How Alitu Helped Me Finally Publish My Audiobook

Last year, I self-published Build A World-Class Customer Advisory Board. Writing it was demanding. Publishing it was harder. But what nearly broke me was trying to turn it into an audiobook.

Not everyone reads. I know this. And I wanted my ideas to reach the executives and advisors who prefer to listen — on a commute, between calls, at 6am before the house wakes up. Recording my own audiobook felt like the obvious next step.

What followed were weeks of dead ends, three platforms, and a support ticket that took three weeks to receive a human response. I came close to hiring a sound editor, which would have cost thousands of dollars I didn't want to spend.

Then I remembered Alitu — the same tool I'd used years earlier when I was podcasting about grief, inspired by the NPR podcasting book, trying to keep costs down while focusing on what mattered. I came back to it almost out of desperation.

I'm glad I did.

In the age of AI, I wanted to train my voice to create my audiobook.  I used ElevenLabs, a buzzworthy AI platform, and thought it would offer a simple, one-stop solution with great sound editing.

While editing with ElevenLabs, my beta listeners commented on the sound quality.  They said, “ElevenLabs captured you.  I couldn't tell it was your AI-trained voice, but the sound quality is off.  Fix the sound issues, and you'll be ready to launch.”

I hit a wall.  ElevenLabs AI support was helpful but didn't resolve my sound issues, so I requested human support, which took three weeks.  Frustrated, I checked out Descript since it was popular.

I signed up for Descript, tried editing a chapter, and found the audio and editing quality poor.  After an hour, I posted on LinkedIn seeking recommendations for a sound editor.  By then, I was exhausted and frustrated.  LinkedIn didn't help; I just got random DMs as the algorithm limits post views.

Then I realized Alitu might help. I contacted support after hours from California.  The Alitu team is primarily Europe-based. Alitu team replied: upload a portion of my audiobook, and Alitu's editor would handle background noise and voice changes.

Here are the steps from ElevenLabs: I saved my test chapter as a WAV file and uploaded it to Alitu as you would an episode.  I selected the transcript and waited for Alitu to process it.  Takes a few minutes, perfect time to read emails.

Next, I listened for sound issues and checked for editing tools; I sure use this "cut"/"remove" feature.  There's also a faster way to cut unwanted noise; you could use their "Filter" feature to remove silences and hesitations.

And it was that easy, I uploaded the next chapter, and all the sound issues went away. As a bonus, I was able to clean up a lot of dead space in the chapters, too.

I never expected a podcast system like Alitu to help me publish my audiobook, but it did. I saved thousands and launched my audiobook last week.

The Alitu platform has also allowed me to create new sample audiobooks that I can target to my audience.  For example, I can pull a sample geared for the chief executive officer (CEO) to listen to.  And now I'm using Alitu to create new videos for my YouTube channel.

Tip on Creating Samples

I'd go back into a chapter, create a copy, and then edit the copy file to save a sample of a CEO business case study from the book.  The only time sink is choosing which sample to share. 

And if you're wondering whether Alitu can go further than audiobooks — I've been thinking about that too. My podcast episodes are essentially rough drafts sitting in Alitu. Exporting the transcripts and organising them into a manuscript is something I'm exploring next

If you want to get started, here's a simple first step: export your episode transcripts from Alitu.

You can then organize them in a Google Doc or Word document, arranging the episodes by theme or chapter.  This makes it much easier to start shaping your manuscript, and you'll be able to spot any gaps that need extra content.  A quick tip: Label each transcript clearly, so you always know which episode you're working with.  Give it a try and see how quickly your podcast can turn into the first draft of your book!

If reading this blog inspires you, feel free to reach out and connect on LinkedIn, and my audiobook is now available at www.ireneyam.com

Big thanks to Alitu Support, I always feel like I'm talking to a human rather than an AI Chatbot. It's also why I'm still subscribing to Alitu and will use it for my YouTube channel! 

Irene Yam builds Customer Advisory Board programs that turn customer insight into action.  She draws on 24 years at Riverbed, EMC, Joyent, and RingCentral, and now advises executives on CAB design, facilitation, and impact.  Author of Build a World-Class Customer Advisory Board; contributor to CEOWorld and Indian Management.