Notes from the studio

How we produce, score, and publish AI-narrated audiobooks, with the store rules and royalty math we run into along the way.

September 3, 20267 min read

Spotify Direct, Author's Republic for the Rest: How the Lex Publisher Package Splits Your Audiobook Royalties

Spotify in your name at 100%. Every other store through one Author's Republic submission at 20% of net. What the $199 Publisher package actually does.

August 12, 20265 min read

How the Lex Publisher Package Works: Done-For-You Audiobook Distribution

Two setups: zero-effort Concierge publishing or accounts in your own name. Concierge: you keep 80% of net. Own the logins: stores pay you directly. Lex does the uploads.

August 10, 20266 min read

Fish Audio Instant Voice Clone Best Practices (and ElevenLabs IVC)

How to record 10–90 seconds that actually clone well: clean speech, exact transcripts, levels, and what Lex gates for authors.

July 22, 20269 min read

How to Record a Voice Sample for Your AI Audiobook Clone (Under 2 Hours)

Gear, room, levels, and script tips so Lex can clone your voice from under two hours of clean narration. From real author sessions.

July 15, 20263 min read

How Much Does Audiobook Production Actually Cost in 2026?

Real numbers for audiobook production in 2026: per-finished-hour narrator rates, editing and mastering fees, the royalty-share trap, and what AI production changes.

July 15, 20263 min read

ACX Royalty Share vs. Paying Upfront vs. AI Narration: The Real Math

A working comparison of the three ways indie authors get audiobooks made in 2026, with the 7-year exclusivity math ACX doesn’t put on the pricing page.

July 15, 20263 min read

Where Can You Sell an AI-Narrated Audiobook in 2026? Store-by-Store Guide

Which stores accept AI-narrated audiobooks in 2026: Spotify, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, and libraries, plus disclosure rules and the ACX exception.

July 9, 20265 min read

Why AI Audiobook Narrators Change Voice Mid-Chapter (and How We Fix It)

AI narrators drift between takes, creating "seams" where the voice changes. What causes TTS drift, how to measure it, and how Lex engineers around it.

July 9, 20264 min read

How to Choose an AI Voice for Audiobook Narration: A Data-Driven Method

Most AI voices fail at long-form narration. The cold-start probe Lex uses to test voice stability before burning credits, and why character voices drift.

July 9, 20264 min read

Scoring an AI Audiobook: Music, Ambience, and SFX That Don't Drown the Narrator

How Lex scores AI audiobooks like films: anchored music beds, looped ambience, word-synced sound effects, and a stem mix where silence is a choice.