Comments on: Welcome, TIME.com readers!

By: alphanitrate

alphanitrate — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:12:51 +0000

Just a few comments.
“Playing for Keeps” by Mur Lafferty was the first podiobook that I had ever listened to.

Novels like “7th Son” by JC Hutchins, “Infected” by Scott Sigler, and “Brave Men Run” by Matthew Wayne Selznick, have allowed me to enjoy new authors that I would have probably not come across in my own library.

To these authors, I am grateful. They help my work day pass by and continue to follow them and their projects.

I constantly recommend these stories to people that I know will enjoy them.

“It seems a ripe time for novel podcasting to grow. Traditional book publishers are struggling. Book sales are down; … has laid off employees,… has suspended the purchase of most new manuscripts.”

Like a lot of industries – they are also feeling the crunch.

The downside for us readers is that we can only have “new” Stephen King, John Grisham, and Neil Gaiman novels coming out ( don’t get me wrong, I love their work too, I’ve probably read every single book they’ve written so far).

I look forward to reading different styles and content from all over.

I love chocolate ice cream – but sometimes I like to have “Tiger” ice cream too.

Howard Hendrix also said, “In the long run, what you may end up with is a vast digital slush pile” and “a mass of novels written by 15-year-olds.”)

If a 15 year old can write- let the people decide. If it’s good – it will gain popularity.

I often wonder how many great stories remain unpublished due to the whim of an Publisher deciding on how many copies it would sell, rather than the story it self.

By: Anthony Epp

Anthony Epp — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:04:52 +0000

As local radio continues to go downhill podcasting is becoming a much better way to entertain myself while going about my day. I found JC Hutchins 7th Son Trilogy and loved it. Through his constant promotion of his other works (or those in progress), not to mention his promotion of other authors, my list of podcasts yet to listen to is far too long.

Thanx Hutchins.

Why wouldn’t I buy the books I’ve already listened to? I’m just now finishing a book I’ve already read at least half a dozen times, and will read again.

So, find and download episode 1 of the 7th Son Trilogy and prepare for a most engaging time becoming cliff-hangered and join the Beta Clone Army. Then you can move on to Sigler, Murr, Pendandt Audio, Ellis, Selznick, Holz, Rossi, Wallace and too many others to mention right now.

Enjoy!

By: Dave Perry

Dave Perry — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:59:03 +0000

Y’know what I dig about you, Hutch? You’re one of the few people who can say “golly” completely unironically.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:33:34 +0000

It’s good to see a pretty accurate article in something like Time. I have to address this though:

“It may not be perfect,” Hutchins, 33, says, “but, golly, is it good.”

It’s not just good Hutch, it’s damn good. Thank you for sharing it and for being one of the folks who inspired me to kick off my own.

To the critics I say, thanks for driving us to prove you wrong. Podcasting is going to be around for a while and it may not get us all or even most of us day job quitting money (or any money at all) but it’s an awesome way to share what we slave over and love.

By: J.C. Hutchins

J.C. Hutchins — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:03:28 +0000

Thanks for the awesome feedback, Ed. We podnovelists are proving the model works, but I agree: innovation will become the differentiator for new authors coming to the space. (Not to mention well-established “first movers,” as well.)

There’s so much untapped potential in podcast storytelling, and other disruptive publishing methods. Keeping it passionate and new is what keeps folks talking … and coming back for more. I’ll be doing my own bit of innovation this year, and I’m happy to hear you will too.

The tactics we’ve used so far shouldn’t be a road map to success, but a foundation for more progressive fiction and promotion. Onward and upward!

–J.C.

By: Ed Parrot (Edward G. Talbot)

Ed Parrot (Edward G. Talbot) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:42:43 +0000

More great stuff, J.C. And an interesting mainstream article. More interesting still that David Moldawer would be quoted as saying podcasting has “flattened out.” Rather than react defensively to that statement, I think we can learn from it. I suspect that he is responding to a definite change in the space. In particular, the fact that there are more players and most of us have people like you and Mur and Sigler who have shown how it can be done.

Which is good, but it can also lead to some stagnation, where newer authors are trying to copy what successful authors have done. It’s easier to settle into a routine rather than engage in what you have called “spontaneous human promotion.” I’m certainly guilty of this myself, and when my next book comes out in the summer, I’ll be trying to rectify that. One of the great appeals of being a podcast listener is connecting with authors on a very direct and raw level.

The one truth about audiences – and I think Moldawer misses this – is something Evo Terra at podiobooks stresses repeatedly. Different people like to get their fiction in different ways. It’s not just getting a book from the library or bookstore and plowing through it. Do they want CD, a podcast, hard copy, pdf, kindle, or something else? Do they want it serialized or all at once? Everyone is different.

It sometimes is difficult to figure out whether a work is worth listening to or reading. But if you’ll excuse the alliteration, the newer model of giving fans a chance to experience the work for free is going to be the future of fiction. That is a concept that goes way beyond podcasting, and gets to the heart of the difference between you, Sigler, etc. and the traditional model. To restate McLuhan, it’s not the medium, it’s the message.