Unpublished author (magician and comedian) John Lenahan faced the scenario typical for many unknown writers: rejections from publishers and no-one to sell his book.
Yet when he started to record instalments from his “Shadowmagic” book on the podcasting service PodioBooks.com, he built up a loyal following of some 20,000 listeners and was soon beating back excited publishers with a big stick.
He had bought some good quality recording equipment and practised before committing his voice to the online service (“I wanted it to be good from the start and not starting to sound good by chapter six,” he said).
“From day one the response was electric. Fan mail poured in. One woman wrote each week and tried to guess what would happen in the next chapter,” he continued. “The Internet had allowed me to reach my audience and it renewed my faith in my writing.”
Just as blogging may help to sell your book, so podcasting may be a way to get noticed if more traditional methods aren’t working.
You still need a decent product and an interesting enough voice to engage people, but it’s an encouraging success story.
