Producing AI-Narrated Audiobooks Using ElevenLabs With Simon Patrick
The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers
Joanna Penn
4.8 • 745 Ratings
🗓️ 27 June 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Is the high cost of audiobook production holding you back? What if you could create a high-quality audiobook for a fraction of the traditional cost?
In this conversation, Simon Patrick explores the world of AI narration with ElevenLabs, discussing how you can gain complete creative control, and even license your own voice clone for a new stream of income.
This episode is supported by my patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn
Simon Patrick founded Ten Times Better Books to support his daughter, Abby Patrick, as one of ElevenLabs' first users and beta testers. He has produced several of their most popular AI voices. He now develops courses and AI audiobook solutions for independent authors at Novel Productions.
You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below.
Show Notes
* Costs vs benefits of human vs AI narration
* Features of ElevenLabs — realistic and expressive voices, creative control, ownership of final audio files for wide distribution to platforms like Spotify.
* Practical tips for AI narration
* ElevenLabs v3 and emotion tags
* Creating and monetizing a voice clone
* Publishing on ElevenReader
You can find Simon at Novel.Productions or 10xb.com.
Transcript of the interview
Joanna: Simon Patrick founded Ten Times Better Books to support his daughter, Abby Patrick, as one of ElevenLabs' first users and beta testers. He has produced several of their most popular AI voices. He now develops courses and AI audiobook solutions for independent authors at Novel Productions. Welcome to the show, Simon.
Simon: Thank you, Joanna. It's such a joy to be speaking with you. Your podcast and books were foundational to my daughter, Abby, becoming an author and me learning to be her publisher and all that's happened since.
I love your Patreon @thecreativepenn. It's the best money I spend every month, frankly. It's just a great community to be part of, so it's such a joy to be sharing some of what I've learned.
Joanna: Oh, thank you so much. Behind the scenes on the Patreon, Simon has done a video demo of ElevenLabs. Today, obviously, we're doing audio-only. So first up—
Tell us a bit more about your background and why you decided to get into AI-narrated audiobooks.
Simon: Okay. Well, I've got 25 years of experience in marketing and design. I still am halftime head of communications for an international charity, but we've always had our own businesses too.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Creative Pen podcast. I'm Joanna Penn, thriller author and creative entrepreneur, |
| 0:08.0 | bringing you interviews, inspiration and information on writing craft and creative business. |
| 0:14.7 | You can find the episode show notes, your free author blueprint, and lots more at thecreativepen.com. And that's Pen with a |
| 0:23.7 | double N. And here's the show. Hello, creatives. I'm Joanna Penn, and this is episode number |
| 0:30.4 | 816 of the podcast, and it is Wednesday the 25th of June 2025 as I record this. In today's Inbetweenysode, I talk to |
| 0:40.9 | Simon Patrick about AI audiobook narration using 11 Labs. We discuss the costs versus the benefits |
| 0:48.2 | of human versus AI narration, 11 labs realistic and expressive voices, creative control and ownership of final audio files for wide |
| 0:58.0 | distribution, practical tips for AI narration, 11 Labs V3 and why emotion tags are so exciting, |
| 1:06.4 | creating and monetising a voice clone and publishing on 11 reader. |
| 1:12.2 | So you can check out 11 labs at 11labs.I.O or I have an affiliate link at |
| 1:18.5 | thecreativepen.com forward slash 11 labs and you can use the number 11 or the text 11. |
| 1:24.6 | So the creative pen.com forward slash 11 labs. |
| 1:28.4 | Today's show is sponsored by my community at patreon.com forward slash the creative pen |
| 1:33.7 | and thanks to everyone who's been supporting for months and years. |
| 1:38.0 | If you join the community, you get access to all my backlist videos and audio, |
| 1:42.6 | covering topics on writing craft and author business, |
| 1:45.6 | as well as tutorials and demos on AI tools, including 11 Labs. |
| 1:50.3 | The Patreon is a monthly subscription, the equivalent of buying me a black coffee a month |
| 1:55.4 | or a couple of coffees if you're feeling generous. So if you get value from the show and you want more, come on over and join us |
| 2:02.6 | at patreon.com, p-a-t-r-e-on.com forward slash the creative pen. Right, let's get into the interview. |
| 2:14.3 | Simon Patrick founded 10 times better books to support his daughter, Abby Patrick. |
| 2:20.0 | As one of 11 Labs first users and beta testers, he has produced several of their most popular AI voices. |
... |
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