What is xigxag?

xigxag is an innovative new digital reading app, that aims to revolutionise the audiobook experience. With no monthly subscription required, we offer you the ability to listen to audiobooks on your terms, and at your own pace. We offer first-ever innovations that other audiobook platforms don't, such as quote and share. We have even more cool features on the way. We will let you know as soon as they are available!

Why does xigxag exist?

Founders Kelli and Mark started xigxag because they felt that the audiobook listening experience hasn’t moved on since books on tape. Despite this, audiobooks seem to be priced at a premium to other formats. Subscription models are inflexible: users have to wait if they finish a book early, and pay even when they don’t have time to read. xigxag exists to offer listeners a modern platform designed specifically for audiobooks, with pricing that’s accessible to all.

Why is the xigxag experience better?

At xigxag, our innovative technology unlocks a load of features to improve the audiobook experience. Users navigate through the book by sentence, paragraph and chapter – more like reading. You’ll never get dropped in the middle of a thought, so you can always find your way. We offer an amazing quote share feature – a first for audiobooks – that allows you to share your favourite segments with your friends, or the world. That’s great for authors and publishers too as it spreads the word about the audiobooks people love. We have even more cool features on the way. Stay tuned!

What does fair pricing mean?

At xigxag, we want people to pay only for what they have time to read – without the monthly pressure of a subscription. We want users to be able to listen even when they can’t afford to pay. We want to reward listeners with better prices the more they listen. And we want to make sure that authors and narrators are fairly compensated for their work.

How does pricing work?

Our pricing is simple. It works on an annual basis from a user’s first purchase.
£7.99 per title for the first five books
£6.99 per title for books 6-10
£5.99 per title for books 11-15
£4.99 per title for books 16-20
£3.99 per title when you buy more than 20 books in the year (full priced titles only).
We also have a selection of books that are priced at £3.99, as well as a selection of free titles, so you will always find something to listen to within your budget.

Is there really no subscription fee?

There is no subscription fee! At xigxag you only pay for the titles you read, so there's no pressure to pay when you don’t have time to read.

How can I download the app?

The xigxag app is available on Google Play for Android users and the App Store for iOS users.

• Download from Google Play
• Download from the App Store

How do I see which genres are available?

When you open the app, you will see our ‘Top Picks’ of the week. If you scroll down, you will see a selection of genres. To see more of our Top Picks or more titles in a genre, simply click the ‘Genre’ title or the big arrow to the right. Over time, we will be making more genres available on the front page. You can also search by genre. Just click on the search icon at the top of the home screen and enter the genre or a description of the type of book you are looking for.

How can I find a book I don’t see on the home screen?

We want you to find everything you are looking for and with thousands of great books available, you may need to search. Click on the search icon at the top of the home screen and enter what you’re looking for. You can search by author, title, genre or keyword.

How do I find £3.99 books?

You can find £3.99 books in the ''£3.99 Top Picks' section on the home screen. Click the right arrow to see the full list of discounted titles.

I know exactly what I want. How do I make a purchase?

First, please make sure you have updated your payment details in the App Store or Google Play Store - we use this payment method for all purchases in the app. Click on the cover of the book you’d like. You’ll see a screen with information about the book. At the bottom, there are three icons. Click on the shopping cart icon to purchase. The price is listed below the shopping cart icon where it says 'Buy now'. Once purchased, you can choose to download, stream or listen later. You will find your purchases in your 'Reading List' on the home screen.

How do I save a book I want to read for later?

Click on the cover of the book you’d like. You’ll see a screen with information about the book. To the right of the cover, there are three tabs. The first tab with the 'list' icon allows you to see the chapter list. The second tab with the 'play' icon allows you to listen to a sample. The third tab with the 'plus' icon allows you to save the book for later on your Bookshelf.

Where do I find all the books I have saved for later?

You can find your Bookshelf in the middle of the home screen. Click on ‘Bookshelf’ once to see the three most recent adds. Click ‘Bookshelf’ again to see all the titles you have saved for later.

Where do I find all the books I have purchased?

You can find the three books you have most recently listened to under ‘Reading’ in the middle of the home screen. Click ‘Reading’ again to see all the titles you bought.

Can I remove books I’ve finished from my ‘Reading List’?

Sorry, not yet! But we are working on a solution to allow you to keep your reading list tidy.

Can I free up space by removing download books from my device?

Yes! You can remove any download from your device by finding it in your reading list, clicking on the more menu (the three vertical dots on the right hand side), and selecting ‘Remove download from device’.

How do I share a book recommendation with a friend?

Easy peasy! Just click on the ‘share’ icon. On the listening screen, it's in purple just below the play button. From the book info screen, it's on the bottom left. You can also share from your reading list - select 'Share this book' from the three-dot menu to the right of the play icon.

What is an 'x-book'?

An x-book is an audiobook that is enhanced with the ebook. Our technology indexes the audiobook to the ebook to enable a load of brilliant features for listeners: see illustrations, see the structure of dialogue, look up words, search for something you missed or want to hear again, switch to reading, or read along!

Why aren't all the books 'x-books? Why don’t all these brilliant features work on the book I purchased?

This is a tricky one! To make all these great titles available to you, we must agree contracts with publishers. Some of the early contracts we signed hold us back from doing everything we want to do. These publishers are wary of a new business model and the impact it can have on authors and narrators, which we understand. As a new partner for them, it will take time to earn their trust. But we are working hard on this, and as you listen to more great audiobooks and we build a great store, we’re confident the publishers will come to see the same benefits as you.

How can I find books that support all the app features?

Great question! We don’t offer the ability to search for these yet, but all x-books have a purple 'x-book' ribbon in the bottom left corner of the book cover.

How do I play a book I have purchased?

Once you have purchased a book, you are given the option to ‘Listen Later’, ‘Stream now’ (listen without download), or ‘Download to Device’. If you select ‘Listen Later’ you will be sent back to the home screen, where you can play directly from your ‘Reading’ list. If you select ‘Stream now’, the audio should start to play almost immediately. If you ‘Download to Device’ you will need to wait for the download to complete before listening. Soon, you should be able to play while the book downloads in the background. We’ll keep you posted!

I’m short on time. Can I change the listening speed of the player?

Yes! Press and hold the play button on the listening screen to choose the speed you want to listen to. Speeding up the audio can make reading more efficient and helps you concentrate on what you’re listening to.

Can I really save quotes from the book?

You can! When you’re listening and hear something you’d like to save, click ‘Save a quote’. It will save a clip of the section you are listening to. Be sure to label it so you will be able to identify it in your Quotebook. If the book is integrated audio-text, you will be able to see the text of the quote and trim it to the exact segment you want to save.

Where do I find the quotes I have saved?

You can find all your quotes in your Quotebook in the middle of the home screen. Click on ‘Quotebook’ once to see the three most recent adds. Click ‘Quotebook’ again to see a full list of all your saved quotes.

How do I edit and share a quote?

To edit and share a quote, first find it in your quotebook. Select the three vertical dots icon on the right hand side. Select ‘listen’ to make sure it matches the clip you’re looking for. Select ‘edit’ to trim it down to the precise segment you want to share (right now you can only trim off segments from the front – soon you will be able to trim any segment). Then select ‘share’ to share it on your preferred platforms. If you share on social media, please consider giving the author, narrator, and xigxag a shout out!

Help! I’m having technical problems with the app.

We’re sorry to hear that! First, we recommend you close the app completely and restart. If that doesn't solve it, plese report your problem in the app by selecting the three dot menu in the top right corner of the home screen. Click ‘Report an Issue’ and complete the form. That will go directly to our technical team to solve. If you don’t feel like your issue is being resolved, feel free to get in touch by emailing us at support@xigxag.co.uk.

Why can't I buy all your titles if I live outside of the UK?

Publishers divide rights to sell their titles geographically and we have focused on making titles available in the UK first, as it is our home market. We hope to be able to expand soon enough, but we’d like a bit of time to get the product right for the UK 🇬🇧.

Please can you help me? I have a problem with something I purchased.

Of course! Please email us at support@xigxag.co.uk from the account you registered in the app and we would be happy to help. Please don’t share any sensitive information in any emails with us. For issues with purchases, you may need to contact the support teams for the App Store or Google Play.

Something on the store violates my copyright.

We take copyright matters very seriously. Our contracts ensure our partner publishers have the right to allow us to resell their content in the territories we operate in. But that doesn’t mean errors can’t happen. Please contact your publisher or email us at support@xigxag.co.uk and we’ll promptly address any comments.

I am an author or publisher. How do I get my books on xigxag?

Super! We are always looking for more great books to offer our users, and we’d love to tell you about some of the benefits we can offer authors and publishers. If you’re used to dealing with our competitors, we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Please get in touch with us at content@xigxag.co.uk.

How can I contact you for something else?

For any and every issue, we are more than happy to help! Please contact us at support@xigxag.co.uk..