Where audio wins

Price per copy. An audio edition commonly sells for several times an ebook's price, so a fraction of the units can still mean more revenue.

Competition. There are vastly more ebooks than audio editions. In most categories the audio shelf is thin enough that a good edition is visible simply by existing.

Longevity. Ebook sales tend to spike at launch and fade; audio accumulates through subscription listening, libraries and word of mouth for years.

Where ebooks win

Cost to make. An ebook is formatting; an audio edition is a production with real hours in it.

Speed. An ebook can be out this month. Audio takes recording, editing and proofing.

Promotion. Price-drop machinery — countdown deals, newsletter promos, bundles — is built around ebooks.

The honest way to decide

Work out what the audio edition costs before you argue about units. Here that is 7.000000000000001% of your word count: $3,500 for 50,000 words, $6,300 for 90,000.

Then ask how many copies at your intended audio price would return that figure. For most books the number is smaller than authors expect, and it does not have to be repaid in the first month — audio has years to do it.

If a book already sells in ebook, audio usually pays. If nothing sells yet, fix discovery first; a new format does not create readers on its own.

Asked and answered

Should I make audio before or after the ebook?

After, in almost every case. Let the text settle and the errors surface before anyone records it.

Does a film book change this?

It adds a third shelf — video — where the competition is thinner still, and the matching audio edition can ride with the film build.

Do subscription listens pay?

Less per listen than a sale, but they accumulate quietly and they reach listeners who would never have paid full price to try you.