Turn Any Book Into an Audiobook

There are two ways to turn any book you wrote, into an audiobook. The traditional or AI method.

The Audiobook market continues to grow. The Audio Publishers Association (APA) estimates there over 71,000 new audiobooks published each year, at least according to their 2020 report. Now, you can turn any book into an audiobook.

Editor's Note: This article is only about how to turn a book YOU HAVE WRITTEN as an author into an audiobook. Speechify Voice Over is a tool that authors can use to turn their books into audiobooks.

By the end of this blog, you will have an overview of ho to create an audiobook and also have solid next steps to read and then begin turning text to audiobooks.

A report from Bowker, the company responsible for generating ISBNs, over 1 million ISBNs were assigned to self published titles. This report was for all titles without considering if they were audiobooks, print, or both.

The listening rate of audiobooks is increasing well over 12% each year. In 2020 alone, audiobooks sales were about $1.3 billion. If we assume that every audiobook costs $50, that’s twenty six million audiobooks sold in just one year. And this number has been growing double digits each year.

Fascinating Audiobook Stats

1. 67% of audiobook listeners in the U.S. like to consume them at home, while 65% listen in their car, according to a consumer survey by the APA.
2. The same survey found that the average listener consumed 8.1 audiobooks in 2020, up from 6.8 in 2019.
3. Smartphone use for audiobook consumption dominates other devices. As per APA's data, 73% of listeners primarily used this device in 2020.
4. The popularity of the audiobook format seems to be increasing among younger listeners. According to the APA, in 2020, 54% of frequent audiobook listeners were under 45, up from 48% in 2019.

The Audiobook Revolution

The audiobook revolution started much earlier than we think. In 1932, audiobooks were released on vinyl records for the blind. However, in the last couple of decades, they truly became accessible to the avid readers with almost every best seller available in audio format.

Kindle, Amazon's flagship e-reader, was one of the first to include audio versions of their Kindle ebooks and Audible cemented its place as a pioneer in bring audiobooks to the masses.

The audiobook market has further expanded thanks to platforms like ACX, Amazon's Audiobook Creation Exchange. It has allowed indie authors to dive into self-publishing, creating their own audiobooks by utilizing voiceover artists or even using their own voices. Through platforms like Google Drive and Docs, authors can easily share and store their WAV or other audio files.

Listening to a good audiobook on an iPhone or iPad has become an integral part of the daily routines for many, providing a unique listening experience. People can adjust the reading speed to their preference and can easily multitask while consuming their favorite stories.

Interestingly, technology giants like Apple and Amazon have taken steps to further enhance this experience. Apple's iTunes has a vast collection of audiobooks available for download, while Amazon's Alexa devices can play Audible's audiobook format, allowing users to enjoy a hands-free experience. Furthermore, Android users can take advantage of Google Play's extensive audiobook library.

The popularity of audiobooks has even spilled over into social media platforms like TikTok, where book enthusiasts share their favorite titles and voice actors on the popular hashtag #BookTok.

Audiobooks have come a long way, from a limited vinyl collection to apps for iOS, Mac, Microsoft devices, and even Android. Book lovers or first time readers can have audiobooks read aloud while driving, working out, or even working.

Get into Book Publishing. You Too Can Publish Your Own Audiobooks

Historically, there has been one path to get to an audiobook from your script. This traditional method, which is still the core method, can be very expensive and time consuming. It requires a lot of talent, equipment, and time.

See how much it costs to create an audiobook and also a detailed “how it’s made”. In this article we’ll share a broad overview to get you started but we recommend you read the above two articles as a follow up.

There are two ways you can turn any of your books into an audiobook with detailed steps on how to make an audiobook.

1. DYI the traditional method
2. AI Voice Over

Turn Your Book Into an Audiobook: The Traditional Way

Published authors or authors working with an agency don’t have to worry about this. If you want to self publish your audiobook, here’s what you need to consider.

Step 1. Finalize your draft

By far, the most important element to successfully turning your book into an audiobook is that you must have a finished, edited manuscript.

It will make the process a lot easier when you work off of your final draft. Making changes to your story while turning it into an audiobook is not ideal. Share your book with your friend group and relatives and with a trusted editor to help you shape, shave, and sharpen your story.

Step 2: Buying Equipment

You will need audio equipment. Best Buy, Micro Center and similar stores offer recording equipment like computer microphones, a digital audio workstation (DAW), and even sound boards - although getting together all the right equipment is certainly not a cheap endeavor.

You'll need at the very least a microphone and a quality pair of headphones so that you can listen back to the record and make sure that it sounds exactly the way you want it to. While cheap equipment does not mean bad sound, but they certainly play a role in the end result.

Step 3: Editing

Once you record your entire book, you can begin editing the pacing or even add background music. To do this, you’ll need to become an expert in your DAW of choice. Once you have your audiobook as a complete piece of audio, the final piece is mastering.

In the music industry, mastering is very commonly done by folks not involved in the recording process. The final product is shipped off to a specialist or a mastering studio as it requires a very special skillset. Likewise, with audiobooks, the final version should be mastered.

This, too, is going to be expensive because professionals (wisely) charge for their time and even putting together a master file from the takes that you've recorded can take days of work to complete. Of all the parts that you should hire someone for in the process, it would be mastering.

Side note: What is mastering?

Mastering engineers use various tools and techniques like equalization (EQ), compression, limiting, and stereo enhancement to balance the audio's frequencies, manage dynamic range, control peaks, increase loudness, and enhance stereo width. The goal is to create a cohesive listening experience throughout the entire recording, whether it's a music album or an audiobook.

In other words, they ensure the volume is even without it being too loud or too soft (unless required for dramatic purposes). They set levels, ensure quality, and they add the finishing touches that take a recording to a polished final piece that is production ready.

Step 4: Graphic Design

At this point, all you have to do is create a cover for your audiobook - something that can be accomplished in many of the photo editing tools that come free on most computers. This is relatively easy to do with stock photographs or even hire someone from Fiverr.

Once this is accomplished, you'll be able to upload your finished audiobooks to your personal devices.

If the above process does not seem that bad or if it even appears doable, it is the truncated version. There are so many other steps and nuances that make the DIY version of the traditional method very complicated. And the end result might not even be high quality after all the time, money, and effort invested.

This article goes into greater detail and is recommended you read it next.

Convert Any of Your Books into an Audiobook with AI Voice Over.

How Voice Over for Audiobooks works

Step 1. Finalize your draft

Nothing changes in this part. No matter the tool, you need to have a final draft ready.

Step 2. Upload your draft

Open Speechify Voice Over in your browser and import your draft. The app will automatically create blocks of text for each paragraph to mimic your draft. All these blocks of text will be automatically placed on a timeline.

At this point, you technically have an audiobook already! You can click play and the default voice will begin reading your text out, though, without any pacing or background music.

At this stage it simply exists as audio with - without any dynamics. The next step is to bring life and add drama.

Step 2. Basic editing

To make your audiobook sound natural, you can choose from over 100 voices and accents and characters. Move blocks of content to add space. You can control single words for precise pronunciation, add emotions like excitement, anger, and a host of other human emotional ranges.

Once you are happy, add royalty free background music from 100s of free options.

Now, your audiobook is ready. Export your audio as an MP3 and voila. You are a self published audiobook author.

Add your artwork and you are ready to share your latest masterpiece with your friends, family, or even begin to sell it online.

Easy, right?

The best part is that you can try this for free, right now. Check out Speechify Voice Over and become a self published audiobook author today!

Speechify Voice Over allows you to use the final product for commercial or personal use.

Also read: How to turn eBook into an audiobook.

FAQs

How do I convert a physical book that I wrote into an audiobook?

As long as you have your manuscript, it is very easy.

1. Open the "Speechify Voice Over" app on your laptop
2. Import your script into the app. You can import PDF or Word versions
3. Move your paragraphs around on the timeline and add background music
4. Export your audio and that’s how you can convert any physical book that you authored into an audiobook

How much does it cost to get a book turned into an audiobook?

The answer to this question will vary depending on which book you're talking about, as obviously it will take longer to turn a book into an audiobook if it is 1,000 pages versus 300 pages. Generally speaking, going about this in the fashion described above will cost between $1,000 and $2,000. If you're having a professional narrator record your book, you also need to add in that person's hourly rate.

How do I convert eBooks I wrote into audiobooks for free?

This should be relatively easy. Since you’ve done the difficult part of writing an eBook already, you can easily upload your manuscript into Speechify Voice Over. This AI app will easily turn your masterpiece into an audiobook, complete with natural-sounding voices.

Speechify Voice Over uses text to speech technology to read the eBook you wrote in natural sounding voices.

Is there an app that can turn a book I wrote, into an audiobook?

As stated, with Speechify Voice Over you can turn any of the books you’ve written into an audiobook with built-in tools that make the process as easy as possible. Once converted, you'll be able to listen to that audiobook anywhere - from at home to on your morning commute to the gym, on your afternoon walk and everywhere in between.