant voice. It is about genre fit, authority, pacing, and whether the listener can stay with that performance for hours.
What the production brief should settle early
Process
Audition narrators to find the perfect voice.
Professional recording of the full manuscript.
Editing out breaths, noises, and mastering.
Files ready for upload to Audible/ACX.
Production flow
Recording alone is not the deliverable. The production has to move from manuscript to final mastered files in a way that protects performance quality, technical compliance, and launch readiness at the same time.
Shortlist voices that feel commercially right for the genre, tone, and listener expectation before moving into the full recording schedule.
Best use
Best when the voice needs to sell the category immediately.
Editing, mastering, room-noise cleanup, and level consistency make the production feel finished instead of merely recorded.
Best use
Best when platform approval and listener retention both matter.
Treat the audiobook as a launch asset with packaging, metadata, and platform submission support, not just a folder of audio files.
Best use
Best when the audiobook should support a wider author ecosystem.
FAQ
Clear answers on timeline, scope, rights, revisions, and what happens after checkout.
Production is priced by finished hour — USD 497 per finished hour. A finished hour is 60 minutes of final, edited, mastered audio, not studio time, because narration, pickups, editing, mastering and compliance checks all continue after the raw recording is done. Most manuscripts produce roughly one finished hour per 9,000–10,000 words.
Yes. Casting narrows the field to voices that fit the genre, tone, and audience expectations of the book before recording starts, and you choose from that shortlist.
That can work, but the production still needs engineering, editing, mastering, and technical cleanup if the final files are going to feel professional and pass platform requirements cleanly.
That is the goal. The production is delivered to platform-ready technical standards so upload, review, and launch are not delayed by preventable audio issues.
Production time depends on book length. A typical 60,000-word novel (6-7 finished hours) takes 2-4 weeks from casting to final delivery, including recording, editing, and mastering.
One page, one decision
If you know the approximate manuscript length, we can map it into finished hours and quote the production cleanly at USD 497 per finished hour.
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