Reading your story to the masses:How writers can channel their voices into the new genre of the documentary podcastby Scott Thomas Anderson |
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In a world that's deluged with alterative media, writers simply starting their own podcasts in hopes of promoting their work are almost always going to waste a ton of time while garnering a great deal of disappointment. The reason is there are now more than 2 million different podcasts riding the digital airwaves. Breaking through that noise with a discussion-based, or talk show-style, podcast is now very difficult. Doing it in a way that will build a real audience is nearly impossible. But unlike entrepreneurs and would-be thought-leaders, strong writers still have a certain advantage in excelling in a different genre of podcast - the increasingly popular documentary-style podcast. In 'Reading your story for the masses,' veteran journalist Scott Thomas Anderson (regular writer for The San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento News & Review) will talk about how the skills that go into producing a top-notch memoir, work of history or general nonfiction book can be adapted to carve out a niche within this genre of podcast. He'll discuss exactly how he created his own documentary podcast series, 'Drinkers with Writing Problems,' which was written and recorded in different countries around the world and now has thousands of downloads two years after premiering episode 1. Scott will also give a brief overview of the basic technical requirements to produce a podcast like this. |