Lock the text first
Every change after recording starts is a re-record — not a find-and-replace.
The single most expensive thing in audiobook production is a manuscript that changes mid-recording. Finish your editorial passes, then declare the text locked and treat it that way.
Deliver one clean file — .docx or .pdf — with chapters clearly numbered and no tracked changes or comments left in.
The pronunciation list
Invented names, real places, foreign phrases, technical terms: list every word a stranger could say two ways, with your intended pronunciation spelled out phonetically ("Aoife — EE-fa").
This is the highest-value document you can provide. Without it, pronunciation questions interrupt recording; wrong guesses become pickups.
The character list
For each speaking character: who they are, age, where they are from, and how they sit in the story. A sentence each is plenty — it is a casting note, not a biography.
Flag relationships that matter to the voice: siblings should not sound identical by accident, and the twist character should not be the one distinctive voice in chapter two.
What does not translate to audio
Footnotes, tables, charts, URLs, and long block quotes all need a decision: cut, adapt, or move to a companion PDF. Decide before recording, not in the booth.
Front and back matter count too — dedications, acknowledgments, and author notes are usually kept, but they are your call and they change the finished-hour math.