Former Amazonian who acquired audiobook publishing rights. Audible has people who buy rights directly from authors. By being publisher/retailer they can (but

Former Amazonian who acquired audiobook publishing rights. Audible has people who buy rights directly from authors. By being publisher/retailer they can (but don't always) offer an author a higher % of the net sale than they would get from anyone else, AND they can promote the audiobook selling MORE units.