In a slight twist to the normal format of this podcast, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, who is interested in getting involved in podcasting, interviews Mark Lefebvre, Joanna Penn and J, Daniel Sawyer about podcasting for authors in front of a live audience.
The discussion took place as part of a week-long Publishing Master Class workshop that Rusch and her husband, Dean Wesley Smith run in Lincoln City, Oregon. (The reason you’re hearing a lot of keyboards clacking in the background of this interview is due to the avid note-taking that happens during one of the Master Class sessions.)
Some of the questions that Rusch asks, are:
- How did you get started in podcasting?
- What schedule(s) do the podcasts come out on? Monthly, Weekly, Daily?
- Has podcasting interfered with writing or has it augmented it?
In the course of the discussion, Kristine, Mark, Joanna and Dan talk about:
- How podcasting allows them to network, learn, and connect with others
- How the podcast needs to become a “habit” for listeners. Joanna, for example, shares details about how moving to a consistent weekly format really increased her listener base
- The SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value when you add a transcript of the show on your website
- How Joanna almost gave up podcasting a couple of years ago because of the time it took away from her writing and how having a monetization strategy helped with that
- Authors like Scott Sigler and Terry Fallis who used podcasting to build their audiences and kick-off their writing careers
- Time management challenges, tools used and how the use of “batching” (pre-recording a number of episodes in a single sitting) has benefited Joanna Penn and J. Daniel Sawyer
- The value of adding a personal side to a podcast, and the way that has benefited The Creative Penn podcast
- Bundlerabbit (a sponsor of one of Daniel’s podcasts) a service that allows people to curate their own bundles
- The use of ad space swapping with other podcasts in order to expand one’s audience
- Podcast distribution options
- The importance of listening to a podcast before pitching yourself to them as a potential guest
In the wrap-up, Mark talks about the importance of constantly learning. Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an industry veteran who teaches and mentors writers directly and on her amazing blog “The Business Rusch”. But even after all those decades of experience, she still has an open mind and is willing to learn, because the publishing industry is constantly changing and evolving.
J. Daniel Sawyer, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Joanna Penn and Mark Lefebvre posing for the “weird” picture that Kris prompted
Links to other KWL interviews with these amazing guests:
Episode 29 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Episode 54 – The Uncollected Anthology (with Kris)
Other Links of Interest:
J. Daniel Sawyer’s Full Suite of Audio/Podcasts
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Thank you, Mark! There is no learning that is ever a waste of time, which is a very good thing, because I love that part of a new project. The business of being an independent author and publisher is an always evolving and ever fascinating new learning experience. I look forward to having been in the industry for as long as Kristine and still being excited to dive into the next new thing.