Maybe you are just kidding me, which is fine, but if you are serious I certainly don’t see an automatic ‘talk the book’ feature. You can always buy the Audible book but that is a separate purchase, as I understand it.
Please reassure me that you are allowing the writer to choose whether to have a bot text-to-voice audio narration of their work.
This is extremely important. Medium has this text-to-voice technology but it is mandatory. It is horrible. It can’t pronounce my name, butchers intonation and rhythm, changes the tone and meaning.
If you force it on us writers, you will be no better than Medium.
If you give us a choice to opt out, then you are keeping to your mission and showing you value the writer.
Thanks so much for the quick response. I will be doing my own audio which, I gather, will replace the bot narration, correct? And I gather, too, that it takes a while to appear? (I just did one and it tells me there wasn’t audio or it’s “processing.”)
Correct, if you do your own voiceover, it will be the voice your readers hear. You should see it upload while you are in Editor, and be able to playback the audio while the post is still a draft.
Hi. Thanks again for the quick response... that’s right, I do see it load up and it plays, but when I am on the app and click the headphones l get the message “no article audio...” though if you scroll down the audio file is there and it plays. Presume that’s just a kink in the works? Or did I do it wrong?
Hi, I still have questions and would appreciate a more detailed response. From a writer’s standpoint, there are important considerations to this new feature as it directly effects the quality of our work.
First, is the AI bot-generated audio narration (eventually) going to be on everyone’s post? Or is this a feature that a writer opts to have?
Or can a writer opt out of having a bot narration? How? And is this on a post-by-post basis? Or is it all or none?
And if a writer opts out of the bot narration can the writer still embed their own audio and will that audio have the same functionality on the app? i.e., will the author’s embedded audio play when clicking on the headphones icon on the app?
And, as a test, I embedded audio on an older post and I got the “No audio” message. Is this because it was an older post? Or is it because you haven’t installed it for all users yet?
I want to reiterate that this is an enormous change. I want to fully understand how it works and be assured that I, as a writer, have complete control. I fled Medium because they do NOT give writers control. I need to be assured that you are giving writers the ability to opt out because these narrations, while convenient, greatly alter the meaning, tone and rhythm that we intend with our writing.
And I honestly think this feature warrants a much more detailed post than this one.
Thanks in advance. And thanks, Hannah, for answering my earlier questions elsewhere in these comments.
Hi Geoffrey. You can jump into the weekly Writer Office Hours thread on on.substack.com and the Substack team will answer all of your questions live (or you can always email the support team).
"Substack posts are also listenable via text-to-speech technology in the Substack app, allowing you to listen to posts that don’t have a custom voiceover..."
Q: If the Substack writer chooses this option over uploading a custom VO, is there only one default text-to-speech voice available in the app, or will the Substack writer be able to choose from different text-to-speech voices in post settings prior to publishing?
Hi Ashley! At the moment, there are not multiple voices available for text-to-speech, but if the you upload a voiceover yourself, that will take priority and be the only voice your readers hear. Hope that helps!
Hi Hannah - quick follow-up on text-to-speech: do I have to "switch this on" with post settings or will the default voice read my published post automatically in the app? I've tried a couple of different test posts but I'm getting the message "No Article Audio - This article does not have an audio file generated. It may still be processing" I waited over a day and still same message. Thanks for any intel!
Is the text to speech option now available? I was trying it last night and you can’t listen unless someone has uploaded an audio file. I also signed up to become part of the beta for text to speech.
I appreciate the work you guys do. I’m absolutely in love with Substack!
This is a great idea. I was wondering the other day why more reading sites (like Amazon's Kindle) don't provide this feature.
They do; https://youtube.com/watch?v=BTQZkDWfwCE&feature=share
Ah, Alexa. I see. Now the question is do I want to download an app that is always listening to me created by a company that I don’t really trust?
😏
It does. I’m using it now. Here’s a photo ... ugggh, guess no photos.
Maybe you are just kidding me, which is fine, but if you are serious I certainly don’t see an automatic ‘talk the book’ feature. You can always buy the Audible book but that is a separate purchase, as I understand it.
I just love Substack
Please reassure me that you are allowing the writer to choose whether to have a bot text-to-voice audio narration of their work.
This is extremely important. Medium has this text-to-voice technology but it is mandatory. It is horrible. It can’t pronounce my name, butchers intonation and rhythm, changes the tone and meaning.
If you force it on us writers, you will be no better than Medium.
If you give us a choice to opt out, then you are keeping to your mission and showing you value the writer.
Thanks, in advance, for responding.
Hi Geoffrey, our support team can help you remove this option for your readers if you send a note here: https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
Thanks so much for the quick response. I will be doing my own audio which, I gather, will replace the bot narration, correct? And I gather, too, that it takes a while to appear? (I just did one and it tells me there wasn’t audio or it’s “processing.”)
Correct, if you do your own voiceover, it will be the voice your readers hear. You should see it upload while you are in Editor, and be able to playback the audio while the post is still a draft.
Hi. Thanks again for the quick response... that’s right, I do see it load up and it plays, but when I am on the app and click the headphones l get the message “no article audio...” though if you scroll down the audio file is there and it plays. Presume that’s just a kink in the works? Or did I do it wrong?
When will an Android app be available to download?? Looking forward to these new tools
Soon! Jump on the waitlist here - substack.link/android-waitlist
We greatly need the app for Android phones. How soon? Need beta testers?
We will need beta testers. If you aren't yet on the waitlist, jump on here - substack.link/android-waitlist
It just takes me to my inbox, not to the post.
Whoops, wrong link! Try this one - substack.link/android-waitlist
Great idea. I often use Instapaper to listen to articles, as well as Voice Dream Reader, but this will be even more convenient.
Thank you! I’d rather listen than read! Appreciate it.
Great new features
No
Hi, I still have questions and would appreciate a more detailed response. From a writer’s standpoint, there are important considerations to this new feature as it directly effects the quality of our work.
First, is the AI bot-generated audio narration (eventually) going to be on everyone’s post? Or is this a feature that a writer opts to have?
Or can a writer opt out of having a bot narration? How? And is this on a post-by-post basis? Or is it all or none?
And if a writer opts out of the bot narration can the writer still embed their own audio and will that audio have the same functionality on the app? i.e., will the author’s embedded audio play when clicking on the headphones icon on the app?
And, as a test, I embedded audio on an older post and I got the “No audio” message. Is this because it was an older post? Or is it because you haven’t installed it for all users yet?
I want to reiterate that this is an enormous change. I want to fully understand how it works and be assured that I, as a writer, have complete control. I fled Medium because they do NOT give writers control. I need to be assured that you are giving writers the ability to opt out because these narrations, while convenient, greatly alter the meaning, tone and rhythm that we intend with our writing.
And I honestly think this feature warrants a much more detailed post than this one.
Thanks in advance. And thanks, Hannah, for answering my earlier questions elsewhere in these comments.
G
Hi Geoffrey. You can jump into the weekly Writer Office Hours thread on on.substack.com and the Substack team will answer all of your questions live (or you can always email the support team).
Thanks, Bailey. Will do.
Will older articles be available in audio?
No just ones that were posted after the launch (unless the writer uploads a custom voiceover retroactively)
"Substack posts are also listenable via text-to-speech technology in the Substack app, allowing you to listen to posts that don’t have a custom voiceover..."
Q: If the Substack writer chooses this option over uploading a custom VO, is there only one default text-to-speech voice available in the app, or will the Substack writer be able to choose from different text-to-speech voices in post settings prior to publishing?
Hi Ashley! At the moment, there are not multiple voices available for text-to-speech, but if the you upload a voiceover yourself, that will take priority and be the only voice your readers hear. Hope that helps!
Hi Hannah - quick follow-up on text-to-speech: do I have to "switch this on" with post settings or will the default voice read my published post automatically in the app? I've tried a couple of different test posts but I'm getting the message "No Article Audio - This article does not have an audio file generated. It may still be processing" I waited over a day and still same message. Thanks for any intel!
Thanks, Hannah!
It should be substack.com/android-waitlist?
Is the text to speech option now available? I was trying it last night and you can’t listen unless someone has uploaded an audio file. I also signed up to become part of the beta for text to speech.