Podcasting?

[Karlequin]

Hi,

I'm new to this board, so hello everyone!

I was wondering what people here think about podcasting as a way to get noticed. Recently I've listened to some sci-fi podcasts by an American author, Scott Sigler. Once you get past the American accent () it's pretty good stuff. He also seems to have migrated into print with his first novel, Earthcore, and (apparently) regularly gets 30K+ listeners. There is also a Web site called podiobooks that is devoted entirely to podcast novels, although I haven't checked many of them out yet.

So, what do you think? Worth the effort? Would any of you consider it?

The way the internet is going, perhaps this really is the way of the future. No publishers, no worrying about printing etc., but at the same time possibly no cash (at least at first), and having to put a lot of effort in to get going. Maybe it's more akin to self-publishing than normal publishing.

As far as I know this isn't something that has many big companies interested, I don't think there are any specific online publishers of podcasts, and the same goes for editorial support. However, if things like the cast noted above continue their success, and if Gicky Gervais lets anyone else get a foot in the door, who knows what might happen?

Comments please...

P.S. It wouldn't let me post links here, but if you're interested the things I've mentioned should be easy enough to find.

[Winters_Sorrow]

I have no idea about podcasts as I'm a complete technophobe when it comes to that stuff.
At the end of the bad it's publicity and exposure but it depends on whether you feel you have anything worth saying and whether you'll be able to get noticed.

At the end of the day the internet is a giant open space full of people shouting. You have to give them a reason to listen to you. Shouting "I've got a great book! Give me your money" over and over again will not help so I presume this guy has discussed other topics and 'just happens to be' an author with a book people can buy.

If you mean using podcasts as a pure marketing tool I would advise against it.

And as for audiobooks/podbooks, I've no idea. I'd like to hear a few stories in audio format but I would never swap to that from a physical book. In fact I'm more likely to purchase an audio version of a book I already have.

[I, Brian]

Welcome to chronicles, Karlequin.

As for podcasting - I think it's far too of a niche audience for it to really work as a hook in itself. Most people simply are not aware of it, and the user base is very small.

As an additional feature as part of an overall presentation/marketing package I think it has pro points, but I really don't see podcasting as having much of a future.

The internet and TV are currently in the process of merging into a single entity - IPTV - so I think in such instances we'll find podcasting denigrated by IPTV in the same way that TV has to radio.

2c.

[Green]

Brian, do you think podcasting as a whole will disappear, or are you just referring to audio book podcasting? I've not come across any audio book podcasts, but would probably enjoy listening to this Scott Sigler's podcast if he's informative and at least semi-professional about it. I will check him out, Karlequin, thanks for the heads-up.

Ok, digression on podcasts, sorry... Podcasting as a whole is getting bigger and bigger, and it won't be long before your gran is listening to podcasts to supplement her iLife. If internet and TV merge completely, you'll still get podcasting. There are plenty of (free) video podcasts out there already, corporate IPTV isn't going to replace or devalue those, especially since you can already download pretty much any TV program for free (usually illegally) anyway.

There's loads of crappy podcasts out there, but the decent ones I've found (couple of tech ones, a couple of music ones) are actually worth my time, and I prefer them to the modern media's bitesize-content-4-all-demographics approach. In-depth discussion on a topic I care about? Yes please

PS - Brian, you should start a Chronicles podcast. I'm sure there's more than a few members with the tech savvy and (more importantly) the presenting skills to make a success of it.

[Karlequin]

I just wrote a really long reply, which was rejected and I lost it all. Ah well.

My key point was "don't dismiss podcasts", and also check out what the much-hyped Web 2.0 is promising in terms of targetted, filtered (but un-edited) content. Like it or not, it's the way things are going. Oh, and also that the podcast I mentioned is a novel serialization not a discussion like so many others, as I didn't make that clear in my first post.

I would write more, but I'm worrtied that this forum will eat my words again.

[I, Brian]

Sorry you lost your long post, Karlequin - would have been interesting to read the details. Try CTRL+A to highlight all, then CTRL+C to copy all before sending. That way, if something goes screwy with the login then you should have a copy saved to your cache. If it's any consolation, it tends to be just a potential issue if you've only logged in the first couple of times.

It's not so much that I'm dismissing podcasting, as much as that I see it more remaining a niche medium. Podcasting as an online version of audio books may be an interesting niche application, for example. But outside of that? I'm not convinced it's going to go mass market any time soon.

As for Web 2.0 - uh-oh - serious over-hype here. Sort of like Web 1.0 but with the Ventire Capitalists throwing the money in, instead of Joe Blog's mutual fund. I seriously think that's the only real difference. Community based experiences have been around since the beginning of the net. Put a new skin and a little AJAX on the alt.binary newsgroups and that would qualify for Web 2.0 status. As you may notice, I'm a little cynical here.

[Brown Rat]

I'm not interested in hearing someone read a book on a podcast, but I do seek out and listen to podcasts about Firefly and Battlestar Galactica, and I just listened to a couple of podcasts about Project Runway. In other words, I'm listening to casts for shows I'm already interested in--which means that podcasts aren't a way to catch my attention; they're a way to hold my attention or enrich the experience.

But I wouldn't tell someone not to create a podcast. Podcasts are cheap and relatively easy to set up. I put one on my website (carolynhill.com) just for kicks, although I'm not doing anything with it at the moment.

Instead of creating podcasts, I'm making a video that I can put on YouTube to advertise my book. Visuals seem more compelling than mere audio in capturing attention.

[I, Brian]

Sounds like you're quite on the ball with it all, Brown Rat.

[Green]

Originally Posted by Brown Rat

podcasts aren't a way to catch my attention; they're a way to hold my attention or enrich the experience.

I'd agree with this completely - they're perhaps not the best marketing tool in the end, but it's going to interest your existing customer base (perhaps keeping them loyal?).

[Brown Rat]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Sounds like you're quite on the ball with it all, Brown Rat.

The ball keeps rolling, so I have to scramble to keep from falling off and getting run over . . .

[I, Brian]

Lol! It's a paradigm of doing business on the internet.

[Karlequin]

Hi,

I had to post a new message here as there is currently an interesting article in the New York Times which looks at this issue, with some quite surprising opinions and numbers...

Publishing - Podcasts - New York Times

Definitely worth a read. I'm still not sure about the relative merits of podcasting a novel vs. waiting years to get an agent or publisher, but at least you have something out there I suppose. I just worry whether this "cheapens" your ideas.