Audiobooks Are Growing: Is Your Book Ready to Be Heard?

For years, authors thought of a book in two primary formats: print and ebook.

That has changed.

Audiobooks have become an important part of the publishing market, and they are giving authors another way to reach readers who may never sit down with a paperback or open an ebook.

According to the Audio Publishers Association, audiobook sales reached $2.43 billion in 2025, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year. More than 750,000 active audiobook titles were reported, up 43 percent from 2024.

Even more interesting for many Publify authors, Children's and Young Adult audiobooks were among the fastest growing genres.

Those numbers tell us something important:

Audiobooks are no longer an extra format authors should automatically overlook.

For the right book and the right audience, audio can become another meaningful way for a story to be discovered.

Why Are So Many People Listening?

Audiobooks fit the way people live.

Readers can listen while driving, exercising, cooking, traveling, walking the dog, or doing things that make holding a book impossible.

The Audio Publishers Association found that convenience is a major reason people choose audio. Among audiobook listeners, 86 percent cited the ability to multitask and 84 percent valued being able to listen on the go.

That means an audiobook is not necessarily competing with your paperback or ebook.

It may be reaching someone at a completely different moment.

A reader who does not have time to sit down with a 300-page book may happily listen during a daily commute. A parent may play a children's audiobook during a car ride. A business professional may listen while traveling. A memoir reader may connect deeply with a story when it is spoken aloud.

Audio gives your book another way into a reader's life.

Audiobooks Can Reach Readers in More Than One Place

One of the things authors sometimes misunderstand about audiobooks is distribution.

They may think only of Audible.

Audible is certainly important, but audiobook listening happens across many different platforms. Consumers purchase audiobooks directly, use subscription services, borrow them through digital library apps, and listen through dedicated audiobook services.

That is why broad distribution can matter.

An audiobook can potentially reach listeners through major audiobook retailers, subscription platforms, library channels, and other distribution partners.

We have even seen this firsthand at Publify. One of our children's authors has experienced particularly strong audiobook sales through Walmart.

That is a wonderful reminder that authors cannot always predict where readers will discover their books.

The more thoughtfully a book is distributed, the more opportunities it may have to find its audience.

Children's Books Have an Interesting Audio Opportunity

Children's and Young Adult audiobooks grew 21 percent in 2025, according to the Audio Publishers Association.

That caught my attention.

Children's books are naturally visual, but that does not mean they cannot work beautifully in audio.

Parents and children may listen together in the car, at bedtime, during travel, or as another way to experience a favorite story.

For some books, narration can add personality, emotion, humor, character voices, and pacing that create a completely different experience from reading the printed page.

And an audiobook does not replace the illustrated book.

It extends it.

That fits perfectly with something we believe strongly at Publify: a children's book can have a life beyond the original printed story.

Through Publify Classroom Connections™, a children's title may also grow into lesson plans, classroom activities, discussion guides, coloring or activity books, library programs, and other educational resources.

Audio can become another piece of that larger publishing picture.

What About Fiction, Memoir, Business, and Nonfiction?

Audiobooks are not just for children's books.

Fiction accounted for the majority of audiobook sales in 2025, with General Fiction, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Romance, and Mysteries, Thrillers and Suspense among the leading genres.

Memoirs can also be especially powerful in audio because listeners hear the emotion and personality behind the story.

Business and leadership authors may reach busy professionals who consume information while commuting, exercising, or traveling.

Faith-based books, personal development, history, and other nonfiction can also work well when the subject and audience are suited to listening.

The important question is not simply, "Are audiobooks popular?"

The better question is, "Would my audience want to experience my book this way?"

Narration Matters

An audiobook is not simply a manuscript read into a microphone.

Narration becomes part of the reader's experience of the book.

The narrator's voice, pacing, pronunciation, tone, emotion, and interpretation all matter.

For fiction, the narrator may need to distinguish among characters without turning the performance into a cartoon.

For children's books, warmth, energy, personality, and age-appropriate delivery can be especially important.

For memoir, some authors choose to narrate their own stories because their voice adds authenticity. Others are better served by a professional narrator.

There is no single correct choice for every book.

But there should be a thoughtful choice.

What About AI Narration?

AI narration is receiving a great deal of attention, but the current sales picture is worth understanding.

The Audio Publishers Association reported that AI-narrated audiobooks represented only 0.03 percent of audiobook sales revenue in 2025. It also found that willingness to try AI narration declined from the previous year.

Technology will continue to change, and AI will certainly remain part of the audiobook conversation.

But for authors making a decision today, cost and convenience should not be the only considerations.

Think about the listener.

Does the voice serve the story?

Does it sound natural?

Can it handle emotion, unusual names, accents, fantasy terminology, humor, dialogue, or the nuances of your particular book?

A poor listening experience can hurt a good book.

The goal should not simply be to create an audio file.

The goal should be to create an audiobook people want to keep listening to.

Your Audio Rights Matter Too

Before producing an audiobook, authors should understand who controls the audio rights to their work.

If you are traditionally published, your publishing agreement may include audiobook rights.

If you are independently published, you may retain those rights, but you should still understand any agreements you enter into with narrators, producers, distributors, or publishing service companies.

Keep copies of your agreements.

Know who owns the finished audio files.

Know how the audiobook will be distributed.

Know how you will be paid.

And know whether any agreement limits where else the audiobook can be sold.

We have talked before about the importance of authors understanding the rights connected to their books. Audio is part of that conversation too.

An Audiobook Is Another Publishing Asset

One of the reasons I find the growth of audiobooks so interesting is that it reminds us to think beyond a single book format.

A professionally produced audiobook is another asset connected to an author's intellectual property.

For an author building a series, a brand, a speaking career, an educational program, or a long-term body of work, that matters.

The book may begin as a manuscript.

Then it becomes a paperback.

Perhaps a hardcover and ebook.

Then an audiobook.

For some authors, it may also lead to educational materials, book club resources, speaking opportunities, licensing, translations, or other possibilities.

Each format gives the original work another opportunity to reach people.

How Publify Approaches Audiobooks

At Publify Publishing, audiobooks are included in many of our publishing packages because we believe authors should have the opportunity to consider audio as part of the larger life of their book.

The process can include preparing the manuscript for audio, selecting the right narration approach, producing and reviewing the recording, meeting technical requirements, creating the audiobook cover, and distributing the finished audiobook through appropriate channels.

Just as with print publishing, our goal is not simply to get a file uploaded.

It is to help create a professional product that represents the author's work well.

And our authors retain ownership and control of their work.

Should Your Book Become an Audiobook?

Not every book needs an audiobook.

But more authors should at least ask the question.

Consider your audience.

Consider your genre.

Consider how people might use or experience your content.

Consider whether your book is part of a series or a larger author platform.

Consider the quality of the narration and production you can provide.

And consider the long-term value of having your book available in another format.

Audiobooks are not replacing printed books.

They are giving readers another way to read.

And for the right author, that means another opportunity for a book to be heard.