OBT’s journey from pod to print

OBT’s journey from pod to print

Amazon turn eBooks into audio books using AI voices – and it gave the Open Bible Trust’s Michael Penny a bright idea.

‘If they can turn eBooks into audio-books, couldn’t we turn our podcasts into eBooks and KDP paperbacks?’ thought Michael, OBT’s administrator and editor.

OBT have now four completed podcasts series: Wisdom in Proverbs, Looking at Luke, Exploring Ecclesiastes and Discussing Ephesians.

‘We were very pleased with the feedback on the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes podcasts,’ said Michael. ‘It is not an easy book to follow and often misunderstood. However, it is very much a book for today with its theme that everything passes and changes, so we decided that was the first one we would turn into a book. It has proved particularly popular.’

It was necessary to make minor modifications to the script, with the podcast format a discussion between three people.

‘Thankfully, basic colour printing has come down in cost,’ explained Michael. ‘So we used three different colours for the three different voices. It has worked well, maybe because, in a podcast, points must be made not only clearly and succinctly, but also briefly, before another voice comes in. In the book there are no long paragraphs which go into great detail and this enables people to grasp the essential teachings of Ecclesiastes in small bites which slowly build up – giving the bigger picture.’

The book is called The Ecclesiastes Dialogues and OBT have also published The Wisdom Dialogues, a discussion on Proverbs. Both books are available from Amazon either as paperbacks or eBooks.  However, in time, the podcasts on Luke’s Gospel and the letter to the Ephesians will also become available as books.

• The Open Bible Trust are on stand F5 at CRE 25

CRE 2025

Book your ticket to CRE 25!
To book a stand at CRE 25, contact:
James Batterbee
T: 0161 240 4500
E: james@creonline.co.uk