On Wednesday, Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon’s self-publishing service, announced an “invite only” beta test for a service allowing authors to create audiobooks using virtual voice narration.
Under the new initiative, KDP authors with an eligible e-book on the KDP platform may choose from a selection of AI-generated narrators, then preview and customize a machine-generated audiobook.
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“This program makes a lot of sense for a lot of self-published authors who would never be able to afford to create audio editions,” comments Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly executive editor.
The program and the technology will significantly increase the selection of audiobooks available by KDP authors, Albanese tells me.
“According to an Amazon spokesperson, only four percent of self-published titles with KDP have a companion audiobook available,” he explains.