R. L. Stedman

Writer

Podcasts

Starting a Writing Podcast? 6 Reasons to Give It A Go.

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Why Start A Podcast?

teenager - school visitPodcasts are HUGE right now! Here’s a list of my faves. I’ve never dreamed of doing one myself, but I know a lot of writers who have thought of starting one. Which brings me to my good mate, Vanda Symon.

Local is Cool

Vanda’s a best-selling crime writer, host of Otago Access Radio’s (OAR) Write On radio show and podcast, a mum and to top it off – she’s finishing up her Ph.D. She’s a busy lady 🙂

OAR’s studio recently had a refit, so now it has acoustic sound baffles, professional microphones, and earphones. There’s a sound engineer in another booth so the sound quality is very good.

Vanda’s been running her radio show for ages – she’s even interviewed me a couple of times! (To me, as a newbie, all the technology felt quite intimidating – I was in awe at how Vanda handles the equipment).

Although Vanda began with a relatively small show, on a local radio station, podcasting has allowed her to branch into other radio activities. Part of this interview deals with where podcasting can take you.

If you’re thinking of starting a podcast, or keen to find out about a great podcast focussing on local content, this post is for you.

So enough of me – over to Vanda!

Lessons Learned from Podcasting

Tell me a little bit about yourself – what made you begin Write On?

I had absolutely no intention of producing or hosting a radio show! Someone else had pitched the idea of the Otago Southland branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors having a programme on the local Community Access Radio station, and we all thought it was a great idea, especially as she was prepared to do it… then, after securing a sponsor and all lights green for go… she had a position come up in another city. Arghhhh, someone had to be brave and step into the breach, and that someone was me. I was petrified.

What have you learned from the process?

Getting involved with Community Radio was one of the best things to happen to me. Hosting the radio show gave me the self-confidence to feel happy doing public speaking – very useful for an author. The skill of being able to interview people lead to opportunities chairing panels at festivals and interviewing some very cool international authors at public events, such as Kathy Reichs, Ian Rankin, and Greg Hurwitz. I had to learn the technical elements of producing your own show, which means that when I am live on air I am basically running the station…oh, the power! You learn how to think on your feet – what to do on live radio when your guest is a one-word answerer, or you guest likes to take the scenic route to tell a story. You learn to stay calm under pressure, especially when there are technical glitches and you are doing live radio. It is a wonderfully enriching experience, and best of all, it’s a lot of fun.

Questions on School Visit

What other radio experience do you have?

As a result of the Write On Radio show, I was asked to do regular book reviews for National Radio, and even Dunedin Television! I often get asked to do the Morning Show on Otago Access Radio when their regular host is away. Doing the Write On Radio show has opened some interesting doors.

What would you say to anyone thinking of starting a podcast?

Do it! It may seem rather terrifying, but it is great for your confidence, broadens your horizons, you get to research some cool topics and meet fascinating people. Prepare your material well and embrace the opportunities. What’s not to love?

What’s been the most random experience to date?

The strangest thing is having people come up to you in the street or at the supermarket and say they were listening to you on radio – I still find that odd, gratifying, but odd.

Do you have any other “top tips”?

One of the best, best things about hosting the radio show has been the fantastic people I’ve been able to meet. From authors to booksellers to publishers to illustrators, to book lovers. These individuals are passionate about their writing or their industry and it has been a blessing to be able to talk to them about it. I always read the books of people I am interviewing, and it has been fascinating learning new things about topics I would never normally have read about. It has forced me out of my comfort zone and opened up new worlds of knowledge and opportunities. Hosting the radio show has been brilliant!

Vanda Symon, podcaster extrodinaire

Want to find out more?

You can find out more about Vanda on her website: www.vandasymon.com

And you can listen to her podcast here

3 Inspirational Podcast Interviews With Great Writers

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Inspirational Podcast Interviews

I have a confession: I listen to podcasts. Actually, I love podcasts.

writer's notebook

When I was a kid, we had no television in our house. Makes me sound as though I’m from the forties, but hey, no – this was the eighties! My brother and I raided the televisions of friends and relations. And we listened to the radio. A lot.

We had our favourite radio shows – Just a Minute (and yes, folks, this is still playing in the UK) and a narration of the entire Sherlock Holmes books. Perhaps that is why I enjoy podcasts just so much – they bring back the memories of sitting around the radio, just listening.

That’s enough reminiscing.

One of the main reasons I listen to podcasts is to follow famous authors; to see what drives them, how they write and why they write. Here’s the three best interviews I’ve found.

The 3 best interviews (so far).

Frederick Forsyth. (The Guardian Books Podcast, 23 Jan 2016) Remember The Day of The Jackel? Forsyth, a fluent speaker of French and German, was a reporter in Paris in the 60s. In those days the French reporters socialised with the President’s security detail (hey, this is France, and a different era). Forsyth, being a french-speaker, hung out with them. Seems like de Gaulle’s security team weren’t as close-mouthed as they could have been, because Forsyth pieced together a plot that might conceivably work. Later, when flat broke, he wrote this idea up as The Day of the Jackel. Listen to the interview. It’s amazing.

Marian Keyes. (BBC World Book Club, May 2015) Have you read Rachel’s Holiday, a bittersweet story of recovery from addiction? Turns out Keyes went through a similar experience to her heroine and drew upon this experience when writing the book. In this lovely interview Keyes discusses addiction, why she likes happy endings and what you need to do to be a writer.

Paulo Coelho. (Four Hour Work Week, 23 April 2016). Writer of The Alchemist, Coelho lives in Brazil. This is more a running commentary on the art of writing than an interview, but to a writer it’s absolutely fascinating. Coelho doesn’t write in a notebook. “Just live your life, and when you come to write, whatever is important will remain. What isn’t just falls away.” I found this interview incredibly liberating. “A book,” says Coelho, “is a connection between the writer and the world. It must be written with love.” (I think I’ve got that right. You’ll have to listen to the interview to be sure!)

 

fairytale book
Image source

 

What’s it Like to be a Writer?

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Or: My Exciting Day

writer's notebook
Notebook – Image from Pixabay

A writer’s life is nothing like the movies. The real-life writing life is far more mundane! Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be talking about my YA novel, A Skillful Warrior. I’ll describe a little of the backstory and some of the plot elements. I might even give you a hint (a very, very small hint) about what is to come in the final book of The SoulNecklace Stories.

But before I dive into the world of Will and Dana and all the other gorgeous characters that I love so much, I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of my fabulous, glamorous and fun-filled day:

7.30 Breakfast.

8:00 Spend 20 minutes hunting for the car keys, the cat, the kids and a pair of unladdered tights. [Confession time: I love working in an office. I get to dress up and wear nice clothes and talk to people ALL DAY and get PAID. No, the novelty does not wear off.] I currently work 3 days a week, and write for 2. This will change shortly, as I have a maternity leave contract coming up.

8:30 Start Work – if a work day. This means I send emails, web browse, answer phone calls and argue with people! Clients are generally extremely nice to me, as I hold the purse strings. It’s amazing how being in a purchasing role encourages good behaviour.

If a writing day – I write, frantically, for about 2 hours. I listen to Spotify – the hard rock track. It seems to be working at the moment, because my characters definitely do more when there’s loud music playing.

12:00 Lunch, listen to podcast and go for a walk. My favourite podcasts are (in no particular order):

  • StartUp by Gimlet Media. I love his story-telling skills
  • Hack the Entrepreneur. This is a nice, bite-sized look at self-employed life. If you’re looking at setting up your own business, I really recommend this podcast.
  • Amy Porterfield – Amy is a master of social media. She’s also very good at podcasting! This is a sales funnel for her, so if you’re thinking of listening, just be aware that she’s very very good at what she does.
  • Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn’s been running this podcast for a couple of years now. He comes across as likeable and truly engaging. The thing I really, really like about his podcasts is he talks about serving his customers, which is something I totally relate to, as I feel very strongly about serving my readers. (Which is why I’m telling you what I listen to all day, because it might help you, too!). He interviews mostly online business people, but sometimes there are authors in there too, which mixes it up a bit.
  • Social Media Examiner – this is a massive podcast machine.I skim this one, because it’s really heavy-duty marketing which doesn’t rock my boat that much, but sometimes there’s interesting things to take away.
  • Self-publishing Formula – this is a newbie to the podcasting platforms, but very good. I recommend the free Facebook training, too.
  • Astonishing Legends – This is hilarious. AL is basically two guys jamming about the weird and wonderful. Think The Twilight Zone does Wikipedia. The production values are very good and the two presenters really know how to construct a story.
  • The BBC Book Club – this is a little staid, but hey, you get to listen to Marian Keyes and John Grisham.

12.30 Work (if at work). If not, I’ll do boring administrative tasks. This week its my tax return. *Groan* . Chat to people on FB and Twitter and answer emails. Explain that no, I did not write Light Between Oceans, but I wish I had. (And I wish I had a different name). Get sucked into social media…And read weird and wonderful stuff on the internet. It’s research, honestly!

3:00 Write some more. You can check out my progress on my website. I’m not doing quite as well as I want.

4:00 Take kids somewhere. Be a taxi-mum.

5:30 Begin cooking tea.

Sounds exotic, doesn’t it? I bet Hemingway never did all that. I bet he just drank wine and sat at coffee shops and fought bulls…