How to Turn a PDF or Ebook Into an MP3 Audiobook

To turn a PDF or ebook into an MP3, bring the text into a text-to-speech studio, let it split the book into chapters, choose a voice, and export each chapter as an MP3 or the whole book as an M4B with chapter marks. The file format you start from matters more than you'd think: Word and EPUB files keep their headings, PDFs don't.

Which file should I start from?

• EPUB or Word (.docx): best. Headings come through, so chapters are worked out for you.
• Text or Markdown: fine; headings in Markdown start chapters too.
• PDF: works, but comes in without its headings, and page numbers or running headers may need deleting. If you have the Word or EPUB version, use that.
• A web page: paste its address and the article comes in as lines.

How do I convert it?

1. In Leelo, start an Audiobook project (or any project for a short document).
2. Press Paste a document and open the file (up to 30 MB). It's read in your browser.
3. Choose how to split it: a line per sentence, and headings start chapters.
4. Pick a voice. For a novel, you can give each character a voice of their own.
5. Fix names and terms once in the pronunciation dictionary.
6. Generate a chapter, listen, then generate the rest.
7. Export each chapter as an MP3, or one M4B with chapters for audiobook players.

For a quick listen to a page or two, the free text to speech tool reads up to 2,000 characters without a project.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

Narration runs at about 150 words a minute, so a 30,000-word ebook is about 3 hours 20 minutes of audio. In a standard voice that's about 30,000 credits (a credit a word); premium voices are 1.5. The free plan's 1,000 credits are enough to try a chapter opening; the Starter plan includes 80,000 credits a month.

Can I sell the audiobook?

If you own the rights to the text and use a paid plan, the audio is yours to use commercially. Stores have their own rules about AI narration: see AI audiobooks for ACX, KDP and other stores.

Tips for better listening

• Delete page numbers, footnote markers and repeated headers before generating.
• Add a short pause between sections.
• Vary the pace: slower for dense passages, a little faster for dialogue.