1. A method for creating and editing an XML-based speech synthesis document for input to a text-to-speech engine, the method comprising: recording voice utterances of a user reading a pre-selected text; parsing the recorded voice utterances into individual words and periods of silence; generating an XML-based speech synthesis document corresponding to the pre-selected text; recording a synthesized speech output generated by a text-to-speech engine based on the XML-based speech synthesis document, the synthesized speech output comprising an audible rendering of the pre-selected text; parsing the synthesized speech output into individual words and periods of silence; and annotating the XML-based speech synthesis document based upon a comparison of the recorded voice utterances and the recorded synthesized speech output, the annotating comprising inserting at least one of an XML emphasis element, an XML prosody element, or an XML break element into the XML-based speech synthesis document.