Draft2Digital added an AI audiobook feature, and I hemmed and hawed, started the process, stopped; but an unexpected conversation with an audiobook fan, made me click Publish for The Soul’s Awakening.
I’d actually started working on an Amazon Audible AI audiobook after KDP had emailed me to sign up for their beta AI audiobook. But I stopped because the process was too onerous — on top of my indecision over using AI (artifical intelligence) voices.
Let’s face it, human narrators are superior to AI. AI voices have improved in their realistic rendering of human voices — they’re almost indistinguishable…until you listen to a well-narrated audiobook like I am doing these days on my walks. Mind you, I can’t stand listening to human-narrated fiction audiobooks. Non-fiction, though, works for me. Well, that is, until I need to write down notes for reference later. I’m listening to audiobooks on climate change in ordere to worldbuild the third novel of The Q’Zam’Ta Trilogy. A bit tough to do on a library’s sound file while walking.
Yes, folks, I’m already constructing, outlining, and soon writing the third and last novel of my first trilogy, at the same time as I’m wrapping up the marketing of my first novel and starting the publishing and marketing process of my second. Am I pushing the envelope of my fatigue much? Oh yeah!
But the ideas keep flowing, and my novels deserve as much marketing input as I can physically, cognitively, and financially do.
Anywho…
Draft2Digital’s AI Audiobook Setup
D2D’s audiobook process is pretty quick and simple. Click their Audiobook tab. All the metadata is filled in for you; just check the copyright date and name. Confirm you want to use the same description (blurb) as for the ebook (why write something different, eh? would only complicate and consume my energy). Have them generate a cover based on my ebook’s cover. Try to understand the pricing: audiobook pricing is decided on wholesale rather than the usual retail prices one chooses for ebooks and paperbacks. Took me awhile to wrap my head around that — truly, I only understood it when I received the notice today that The Soul’s Awakening audiobook is live on the Apple store, saw the price, scratched my head, set up an audiobook for Time and Space, studied the pricing scheme, and suddenly it clicked in to comprehension!
Lastly, one must check off a bunch of “I confirm” and “I understand” statements. The most important two are I hold worldwide copyright (check) and I cannot delist the audiobook for 6 months minimum.
And so this audiobook, which will be available through Apple Books and Overdrive, is a test case. As is the one that will come out for Time and Space.
Indecision: Should I or Should I Not Use AI Narration?
Oh yeah, why did I hem and haw? Strong opinions lecture against using AI voice narration. It’s partly because of all-AI-is-evil narrative; but mostly because it takes jobs away from human narrators.
In my case, the latter is not true. I simply do not have thousands to spend on a human narrator. AI voice narration is best suited for Indie Authors like me who don’t have the funds to pay for a narrator and cannot narrate the audiobook themself. I can’t for obvious reasons: no energy.
I tried podcasting Lifeliner. I did it at a time when I had much, much more help in the home and through community care than I do now. I did it over many months and had to spend time and energy removing all my short-of-breath sounds. I used Audacity. It’s free and robust. But I no longer have the headspace nor nearly as much daily help and health care as I did back then to allow me to try and narrate. Also, it took me a long time to record each chapter. I don’t want to take a year to narrate the audiobook with time away when I’m writing in November or dealing with the psychological freezing during difficult anniversary times.
Human narrators cost thousands and thousands. The work that goes into narrating audiobooks is worth it, but I don’t have the funds. So…
…it’s either AI voice or no audiobook.
After talking with the Audible fan, I realized I’m missing a market for readers like them, ones who don’t have the free time to read an ebook or paperback because the only time they can read is when they’re driving, walking, or working when they want to listen to something to keep them company.
As for AI being evil: I totally agree AI companies should be sued into the ground for stripmining content from unaware and unwilling authors. It’s unethical and criminal. And depending on AI for summaries and fact checking is becoming problematic because of the bias built into the system, feeding the naive all sorts of misinformation.
I just had to go into my LinkedIn settings to turn off them using my LI posts for free for their AI generation. It’s a neverending Whack-A-Mole out there protecting one’s work and data from drowning-in-money tech bro thieves. They’re the new robber barons.
But AI has a place to help us out, like editing software that analyzes one’s manuscript but does not use it to train AI, does not share your content, and does not write your novel for you.
I am shocked that Psychology Today had to add a pop-up confirming that I have not used AI to write my post when I submit one for approval. I mean, WTF? Why would anyone who’s writing for them slough off the work to AI? Aren’t we supposed to be sharing our knowledge and ideas, not present as our own some artificial intelligence’s scraping of stolen content to spit out distorted information? Aren’t Psychology Today authors supposed to be able to write? Seriously!
Anywho…
AI voice has been around since before AI companies began stealing content to generate their LLMs (large language models). I suppose Dragon Dictate, which I first purchased in 1993 when a car crash weakened my right arm so much I could hardly handwrite or type, was my first foray into AI.
I’ll use these next 6 months to evaluate my decision. I really hope I don’t find out problematic issues with AI voice narration as there is with the generative AI robber barons!
In the meantime, I may look again at Amazon’s beta AI narration. It requires far more work as I have to listen to the entire audiobook and make corrections in pronounciation! Eek!! I spend hours and hours listening to the non-fiction audiobooks I’ve borrowed; weeks go by before I can finish one. I can’t imagine devoting at least that kind of time on my computer listening to a file! If I do, I’ll give it a try, only because as much as I’m not a fan of Audible, I don’t want to exclude its fans.
