it’s been a touch over five years since the first story podcast and 18 episodes plus one waiting to be bookended on my hard drive. this coming year I will be buying stories in addition to the mining the public works archives for things I think you will like. and now that I’ve finally got settled into my new digs and got the ISP issues down to a manageably dull roar, I’m hoping to get out of hiatus on it.
I think it’s time to make the show less introverted, as the call for submissions as a semipro market is broadening the reach of the show, and I’d like to hear your ideas on how to do this. I always liked the Night Gallery format, Mike Bennett did a similar approach with his Hall of Mirrors series (look it up, you’ll like it). We do have a wax museum. Hmmmm….
I think the show needs a new name too. Sound off!
I recall that, a few months ago, you said that you had asked Babbage residents for story submissions because you found the search for suitable stories to be such a chore. Is it easier to request submissions from Babbage residents or to trawl across the Internet in search of suitable stories? One problem you avoid, by requesting original works, is the problem of copyright. If the creator of a story submits that story to you then there are no worries about copyright or the request of permission. If you search out a story from the Internet, you have to add the issue of seeking permission to the mix.
Personally, I found the production of the podcast to be incredibly high. It was a pleasure to be associated with it, by submitting a story. If your reasoning behind this thread is the desire to widen the breadth of submissions, had you thought of widening the net by seeking submissions from further afield? For example, I know that you are a member of many other Internet writing groups (such as the Scribblers’ Den, a group that have successfully produced a group collective storybook a few months ago – I think that many of these independent authors may relish the chance of widening their readership outreach by submitting a short story to a podcast of such a high professional calibre.)
As for a name change, not knowing the size of your podcast subscription, I would guess that a change of name might destroy your “company branding” – in the chance that it may draw in new (and an unknown number) of new listeners. Is it worth risking the lose of existing subscribers in the chance that you might draw in more listeners with a change of name?
My own opinion is that the podcast is highly professional and engaging. There is an expression: if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Do you think that Tales of New Babbage really needs a drastic change in direction?
i was solicting “internally” for the christmas broadcast so the show would be about the city. for the rest of the year, i’m casting a wider net. submissions are coming in from complete strangers already and i’m listed on ‘the grinder’. i’m needing to put together a contract close the deal on one that already came in that really nailed it for weird and steampunk, and i’ve already written my first rejection letter.
i don’t know how big the audience is, tho i suspect it is quite small and doesn’t range far from the SL crowd. amazon is where i am hosting it now and it doesn’t give me stats, but the monthly bill is pennies. literally. past stats from when Ms Riel was uploading it onto archive.org for me were not all that high either.
so i’m at a moment where “rebranding” could happen. current subscribers will not be lost, the new episodes would just have a different name and be listed along with the old ones on the iTunes feed. i’ve got a couple shows on my showcatcher that have changed names over the years and it is quite seamless.
a couple years back someone was moaning about ‘mediocre steampunk fiction’ and i had to agree. we’re getting past that. there are a handful of steampunk shows in the ‘two guys talking plus guests and musicians’ format but not a steampunk specific story cast, such as the Drabblecast, Lightspeed, Podcastle, Pseudopod, etc, which cover wierd, scifi, fantasy, and horror respectively (there’s lots of horror and sci fi shows if you poke around).
Tales from The Wax Museum?
Jimmy chuckles.
“Submitted for your approval …”
Different display for each story/broadcast.
heeee
Cast in Wax?
Cast in Wax Cylinders
It’s all I use, Clockwinder.
better make that dipped in wax…
picturing mr. dark in black suit and permacig
Could that be “Dribbles from the Wax Museum”? :-)
This is a very exciting idea!
after bouncing possible titles off google search and learning more about Brazilian wax jobs than I ever wanted to know, i think I found something that is going to work that is going to be more versatile for moving forward.
I’ve decided to go with Gallery of Curiosities and I am hoping Mr Underby will lend his voice to be our horrible host. here’s the link:
http://gallerycurious.com/