About/FAQ
Tech info is in the Instructions/Specs PDF
About the
EPUBULATOR
Who is the EPUBulator for?
- CHILDREN'S BOOK PUBLISHERS
- SELF-PUBLISHERS, SMALL PRESSES, and NONPROFITS who want a big-publisher product
- INDESIGN USERS ON WINDOWS who want to make readaloud EPUBs
- AUDIOBOOK PRODUCERS who want to offer human-narrated non-AI audio EPUBs
- BOOK PACKAGERS who offer ebooks, but not readaloud
- PEOPLE WHO HATE AI
- EBOOK DEVELOPERS who don’t want to deal with the readaloud part
- ANYONE who wants to make a readaloud ebook
What is it like to use?
It's like this:
It's just like any printing or self-publishing platform:
- Here are my files
- Here are the options I want
- Show me a proof
- Give me my final product and charge me
Pricing stuff
See the pricing page here.
— Can anything make that $20/page go UP?
NO, if it’s a simple picture book in English and your files are in good shape.
YES, if we're starting with PDF, not InDesign.
YES, if you need extra stuff, like audio editing or editorial changes.
YES, if somebody did weird things in your design file, you want extras (interactivity, editorial changes), rush delivery, etc.
YES, the minimum charge is for 24 pages, so your one-page book will cost $480.
— Can anything make that $20/page go DOWN?
YES, convert three or more books. See the rate sheet.
YES, be a small self-publisher, small press, or nonprofit. See the rate sheet.
— When will my credit card be charged?
After you OK the watermarked proof, you'll see a payment form. When you click PAY, your card will be charged and you'll get a download link for the finished file.
— Are there bulk discounts?
YES, starting at three books.
— My company can't pay per-book with a credit card. Can you work with a contract and purchase order instead?
YES. We've done both for years.
— I don't want to organize anything, I just want to get this stuff out of my hair. Can I just send you EVERYTHING and you deal with it?
— Can you design my book / redesign my book / lovingly shepherd my entire oeuvre?
SURE. Not for $20/page. Contact Typeflow.
Turnaround time
— How long until I get my readaloud ebook?
We don't know what the demand for this service will look like yet. But we're thinking something like:
- Single-book orders: 3 business days
- Volume orders: We'll talk and agree on a schedule.
— Why won't I immediately receive a proof? Isn’t the EPUBulator fully automated?
80% robots, 20% gnomes. Sometimes the gnomes want to go to a concert.
Voices
— Is this “readaloud” thing an AI voice?
NO. It's your MP3 of your human being reading your book. There is no AI anywhere in this process.
— Does the narrator have to be a pro?
NO. It can be anyone. If your narration budget is $12, spend it on a pop screen, turn off noisy kitchen appliances, drink a glass of water to reduce mouth noise, and do your best. We can use it.
— What if I want to use an AI voice?
SURE. Send it as an MP3, same as you'd do with a human narrator.
— Do you provide human narrators?
NO. If there's demand, we'll look into it.
— What format should I provide the recorded voice in?
MP3. More details in the Instructions/Specs PDF, linked in a big red button at the top of most pages of the desktop site, including this one.
What's the difference between the EPUBulator and…
… offshore digital conversion services?
- The EPUBulator is available to small presses and self-pubs, not just big publishing. It scales down as nicely as it scales up.
- If you use these offshore services, you may already be familiar with some tiny complaints.
… the do-it-yourself online EPUB builder from Large Offshore Ebook Meatgrinder?
The EPUBulator actually works.
… CircularFlo?
CircularFlo is a great product. We used it in-house for years and endorse its developer on LinkedIn. It’s the obvious choice for Mac print designers who want to add readaloud to simple picture books without leaving InDesign.
As Typeflow's ebook workload got bigger and more complex, we came to need an in-house tool capable of quickly and efficiently handling any readaloud ebook job that came through the door – simple or complicated, one book or a thousand, originating on Mac, Windows, or anything else. That's the EPUBulator, which works in a radically different way from CircularFlo.
… readaloud systems that can't do highlighting at the word level?
It does highlighting at the word level.
General curiosity
— What operating system is the EPUBulator compatible with?
ANY. Windows, Mac, Linux, Ubuntu, Android, DOS, Commodore, Kaypro, Cray, iOS…
The EPUBulator only cares if you have InDesign or PDF files, plus MP3s. It doesn’t care what made them.
— Is this beta software?
NO. The EPUBulator is fully online production software that created all the readaloud ebooks for Typeflow’s clients, in English, Spanish, and French, since early 2023.
ALSO YES. This website interface (the part that helps you upload the files, not the part that does the actual work) is totally new.
So there will be glitches in it?
There will absolutely be glitches in it.
— Can I get a more detailed look at what I need to provide?
SURE. The Instructions/Specs PDF is linked in a big red button at the top of most pages of the desktop site, including this one.
Other questions
— Do the picture books have to be simple?
NO. Tell us what you’re thinking and we’ll help you figure out what's sensible.
— Can I have interactive features, like simple vocabulary popups?
YES. $12 per simple popup that your designer supplies in the InDesign file. More if it's complex. Don't get complex. It's never worth the expense.
— Can it do other levels of highlighting, not just word-level?
I GUESS, IF SOMEONE WANTS TO. But is there actually a demand for that, or is it just the only thing anyone's been able to figure out how to do?
— My designer/audio person/ebook person wants to know a technical thing…
The Instructions/Specs PDF is linked in a big red button at the top of most pages of the desktop site, including this one.
— Do you offer accessibility features?
YES. Always evolving, these kinds of books are especially confusing, and we've partnered with Laura Brady/Acme Books to keep on top of things.
— Can the EPUBulator handle entire backlists?
HECK YEAH! We looooove entire backlists!
— Can the EPUBulator make other, non-ebook products that use .smil (media overlay) files?
YEAH. For sure. Probably. I think. Maybe? Let’s talk.
— Does the EPUBulator only work on fixed-layout ebooks? What about reflowable ebooks or DAISY books?
As of press time, Typeflow would only look shifty and say, “Nothing to see here, move along.”
