How to turn an Urdu book into an audiobook
By Tabish Zaidi, founder of LEXA Audify ·
Paste or import the book's text into LEXA Audify, mark where each chapter starts, choose a narration style and a voice, and narrate. For every chapter you get an MP3 audiobook file, a read-along page in Nastaliq with the spoken line highlighted, and a 1080p video. If a word is said wrongly, you correct that word and only its passage is re-recorded.
What you need before you start
- The book as text. Audify imports .txt, .md and .docx files, or you can paste the text. A scanned or printed book must first be turned into text with an OCR tool.
- The right to use the text: your own book, a book you publish, or a work in the public domain.
- A free account. New accounts start with 100 credits, about 30 minutes of narration with a standard voice, and no card is needed.
Step by step
- Open Audiobooks & Video and give the book a title.
- Import the file or paste the text. Start each chapter with a heading line such as “# Chapter 2” or “باب دوم” so Audify can split the book into chapters.
- Check the language. Audify detects Urdu from the script. If your text is in Roman Urdu, it is converted to Urdu script before it is voiced.
- Choose a narration style: Radio Anchor, Storyteller, Scholarly Reading or Reverent Reading. Then choose a voice.
- Narrate the first chapter and listen to it before you narrate the whole book.
- Open Read along. If a name or a word is said wrongly, tap it and write how it should sound, for example with zer, zabar or pesh. Only that passage is re-recorded, and you can save the fix for the rest of the book.
- Download the MP3 for each chapter, and the MP4 video if you want one for YouTube or WhatsApp.
What happens to Quranic verses
Many Urdu books quote the Quran. Audify does not give those verses to a machine voice. A verse written inside ﴿ ﴾, or a fully vowelled Arabic quotation inside an Urdu book, stays on the page and in the video, and the audio pauses where the verse is. Verses cost no credits. If your book needs the verses recited, that is work for a qari, not for software.
How long it takes and what it costs
Narration is counted in credits: 1 credit for every 250 characters with a standard voice, which works out at roughly 200 credits for an hour of finished audio. Premium voices use three times as many. Read-along pages and videos are included.
A single book can be bought on its own as a one-off, or you can take a monthly plan if you narrate regularly. Current prices are on the pricing page.
When a human narrator is the better choice
AI narration suits backlists, textbooks, essays and books that would otherwise never get an audio edition. For a flagship title where performance matters most, for drama with many characters, or for a book that needs full Quranic recitation, a studio narrator or a qari is still the right choice.
Questions
Can I make an audiobook from Roman Urdu text?
Yes. Roman Urdu is converted to Urdu script first, and the Urdu script is what gets voiced and shown on the read-along page. Check the converted text before narrating a whole book.
Can I use a scanned Urdu book?
Not directly. A scan is an image, so it must first be converted to text with an OCR tool. Once you have the text as a .txt or .docx file, you can import it.
What if the voice mispronounces a name?
Tap the word on the read-along page and write how it should sound. Only that passage is re-recorded, and the fix can be saved so the name is said the same way everywhere.
Who owns the audiobook?
You do. You keep all rights to the book you bring and to the audio and videos made from it. Use only text you own or have permission to use.