We Are Among the Chosen...
Lineage Independent Publishing was selected to participate in a new Amazon program
Just over a week ago, I received an e-mail from Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing that we were being offered the opportunity to convert a majority of our books to audio format, using their beta release of “Virtual Voice Narration,” or VVN.
Having already had one less than optimal experience with an automated process to generate an audio book, I said to myself, “Yeah, right…” and was about to completely disregard the message.
A good night’s sleep later (when does THAT ever happen for a writer/publisher?), I decided to give it a try. After all, I could go through the effort to set up the audio book and simply not release it. But I was still hesitant: would it be worth it? The conversion process was advertised as cost-effective (free!), making it affordable for those of us who do not have the budget to hire a human narrator.
A few hours later, and I had my first audio book ready to release. For a virtual voice (i.e., not a living, breathing human being), it was actually quite good. I listened for at least an hour as a chapter of my own book was read aloud. Sure, there were pronunciation issues, especially homophones, numbers, and generational suffixes on names, that I had to go back and adjust (the adjustment process was SIMPLE!), but overall, I decided that we needed to move Lineage Independent Publishing into the world of audio books — especially after some hiking buddies told me that they use their long commutes to listen to books. As the Baltimore-Washington Metro area is known for its long commutes, traffic tie-ups, and a spaghetti bowl of public transportation systems, I understood what they were saying — and listened. The first audio book under the Lineage Independent Publishing imprint was released on March 22, 2024. A flurry of activity and four days later, NINE books have been converted to audio format and are already gaining traction with readers we otherwise might not have reached.
Michael Paul Hurd
Author/Editor/Publisher
Lineage Independent Publishing
I’m enjoying it. I’ve got about 2 hours left. The narration really isn’t bad at all, I’m able to listen perfectly happily.