Fantastic breakdown of the audiobook landscape right now. The pay-after-satisfaction model from Spoken.Press is really intruiging because it shifts the risk away from authors who are already spending thousands on covers and editing. I helped a friend record some sample chapters last year and the proofing alone was exhausting even with just a few dialogue scenes. Dunno if AI narration will ever fully replace human voices but the cost gap is definitley shrinking.
I agree. While the cost is shrinking, as you indicated, the production time is extreme. I have a novel that needs 4 main characters and several minor ones, and just the changes to all the dialogue (tag removal, etc.) in a 400 page novel to make the digital dialogue work correctly will take significant time.
A few of my indie friends have done Audio versions and I've heard the monetary complaints et al. But Audio is the fastest growing segment in the industry I'm told, and more and more former readers are going that way even though they're fairly expensive to purchase. Best of luck! And Jane Friedman did a really good post, some time ago now, on the use of AI for audio books. I guess in its infancy it was Really imperative to check all out bc the bots were not used to some words.
They are still not used to any words that are the least bit different. I’m not pleased with any result so far, but the technology is changing so fast that I will see if it can solve my dilemma. I need a British narrator who can do distinctive English-speaking Turkish male dialogue. Currently not possible.
Excellent post!
Thanks, David.
Fantastic breakdown of the audiobook landscape right now. The pay-after-satisfaction model from Spoken.Press is really intruiging because it shifts the risk away from authors who are already spending thousands on covers and editing. I helped a friend record some sample chapters last year and the proofing alone was exhausting even with just a few dialogue scenes. Dunno if AI narration will ever fully replace human voices but the cost gap is definitley shrinking.
I agree. While the cost is shrinking, as you indicated, the production time is extreme. I have a novel that needs 4 main characters and several minor ones, and just the changes to all the dialogue (tag removal, etc.) in a 400 page novel to make the digital dialogue work correctly will take significant time.
A few of my indie friends have done Audio versions and I've heard the monetary complaints et al. But Audio is the fastest growing segment in the industry I'm told, and more and more former readers are going that way even though they're fairly expensive to purchase. Best of luck! And Jane Friedman did a really good post, some time ago now, on the use of AI for audio books. I guess in its infancy it was Really imperative to check all out bc the bots were not used to some words.
They are still not used to any words that are the least bit different. I’m not pleased with any result so far, but the technology is changing so fast that I will see if it can solve my dilemma. I need a British narrator who can do distinctive English-speaking Turkish male dialogue. Currently not possible.