Before I get to my question, just a quick reminder about two ongoing promotions that expire September 30^th. One is the $.99 sale for my only backlist mystery, Fatal Encryption, and a big thanks to those who ordered it. The book was originally published in 2008 and is set in Port Moody, British Columbia, where I lived for 36 years until recently. You can find the BookFunnel promo HERE

The other is for free ebooks featuring titles in the general fiction, horror, mystery, and suspense categories. You can find it HERE.

Now to my audiobook dilemma. I’ve been pondering the idea of creating audiobooks for my 7-book Casey Holland mystery series, however, research indicates that it will cost over $14,000 for the entire series which is way beyond my budget. Apple Books and Google Play now offer authors a chance to create audiobooks using an AI-generated voice for free.

I don’t like the idea of using AI and would much rather work with human beings. Based on the samples I’ve heard, AI lacks the nuances of a human voice. Yet, I have customers, including a family friend who is blind, asking when my books will be available in audio. Undoubtedly, it’s a growing market and a necessary one for the visually impaired. My question is do any of you listen to audiobooks, and if so what are your thoughts? Should I?

A.   experiment with AI narrators

B.    hold off doing audiobooks at all until I can afford an experienced

professional (which could take years)

C.   try narrating the books myself

I really welcome all thoughts on this. Email me at dpurdykong@gmail.com

Thanks!

Debra Purdy Kong

https://debrapurdykong.wordpress.com/

www.debrapurdykong.com

Mysteries on the Move…