How to Get Your Audiobook on Chirp

Chirp is one of the easiest places for a listener to stumble onto a cheap audiobook, which makes it a place a lot of authors want their title to show up. But Chirp does not work like a normal store where you log in and upload a file. It is a deals store, and you get in through the side door: a distributor. Here is how the path actually works, and where AudioProducer fits.

What Chirp is

Chirp is BookBub's audiobook store. BookBub built its following by emailing readers curated discount and free ebook deals, and Chirp is the audiobook version of that same idea. Most of what a listener sees on Chirp is a rotating set of limited-time price drops, not a full open catalog you browse like a library.

That deals-first design is the thing to understand before you plan anything. On Chirp, being available is not the same as being visible. A title earns attention by being selected for a featured deal and going out to BookBub's audiobook subscribers, and those deals are curated, not automatic. So the real question is not "how do I upload to Chirp" but "how do I get my audiobook into the pool that Chirp deals are chosen from."

Export your audiobook from AudioProducer

Before any of the distribution steps, you need the finished audio. AudioProducer turns your manuscript into a narrated audio file. You paste or upload your text, pick a voice, generate, and download an MP3. If you want the narration to be your own voice, you can clone a voice you have permission to use, meaning your voice or a voice whose owner has agreed. That consent rule is not optional.

You can try it before paying anything: the free tier gives you 1,200 words with no card, which is enough to hear how a chapter sounds in the voice you picked. Paid plans start at $39.99 per month when you are ready to produce a full book.

What AudioProducer does is make the file. It does not distribute, host, or list your audiobook anywhere, and it has no connection to Chirp, BookBub, or any distributor. You download the MP3 and you take it wherever you publish. That hand-off is the point of the next step.

How to reach Chirp: through Findaway Voices

You do not send files to Chirp yourself. Chirp draws its catalog from audiobook distributors, and the main path for independent authors runs through Findaway Voices. The practical sequence looks like this:

• Distribute your finished audiobook through Findaway Voices, the same as you would to reach Apple, Kobo, libraries, and other retail channels.
• Make sure your title is set up to allow promotional pricing, since a Chirp deal is a temporary discount.
• Submit or opt your title into a Chirp deal through the BookBub side, or accept a deal invitation if one comes to you.

Because the store and the deals engine sit on the BookBub side while the file and metadata come in through a distributor, the relationship between these companies matters and it does change over time. Confirm the current Findaway-to-Chirp path and any deal-submission details on Findaway Voices and BookBub before you build your plan around it, rather than trusting a step that was true a year ago.

Metadata and cover that help your title get picked

Since Chirp exposure is curated, the material a deals curator looks at is your listing, not your upload form. That means your metadata is doing real work. Give it a clear title and subtitle, an accurate category, a description that reads like ad copy rather than a synopsis, and a runtime and sample that match the file.

The cover carries more weight than authors expect on a deals site, because a listener scrolling a discount email is deciding in a second or two. AudioProducer produces the audio, not the cover art, so you will make or commission a square cover separately and attach it during distribution. A crisp, readable-at-thumbnail cover is one of the few levers you fully control.

Running a Chirp deal

A Chirp feature is a short promotion at a low price, often paired with a wider BookBub push. To get the most out of one, treat it like a launch moment rather than a passive listing. Line up the discounted window, tell your own email list and social followers about it, and make sure your title is priced and available everywhere else so a curious listener who searches for you can find and buy at full price after the deal ends.

Do not build a business plan on a single deal. Placement is competitive and not guaranteed, so the sane approach is to get distributed cleanly, keep your metadata sharp, market the title yourself, submit for deals when it is ready, and keep producing. The authors who do well on discount stores tend to have more than one title, so a reader who bites on a cheap book has somewhere to go next.

Frequently asked questions

Can I upload my audiobook directly to Chirp?
No. Chirp does not take direct author uploads. Its catalog comes through distribution partners, and the common route for independent authors is Findaway Voices, after which your title can be submitted for a Chirp deal.

Does AudioProducer put my audiobook on Chirp?
No. AudioProducer exports a finished MP3 that you download. It does not distribute, host, or list your audiobook on Chirp or anywhere else. You take the file to a distributor yourself.

Is being on Chirp the same as selling on Chirp?
Not really. Chirp is a deals store, so your title mainly gets attention when it is chosen for a featured discount. Simply being in the catalog does not generate much visibility on its own, which is why metadata, cover, and deal timing matter.