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Audio Adaptations
The choices available to self-published authors looking to create audiobooks of their works
This feature was first published in print in The Self-Publishing Guide 2026
Last year, the publishing industry valued the UK audiobook market at over £209 million. Eight per cent of all book purchases were audiobooks. But that’s not the entire picture, because in 2023 Amazon’s Audible subsidiary reported that it alone saw sales of £242 million.
Thanks to smartphones, we can take and listen to audiobooks whenever we have our devices with us.
Recent technological developments have made creating audiobooks much easier, which means audiobook production for self-published authors has become much more accessible.
However, just because we can create an audiobook doesn’t mean we should. Children’s books, reference books, or books with a high visual content do not always transfer well in this format.
Genres that excel in audiobook format include most fiction, with crime, thriller, romance, Sci-Fi, historical, and young adult genres selling particularly well. Self-help and business books are hugely popular in audio format, with audiobooks taking twelve per cent of all non-fiction book sales. More readers are also listening to memoir, narrative…
