Inkitt Audiobooks lets any author turn their published stories into AI-narrated audiobooks, and lets readers listen to those stories right in the Inkitt app. Below is everything you need to know, for authors and for readers.
For Authors
What are Inkitt Audiobooks?
You can turn your published Inkitt stories into AI-narrated audiobooks. You create the audiobook yourself on inkitt.com, chapter by chapter, choosing voices for your narrator and each character. Once you publish a chapter’s audio, readers can listen to it in the Inkitt app.
Who can make one? Do I need to be invited or qualify?
Every author can. There’s no eligibility gate, no minimum word count, no follower threshold, and no application.
One requirement: audiobooks are for published stories only, and audio can only be generated for published chapters. If a chapter is still a draft, publish it first.
I’ve edited my chapter. Will the audiobook update?
The audiobook is based on the published version of your story. Changes you haven’t published yet won’t be reflected in the audiobook. Once you publish the updated chapter, regenerate the affected audio so it matches your new text.
How does it work, step by step?
Each chapter moves through three tabs:
- Process: we read the chapter and prepare it for narration, identifying the characters and working out who is speaking in each paragraph.
- Characters & Voices: pick a voice for each character. Set gender and age, tap Suggest for recommendations, preview any voice, then save it. “Verify All” assigns the suggested voice to everyone at once.
- Preview & Publish: listen to individual paragraphs or the whole chapter, make edits, then publish.
What does it cost?
Audiobooks cost credits, which are used to generate the audio file. You buy credits on your account.
How do I know how many credits I need before I buy?
The credit screen estimates the cost for you before you pay, both for the chapter you’re working on and for generating every remaining chapter at once (“Go all in”). Estimates are calculated from your actual chapter text and include some buffer.
They’re an estimate, not a cap. Resetting a chapter, changing a main character’s voice after audio exists, or previewing repeatedly all consume extra credits. If you run out mid-way, you top up from the same screen and carry on.
Are credits tied to one book?
No. Your credit balance belongs to your account, not to a story, so you can spend the same credits across all of your books.
Can I change the voices after I’ve generated audio?
Yes. Changing a character’s voice updates that character across the whole story. Any paragraphs already generated with the old voice need regenerating to pick up the new one.
The narrator mispronounces a name. Can I fix it?
Yes. Every story has its own pronunciation dictionary. Open “Edit pronunciations” at any time, add the word with a respelling, and preview how it sounds before saving. Entries can be edited or deleted later.
What does “Reset Chapter” do?
It re-pulls the published chapter text and processes it again from scratch, which is useful if you’ve published a rewrite. It costs credits, and there’s no undo: audio generated before the reset isn’t archived. You’ll get a confirmation prompt first.
Do chapters have to be published in order?
Yes. Audiobook chapters publish contiguously: you can publish chapter 1, then 2, and so on. You can generate audio for the chapter that follows your last published one.
If you unpublish a chapter, every audiobook chapter after it is unpublished too.
Do I have to make the whole book at once?
No. Work chapter by chapter and publish as you go, or generate everything in one pass with “Go all in.”
Will my subscribers-only chapters be free to listen to?
No. Listening follows exactly the same access rules as reading. If a chapter is behind one of your subscription tiers, it stays locked for listeners too, and subscribing unlocks the audio just as it unlocks the text.
Can I use my own voice?
Not yet. It’s on our roadmap.
Why couldn’t some of my content be turned into audio?
Some content that’s allowed on Inkitt may not be accepted by the voice technology that generates the audio, which applies its own, sometimes stricter, standards. Very explicit or graphic passages are the most likely to be affected. You can revise and regenerate if this happens.
For Readers
How do I find audiobooks?
- The Audiobooks tab in the app.
- Any story cover with the audiobook badge has at least its first chapter available as audio.
How do I start listening?
Open a story that has the audiobook badge and tap Listen next to Read. It opens at the chapter you last had open, at the spot where you stopped.
If I switch between reading and listening, do I lose my place?
No. Reading and listening share a single position per story. Stop listening halfway through a chapter and the text picks up in the same place, and vice versa.
Do audiobooks count toward my streak and achievements?
Yes. Listening counts toward the same story progress as reading, including streaks, finished books, and achievements. After you finish listening to a chapter, you’ll see the same progress popup you’d get from reading it.
Why does a story I want have no audiobook?
