# How to have AI read a novel aloud

Paste a chapter, choose a narrator, give each character a voice or a direction, and listen, with what the free credits cover and when a book needs its rights holder's permission.

Published 2026-10-18. Paxa Labs.

Some novels are easier to finish by ear. A web serial updates while you commute, and a long series can tire your eyes by the third book. An AI voice reads the chapter you paste, in a voice you choose, and you listen wherever you like.

In Paxa, that happens in [the Speech tool](https://paxalabs.com/app/speech) of the console. Every Paxa TTS Flash v2 voice reads English, Thai, and Mandarin in the same voice.

## Read a chapter aloud, step by step

1. Paste the chapter: Copy the chapter as text and paste it into [the Speech tool](https://paxalabs.com/app/speech). One run reads up to 5,000 characters, about 5 minutes of English narration. Paste a longer chapter in parts, breaking at a scene or a paragraph.
2. Choose a narrator: Open the voice picker and play the samples, which cost nothing. Pick a voice you could listen to for an hour.
3. Mark the dialogue: Before a line that needs it, write a direction in square brackets, such as `[whispering]`. Write `[neutral]` after the line to return to the narrator's own delivery.
4. Generate and listen: Set the Speed slider first for a slower or faster read, at the same price. Then select Generate speech and play the part.
5. Keep the parts in order: Select the Download icon on each part's player, and number the files in reading order.

## Choose a narrator voice

A narrator stays with the listener for the whole book. The catalog casts these voices for narration, audiobooks, long reads, and audio novels.

| Voice | Role | Cast for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Khanom Krok](https://paxalabs.com/voices/khanomkrok) | Lead voice | Calm, unhurried elder voice and the roster's male lead: documentary, heritage storytelling, and narration. |
| [Foi Thong](https://paxalabs.com/voices/foithong) | Narrator | Captivating narrator for long reads and explainers. |
| [Espresso](https://paxalabs.com/voices/espresso) | Long-form reader | Deep, dark, unhurried English reader for long fiction, documentaries, and trailers. |
| [Tao Huay](https://paxalabs.com/voices/taohuay) | Drama lead | Tender, melancholy Mandarin voice for drama recaps, audio novels, and companion speech. |
| [Oolong](https://paxalabs.com/voices/oolong) | Audio fiction | Low, rich Mandarin narrator for audio novels, brand reads, and late-night stories. |

Hear a few pages in each before you settle. [The narrator voice page](https://paxalabs.com/narrator-voice) plays narrators reading in English, Thai, and Mandarin, and [the voices page](https://paxalabs.com/voices) plays every voice.

## Give characters a voice or a direction

Dialogue is where one even read loses a listener. A direction is the quicker fix. Keep one narrator, and write how a line should sound in square brackets before it. The direction holds until the next one, and `[neutral]` returns to the narrator's own delivery.

a direction on the dialogue, then back to the narrator:

```
[warm, unhurried] The ferry left the pier at dusk, and Mali watched the temple lights come on one by one.
[whispering] "Don't look back," her brother said. "They're still on the pier."
[neutral] She looked anyway.
```

A voice of their own takes more steps. Each run speaks in one voice. Generate each character's lines in that character's voice, then join the clips in order in an audio editor.

[The audio novels page](https://paxalabs.com/use-cases/audio-novels) casts a catalog voice for each character of a serial. [The bedtime stories page](https://paxalabs.com/bedtime-stories) plays a story in which a grandfather narrates and two animals talk.

## Listen on free credits

A new account gets 100 free credits, granted once, enough for about 11 minutes of English narration. On free credits alone, [the Terms](https://paxalabs.com/terms#content-and-output) license the audio for personal, non-commercial use and for evaluating the service.

A long book takes more credits than the free grant. [The pricing page](https://paxalabs.com/pricing) lists the plans and credit packs.

## Publishing someone else's book as audio

To publish an audio version of a book someone else wrote, you need permission from whoever holds its rights, usually the author or the publisher.

Once you buy any plan or credit pack, the Terms assign you all of the account's audio for any use, commercial included, while you comply with them. That includes audio made before the purchase. A purchase covers the audio. Permission for the book's words still comes from its rights holder. [The Terms](https://paxalabs.com/terms#content-and-output) state the purchase rule.

## Common questions

### Can AI read a whole novel aloud?

Yes, chapter by chapter. One run reads up to 5,000 characters, about 5 minutes of English narration. A long chapter goes in as several runs.

### Can I listen on the free credits?

Yes, the free credits pay for runs like any other credits. On free credits alone, [the Terms](https://paxalabs.com/terms#content-and-output) license the audio for personal, non-commercial use and for evaluating the service.

### Can I post the audio of a novel I like?

Only with permission from whoever holds the book's rights, usually the author or the publisher. Once you buy any plan or credit pack, the Terms assign you the audio for any use, commercial included, while you comply with them. Permission for the words still comes from their rights holder.

### Can it read a novel in Thai or Mandarin?

Yes. Every Paxa TTS Flash v2 voice reads English, Thai, and Mandarin in the same voice.