How to Turn Any Ebook into an Audiobook

I’m a huge fan of audiobooks.

I spend two hours a day commuting to and from my day job, and audiobooks allow me to turn that otherwise wasted transit time into productive reading time.

I try to cycle between a fiction book, a book on business, and a book on writer’s craft. Unfortunately, not every book has an audio edition. Audiobooks can also be fairly expensive compared to their ebook counterparts.

But despair not, my fellow audiophiles!

I’ve just discovered a way to turn ANY ebook into an audiobook using an iPhone.

You see, iPhones come with an accessibility feature for the visually impaired. Once this feature is switched on, your phone will read to you whatever content is on the screen, including an ebook!

Here’s how to turn the feature on:

Settings -> General -> Accessibility

In the Accessibility menu, switch the VoiceOver toggle to “On”.

Warning: Once VoiceOver is turned on, things get a little wonky. Your traditional touch commands change, and it takes a little while to get used to the new commands. For example, in order to select an app you need to tap the app once, like you normally would, but you then need to double tap the app to get it to open.

If it’s a Kindle ebook you want to turn into an audiobook, after turning the VoiceOver feature on, you’ll hit the home button. You’ll then single tap to select the Kindle app, and then double tap to actually open it.

Once you have your ebook open, swipe downwards on the screen with two fingers to initiate the reading. The VoiceOver should begin reading the page you’ve opened your ebook to.

Ta-da! You’ve just turned an ebook into an audio book.

Bonus Tip for Authors: Consider using the VoiceOver feature to review drafts of your manuscript. Typos and other problems become much more apparent when listening to your writing.

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