AI narration for non-fiction audiobooks
Make a non-fiction audiobook with AI: handling numbers, citations, tables and footnotes, the right voices, typical length and credits.
Non-fiction is where AI narration is most practical: the text is plain, the listener wants clarity, and the book is often bought for the information, not for a performance. It does need more preparation than fiction, because print conventions do not always work out loud.
Prepare the text for the ear
- Numbers and units. "3.5%" and "$2.4M" are read as words. Check how they come out and spell out anything that sounds awkward.
- Footnotes and endnotes. Remove them or fold the important ones into the sentence.
- Tables, charts and code. Describe what a table shows in a sentence. Leave out figures that only make sense visually.
- Headings. Keep them. They give the listener a map and the chapters get markers on export.
The manuscript preparation guide walks through all of this.
Voices to audition
Charon (informative), Sadaltager (knowledgeable), Iapetus (clear) and Schedar (even) for a male narrator; Vindemiatrix (gentle) or Zephyr (bright) for a female narrator. Hear them on the AI voices page.
Length and cost
A 65,000-word book is about 7.2 hours, so about 8 credits. Run your own number through the length calculator. Compare with a human narrator in the cost guide.
Why authors choose AI for non-fiction
Updates are cheap. When you revise a chapter, regenerate that chapter, not the book. For books that change often, such as guides and textbooks, that is the main reason to prefer it over a studio recording.
Common questions
What happens to footnotes, tables and charts?
They do not translate to audio on their own. Cut them, move key footnotes into the text, and describe the point of a chart in a sentence.
How long is a non-fiction audiobook?
Non-fiction often runs 50,000 to 80,000 words, about 6 to 9 hours, or 6 to 9 credits.
Which voice suits non-fiction?
A clear, even voice. Informative and knowledgeable styles tend to work well. Always listen to a chapter with numbers and names in it before deciding.
Want to hear your own book?Upload a manuscript to see its length and hear a narrated chapter before you pay for anything.
Create your audiobook
