How to listen to Royal Road stories with text to speech
To listen to a Royal Road story, download it as an EPUB and open the file in an EPUB reader with a read-aloud feature. WP Downloader creates the EPUB for free. You do not need a Royal Road account or need to install anything.
How to listen to a Royal Road story
- Open the Royal Road fiction you want to hear and copy its story link.
- Go to the Royal Road downloader.
- Paste the link into the box. WP Downloader will detect that it comes from Royal Road.
- Choose EPUB and decide whether to include the story’s images.
- Download the EPUB.
- Open the file in a compatible reader and start its read-aloud or text-to-speech feature.
EPUB is free for everyone. WP Downloader can also create a PDF after a free Discord sign-in, but the reader apps in this guide use EPUB files.
A Royal Road serial with hundreds of chapters is downloaded as one EPUB, so you do not need to save each chapter separately.
Listen on iPhone and iPad
Apple’s Speak Screen feature can read an EPUB aloud in Apple Books.
Open Settings, then Accessibility, Spoken Content, and Speak Screen. Turn on Speak Screen and open the downloaded EPUB in Apple Books. Swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen to start reading it aloud.
Speak Screen uses the text-to-speech voices installed on your iPhone or iPad. How natural the narration sounds depends on those voices.
Listen on Android
You can listen to a downloaded Royal Road EPUB with Select to Speak, Moon+ Reader, or @Voice Aloud Reader.
Select to Speak
Open Settings and then Accessibility to turn on Select to Speak. Once it is enabled, tap items on the screen to hear them read aloud.
Moon+ Reader
Moon+ Reader opens EPUB files and has a built-in text-to-speech mode. Open your downloaded EPUB in the app and start its read-aloud mode.
@Voice Aloud Reader
@Voice Aloud Reader can read EPUB files aloud. Open the downloaded book in the app to listen to it.
These options use the text-to-speech voices installed on your device, so the narration depends partly on the available voices.
Listen on Windows, macOS, or Linux
Thorium Reader and calibre can read EPUB files aloud on a computer.
Thorium Reader
Thorium Reader is a free EPUB reader for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Open the EPUB from WP Downloader and use its read-aloud feature.
calibre
calibre is free desktop software. Its e-book viewer has a Read aloud feature that can narrate your Royal Road EPUB.
Both programs use the text-to-speech voices installed on the computer. The narration may sound different when you change the installed voice.
Tips for long Royal Road serials
Download the story again when chapters are added
WP Downloader cannot add new chapters to an existing EPUB. When the author publishes more chapters, paste the story link into WP Downloader again and download a new copy.
Keep the old and new files separate so that you do not open the earlier version by mistake.
Use EPUB for read aloud
WP Downloader does not output MOBI, AZW3, or TXT. EPUB is the available format supported by the read-aloud apps covered here, and it keeps the full serial in one file.
Choose whether to include images
WP Downloader can include the story’s images in the EPUB. Select this option if you want them in your offline copy. Text to speech reads the story text, not the images.
For more file and reading help, see how to read Royal Road offline. You can also compare the EPUB reader apps in this guide.
Is this a Royal Road audiobook?
WP Downloader creates an EPUB or PDF, not a narrated audio file. To listen to the story, open the EPUB in a reader that can speak the text using a device voice.
The Audora button is not available for Royal Road stories. It appears only after you paste a single Wattpad story link into WP Downloader.
The same basic process works for other supported fiction archives: download the story and open the EPUB in a reader with text to speech. See the guide to listening to fanfiction for more information.
FAQ
Do I need a Royal Road account?
No. WP Downloader can download Royal Road fictions without an account.
Can WP Downloader make a Royal Road audiobook?
WP Downloader creates an EPUB or PDF, not an audio file. Open the EPUB in a compatible app and use its read-aloud feature.
Can I download hundreds of chapters at once?
Yes. A long Royal Road serial with hundreds of chapters is downloaded as one file.
Will my EPUB update when a new chapter appears?
No. Download the story again to get newly published chapters.
Which devices can read a Royal Road EPUB aloud?
On iPhone and iPad, use Speak Screen with Apple Books. On Android, use Select to Speak, Moon+ Reader, or @Voice Aloud Reader. On Windows, macOS, or Linux, use Thorium Reader or calibre.