Matthew Wayne Selznick

This summer, we saw four podcast novels become in-print sensations in a period notable for having the most podcast - to - print events in such a short time.  Four books were not just released, they had successful rushes up the Amazon.com charts… four books in forty four days!

In order, they were:

“Brave Men Run”
“Digital Magic”
“The Case of the Pitcher's Pendant”
“Playing for Keeps”

I'd like to get the community's opinion:

To get an idea, did you buy all four books on the day of their respective Amazon rush?  No shame if you didn't, I just want to understand your perspective.  If you didn't, why not?

Were the releases too close together?  Was three events and four books in less than a month and a half too much hype, and too much of a drain on you bank account to fully participate in all three?

Was the fact that the summer was so packed actually beneficial?  Did it contribute to each author's success?

If you listen to a lot of podcasts, did you tire of hearing Tee, Pip, Mur and myself interviewed on so many shows in such a short time, or did you enjoy it?  Did you buy any of the books because you heard the author on so many podcasts, or one podcast in particular?  Did you discover a new podcast you subsequently subscribed to because you heard one of the authors on it?

Which event (Sovereign Summer Sunday, Double Trouble, Heroes of the 25th) had the best author / audience connection, and why?  Which one had the worst, and why?

As authors, what can we do better to connect with and mobilize the audience the next time we need the audience's support and help with something?  Did any of the four authors do anything this summer that had a negative effect on you as a fan?

Is there anything else you can add to the discussion, whether positive or negative, regarding this summer's podcast-to-print efforts by each of the four authors?

Please note: I'm not trying to create a pissing contest or drag the pond for compliments for myself or for Tee, Mur, or Pip.  You can help us by being absolutely honest.  It's constructive criticism and legitimate praise that does the most good.

If you like, in addition to the discussion here, consider recording you feedback and either sending it as an mp3 file to mwselznick at gmail dot com or leaving a voicemail at 1-505-349-0386.  I'll play the responses on a future episode of Sonitotum.

Thanks for taking part!

Join the forum discussion on this post - (4) Posts

After wrestling with Revver, Ustream, YouTube, and several different video conversion applications, I remembered that the excellent WordPress plugin PodPress supports Flash video. So the complete video record of July 13, 2008 — Sovereign Summer Sunday — is now available right here. Enjoy!

There are still plans to release of the short stories I read that day as a podcast fiction anthology on Podiobooks.com… eventually. There are some tentative plans in the works that have delayed that release for the moment. I can’t say much more about it now, except that I believe (if everything works out as it might) you won’t be disappointed and thanks for your patience!

So… a week after Sovereign Summer Sunday, what does it all mean? What kind of impact does reaching the edge of the top fifty on Amazon.com really have?

Well, for one thing, we have to remember that the book reached that height — thanks to your amazing support — on one Sunday in July. Twenty four hours later, it dropped out of the top 100, and as I write this, it’s floating around the 18,000 mark. I hasten to add, that’s nothing to sneeze at — it’s currently higher than all other traditionally published novels from podcast novelists, all but four Permuted Press titles, and literally millions above anything else published by Swarm Press (though I’m looking forward to that changing when “Playing For Keeps” is released on August 25th.)

I’m still not sure how many actual copies were sold on July 13 — valuable information for any other podcast novelist who might attempt a run in the future. The real question is: did the publishing industry notice? Did agents notice? Movers and shakers in other media? Time will tell… and I’ll share with all of you just as soon as I know.

I still call Sovereign Summer Sunday a huge success — make no mistake! Although it was less than a week ago, it’s already starting to feel like it was much longer ago than that. That’s Internet time for you, I reckon. Plus, the attention of the podosphere is already moving on to the next big events in podcast novels: Philippa Ballantine and Tee Morris August 8 “Double Trouble” event, and Mur Lafferty’s own Amazon.com rush for “Playing for Keeps” on August 25, 2008.

Which means it’s time to start saving our money to support those folks… and it leaves me with some time and energy to spend a little more on writing, and a little less on promotion. Of course, I’m still open to interviews, appearances, signings, and all that fun stuff… gotta keep it going!