I want to record audiobooks, will I have to pay the author/publisher?

Unfortunately books all are under copyright meaning you can't make money off them by making copies unless you get permission. Just like you can't make copies of DVD's or Videos and sell them yourself. The work remains the property of the author/publisher, not yours.

HOWEVER, this IS a paid job, would you be interested in taking it on as a career of sorts? Take a look at some of these I found just with a quick google search---

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=job+making+au...

The reason audio books are so expensive are because a fee has to be paid to the author and probably the publishing house to use their material. I mean, if someone is buying the book on tape, they're probably not buying the book.

So yes, to answer your question, you will have to pay and probably quite a lot, depending on how many units you believe you can sell.

Yes, you need to get the owner of the copyright to give you permission - even for your own use, and you definitely won't be able to sell them...