possible stupid question about publishing rights

[dystopia]

Hi, im new to podcasting :roll:
I was wondering - does making a podcast of a story make it hard to get it published (printed)?

[paulyb]

who knows? I reckon it's worth putting it out there - look how many films get turned into books...

If it's good enough, it's worth a punt...

[WyethDigital]

Hi, im new to podcasting :roll:
I was wondering - does making a podcast of a story make it hard to get it published (printed)?
Scott Sigler probably doesn't think so. Of course, his first book, Earthcore, was originally slated for publication and something fell through. Out of frustration, he made it into a podcast, got a lot of notice, and was able to get it published.

Of course, according to some authors who I have personal dealings with, publishers are sometimes wary of over-exposed properties, so you should probably consider whether or not you think you've gone as far as you can through traditional avenues of approach.

If you've hit a brick wall and are running low on options, what have you got to lose? On the other hand, if you haven't run out of other options, but are just impatient, then I might continue with those options until you either find success, or you hit the aforementioned brick wall.

All in all, I'd keep it as an option -- but not necessarily the first one.


Eric

PS -- we also tried traditional methods to get our show out there, but ran into that brick wall ourselves (those things are everywhere)! We had confidence enough in our project to not accept what we were being told and went with podcasting. So far, so good.

[agile]

Hi, im new to podcasting :roll:
I was wondering - does making a podcast of a story make it hard to get it published (printed)?

If you are an author then you would be aware of the amount of manuscripts that are rejected by publishers. Podcasting may be a way to gain some following without getting the approval, or otherwise, of a few people in the publishing world. If you were to get in the 10's of 1000's of listeners then I would be surprised if at least someone in the publishing industry did not eventually take notice.

We also need to remember that at this stage only a minority of the reading public (no research here just a guess) would actually listen to podcasts. I think this would mean that the vast majority of people would not have listened to your book even it is did become as popular as, say, 7th Son or Scott Sigler's novels.

To me the biggest disadvantage of podcasting a book relates to the sort of book that you may be reading/performing. Without meaning to be disrespectful the most popular podcast novels (the ones mentioned above) are very action-packed and are short on long and detailed description. What I am saying (in a very round about kind of way) is that a more traditional 'literature' novel (that is without the explosions and nifty sci-fi elements) may not translate so well to the audio form. I know that I generally would not buy a Scott Sigler type novel (ie. plenty of gore, macho characters, and monsters), however I love a lot of his work (such as his new book The Rookie which I may be reviewing soon) as a 'podiobook'. It is great for listening to while commuting to work, walking the dog, etc.

Lastly I would agree with what Eric is saying. If you have exhausted traditional avenues then why not podcast the novel? What have you got to lose.

If I was in your position I would email JC Hutchins (of the 7th Son novel) to ask his advice. I have dealt with him before and he is very friendly and I'm sure would have some good advice for you.

Best of luck,
Tim

[EclecticMix]

Tim -

I was going to agree with what you said, but remembered listening to Steven King reading his short story, "L.T.s Theory of Pets." This is not an action story and nothing gory happens. However, it is absolutely wonderful in the sense that King does his typical excellent job of getting into someone's mind and explaining what is really going on. The quality of this story was such that I was captured the whole way through.

I have a feeling that if someone presented a story of equal quality, then despite the lack of things blowing up and people getting killed, it would be successful. P.W.'s stories are an example of this.

I absolutely agree that contacting J.C. would be an excellent idea. He's a great guy and class act all the way around. Scott Sigler never responded to my emails.

Cheers -

george