Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This week’s topic was ostensibly “dealing with and responding to criticism of your work,” but as usual we screwed around and covered a bunch of random other topics first.
Our new podcast as a way of connecting with readers
Remember all the times Dave has said that you should go to where your readers are, and get in there with them, talking about the stuff you write about and that they’re interested in? So if you’re into sci-fi, find sci-fi readers in forums. Start a sci-fi blog. Go to where they are and become a voice in that niche, so that when they want more of that stuff they love, your books can provide it.
In that spirit, we’re proud to announce our new zombie, vampire, and generally monster-and-horrorific podcast, Better Off Undead.
Now, if you know (and love!) my novel, The Bialy Pimps, you may be wondering how a horror podcast is remotely in-line for me. The answer is that I’m currently working on a zombie trilogy, so it’ll be in-line with my for-sale items soon enough. Sean and Dave are working on a new zombie trilogy, and their current titles are all supernatural horror.
This stuff — the world of supernatural movies, books, and comics, as well as series like The Walking Dead and True Blood — is stuff we love to watch and read, and stuff we love to talk and write about. So it was a no-brainer.
In our first episode, which is available now, we kick off with something fun, thus proving that we’re not all about gore and being scary — a review of the epically terrible film Birdemic: Shock and Terror.
You must — MUST! — watch the video below of some of the best action from Birdemic:
So if you’d like to watch us review that motherfucker, head on over and subscribe to Better Off Undead.
And of course, we’ll report on how it impacts our book sales and general self-pub efforts here as time goes on.
Johnny’s Podiobook release update
In our episode about creating audiobooks with Podiobooks.com’s Evo Terra, we mentioned that the free, totally free, and also free version of my novel, The Bialy Pimps, is now available. I gave an update as to how that’s helping me promote. Three things stand out:
1. There were around 3000 downloads of episodes of my podiobook in the first 6 days, but
2. I have zero idea if this is helping me, and
3. We all suspect that this strategy works best if you have multiple books, which I don’t yet.
But one has to be your first podiobook, and I have mine online. That’s not something Sean and Dave can say. Suck it, Sean and Dave!
This really is a grassroots, DIY world for artists
We took a brief diversion to talk about Patton Oswalt’s keynote address at Montreal’s Just For Laughs 2012, where he talks about how comedy (and, by extension, any art form, like writing) has fundamentally changed. You no longer take one big shot and then rocket to stardom. This is a day in which our success is all up to us. That’s both the good news and the bad news.
We also touched on Amanda Hocking, who just signed with a traditional publisher. Dave mentioned offline that she keeps roughly the same schedule as he does, thus proving once more that he’s very much like a semi-goth girl.
Criticism: When to use it and when to ignore it
Our main topic takes up over half of the podcast, but takes up a very small portion of these show notes. Maybe it’s because I’m tired of typing.
Sean and Dave talked about the feedback and reader criticism that caused them to change (add to) the ending of Season 3 of Yesterday’s Gone, and said that this was an example of “good” criticism, because it helped them improve.
We also talked about criticism that sucks and that we don’t like to read… and that you can often safely ignore and not take personally. The person giving you a negative review or leaving a negative comment probably didn’t mean it as a personal attack. It was probably just a case of your stuff not being right for them. And it’s part of the game of being an artist, unfortunately.
As a parting shot, I also mentioned a post I wrote for Copyblogger about handling criticism, and how trying to engage the more reasonable among your critics might just win you a fan for life.
To view the video version of this episode, go to: Self Publishing Podcast #15 – Guerilla Publicity Through Podcasting and Responding to Criticism
Damn! Looks like I missed a good one live. Oh well. Time to listen to it like the regular schlobos.
Does listening live add much? I was wondering and couldn’t decide. We haven’t figured out how to get you chatting at us during, so I can’t imagine it’s a lot different?
The viewers could email during the hangout too. I think there is a way to text in while the hangout is happening, because Felicia day is always answering fans when she is on her hangouts, but I have never used a hangout. Hopefully someone who is versed in Google+ will let you know.
We were all just emailing about this. I don’t know that I’m in love with the idea of live interaction because I think it might be distracting both for us and for people who DON’T listen/watch live. But it’s under discussion!
Hey Guys, another one outta the park! I’m a big fan of podcasts and you guys are certainly pros keeping to a consistent schedule.
Johnny, in order to get ‘Bialy Pimps’ noticed you might want to find a way to coattail your book to the coattail book ’50 Shades of Alice in Wonderland’. It is a short, humorous book, but also has a lot of kinky sex in it, but nothing as hard core as ‘Gray’. Just a thought…
Ha! I have no idea how I’d do that… sounds like an odd match.
On the schedule, I’ve got it down to a science. We record Monday or Tuesday, and then I post the show on using the “schedule” feature in WordPress, so it always goes out at 9am ET on Thursdays.
Another slammer guys – luv the thing about dealing with criticism – and I agree: if someone is pissed at you for some reason, and you manage to turn it around, you can convert him/her into a true, longtime fan.
BTW – I watched birdemic and almost broke my bones laughing sooo hard.
PS – If you ever run out of topics, I’d luv to hear a “world-building / cool premise” themed show.
Ha, I don’t think we’ll ever run out of topics, but I think all three of us would love to do a world building show, sooner rather than later.
I LOOOOOVE that idea for a show. I’m putting it on the docket!
This link is almost completely unrelated (but very thought-provoking) until you get down to the last few paragraphs, where Scoble talks about getting feedback from readers and incorporating it into your book… http://scobleizer.com/2012/07/17/the-coming-automatic-freaky-contextual-world-and-why-were-writing-a-book-about-it/
Also – you guys talked about how the main time people listen to podcasts (and formerly radio) is the daily commute. This is one reason my formerly LONG podcast list is now almost empty. We went from 1-hour each way to 20 minutes to now — well, we’re self-employed and traveling through Latin America. I can catch up on bus rides, but we’re often in one place for 2-3 months. I did, however, listen to this episode and the next one while ‘commuting’ across Lake Atitlan in Guatemala! Also on the shuttle from Guatemala back to San Cristobal de las Casas in Mexico.
I know – I’m an outlier…
We’ve been everywhere!
Hey guys, I found your podcast two weeks ago and I’m going through all the episodes from the beginning. A couple of times, you’ve expressed some doubt whether listeners of this podcast will likely become readers. I listen for the publishing and writing advice (which is awesome, by the way), but I have also become a fan of Yesterday’s Gone (reading season one now), and I’ve added Fat Vampire and Bialy Pimps to the top of my TBR queue. Before I found your podcast, I wasn’t aware of any of your titles!
MUHAHAHA… our evil plans are working!
Hey Eric, thanks for that! Thrilled you’re reading, and enjoying.