Chapter 9. The Audible Written Word

IN THIS CHAPTER

• What Writing Is Podcasted

• Copyright Concerns

• Does Giving Your Work Away Increase Sales?

• Concern for Production Value

• Addressing the Written Word

"For me, The Seanachai is practice. It's the orchestra warming up. A noise that has a kind of beauty to it, but certainly not a symphony. Someday, I'll really try to write something. Something big, something that scares me to attempt. But until then, it's all just practice."

Patrick McLean, The Seanachai

Science fiction writer Harlan Ellison has a mantra when it comes to beginning fiction writers attempting to get published: Always get paid! At conventions he has fledgling writers chanting the mantra, encouraging writers to never, ever give away their work. Even if you only make $5, you are still getting paid for your hard work, whereas giving away your work cheapens it.

This made sense. You wouldn't give away accounting services for free, or emergency room surgery, or computer programming, all in the hopes that someone would eventually pay you money to do these things. Writing is work. Why shouldn't writers expect payment for the work they do, like anyone else?

This was all before the advent of podcasting.

Starting in early 2005 with Tee Morris and his novel Morevi: The Chronicles of Rafe and Askana, authors began releasing serialized versions of their novels, harkening back to Dickens' time with the gradual release of a novel. Only these authors didn't charge for their books the way Dickens did.

The response was staggering.