The Virtual Voice Studio (VVS) is where you can preview and edit the audio, and hear what your audiobook will sound like to listeners.

There are multiple ways you can edit the audio outlined on this page. We recommend using the latest versions of Firefox or Chrome on a desktop computer for the best experience using Virtual Voice Studio.

Contents

• Before you start
• Add a pause
• Change voice speed
• Edit pronunciation
• Set start reading location
• Follow playing audio

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Before you start

Note that you can search your manuscript using the search bar at the top of your manuscript. You can also navigate the chapters of your audiobook using the table of contents on the left.

Please be aware that the Clear All button will reset your audio removing any pauses, changes to voice speed, or edits to pronunciation.

Note: audiobooks with virtual voice:

• are created from the start reading location (SRL) to the end reading location (ERL). For example, the table of contents is before the SRL, so it will not be included in the audiobook.
• are created only from the text. Any images (including image representations of the text), graphs, or tables are not included.
• add a pause between each paragraph or new line in the eBook. Pauses between paragraphs or new lines can’t be removed.
• don’t have the functionality to skip image or graph captions at this time.

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Add a pause

Insert a pause before or after a word to create a short, medium, or long gap in narration. You might choose to insert a pause when introducing complex topics or to build anticipation for what comes next.

Add a pause

1. Select the space before or after a word or character where you would like to insert the pause.
2. Select the arrow next to Pause to expand the section.
3. Choose Short, Medium, or Long from the drop-down menu.
4. Select the Add pause button.
5. An indicator will appear where you added the pause specifying its length.

Edit pause length

1. Select the pause tag in your script that’s labelled either, Short, Medium, or Long.
2. In the Pause section, choose the desired pause length from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the Apply button and the pause length will update.

Remove a pause
To remove or delete a pause, select the pause tag followed by the Remove button from the Pause section. Note: pauses between paragraphs or new lines can’t be removed.

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Change voice speed

You can adjust the voice speed for specific words by making them 25% or 50% faster/slower.

To set the voice speed for a word:

1. Select the word you want to speed up or slow down.
2. Select the arrow next to Voice speed to expand the section.
3. Choose your desired speed from the drop-down menu.
4. Select the Apply button.

Note: To edit the voice speed of a word you previously adjusted, follow the same steps 1-4.

Remove a voice speed setting
To set a word back to the default speed setting, select the word followed by the Remove button.

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Edit pronunciation

Use this setting when the virtual voice is not pronouncing a word how you intend.

1. Select the word you’d like to edit so it’s highlighted.
2. Select the Edit pronunciation button from either the Quick actions menu or the editing tools on the right. The Pronunciation pop-up window will open.
3. Spell out the words using plain language or how the word sounds in the How it should be said field. You can use the play buttons to listen to the existing and new pronunciation.
   • Spelling examples: for “Edinburgh,” the spelling could be “ed-in-bruh” or “ed-in-bur-uh”; for "lead," the spelling could be "leed" or "led".
4. If you want all instances of the word to be pronounced the same way, check Apply to all instances.
   • Note: If you check this option, it will apply to all instances of the word that exist today and any that are added in the future.
5. Select the Apply pronunciation button.

To make changes to pronunciation again, select the word you previously edited and repeat steps 1-5.

To remove an edit to pronunciation:

1. Select the word you previously edited, and select the Remove button on the right under Pronunciation
2. A confirmation pop-up will open. Select Remove to revert the pronunciation back to the original.

Component	Potential pronunciation issues	How to change pronunciation in Virtual Voice Studio
Abbreviations	May not be pronounced in the intended way	Write the word in full. For example, “corporation” instead of “corp.”
Acronyms	Acronyms may be accidentally pronounced as a word instead of individual letters.	Write the term in full or each letter phonetically. For example, “United States” or “you ess” instead of “US”
Dates	Dates might be pronounced incorrectly	Write the date by spelling out the month, day, and year. For example, “January first two thousand twenty four”
Ellipse	An ellipse may not signify a pause in narration	Insert a pause at the location of the ellipse
Fractions	Some fractions may be read incorrectly	Spell out the fraction instead of using numerals. For example, “one quarter” instead of “1/4”
Homographs	Words that are spelled the same but are pronounced differently may be pronounced incorrectly. For example, “live”	Write the word phonetically. For example, “liv” for the verb “live”
Measurement symbols	Feet and inches symbols may be narrated incorrectly or excluded	Replace the symbol with the word “feet” or “inches”. We do not recommend selecting Apply to all instances
Onomatopoeia	Words representing sounds may not be narrated as intended.	Edit the pronunciation by writing the sound phonetically
Punctuation	Some punctuation may be inappropriately narrated. For example, “slash”	Select the word, phrase, or punctuation, and enter the correct pronunciation in the How it should be said field.   Punctuation at the start or end of the word: punctuation is included as part of the word selection. You can delete it from the How it's spelled field to edit the pronunciation, regardless of the punctuation. Or you can leave the punctuation, if you are adding specific pronunciation for the words containing that specific punctuation. Individual punctuation: any punctuation with space on either side can be selected on its own to edit pronunciation. Punctuation between two words or numbers: the punctuation is included as part of the word selection. For example, "1/2" could be edited to: "one slash two," "half," "one of two," or "January second."
Roman numerals	May not be recognized as numbers	Spell out the number (“one”). We do not recommend selecting Apply to all instances

As a beta participant, you can complete our survey to provide us with feedback on virtual voice.

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Set start reading location

KDP typically adds a Start Reading Location (SRL) and End Reading Location (ERL) to your eBook automatically. If, for some reason, the SRL is not applied, we’ll prompt you to add the SRL before you can publish your audiobook with virtual voice. For your audiobook, the SRL and ERL are where the virtual voice will start and end narrating your text. The SRL/ERL will also be applied to your eBook. We recommend adding the SRL after the table of contents for a better listener experience.

Note: This option will only appear if the SRL is not set automatically. You cannot edit the SRL after your audiobook with virtual voice is published. To update your SRL or ERL that was set automatically or after your audiobook is published, contact us.

Follow the below steps to set your SRL.

1. Open the Virtual Voice Studio.
2. Under Editing Tools on the right, click Reading Locations.
3. Select a word or space in your text.
4. Under Quick Actions, click Add Start Reading Location.

We might adjust start and end reading locations after your audiobook is published to ensure a good listening experience.

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Follow playing audio

When previewing your audiobook, use “Follow playing audio” to automatically bring you back to where the audio narration is playing while you scroll through your manuscript.