A question I’m receiving a lot more as we edge within a Dachshund’s length of tonight’s deadline is:
How much will the new audiobooks be?
The short answer:
I’m not sure yet.
The slightly longer answer:
More than what they are now.
You can currently bag yourself any The Divided Region titles for $7.99 per book (or $27.99 if you opt to save a few more shekels with the Starter Bundle), which is a steal even with Google Play’s virtual narration.
But with this new voice I’m paying a premium for at ElevenLabs?
It’s a game-changer.
Unlike Google Play’s narration, this one belongs to a professional narrator — and it shows.
Not just in the quality of his narrative, but also in the 60,000+ downloads it has accrued since the pro narrator started selling the rights to his voice.
So charging $11.99, $12.99, $13.99, or more per title wouldn’t be unreasonable.
Considering the average fiction audiobook costs $20-$30 without a subscription, I’d say that is good value for silver.
Whoa, wait… what’s that I hear?
A grunt?
“The difference is they are human narrated — this is virtual voice.”
Correct.
But this virtual voice is crisp, designed for the genre(s) I write in, and grasps the mood/nuances of my work well, which the dozens of other voices I played with fell short on.
Is it a like-for-like?
No.
I don’t think virtual voices will ever “top” a professional human narrator (and I hope it never does as I plan to also offer human-narrated options one day).
However, it’s bloody close.
And given the savings you’d make across a six- or seven-book series (which The Divided Region is on track to become), I reckon many will find the differences negligible.
Speaking of savings…
This is your 5-hour reminder to get any (or all) of my current digitally narrated audiobooks AND the upgraded versions upon their re-release for free. 🚨
After 23:59 EST tonight, all audiobooks will be pulled from my store until the new editions are released.
To lock in those savings and avoid the inevitable price hike, simply purchase any (or all) of my current digitally narrated audiobooks and when the new editions are ready, I will send you a private link to download each audiobook you have bought onto your BookFunnel app.
Here’s the link:
​https://djjwatsonstore.com/audiobooks​
DJJW