What do you want?
What do you want? (from PlanetZhadum.com)
(Non-Babylon 5 geeks, just keep reading along, the picture is a geeky in-joke that has no relevance to this post beyond the fact that it amuses me.)
As I take this month off for a brief breather from podcasting (more of a break than I expected; I’ll talk about that in a moment) I am wondering about the direction of this site and podcast. The podcast is almost 5 years old, and a close friend asked me the other day, “What is left to cover?” Which got me to thinking…
- I can always do interviews with authors.
- As long as I’m still learning, I’ll still have things to talk about.
- New listeners come along all the time, so the basics still need to be covered.
- Then there’s current events and changes in publishing.
But honestly, this is a podcast with no one calling the shots but me, and I can modify the podcast as I like. And no, I’m not contemplating ending it. I promised I wouldn’t podfade. But I do recognize that it’s good to step back and re-evaluate from time to time.
So you, my dear listeners, what do you want? Longer shows? Shorter shows? More frequent shows? More current events? More blogging? Less blogging? I need your input here, and welcome all comments. Well. The constructive ones, anyway.
[About the podcasting, currently I'm doing ISBW, Escape Pod, and Princess Scientist's Book Club. The Tor.com podcast was frozen a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know when/if that will start up again.]
About the Author: 
Augusto Pinaud | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Mur, I love your podcast, but will love a short format, 30 minutes, more often, doesn’t matter, but shorter I think will.
best,
Nobilis Reed | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Interviews are always good. Keep doing them.
News from publishing, along with commentary on said news, would also be appreciated.
And I always love hearing about what you’re doing. As a fan I like to be able to keep up with your activities. It’s also good, as a writer, to hear that you’re struggling with the same sorts of things I’m struggling with.
JV Mallory | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Shorter ‘casts are good, particularly if a shorter format means you can do them more often.
I’d love to hear what you’re reading and watching from time to time – a book recommendation is a much appreciated gift
Jen Rhodes | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Hi Mur,
I think the length of your shows is absolutely fine. If they’re too long to finish all at once, I listen to them in pieces. Pffftttt…no biggie. Don’t change a thing.
I love the interviews you do with authors and I also like hearing about what you’re up to. It’s encouraging to hear about those things.
As an professional graphic designer AND a wanna be writer, I’ve often wondered whether I should include that info in agent queries. I’d like to illustrate my own children’s sci-fi books one day. Anyway, it might be cool to hear interviews with illustrators too (comicbooks, children’s books etc).
Anyway thank you for all the hard work you do. I love the show.
Heather | May 13, 2010 | Reply
I really enjoy the viewer feedback portions of the podcast. It is great to hear questions that I didn’t realize I had until somebody else vocalized them!
Chris Bardell | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Conventional wisdom suggests any podcast should stick to a maximum of 30 minutes, since that’s easier for people to slot into spare time windows. But I like ISBW to the extent that I set aside time to listen to the whole thing properly & exclusively whenever a new episode comes down the line.
I think the content is excellent as it stands – there’s no weak link. I find I’m really interested in your own updates on what you’ve been doing, projects you have on the go, etc. The feedback section and your responses are always interesting. You also have a knack of getting good guests & interviewing them very well.
Been a while since the Viable Paradise one where you & your buddies were sh!t-faced – that was huge fun. Maybe you & Mr. Wallace could do an entire good cop/bad cop episode while totally wasted?
Continuing best wishes – ISBW is a great podcast. Been meaning to ask whether you’ve considered working in mainstream media like radio or TV – you clearly have the skills.
CKHB | May 13, 2010 | Reply
I would like greater frequency: if that means you manage more episodes in the current length, AWESOME! If that means shorter episodes, also cool by me. But I like my Mur-fix as frequently as possible.
Other than that, I’m just praying for a book deal so I can someday be one of your interviewees…
Rhianon Jameson | May 13, 2010 | Reply
I like the current format – some interviews, what you’re up to, feedback, etc. All else equal, a little shorter would be better, if only to be able to listen in one go (though, as Jen Rhodes says, it’s easy enough to hit “pause” and finish later).
In addition to the thoughts above, all of which are great, I’m always interested in the nuts and bolts of getting the words from one’s head to the publisher. For example, how do you use Scrivener (not in the sense of “read the manual, stupid,” but in the sense of what features do YOU use when creating a book or a short story)? How productive are coffee shops versus the library versus staring at your own walls? I realize a lot of that is idiosyncratic, but hearing what others do – both you and your guests – is interesting.
Professor Alan | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Thanks for asking.
I would like shows in the 30-minute range, put out more often.
Covering the basics of writing (techniques and the business) is something I’d like you to get back to — I really dug the Ellen Datlow editor interview a few eps back.
Bryce | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Things I like: new media, the publishing biz, encouragement and advice, pink tornado storm warnings, feedback, random griping.
Things I don’t like: [this space intentionally left blank]
Just keep doing what you’re doing for as long as you enjoy doing it.
Your friend’s question presumes that the podcast is “done” unless you can find some new angle or topic that your show hasn’t done before. It’s great when you can do something clever and innovative, but I’m not disappointed if this week’s show sounds vaguely like a show from three years ago.
For me, the value of ISBW is in the gentle, weekly nagging. You’re that little voice on my iPod saying, “It’s been two years since you started that novel. Get writing, or the future will happen before you’re done writing about it.” The actual content, while wonderful, only keeps me coming back for the swift kick in the PANTS! that I really need.
What would be really cool is, rather than just skipping weeks,* you could post some of your favorite episodes from way back. Claim that you’ve been hit by a temporal anomaly.
Lastly, what the show needs most is a wisecracking robot sidekick. Help the show appeal to a younger demographic.
* I’m not complaining. Y’gotta do what y’gotta do.
Pete | May 13, 2010 | Reply
Mur, your podcast is great. It doesn’t matter to me how long they are, but I like the 1 hour length. I would be interested in interviews about the craft of writing, developing characters, plotting, etc. Viewer feedback is good, and good cop / bad cop is hilarious.
Daniel Cochran | May 13, 2010 | Reply
I didn’t get a degree in English. So one thing I would like to see is some of the nuts and bolts on narrative structure. Or any other topic that those of us self educated folks might have missed out on.
Chris Miller | May 14, 2010 | Reply
I think getting back to the roots might be interesting.
Hold an essay contest, looking for people who are actively trying to get published. Either you, or one of your close friends will check in with them once a month to see how it is going, what they’ve learned, and giving advice when appropriate. We would learn from a wanna-be, unpublished writer, much as we learned from you. It could become a community project, “Help Author X Get Published.”
Admittedly, it’s a long term thing, but it might be worthwhile….
Chris Miller | May 14, 2010 | Reply
Also, have you considered guest essays? Or recurring “columns,” like Jared is doing with The News from Poughkeepsie?
Nina | May 15, 2010 | Reply
Hi Mur,
i love your podcast – in addition to all the good advice and the interesting interviews your sense of humor and your honesty really make your podcast. I would like shorter, because often i just get around to listen to half a podcast.
I like Chris’ idea of a “project author” – a wanna-be who checks in with you from time to time and shares what he is doing, how is is trying to get published. Maybe someone who does not write fantasy or scifi (but mainstream fiction, romance, short stories…anything) – to get a view into a different publishing area?
Enjoy your break
Nina
Dan | May 24, 2010 | Reply
I would like to see you go back and revisit some of the basics, particularly topics you covered early on. I think you’ll have a different perspective now and can talk about what you thought then vs. what you’ve learned since.
I also have a slight preference towards the shorter, more frequent podcasts. IMHO, not every episode needs both a topic and an interview. I was fond of the original 3-1 ratio, since lots of podcasts do interviews. Still, this is a _slight_ preference.
I hope you get what you need out of your break. Take care and thanks for everything!
-Dan