When I did an in-person workshop a few weeks ago, I met a woman who is dyslexic and also on a budget. She doesn't read much and asked about audiobooks, but confessed she can't buy those priced as high as most are.
The expense of creating audiobooks is prohibitive for me. Especially since I have long series. Good narrators cost thousands of dollars to read a story. My single experience with a partial series years ago was exhausting and took many, many hours I didn't feel I had listening to the chapters and requesting corrections/ changes. I spent SO much time and effort getting those books done and there's been little return on my investment.
I recently spoke to an author who is using AI generated books to reach certain readers, like my dyslexic friend, AND keep the price reasonable. They aren't perfect — you don't get a variety of voices for the characters, and there are mispronounced words on occasion. BUT, they are relatively easy to create and require little investment upfront. The time invested is minimal, as well, and this allows me to keep the price low.
So I'm working on my Confessions of a Closet Medium Series first. The narrator I chose is perfect – AI voices have come a long way – and since the books are in 1st person present tense, a single voice sounds normal.
If you love that series and want an inexpensive audiobook for a trip this summer or just to listen to for fun, I have Pumpkins & Poltergeists ready to go! I've priced it the same as the ebook version ($4.99 US) and the audio is ONLY available through my direct buy site. The rest of the series should be available by July 1st.
As a bonus, Pumpkins & Poltergeists is FREE right now on my direct buy site too.
Happy reading (and listening!)
Nyx