After a 2-3 year hiatus from podcasting, I was inspired to try the audio thing again after listening to an interview with SF author, Nathan Lowell. Apparently it’s become a new trend for authors to head out for a walk, record some ramblings on their phones, and then upload them to their websites. Well, hey, I walk every day. It’s a requirement when you have two energetic dogs. I usually listen to audiobooks or podcasts, but I thought… what the heck? I could talk about self publishing or my work for ten or fifteen minutes. So I did.
Since I had just released Balanced on the Blade’s Edge, I decided to talk a little bit about that and how it came to have 50 reviews on Amazon in the first week (I also talked about how to get those early reviews when you’re first getting started publishing and a bit about using social media and a newsletter to build a relationship with your readers).
Now let’s see if I can remember how to upload mp3s and get the little player to show up in a blog post…
Download: Walking with Lindsay #1
If anyone sounds vaguely interested in these podcasts and I end up doing more than one, I’ll figure out a way to get the feed up on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Awesome. I was really impressed by Nathan and his audio work when he was on our podcast. David Wright is doing one of these now too. I think it’s a good outlet for authors to be themselves.
Yeah, I interviewed him about three years ago–his podiobooks really helped him build a big audience! 🙂
This is awesome, Lindsay! It’s great to see a bunch of authors starting small podcasts. I’m thinking about doing the same when I get back in Canada.
Keep it up and I’ll try to listen as much as possible. 🙂
It’s the trendy new thing, hah. Good luck with yours!
Thanks for that Lindsay, I enjoyed it and it’s topical for me as a newly published fantasy author with some sales but no reviews yet.
I’ve been so focused on getting book 2 done (with a plan to go hard on 3 as well before I really do any significant marketing – want to build the funnel first!).
I love the walking podcast idea, but I generally go walking with my young sons, so that doesn’t work for me. But I absolutely love G+ Hangouts, and have ideas for doing them with other fantasy authors in the future.
And I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read from your blog and just downloaded the Emperor’s Edge to sample your fiction. Just finishing another book, then will be getting to it (and my wife might be trying it out too.)
Hi Jamie,
Thanks for checking out the podcast and for grabbing EE1 too. I hope you or your wife will enjoy it. Good luck with your own writing!
Yes, I’ve been interviewed on a couple of Google Hangouts now, and it’s fun in a group. Kind of intense looking at the other person for the whole time if it’s only two people, though. 😀
Thanks for the chat, Lindsay. I’ve been following your blog for a while, but the audio format is refreshing. A walking blog — who’d ever think of that?!
I also enjoy your perspective on getting reviews. Looking forward to your next episode on newsletters.
Good luck with the new book.
Thank you for listening, DF!
As a longtime stalker, i enjoyed hearing our voice. It put another facet to your character – just what you are talking about in the cast. Maybe your next big step is to post a picture. It is nice to see the person behind it all. I always get so much from your posts and am very happy to replay that through buying your books or through freebies when you want reviews. Anything to keep the flow of the good stuff coming.
There’s a picture up on my Amazon page, though I’m pretty good at dodging cameras and only choosing to share ones where the scenery is far more interesting than I am. 😉
http://www.amazon.com/Lindsay-Buroker/e/B004FSRHUE
Aww, you’re adorable! How fun to see your face. And I know that neck of the woods Hubby and I had our honeymoon there. Lovely. 🙂
Lindsay – I have only one criticism. This should have been a video so we could see all the mountain scenery! Other than that, thanks for the great information.
I think a video would just have my ear in it — I held the phone as if I was on a call. 😀 Maybe I can share some pictures with future posts though. Thanks for listening!
Sounds like a wonderful topic. Any chance for a transcript?
If I end up sticking with the podcasts and do a few more episodes, I’ll check and see how much it costs to have someone do those.
I enjoyed it. Some good information delivered in a listener-friendly voice. I’d listen to more.
Thank you for listening, Robert!
This is a bandwagon I heartily support, since I’ve also just run out of podcasts to listen to 🙂 Thank you & please keep going! 🙂
Thank you, Hedonist. 🙂
This is awesome! Something’s cool about hearing these ideas over mp3, and these are great thoughts. Thanks!!
Really enjoyed the podcast. Informative and personable. Hope you do more!
Heh. This was breathy, but I still liked it (not in a pervy way though!). I thought you had some really good and helpful advice in there for anyone who’s starting out. Plus it’s also nice for me as a reader to hear about the author’s thoughts about these things or their books or whatever. Very cool. I hope there will be more of these. 🙂
Thanks for listening. Maybe I’ll get better at walking and talking and not running out of breath if I practice it more. 😀
I loved your podcast. I took lots of notes and didn’t feel the breathing was too distracting. I kind of like the fact that you got to exercise while you shared your knowledge. I hope you do more of these podcasts. As a beginner self-publisher I enjoy learning from successful authors like yourself. If you put it on iTunes I’ll subscribe at once (and I’ll leave a review) 🙂
Lindsay,
I didn’t think I would listen to the whole thing, but it was so easy to listen to and informative – I had no choice but to finish 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing and taking us on a stroll. Looking forward to the next one… I like when you talk about your experiments for promotions, etc. – the bit about how you got so many reviews so fast was very inspirational. Cheers.
Hi Lindsay, The content was very helpful. And the delivery was delightful. Showing your logic and voice is definitely a good way to develop a relationship.
Thanks!
I’ve been reading your site for a while and find it incredibly educational and motivating. You always have such great content. As others have said, the podcast was also helpful and a nice change of pace. I enjoyed it very much! It would be great if you did these once a month (or so). Nice bonus for your readers!
Will definitely listen to this! But before I read the PS, I started looking on BeyondPod for it.. somehow by searching your name I eventually got to the podcast ‘Mommy’s Cocktail Hour’…. 😀
Would definitely love to hear some more, really interesting stuff. I LOVE the fact you release books as soon as you can. In the case of BofBE it was a case of hearing you were working on it one week and getting to read it the next. Brilliant! It’s interesting hearing from an author’s perspective. As as reader there is an element (I’m going to be kind to myself and not call it a large element…) of selfish need to read right now! Okay, Large. And although completely obvious post-pod, not much consideration went into how reviews can help (because generally books have heaps of reviews anyway), so good to know. In terms of review sites, I generally avoid amazon for Goodreads. But it sounds like amazon has better reach?
People go to Amazon specifically to shop, so it’s a different audience than Goodreads, which is more about socially chatting about books. That can lead to sales, too, but the Amazon reviews are seen by a lot more buyers. As an author, I’m happy to have them in both places, of course. 😀
Lindsay,
Great information! I enjoyed listening too, rather than reading it. I live at 3500 feet and hike a butte that has a 500 ft rise within the mile long trail, so I understand the heavy breathing! Anyway, I’m approaching my first foray into self-publishing and though I’m small press pubbed, I can never get enough info on how to ask for reviews.
Thanks again!
Great listen, and very interesting for even us readers/non-authors. What a cool journey! Although I wasn’t among the wave of reviewers for BotBE, I’ve read all your books & have enjoyed them all (EE as well as all the ‘pilot projects’). Looking forward to Republic! Keep writing!
Thank you for listening and reading! 🙂
Lindsay,
Enjoyed your walking podcast. Thanks for taking the time to put it together. I hope you’ll keep them up.
Thanks for listening, Stephen. I have a new one recorded and will post it soon. 🙂