How to Distribute Your Audiobook With PublishDrive

PublishDrive is an aggregator that distributes your audiobook to a wide range of stores and subscription platforms from one dashboard, so you upload your files once instead of managing an account at every retailer. If you have finished audio and want it selling in more places without a separate deal at each store, PublishDrive is one way to get there. This guide walks through what PublishDrive does, how to export a clean audio file from AudioProducer first, and what to have ready before you upload.

What PublishDrive is and who it suits

PublishDrive is a distribution platform. It takes your finished book and pushes it out to retailers and subscription services on your behalf, then collects and reports your sales in one place. It started on the ebook side and expanded into audiobook distribution, so many authors already use it to keep ebooks and audiobooks under one roof.

It suits you if you want wide, non-exclusive reach and would rather not open and maintain a separate account at each individual store. It is less relevant if you only plan to sell in one place, or if you have chosen an exclusive arrangement with a single retailer. PublishDrive has changed its pricing over the years and has offered both subscription and commission-style models, so check its current plans and payment terms directly before you commit, rather than assuming the model you read about last year still applies.

Export your MP3 from AudioProducer

Before any of this, you need the actual audio. AudioProducer turns your text into narrated audio and lets you export a finished MP3 that you download. That file is yours to publish and sell wherever you like. AudioProducer does not distribute, publish, or host your audiobook to any store, library, or podcast feed, and it has no integration with PublishDrive. The handoff is simple: you export the file here, then you upload it there.

If you are cloning a voice, use your own voice or one you have clear permission to use. New here? You can start on the free tier and make your first audiobook with AI without a card (1,200 words free), and paid plans start from $39.99/month when you need more. Once your MP3 is exported and you have given it a final listen, you are ready to move to PublishDrive.

Uploading and distributing through PublishDrive

Inside PublishDrive you create a new audiobook title and work through its upload flow. In broad strokes that means: create the title, add your metadata, upload your audio files and cover, choose which stores and territories you want, and submit for distribution. PublishDrive then delivers your files to the retailers and platforms you selected and handles the ingestion at each one.

Distribution is not instant. Each store reviews and processes incoming titles on its own schedule, so expect a lag of days to a few weeks between submitting and seeing your audiobook go live everywhere. That is normal for aggregated distribution and is true no matter which aggregator you use.

Files, cover, and metadata

Stores are strict about what they accept, so get the basics right before you upload:

• Audio files. Have your chapters exported as clean files with sensible names. Check PublishDrive's current audio spec (format, bitrate, and per-file requirements) and match it before uploading rather than after a rejection.
• Cover. Audiobook covers are square. Use a high-resolution image that stays readable as a small thumbnail, since that is how most buyers first see it.
• Metadata. Title, author, narrator, description, language, and categories all feed discovery. Write a description a browsing listener would actually click, and pick categories that genuinely fit the book.

Getting the cover and audio right the first time saves you the slow round-trips that come with fixing a rejected file after it has already been sent out. If you have not made your cover yet, plan it before you reach the upload step.

Stores it reaches and payments

PublishDrive's value is breadth: it distributes to a list of audiobook retailers and subscription platforms, and that list changes as it adds and drops partners. Because the roster shifts, confirm the current list on PublishDrive's own site at the time you distribute rather than relying on a number you saw quoted elsewhere. The practical point is that one upload can place your audiobook in several stores at once.

On payments, each store reports sales back to PublishDrive, which consolidates your earnings and pays you out on its own schedule, minus whatever its current pricing model takes. Read the exact split and payout timing in your account before you count on specific numbers, since this is one of the things PublishDrive has changed over time. If you want to understand how store cuts and royalties stack up more generally, see how audiobook royalties work.

PublishDrive versus going direct

An aggregator like PublishDrive trades a little control and margin for a lot of convenience. Going direct to a single store can mean a better per-sale rate and closer control of your listing, but it also means managing each account yourself. Many authors use both: direct where it clearly pays off, and an aggregator to cover the long tail of stores they would never set up individually. If you are weighing exclusive versus wide, it helps to read up on publishing your audiobook wide and non-exclusive and to compare a rights-managed route like distributing through Findaway Voices before you decide where each title should live. Whatever mix you choose, the earnings side is worth planning early; our guide on how to sell audiobooks and make money covers the trade-offs.

FAQ

Once your file is exported and your metadata is ready, PublishDrive is mostly a matter of following its upload flow and waiting for each store to process the title.