TTS has increased my purchases by 300-400%

AlphaTerminus · 03-20-2009, 06:46 PM

Consider this an open letter to all authors and publishers.

Since getting the Kindle 2 I purchase over 3 times as many books, and now actually pay to subscribe to newspapers, because the TTS allows me to consume about 3-4 times as much information over the course of a day.

I used to read about a book per month on E-reader via a netbook and a Windows mobile device. I subscribed to no newspaper and no magazines. Since buying the Kindle 2 I am reading 1-2 books every 1-2 weeks and daily newspapers and weekly magazines. I read when I can... breaks at work, before bed, while waiting somewhere. But now I'm able to listen to text-to-speech on my daily walks, while driving, and sometimes while falling asleep. As a result, I now purchase MANY more books than ever before, and actually pay to subscribe to magazines and newspapers.

Why, as a publisher or author, would you desire to sell me fewer of your works? I've never purchased both the audio and text version of the book, and never will!

In fact, if you disable TTS on your works, I'll not purchase them at all. In fact, your work is probably available for free as both a text and audio torrent file, and if I really want to read it and you make it difficult for me to purchase it, I'll likely seek out those "free" sources and encourage others to do the same.

Don't bite the hands that feed you. You need consumers more than we need you.

Luddites!

Sincerely,

A customer that wants to buy your books but won't if you cripple them.

catsittingstill · 03-20-2009, 09:03 PM

I've really enjoyed the TTS feature and think that it adds value to both the Kindle and the books. On the other hand, it in no way compares to a professional audio book; if I knew I was going to be listening to a book all day (long drive for instance) I would be inclined to get an audiobook version if it was available.
I hope publishers will choose to leave TTS turned on for their books, however, since I really like being able to listen to a few pages while I fold the laundry or work out at the gym. The ability to slip from written text to spoken word and back, without having to flip around or fast forward to find my place, is a great feature.

AlphaTerminus · 03-20-2009, 09:34 PM

I agree, catsittingstill. In fact, I have a 12 hour each way drive coming up, and just purchased 5 new books from Audible.com. They had 200 books for 4.95 each and I couldn't pass it up.

Hantra · 03-20-2009, 10:29 PM

Me too man. I listen to the WSJ on my commute. I LOVE it.

Alisa · 03-20-2009, 11:21 PM

I can understand why they want to reserve the right but I think most if not all would be wise to choose to enable the feature especially periodical content providers.

kyliedork · 03-21-2009, 03:18 AM

publishers are not going to give away rights unless you hold a metaphorical gun to the head

David J. Guyton · 03-21-2009, 03:25 AM

Yeah this is terrible. I am an author myself and I am THRILLED to be able to offer my book TTS enabled.

The Traditional Publishers are afraid because they are losing ther power. They are also greedy people who refuse to adapt to new technology, and instead, do all they can to fight it. Very sad.

rcuadro · 03-21-2009, 10:19 AM

I bought 4 books yesterday alone... and I am thinking about getting a newspaper to top it off

JoeC · 03-21-2009, 06:27 PM

I agree. I read at night and then plug the Kindle into my car stereo and it reads to me right where I left off reading during my commute. I am reading more than I normally would and not just using TTS to complete a book.

S.Canton · 03-21-2009, 06:58 PM

While I don't find the TTS speech technology too amazing (yet), I still do use it, and it's incredibly convenient, especially when I'm driving. I think that even for a personal like myself, it has gotten me spending a bit more on material.

JSWolf · 03-24-2009, 04:10 PM

Actually, we are much better off if the TTS is disabled. If none of the eBook at Amazon allowed TTS then wed be in great shape. We'd be golden. So here's to disabling the TTS.

Now, as to why we'd be golden has to do with the DMCA in the US. There is an exception that would allow us to strip the DRM of every single AZW format eBook that we wanted to and do so legally. So here's to TTS being turned off of every AZW ebook.

So I just want to give a big thank you to Random House for deciding to disable the TTS so we can legally strip the DRM from all of your AZW format eBooks.

And because we'd be legally able to strip the DRM, the TTS would once again be enabled.

KarlB · 03-25-2009, 09:08 PM

I listen to a huge amount of text using TTS, and its availability on the K2 was a major factor in my purchase. I use it almost exclusively for nonfiction, feeling that the "robot voice" is pretty grossly inappropriate for literature. Before the K2 I used my Macintosh's built in TTS to listen to online magazines, emailed newsletters, blogs, Questia.com books, etc., etc. Having the Kindle's huge selection of nonfiction books available for listening was a real thrill for me. I nearly doubled the size of my Amazon wish list in a few days.

When the option-to-disable-TTS decision was announced I had a moment of panic, but my response was to track down and figure out how to use the DRM-removal scripts that are available for Kindle books. Now I routinely convert Kindle books I want to listen to into plain text and listen to them on my Mac. The Macintosh TTS voice is a little better (IMO) than the K2's anyway.

jeremy81 · 03-25-2009, 09:47 PM

I think it's okay for short periods of time but I would personally be annoyed by the voice if I had to listen to it for very long. Audible would be a much better choice.

KarlB · 03-26-2009, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremy81

I think it's okay for short periods of time but I would personally be annoyed by the voice if I had to listen to it for very long. Audible would be a much better choice.

Of course a human voice is better, but the number of books available as audiobooks is pretty tiny compared to the number of books available as Kindle books.

zadriel · 04-11-2009, 06:39 PM

Whose hacked the DRM to be able to keep access to TTS? Has anyone come up with an easy way to make sure this stays available to us? If so please email me through the system here, or shoot one to trickstands AT aol DOT com. I don't want to advocate piracy here, and I am not interested in a discussion of piracy. What I want is to be able to 1. keep hearing my tts... which the copyright office says I have a right to. AND 2. be able to take my books to another device should i leave kindle 2 behind. thanks for your advice!

03-20-2009, 06:46 PM	#1
AlphaTerminus Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 2	TTS has increased my purchases by 300-400% Consider this an open letter to all authors and publishers. Since getting the Kindle 2 I purchase over 3 times as many books, and now actually pay to subscribe to newspapers, because the TTS allows me to consume about 3-4 times as much information over the course of a day. I used to read about a book per month on E-reader via a netbook and a Windows mobile device. I subscribed to no newspaper and no magazines. Since buying the Kindle 2 I am reading 1-2 books every 1-2 weeks and daily newspapers and weekly magazines. I read when I can... breaks at work, before bed, while waiting somewhere. But now I'm able to listen to text-to-speech on my daily walks, while driving, and sometimes while falling asleep. As a result, I now purchase MANY more books than ever before, and actually pay to subscribe to magazines and newspapers. Why, as a publisher or author, would you desire to sell me fewer of your works? I've never purchased both the audio and text version of the book, and never will! In fact, if you disable TTS on your works, I'll not purchase them at all. In fact, your work is probably available for free as both a text and audio torrent file, and if I really want to read it and you make it difficult for me to purchase it, I'll likely seek out those "free" sources and encourage others to do the same. Don't bite the hands that feed you. You need consumers more than we need you. Luddites! Sincerely, A customer that wants to buy your books but won't if you cripple them.

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03-20-2009, 09:03 PM	#2
catsittingstill Guru Posts: 643 Karma: 551634 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle 1.0.8, iPod Touch, Kindle Keyboard	I've really enjoyed the TTS feature and think that it adds value to both the Kindle and the books. On the other hand, it in no way compares to a professional audio book; if I knew I was going to be listening to a book all day (long drive for instance) I would be inclined to get an audiobook version if it was available. I hope publishers will choose to leave TTS turned on for their books, however, since I really like being able to listen to a few pages while I fold the laundry or work out at the gym. The ability to slip from written text to spoken word and back, without having to flip around or fast forward to find my place, is a great feature.

03-20-2009, 09:34 PM	#3
AlphaTerminus Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 2	I agree, catsittingstill. In fact, I have a 12 hour each way drive coming up, and just purchased 5 new books from Audible.com. They had 200 books for 4.95 each and I couldn't pass it up.

03-20-2009, 10:29 PM	#4
Hantra Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 18 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 3	Me too man. I listen to the WSJ on my commute. I LOVE it.

03-20-2009, 11:21 PM	#5
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	I can understand why they want to reserve the right but I think most if not all would be wise to choose to enable the feature especially periodical content providers.

03-21-2009, 03:18 AM	#6
kyliedork Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 106 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: kindle	publishers are not going to give away rights unless you hold a metaphorical gun to the head

03-21-2009, 03:25 AM	#7
David J. Guyton Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 501406 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: none	Yeah this is terrible. I am an author myself and I am THRILLED to be able to offer my book TTS enabled. The Traditional Publishers are afraid because they are losing ther power. They are also greedy people who refuse to adapt to new technology, and instead, do all they can to fight it. Very sad.

03-21-2009, 10:19 AM	#8
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	I bought 4 books yesterday alone... and I am thinking about getting a newspaper to top it off

03-21-2009, 06:27 PM	#9
JoeC Addict Posts: 319 Karma: 2257942 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle Oasis 2 and 3, Scribe	I agree. I read at night and then plug the Kindle into my car stereo and it reads to me right where I left off reading during my commute. I am reading more than I normally would and not just using TTS to complete a book.

03-21-2009, 06:58 PM	#10
S.Canton Groupie Posts: 174 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kindle 2	While I don't find the TTS speech technology too amazing (yet), I still do use it, and it's incredibly convenient, especially when I'm driving. I think that even for a personal like myself, it has gotten me spending a bit more on material.

03-24-2009, 04:10 PM	#11
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,957 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Actually, we are much better off if the TTS is disabled. If none of the eBook at Amazon allowed TTS then wed be in great shape. We'd be golden. So here's to disabling the TTS. Now, as to why we'd be golden has to do with the DMCA in the US. There is an exception that would allow us to strip the DRM of every single AZW format eBook that we wanted to and do so legally. So here's to TTS being turned off of every AZW ebook. So I just want to give a big thank you to Random House for deciding to disable the TTS so we can legally strip the DRM from all of your AZW format eBooks. And because we'd be legally able to strip the DRM, the TTS would once again be enabled.

Advert

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03-25-2009, 09:08 PM	#12
KarlB Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 40 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: clay tablet	I listen to a huge amount of text using TTS, and its availability on the K2 was a major factor in my purchase. I use it almost exclusively for nonfiction, feeling that the "robot voice" is pretty grossly inappropriate for literature. Before the K2 I used my Macintosh's built in TTS to listen to online magazines, emailed newsletters, blogs, Questia.com books, etc., etc. Having the Kindle's huge selection of nonfiction books available for listening was a real thrill for me. I nearly doubled the size of my Amazon wish list in a few days. When the option-to-disable-TTS decision was announced I had a moment of panic, but my response was to track down and figure out how to use the DRM-removal scripts that are available for Kindle books. Now I routinely convert Kindle books I want to listen to into plain text and listen to them on my Mac. The Macintosh TTS voice is a little better (IMO) than the K2's anyway.

03-25-2009, 09:47 PM	#13
jeremy81 Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 1180 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Oklahoma Device: Kindle Fire & Kindle 3	I think it's okay for short periods of time but I would personally be annoyed by the voice if I had to listen to it for very long. Audible would be a much better choice.

04-11-2009, 06:39 PM	#15
zadriel Member Posts: 14 Karma: 30 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: kindle 2	Whose hacked the DRM to be able to keep access to TTS? Has anyone come up with an easy way to make sure this stays available to us? If so please email me through the system here, or shoot one to trickstands AT aol DOT com. I don't want to advocate piracy here, and I am not interested in a discussion of piracy. What I want is to be able to 1. keep hearing my tts... which the copyright office says I have a right to. AND 2. be able to take my books to another device should i leave kindle 2 behind. thanks for your advice!