It really is easy to Podcast your writing

Posted by george on July 24, 2009

Posted in: Writing. Tagged: podcasting, writers, Writing. 18 comments

Listen to the Podcast

I had been wanting to podcast my writing and blog posts for a long time. I didn’t do it because I thought it would be complicated. I thought I needed mics and headphones and mixers and de-essers and aural exciters and fancy software and a Barry White voice (although that couldn’t hurt – hehe). Well as it turns out, you don’t “need” most of those things and if you have a WordPress site, it’s stupid easy. So easy that even a writer can podcast.

I did it and so can you

I researched “MP3 recorder” on line and after a number of false positives, I ended up with a great (and free!) program called Audacity which is an open source audio editor. I thought, “Well, THAT was too easy!” And it was. Download took a few minutes and the program is way intuitive. I recorded a test immediately. It worked fine. I adjusted the levels and I was ready to go.

Here’s what you need:

A mic/headset combo. Wal-Mart has ‘em for about 30 bucks. They will do just fine. They plug into your USB port and away you go. You can also use your built in mic on your computer bit they have a tendency to sound tinny and they can pick up unwanted noise.
Audio editor software. Audacity worked just fine for me and I absolutely recommend using it. If you decide to be a professional Podcaster in the future then you can certainly upgrade to a whistles and bells version later.
The Podcasting plug-in. It took a minimal amount of searching for this plug-in and it works great. It wasn’t rocket surgery to set it up and thus far it has worked without a hitch. For your blog posts, it puts a button/player right up at the top – no muss, no fuss.

That’s it!

Here’s what you do:

Plug in your headset
Open Audacity
Have a window open for the blog post you want to Podcast
When you’re ready, press the red record button in Audacity and sally forth!
Don’t be nervous, just read and you’ll be fine.
When you’re finished, press the stop button.
Press play and listen to the recording. Pay attention to background noise and excessively loud breathing noises. Also make certain the levels are ok. Not too soft, not too loud.
If all is good, you can save the file and then export as a mp3. Remember where you export the darned thing to.
In the WP dashboard, go to “Add New” under your Library tab.
Upload the MP3 file.
Copy the file location.
Paste to the URL file location under the Podcasting section in the dashboard.
You’re done! Welcome to the world of podcasting!

Give it a whirl and then come back with some URL’s so we can check out your writing podcasts!

18 comments on “It really is easy to Podcast your writing”

Michele | Writer's Round-About on July 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm said:

Oh my goodness, George, do I have some stuff to podcast! Imagine it: my contests!!! Eeeeek!!! I’ve been wanting to podcast FOREVER, but have been so intimidated by it all. Thanks MILLIONS for breaking it down for a country gal like me!! I have some other stuff that’s priority right now and an event to attend this weekend, but as soon as I possibly can, I’m going to do this!!!!

Woo hoo!!!

Nah, I’m not excited. Nope.

*smiles*
Michele

By the way, I gave this fantabulous post a stumble and a tweet!!!
.-= Michele | Writer’s Round-About´s last blog ..7 Tips for Getting that Writing Gig Without an English Degree =-.

Reply
- george on July 24, 2009 at 3:15 pm said:
  
  Yay! I’m so excited for you Michele! I was hoping this would help someone out. I was so freaked about doing it. Now I’m glad I did!
  
  Thanks for the stumbles and tweets, too!
  
  George
  
  Reply
  - Michele | Writer's Round-About on July 24, 2009 at 3:54 pm said:
    
    “…freaked out about doing it.” <— That's a great way to put it! LOL – and exactly how I felt!
    
    You're welcome–and thank you!
    
    Michele
    .-= Michele | Writer’s Round-About´s last blog ..7 Tips for Getting that Writing Gig Without an English Degree =-.
    
    Reply
Wayne C. Long on July 24, 2009 at 4:48 pm said:

Great post, George!

Thank you for being my guinea pig on this podcasting thing. I, too, have been wanting to lay down my Viagra voice to tell my short stories. Heh heh.

Now, let me just cue up this little sample from the Love Unlimited Orchestra and we can chat about kilts or something.

Hey, hope you’re enjoying your subscription to LongShortStories!

Regards,

Wayne C. Long
Writer/Editor/Internet Publisher
http://www.LongShortStories.com
Where the Short Story LIVES!

Reply
- george on July 24, 2009 at 4:54 pm said:
  
  Thanks, Wayne.
  
  And yes, LongShort Stories is my guilty little pleasure at the end of a harrowing day.
  
  TM readers: Do yourself a favor and subscribe – the stories are a guaranteed great read.
  
  George
  
  Reply
The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop on July 24, 2009 at 10:33 pm said:

George,

Thanks for sharing this. I didn’t know podcasting was THIS easy. I have all the required software/items, so I think I’m going to give this is a shot. I’ll let you know how things went!
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..My Alexa Ranking — I Feel Like A Hypocrite =-.

Reply
- george on July 25, 2009 at 8:04 am said:
  
  Hi Gooroo,
  
  Right on. Let me know how it works for ya!
  
  George
  
  Reply
Iain Broome - Write for Your Life on July 25, 2009 at 3:09 am said:

Yep, audacity is the business. I have GarageBand for my Mac, but sometimes it’s easier just to use Audacity to record and then if I want to add any music/intro etc I can transfer it later. An excellent recommendation.

George – is the Tumblemoose podcast on iTunes too?
.-= Iain Broome – Write for Your Life´s last blog ..Stand and deliver – five ‘P’s for a perfectly acceptable performance =-.

Reply
- george on July 25, 2009 at 8:05 am said:
  
  Hi Iain,
  
  The Podcasting makes it available through iTunes as well, is my understanding. I’ll go to the iTunes store and see if I can dig it up.
  
  Cheers!
  
  George
  
  Reply
Fred H Schlegel on July 25, 2009 at 7:59 am said:

Hi George,

I’d be interested to know what the impact is on your bandwidth usage. I’ve been nervous to pursue in part due to that reason.

Fred
.-= Fred H Schlegel´s last blog ..Tackling the Uncertainty Paradox – An Introduction =-.

Reply
- george on July 25, 2009 at 8:07 am said:
  
  Hi Fred,
  
  Thanks for coming by!
  
  I’ll have to evaluate to be sure, but I don’t think I have the readership for the podcasting to make a huge difference in terms of my bandwidth usage. Excellent question, though. I’ll let you know when I have some results!
  
  George
  
  Reply
James Melzer on July 26, 2009 at 4:43 pm said:

As someone who began podcasting his first novel last September, I can attest to how easy it is. However, be prepared for a lot of hard work if you want the quality to stand out.

Podcast fiction has been around for about 5 years now. Pioneered by Scott Sigler (now a NYT Bestseller who still podcasts his novels for free), Tee Morris and Mark Jeffrey; there are now HUNDREDS of authors who podcast their work. All you have to do is go to http://www.podiobooks.com and you’ll find over 300 serialized novels all available for free downloads. Some have the quality of any audio book you would buy on CD, others don’t.

For me, recording, doing the intro and outro, laying the music tracks and editing ONE 30 minute episode takes about 4-6 hours. But the payoff is amazing if your work is good and you promote yourself well.

I received a 3-book deal from Permuted Press and have now gone on to having the first book in my trilogy picked up by Simon & Schuster in a co-publishing venture with Permuted Press. All from podcasting and self-promotion.

So yes, podcasting is a great way to get your work out there for people to find, just be prepared to work hard if you want it to get noticed.

Reply
- george on July 26, 2009 at 4:55 pm said:
  
  James,
  
  Thanks for coming by and contributing. It’s always nice to hear from someone in the trenches. I know someone who is podcasting her novel a chapter at a time and she is blessed with a sweet and soothing voice (she could work doing voiceovers I’m sure). I can tell from the quality of the podcasts that she puts a lot of effort into getting things just right.
  
  It’s very encouraging that you’ve shot up through your podcasting and self promotion efforts. I understand that’s darn near a requirement for a novelist today.
  
  I hope you check in from time to time and let us know how things are going for you!
  
  Cheers
  
  George
  
  Reply
  - James Melzer on July 26, 2009 at 4:58 pm said:
    
    LoL…yes, having a good voice helps!
    
    I will definitely check back with you from time to time. I enjoy discovering new websites like this and contributing when I can.
    .-= James Melzer´s last blog ..Joe Lamantia’s Designing Post-Humanity =-.
    
    Reply
Liz @ ExtremeTelecommute on July 26, 2009 at 8:43 pm said:

George, this is really interesting. I do a lot of voiceover work, and the recording/editing is far more complicated (and handled by professionals, thank goodness). I can’t wait to try Audacity.

I really enjoyed listening to the post–I forget how nice it is to be read to. Maybe we’ll see an audio verion of some of your fiction work…?
.-= Liz @ ExtremeTelecommute´s last blog ..Packing for Long-term International Travel: Gear and Gadgets =-.

Reply
- george on July 27, 2009 at 7:14 am said:
  
  Liz,
  
  Thank you so much! You have inspired me. Look for a podcast fiction post this week!
  
  George
  
  Reply
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George Angus, Tumblemoose Writer

A passion for writing, a passion for books