How to Choose the Right ACX Audiobook Projects (and Stop Wasting Time): The Strategy Every Narrator Needs
Most narrators won’t say it out loud, but I will:
Choosing the right books to audition for on ACX is half the job.
Pay-Per-Finished-Hour (PFH) titles? Easy decision.
But Royalty Share (RS) and Royalty Share Plus (RS+)?
That’s where narrators burn hours auditioning for books that will never sell.
I got tired of that.
So I built a system — and a full ACX evaluation tracker that predicts long-term value before you ever hit “Record.”
This article breaks the whole thing down.
⭐ The Hidden Problem With ACX (That No One Warns New Narrators About)
When you first land on ACX, everything looks promising. Endless books, lots of opportunities, tons of genres.
Then reality hits:
- Some RS books are dead on arrival
- Some authors have no marketing plan
- Some books aren’t even published yet
- Some titles have zero chance of selling in audio format
- And some scripts… let’s just say you can’t shine every rock
You shouldn’t be guessing.
You shouldn’t be gambling.
You shouldn’t be spending precious time auditioning for projects that won’t advance your career.
You need a system — one that turns chaos into strategy.
That’s where the ACX Tracker comes in.
🎯 The ACX Title Evaluation Method (The “Sniper Approach”)
Every ACX book should be evaluated across nine core categories before you audition:
1. Publisher
- Traditional publisher? → higher market potential
- Micro-press? → medium
- Self-published? → variable, depends on platform
- No publisher listed? → proceed cautiously
2. Author Platform (1–5 score)
This predicts whether the author will promote the audiobook.
Ask:
- Do they have a website?
- Are they on social media?
- Have they published multiple books?
- Do they have reviews?
- Do they have a newsletter or TikTok presence?
- Are they active in their genre?
A great author platform = long-term RS earnings.
A weak one = a ghost town.
3. Amazon Kindle Rank
This is huge.
The lower the number, the more the book sells.
My scoring system:
- Top 50,000 → Goldmine
- 50,000–150,000 → Strong
- 150,000–300,000 → Caution
- 300,000+ → Not selling
4. Category Rankings
Charting in any category means readers are actively buying.
5. Series? (Y/N)
Series sell.
If Book 1 does well, Books 2–6 usually fall into your lap.
6. Cover Quality (1–5)
People do judge books by their covers — especially in crowded genres.
A good cover = better sales.
7. Script Quality (1–5)
Read the sample.
If the writing feels clunky, repetitive, or unpolished, that will affect:
- Your enjoyment
- Your performance
- The audiobook’s long-term earnings
8. Project Type
- PFH → guaranteed money
- RS → long-game money
- RS+ → the sweet spot
9. PFH Budget
Critical for comparing PFH titles apples-to-apples.
🧠 Introducing the ACX Tracker (Free Tool)
I built a spreadsheet that automates everything above so narrators can:
- Evaluate projects in 3 minutes
- Predict long-term RS earnings
- Track PFH budgets
- Identify books worth auditioning for
- Filter PFH, RS, and RS+ projects
- Track their entire narrator pipeline
- Maintain a dashboard of success metrics
It includes:
✔ Full scoring engine
Automatically calculates:
- Score (Auto)
- Portfolio Value Score
- Recommendation (Goldmine, Strong Maybe, Maybe, Pass)
✔ Publisher column
See at a glance who’s behind the book.
✔ PFH Budget column
For evaluating paid work precisely.
✔ Pipeline status
Track:
- Planning
- Audition Sent
- Offer Received
- In Production
- Completed
- Rejected
✔ Filtered tabs
- PFH Projects
- RS Projects
- RS+ Projects
✔ Dashboard
Shows:
- Auditions sent
- Completed titles
- Average Score
- Total portfolio value
- Completion rate
- Distribution across PFH/RS/RS+
This is the ACX Command Center narrators wish they had from day one.
⚙️ How to Use the System (The 3-Minute Evaluation)
When you find an ACX project:
Step 1: Paste the listing into the tracker
Fill:
- Title
- Author
- Publisher
- Series
- Cover score
- Script score
- Project type
- PFH budget (if applicable)
- Estimated hours
Step 2: Look up the Amazon data
- Kindle Rank
- Category Rankings
- Author’s platform
Step 3: The tracker does the rest
Score under 5 → PASS
Low sales potential, weak platform, or poor writing.
Score 5–6.9 → MAYBE
Use if you need credits or love the material.
Score 7–9.9 → STRONG MAYBE
Good RS/RS+ candidate.
Score 10+ → NARRATE — GOLDMINE
These books can grow your credits and pay you long-term.
🔥 Example: “The Dark Hours” Evaluation
Using the system:
- Cover: 3
- Platform: 2
- Script: 3
- Series: No
- Rank: blank
- Category: blank
- Project Type: RS
- Hours: 2.7
Auto Score = 4.0 → PASS
Not a bad book — just not a strategic one.
This is exactly why the system works:
It saves you from wasting time on RS books with low probability of sales.
🛑 PASS vs FAIL: Why the System Doesn’t Use “Fail” — And What Would Actually Trigger One
A lot of new narrators ask the same question:
“If a score under 5 is a PASS… what would a FAIL look like?”
Here’s the truth:
Your ACX Tracker system intentionally doesn’t label anything as FAIL —
because a PASS isn’t about the book being bad.
It simply means:
👉 It’s not a strategic investment of your time right now.
Many PASS titles are perfectly fine books. Some are written by new authors finding their voice. Some are passion projects. Some are fun, short, or great for building credits.
PASS ≠ “bad.”
PASS just means low sales signals, low platform signals, or low long-term value.
But yes… there are situations where a narrator should walk away immediately.
And that’s where a FAIL category would exist — if we wanted to include it.
❌ What Would Actually Trigger a FAIL (Do Not Audition Under ANY Circumstance)
A FAIL isn’t about sales potential.
A FAIL is about red flags.
Things that waste your time, jeopardize your reputation, or violate ACX policy.
Here’s what would trigger a true FAIL:
🚩 1. AI-Generated or Plagiarized Writing
Books that read like ChatGPT dumps, or text stitched together from public-domain content.
🚩 2. Unpublished, Nonexistent, or Questionable Books
If the book has:
- No Amazon listing
- No visible track record
- No author info
- No publication history
It may not even be real.
🚩 3. Criminally Bad Writing Quality
Not “a bit clunky”…
I mean unreadable.
If the sample feels like:
- Broken English
- Nonsense sentences
- Zero editing
- Wall-of-text formatting
- Random capitalization
This is a hard walk-away.
🚩 4. Scam PFH Budgets or Unethical Demands
Examples:
- “PFH $5 but we expect full production quality”
- “Need a 10-hour book within 48 hours”
- “No payment but we promise exposure!”
❌ NOPE.
🚩 5. Offensive, Harmful, or Policy-Breaking Content
ACX has strict rules.
So do you.
If it violates either, it’s not worth it.
🚩 6. Hostile or Unprofessional Rights Holders
If they’re rude, pushy, or show red flags early,
they’ll be ten times worse once production begins.
🚩 7. “Too Good to Be True” Claims
- “This will be the next bestseller!”
- “We guarantee 10,000 sales!”
- “You’re lucky to be part of this project!”
Narrator beware.
🔥 Why FAIL Isn’t Included in the Main Recommendation System
Because most ACX books aren’t dangerous — they’re just not strategic.
PASS simply means:
- Low platform
- Weak cover
- No sales history yet
- Not worth your RS time
FAIL means:
- 🚫 Do not touch this with a boom pole.
If you ever want to add a FAIL option to your tracker, the system can easily support:
- 0–2.9 → FAIL (Red Flag Detected)
- 3–4.9 → PASS
- 5–6.9 → MAYBE
- 7–9.9 → STRONG MAYBE
- 10+ → NARRATE — GOLDMINE
But for now?
PASS does everything you need — without insulting authors or discouraging growth opportunities.
💰 PFH vs RS vs RS+: Quick Guide
PFH
- Guaranteed money
- Best for predictable income
- Now trackable with PFH Budget in v2.1
RS
- Best when author platform + rank + cover + writing are strong
- Avoid unless the sales signals are positive
RS+
- My favorite
- Guaranteed minimum + long-term royalties
- Perfect for narrators building both income AND catalog
🎤 Why This Matters for Narrators
Narration is a business.
Every audition is an investment of time, energy, and vocal stamina.
You should audition with intention.
You should build a catalog with strategy.
You should choose projects that support your long-term goals.
This system gives you:
- Clarity
- Confidence
- Efficiency
- And a pipeline you can actually manage
🎁 Download the ACX Tracker (Free)
🚀 Final Thoughts
Don’t let ACX overwhelm you.
Don’t audition blindly.
Don’t assume an RS title will ever sell.
Use data.
Use signals.
Use strategy.
And use tools that put YOU in control of your narration career.
If you’d like help evaluating your next ACX listing, my door is always open
About Johnny B
Johnny B is a storyteller at heart — whether he’s behind the mic narrating an audiobook, interviewing a rockstar for On Air with Johnny B, or writing articles for Mil-Spec Digital. A former Army veteran turned multimedia creator, Johnny brings authenticity, humor, and a deep love of people to every project he touches.
His audiobook narration career spans heartfelt non-fiction, gripping thrillers, inspiring memoirs, and imaginative fantasy worlds. He’s passionate about helping authors bring their stories to life and helping narrators learn the business side of the industry through practical tools like his ACX Tracker system.
