Best text to speech software for indie authors

Indie authors can benefit from text to speech (TTS) technology to streamline their workflow, spot errors, and bring their stories and characters to life. This article shares how you can use TTS to leverage this assistive technology tool in your favor. We also recommend the best software for the purpose.

How can indie authors use text to speech?

As an indie author (fiction or non-fiction), you likely spend hours developing the plot for your story, creating characters, and eventually have tons of material for proofreading and editing. A simple tool like TTS can help improve your workflow. But what exactly is text to speech? Unlike dictation software and voice recognition used for transcription, text to speech uses artificial intelligence, speech synthesis, and deep learning to convert text into audio files. Text to speech apps work from the text you input and read it aloud in AI voices. Text to speech technology has numerous use cases, including those for the visually impaired, dyslexia, and other reading disabilities. This powerful tool can help you fight so-called “reader blindness.” Reading your own book in your own voice may be the only way you’ve been reviewing or proofreading your work. However, hearing a natural-sounding AI voice read your book gives the piece another perspective. Your characters and story come to life, and it’s not only through the voice in your head. You can choose the narration style and accent to match your book (British English, American English, etc.) or pick between male or female voices to make the experience more realistic. As a result, you spot spelling and grammar errors (after all, the AI only reads what you wrote). If you want to bring clarity to your work, think no further than TTS. TTS can be your own writing aid and personal voice artist. It reads your story aloud, lets you hear the words, and refine your work. Finally, the quality of voices is dazzling. The more time passes, the better the experience gets. And one thing is certain - time goes by extremely fast in the AI world.

Best TTS apps for authors

NaturalReader

NaturalReader is a cloud-based speech synthesis app best suited for personal use. Self-published authors can convert PDF or Word documents, web pages, and other textual content into lifelike speech with a single click of a button. Cloud technology makes NaturalReader easily accessible from all digital devices. The software supports more than 50 human voices in English (American and British), Spanish, French, Italian, and other languages. Supported files include TXT, PDF, JPG, PNG, ePUB, DOCX, and others. The free tool offers limited voices and functionality, while the best features are reserved for premium users.

Voice Dream Reader

If you’re a macOS and iOS user, you can try Voice Dream Reader. This app has over 180 voices to read documents, web pages, eBooks, and other text files in more than 30 languages. The cloud integration works with Google Drive, Pocket, Evernote, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, and other software to keep your work organized and easily accessible.

Murf

Murf is a realistic voice-over maker available in 20 languages. Users like Murf because it makes it easy to generate human-like voiceovers for presentations, e-learning material, web pages, and more. With Murf, you get a range of AI tools like voice editing, voice changing, time syncing, and grammar assistance. You can type in any text in Murf and use it as your personal voice recorder. Three plans are available, each with unique features like a better choice of voices, AI tools, etc. You can try the software for free for ten minutes, but the downloads aren’t supported.

Speechify

Speechify is a leading text to speech software that uses deep learning, AI, and speech synthesis to read any type of text aloud. The app is suitable for beginners as it’s super intuitive and easy to use. The software offers real-time conversion of text files into audio and works on all operating systems. You can turn your iPhone, Mac, Windows, or Android phone into a screen reader in an instant. Various high-quality voice options allow users to personalize the reading experience to meet their preferences. Speechify can read any type of text or document for you, including:

• Microsoft Word documents
• Web pages
• PDF files
• ePUB files
• DOCX, HTML, TXT files

Speechify text to speech tool is available as a Chrome extension, mobile app, and desktop app.

Other tools for indie authors

Nuance Dragon

Speech recognition tools like Nuance Dragon can transcribe your words into text up to three times faster than typing. It has 99% recognition accuracy and is a valuable tool for writers who are in the writing flow but don’t have a laptop or pen and paper nearby.

Online Consistency Checker

This online tool serves for consistency-checking purposes. Upload a chapter of your book and get alerts for inconsistent hyphenation or spelling.

Soundbite

Soundbite is a brand new addition to the AI market that offers invaluable benefits for indie writers. The software transforms pre-existing audio or video recordings into text files like blogs, summaries, and social media posts. If you want to organize or transcribe your voice recordings, you can do so instantly with Soundbite.

Grammarly

Grammarly is your go-to grammar, style, tone, and readability checker. This free tool (premium version available) is among the most advanced text editors on the market. The software is available as a desktop editor and browser extension, and you can integrate it into most programs like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any Chrome page.

Proofread your titles with Speechify

Speechify is an excellent service for indie authors who wish to explore text to speech functionalities. With Speechify, you just have to upload a text file or copy-paste the text into the API and press a button to receive the audio version in an mp3 or wav format. There’s no better way to proofread your work than by hearing someone else read it. Give Speechify a free try, or learn more about the service by visiting the official website.

FAQ

What is the most realistic text to speech engine?

Natural Reader, Speechify, and Murf are all super realistic text to speech apps.

What is the most popular TTS voice?

Amazon Polly, VoiceDream, Speechify, and Speechelo are some of the most popular TTS voice apps.

What is the most accurate speech to text software?

Speechify is one of the market’s most accurate speech to text tools.