Yea or Nay: Is Podcasting a Practical Avenue for Writers?

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Podcasts: Yea or Nay?

Are You a Podcaster? Do You Plan to Become One?

Podcasts and vlogs have experienced a rise in popularity over the last several years.

Are They Here to Stay?

Waterbeds, Pet Rocks, the Slinky … Do you know what they were? These fads enjoyed widespread popularity for a while, and then they died.

That brings us to podcasts and vlogs. Are they fads?

How Fast Can You Read?

If you’re an average reader, your speed will be about 200 to 250 words per minute. When you’re absorbed in a novel and want to savor the magic of every phrase, you might read slower or even reread paragraphs.

Speed readers, however, devour 400 to 700 words per minute.

How Fast Can You Talk?

The average person speaks about 150 words per minute. That includes every er, um, you know, I think, I mean …

Add pauses or interruptions, and the spoken words per minute drops.

What Does That Mean to Podcasters and Vloggers?

Everyone is busy nowadays. Internet surfers want to click and go. They don’t have time for irrelevant words or fluff. It’s easier and faster for them to skim blog posts for important details — while skipping irrelevant paragraphs — than it is to sit through a podcast or vlog while they listen to Every. Single. Word.

Or maybe they lose focus and miss important points.

During podcasts, people can’t skip to a specific heading or paragraph. They can rewind and fast forward, but it’s a hit-and-miss operation to find what they want, and it wastes time.

One Solution

Kudos to podcasters who provide a written transcript. More kudos if they edit out the ers and ums.

A good transcript will provide bold and/or bulleted headings that help users target specific areas. The headings also facilitate better findability in search engines.

Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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A Few Disadvantages of Podcasts

  1. Podcasting, especially video podcasting (vlogging), creates huge files that can quickly exceed webhosting limits.
  2. Podcast creation is a time-intensive task. Try it. Write a one-minute production and record it with your computer. Rework it until you have a suitable recording. How long did it take? Add video and music, and it’ll take even longer.
  3. Inclusion of sound effects or music may violate copyrights. You’ll need time to locate and research resources.
  4. What about hearing-impaired followers? Yes, you can — and should — create a transcript, but that increases production time.

There are more disadvantages, but I touched on the most important.

A Sub-Par Podcast Will Damage Your Reputation

Like a book full of spelling and grammatical errors, an amateurish podcast says, “I don’t care enough about my followers to do a good job.”

Authenticity is important, but nobody wants to hear you feeding the dog while you talk about your latest book — unless it’s about dogs.

Ditto for a description of your last meal — unless your podcast and books are about gourmet cooking.

Avoid Boo-Boos Like These

  • “test, test, test” intros accompanied by taps on the microphone
  • hiccups, burps, sniffles, coughs, sneezes
  • static
  • background noises
  • volume spikes or dips
  • lengthy pauses
  • slurred speech
  • interruptions from telephones
  • audio notifications about emails and personal messages
  • interruptions from kids or spouses
  • multiple “buy my book” solicitations
  • speaking too fast or too slowly
  • interrupting or talking over another speaker during multiple-person podcasts
  • cursing

My Opinion?

  • With the exception of sites like Tall Tale TV (a sci-fi and fantasy short story podcast) I prefer blogs.
  • I enjoy working on my computer while a television program plays in the background. As much as I enjoy multitasking, I can’t listen to a podcast and the news at the same time.
  • If I’m searching for information on the internet, I can scan blog posts to see if they contain what I want before committing the time to read them in detail.
  • Unless I wear headphones when family and pets are sleeping, a podcast wakes them. Have you ever tried to coax an indignant child or squawking parrot back to sleep?

Speaking of Short Story Podcasts …

Tall Tale TV accepts sci-fi and fantasy short stories such as “Rain” and “Felis aurantiacus.” The narrator, Christopher Herron, accompanies every story with a written transcript.

And he accepts submissions.

What About You?

Do you avoid podcasts? Have you ever tried to create one?

If you’re ready to dip a toe into the water, check out Learn How to Start a Podcast at PodcastingInsights.com.

Are You Interested in Word Lists and Writing Tips?

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I usually post two to five times monthly, and you can discontinue your subscription at any time.

Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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16 thoughts on “Yea or Nay: Is Podcasting a Practical Avenue for Writers?”

  1. Good questions you raise Kathy. I’ve been on the fence with beginning to try out video blogging. I know from my last post kerfuffle with trying to load video and edit it for my blog was a 2 hour nightmare alone, lol. I need lessons. 🙂 x

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  3. Podcasts are like listening to the radio. You can’t just sit and listen, you need to be doing something else.

    The problem with most is that they’re just not that good. There’s a reason why TV chat shows are conducted by experienced interviewers and interviewees used to talking for camera, and edited by experts who know what they’re doing. I don’t think I’ve ever sat through a whole podcast, and as for vlogs – why would I want to watch some random person talking about themselves?

    10 years ago, the word was that all writers HAD to have a blog and post several times a week. 5 years ago, you HAD to have a book trailer. 2 years ago you HAD to produce audio books. This will pass, to make way for the next Must Have.

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    • Whew! I thought my thinking was out of line. Thanks for saying what I’ve been thinking and what made me decide not to do a podcast. Every shiny new object will work for a time, then the newness wears off. We are in a fast-paced world these days and trying to keep up can make one dizzy. Trying new things may be good, as long as we keep those products that do work; convey the message, bring in the income, share the hope and help others. Thanks for your posts.

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  5. Hi Miss Kathy,

    I’m not into podcasts. I’ve listened to a few, but I got bored and my mind wandered off. And, if a person has a crummy voice, I’m gone. I’d do more podcasts if I knew there was a transcript I could check out later. Nah, probably skip the podcast and look at the transcript. My comfort zone is sitting in the recliner with my computer on my lap and reading blogs or researching. I like having control as to where I go and when. I watch tv at the same time and take bathroom and snack breaks. Can’t do that if I’m listening to a podcast.

    Thanks for another cool post.

    Clean hands hug,

    Lenny

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    • Thanks, Lenny. I agree 100% with everything you said. I wonder how many writers are wasting time producing podcasts that aren’t much of a benefit to them.

      Here’s a sanitized high five. 🙂

      Take care!

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  7. My favorite vlog is the Self-Publishing Show videos, but I have NEVER watched a single one. I’ve only ever read the transcripts for all the reasons mention in this post. Most important to me is that I can save the transcripts for the shows I really like and highlight and even annotate them if I want and even go back and refer to them again and again!

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