Successfully giving away a free audiobook – from the author’s point of view
John Lenahan’s Shadomagic is a quite the rising star on here on Podiobooks.com. The book is currently listed as the Top Rated book on our Charts page and the feedback from listeners is always glowing. And then there is the fact that I’m enjoying the heck out of this free audiobook. He recently emailed this to his fellow podiobook authors and gave me permission to share this on the blog:
I got a letter from a guy who is thinking of podcasting his novel and he asked me how much success I got from podcasting Shadowmagic. I thought I might share some of what I wrote.
Dear Kris,
It depends on what you mean by success. I wrote Shadowmagic pretty much to see if I could. When it was finished I loved it but the literary/publishing world seemed not to. Then my wife took ill and that meant Shadowmagic sat in a drawer for two years. After my wife died I took a writing class that was full of people who thought fantasy was the literary equivalent of an Archie comic book. I eventually concluded that Shadowmagic was no good and that I was the only one that liked it – I was deluding myself.
Then I discovered Podiobooks.com and thought – after all of that work why not at least podcast it? I invested in some good recording equipment and practiced reading and editing with some old Jack London short stories. When I got the sound and the reading technique right I started podcasting Shadowmagic. From the start the response was fantastic. It turns out I was just not reaching the right audience. On my two feeds [You can subscribe on John's website or here at Podiobooks.com - Evo] I have had over three thousand subscribers and every day I get a fan letter or two that makes my head so big I can hardly fit through doors. The money from donations at Podiobooks.com isn’t much but that’s not the point. Podcasting has redeemed my faith in me as a writer. Today I started sending my manuscript out again. And I’m working on the sequel. So yes – it’s been a huge success.
John (Shadowmagic) Lenahan
Thanks for letting me share that with everyone, John. And if you’ve been wondering what the measurement of success is for a “new media embracing” author — here’s one idea.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I have enjoyed ‘Shadowmagic’ so much I can hardly say … Both my 16-year-old sister and I waited eagerly for each new chapter, and laughed hard at every single joke. Now, I may be easily amused, but I can certainly recommend this book to friends and family with the clear knowledge that it is a clean, fun-filled, and family appropriate novel.
We are on the edge of our seats waiting for a sequel.
Anemone
P.S. Yet again … The Lawnmower … rofl.
January 30th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
[...] Per Brief. Ja. Schneckenpost. Es gibt Leute die haben kein Internet. Und ich kenne gleich zwei Vertreter, einer davon hat noch nichtmal einen PC… Wie dem auch sei, warum ich auf den Titel für dieses Posting komme liegt einfach an einem Eintrag bei Podiobooks – remember? English Audionovels for Free? Kooperiert mit LibriVox? Darin beschreibt ein Autor einem anderen seine Erfahrungen im “Freilassen” seines Romans als Podiobook – es funktioniert also tatsächlich das “Ich geb was weg, verschenke mir aber nichts dabei”. Vorgeschichte: Der Gute hat ein Manuskript verfasst, einen Fantasy-Roman, der lag einige Jahre in der Schublade bis er auf Podiobooks stieß, Equipment gekauft und los gings: From the start the response was fantastic. It turns out I was just not reaching the right audience. On my two feeds [You can subscribe on John’s website or here at Podiobooks.com - Evo] I have had over three thousand subscribers and every day I get a fan letter or two that makes my head so big I can hardly fit through doors. The money from donations at Podiobooks.com isn’t much but that’s not the point. Podcasting has redeemed my faith in me as a writer. Today I started sending my manuscript out again. And I’m working on the sequel. So yes – it’s been a huge success. [...]
January 31st, 2007 at 7:30 pm
One thing the podcast books I love have in common is their lack of predictability. They just do not use the standard cliches. I think this is a good thing, maybe the publishing community does not.
I have listened to many podcast novels since I discovered the genre last year, and I have loved them all, in my fashion. But Shadowmagic stands alone. I’m not surprised (well, yes, I was) to read how much care John put into the recording, it shows.
An enthusiastic author is irresistible.