The audio market is booming and set to grow further. Simon Whaley chats to two writers about how writing for audio can improve our writing generally.
Kerboom! Did you hear that? It’s the explosion in audiobook sales that’s taking place. According to the Publishers Association, audiobook revenue in the UK increased by 31% to £268 million during 2024. Early indications suggest 2025 is on track to be even better.
Buoyed up by this, some audio platforms, such as Amazon’s Audible, specially commission books for audio-format only, and some publishers are releasing audiobook formats first before eBook and print formats.
So if the audiobook market is expanding, and some publishers are experimenting with audio-first releases, what does that mean for us as writers? Should we change the way we write to increase our audio opportunities?
Kylie Fitzpatrick (kyliefitzpatrick.net) is an author, educator, and consulting editor who has written five historical novels. Her latest, Under the Black Mountain, was published as an audio original by Bolinger, the largest online, audio, and digital publisher in the southern hemisphere, in May 2024.
“The audio-editing process was, in my experience,” Kylie explains, “the same as print. Audio publishers traditionally receive manuscripts that are print-ready and don’t tend to have in-house editors, as print publishers do, so they engage editors on a project by project basis. For this particular novel, because some of the settings in far northern Australia are sacred sites to First Nations people, the manuscript went through a sensitivity read by an Indigenous editor, then a copy edit and a proofread.”
This novel, along with the second in this series, is currently being considered by print publishers, and Kylie’s edits for the audiobook have been used in her print submissions.
Audio Tuning
“The changes I made after the copy edit for the audio version will remain for the print version. It’s always possible that, when a book has more than one publisher, a new editor will see an opportunity for refinement,” she continues. “I’m always happy to have a chance to go back to a manuscript, to make the writing and the narrative more taut. For me, part of the pleasure of writing fiction is to allow it to evolve, which often means removing or tweaking whatever doesn’t absolutely serve the story or character development.”
But when Kylie came to listen to the audiobook for the first time, she found herself thinking about further edits.
“As I listened, I was focused on the mechanics of the writing and how I could have shaven off a word or phrase to pick up the pace and make the reading/listening smoother. I think refinement and pruning can be a never-ending process: the longer I work on something, the more opportunity I see to leave space for the reader’s imagination. What we leave out is almost more important than what we keep. Readers are imaginatively engaged when we don’t over-explain and over-describe.”
As a result, she feels her subsequent writing has benefitted from having a book produced in audio format first.
“The way the voice of my protagonist, Eva Willoughby, was interpreted by the narrator, Australian actor Rebecca McCauley, stayed with me as I was writing the second book in the series,” Kylie explains.
“It was a new experience to have this audio reference, to literally ‘hear’ her voice, and it has given Eva’s character another dimension. I’ve reworked her dialogue more, and changed some inflection. I’ve also made sure the punctuation is signposting exactly what I want it to, and occasionally italicised a word for emphasis if I’m not sure it will otherwise be clear to the narrator.”
Jules Horne (method-writing.com) has a background in creative writing, radio, and film scripting, and is the author of Writing for Audiobooks. She advises that, although writing for print and audio share many similarities, there are some minor adjustments to think about when writing for audio.
Communicating Clarity
“I think all storytelling is ‘writing for the ear’ to a degree,” she begins. “Storytelling comes from the ancient art of performance, and spoken word effects are embedded in most writers’ voices intuitively. Beyond this, it’s about how much your writing style prioritises rhythms and the music of writing, how ‘performable’ it is—even if it’s read silently inside a reader’s head.”
“The other main consideration is clarity. In the audio context—audiobooks, radio, podcasts, spoken-word—the key difference is that you listen once. It flashes by and it’s gone. Whereas with reading, you can dot back and forth if you lose concentration or get confused.”
Jules then reminds us of one of the simplest, yet most effective, forms of editing all writers have available to them. It comes back to performance.
“The takeaway for writers is to read your writing aloud, imagining a performance to a friend. Don’t cheat! Really read out loud, as radio presenters do. You’ll instantly flush out anything that sounds strained, overwritten, or makes you stumble, or keel over from lack of breath. Over time, you’ll get your ear in, and this writing style will come naturally. I write audio-first anyway now, and it has really helped my editing.”
Writing and editing for audio needs a slightly different approach depending on whether we’re writing fiction or non-fiction. For non-fiction, authors should consider all the practical clues we give our readers to enable them to go off and find information elsewhere.
Audio Adjustments
“Humans have limited working memory,” Jules reminds us, “so non-fiction items such as URLs, references, long numbers, and dates need different techniques. Also, non-fiction often has visual elements—charts, maps, headers, structural hierarchies, bold, italics… Some of these can be cut or rewritten. Others, such as references and charts, can be herded into a companion PDF for download. This has the advantage that you can easily keep references up to date, because it’s far too much work to update audio!”
However, there’s also plenty for fiction writers to think about too, such as the way we reveal dialogue and other information to the reader.
“Prune adverbs—‘he said, sternly’—and verbs for ‘to say’, leaving just enough to help the rhythm and the narrator. Dialogue is relatively easy to bring to life in audio, whereas long flashbacks, asides, and passages of description can slow the story momentum. So, you may well want to look there for cuts.”
“But actually, a lot of ‘writing for the ear’ advice is just good general writing advice. And some writing that just about works for a tolerant reader is suddenly exposed in audio. So, listen out for what works for you and take notes. Learn about dramatic techniques, script techniques used in performance. That will give your fiction such an edge in a crowded audiobook market.”
Self-published authors looking to break into the audio market may be tempted to consider the AI-narration services many platforms like Amazon, Apple, and GooglePlay Books are offering. These take the text from the eBook file and apply a digital voice to it.
AI Assessment
But as we’ve seen, writing for audio requires making some textual amendments, and this includes AI-narrated books, too. In fact, listening to a digital voice read our eBook file aloud is a great way to assess where and what changes need to be made for the audio version.
Jules agrees. “I think an audio-friendly editing pass for narration of any kind is essential. Your book and your future writing will be all the better for it. I’d strongly advise doing your own editing. You’ll learn such a lot, and you’ll keep the edge, punch, and quirkiness of human language, personality, and thought. I want that in a book I’m going to invest time in!”
“AI writing is so homogenised that you lose the distinctive voices, colours, textures, and rhythms, which are at the heart of fiction. But if you’re already heading towards AI narration, maybe you’re also using AI for editing—possibly unaware, as it’s baked into so many products now. Just don’t let an AI stop you from learning or from trusting your own excellent instincts.”
Jules also appreciates that while AI technology has its drawbacks, it’s also leading to new opportunities.
“Audio narration is changing fast and, while AI has brought IP concerns for writers, it’s also bringing creative opportunities. Imagine you could write for a large cast of distinct voices and record a production at relatively low cost! This is a reality now, thanks to companies like ElevenLabs and Spoken. Though I haven’t done this yet, I’m excited by the creative potential and writing for production parameters a radio producer could only dream of just a few years ago.”
“More highly produced audiobooks will become more affordable—more dramatised writing, more music and sound effects, blurring the boundaries between audio genres even more. Though many authors are concerned about AI, this development feels like an audio step towards the democratisation authors have already enjoyed in book publishing. They’re interlinked. So, it’s something to be aware of as a potential avenue in your self-publishing career.”
So the next time you sit down to edit your work, think about how editing it for the audio market could also improve your writing generally. That way, your writing will be ready for the next explosion in the audio market.
Business Directory
Kylie Fitzpatrick’s Audio Advice
“Read aloud! This is good practice for writing for both audio and print. When we hear how our sentences sound and are received, we have a measure of what the writing still needs or doesn’t need: when a description is a bit much, or a sentence has more syllables than needed; when we need a long then a short sentence to create a pleasing rhythm. Pace is so important in storytelling, and every syllable counts.”
Jules Horne’s Audio Advice
“Write your book audio-first—that is, with audio narration in mind. It’s more efficient (and probably better written) to do it this way round, rather than adapt the ebook or print book. Read it aloud. Learn audio-writing techniques. Consider the distracted listener in a noisy train, in the gym, out for a walk. What will keep them hooked? Listen to audiobooks as a writer. What techniques are they using to attract and hold your attention? Learn from them and use them.”