In 2020, audiobook sales increased by 16% in the United States and for the first time ever, outpaced ebook sales.
“The number of podcasts offered has more than tripled in a year, from 700,000 in the final quarter of 2019 to 2.2m at the end of 2020, with deals now in place with a huge range of presenters,” reports the Guardian on a news feature entitled, Spotify credits podcast popularity for 24% growth in subscribers.
Have you ever been asked to present a reading of your work?
How did that go? Were you panicked, at the thought? I have witnessed many a great writer stumble through a reading, failing to deliver a compelling performance of their work. It is a performance after all and for many introverts, a traumatic experience.
Reading your work aloud is an acknowledged method of improving the quality of your writing.
- Why Reading Aloud Will Dramatically Improve Your Writing
- David Sedaris’s Tips for Improving Your Writing by Reading Aloud
- Readings That Work for You and Your Listeners
I invested in some tools to improve the quality of the sound I was capturing: a Blue Yeti Nano Premium USB mic, a pop filter, a Heil suspension boom scissor arm, and an Auphonix Pro microphone shock mount. I capture and edit audio files with Adobe Audition. A free, open source alternative, Audacity is an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems.
Here’s the second take, the net result of my flash fiction, “Sympathy for the Devil.”
Stephen Kastner writes essays, science fiction, memoir, poetry, and is currently working on a screenplay and novel about his Quaker ancestor Thomas Maule, who was arrested for defending the wise women accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692. He leads the Green Mountain Writers Group in Vermont and creates digital media professionally as DesignWise Studios.
Follow his Antediluvian Attitudes on Substack: https://stephenkastner.substack.com