Make Your First Podcast: Frequency & Length

Once you’ve decided whether your podcast will be in an interview or topic format, the next question is: How frequently should you publish?

How Frequently Should I Publish My Podcast?

My take: It depends on what you want out of your podcast.

If you already have a blog and you currently only publish about once a week then maybe start with once a week or once every two weeks. Do whatever you’re comfortable with.

On the other hand, if you’re comfortable posting, say, five times a week on your blog then you might want to consider trying for twice, perhaps even three times, a week.

The rule of thumb seems to be: post as often as you plausibly can. Why? Because (In my experience as an avid podcast listener) the more frequently you publish the more listeners you will attract and retain.

Keep in mind, though, that a podcast—while it will suck up an inordinate amount of your precious time—will (usually) take quite a few months (or even years!) to start earning enough money to pay for the time you’ve invested.

But podcasting can be quite lucrative (I’ll look at this in another post).

So: Here are a few possibilities:

1. Once a day

Not many podcasters publish seven days a week. Actually, I know of only one, the EOFire podcast. John Lee Dumas is very successful, but doing seven podcasts a week is grooling. Granted, he doesn’t tape one a day, he does 14+1 every second Tuesday. He tapes from early in the morning to around six at night. That’s a long day.

2. Five days a week (Monday to Friday)

This is slightly more common. News podcasts are often only published Monday to Friday (or at least that’s true for Canadian news podcasts!). None of the podcasts I listen to (I listen to around 35 or 40) are five days a week but they do exist. Honestly, it seems to me that this would be pretty much the same amount of work as publishing seven days a week.

3. Three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

This would be much less work than the grueling seven-day schedule, and yet your listeners would regularly receive your podcasts and not have much of a chance to forget about you.

4. Two days a week (Monday, Thursday)

At the moment I only blog two days a week—Monday and Thursday—but am planning on moving to Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Two doesn’t feel as though it’s enough. Of course, that’s a blog not a podcast. And a lot depends on how long your podcast is going to be (more on this in a moment).

5. One day a week (Monday)

The advantage of publishing one podcast a week is that you could even record four podcasts in one day, even if each is an hour long. Then you’re done for the month!

A disadvantage of publishing only one a week is that folks have short memories. If your listeners are like me and listen to a lot of podcasts—and so need a lot of content—then a once-a-week podcast is fine, but I wouldn’t recommend going below this. Publish any less frequently and it’s possible folks will start to forget about you.

6. Once every two weeks or once a month

If you’re serious about podcasting, about growing an audience, about creating another income stream, then—and this is only my opinion—you might not want to publish any less frequently than once a week.

That said, if podcasting is something you would love to do, then do it! Even if you can only publish once a month, don’t let that hold you back. If podcasting is your passion, then that will come through and you’ll find an audience.

Also if you have some sort of hook, you can also get away with publishing less frequently. For instance, if you are well known in your niche—a well known blogger or YouTuber—then you can probably get away with publishing podcasting content less frequently.

How Long Should My Podcast Be?

Of course, this is completely up to you, the creator. But the length of your podcast will likely depend, at least in part, on the kind of content you are producing. For instance, many short podcasts (five minutes or less) give one tip. I listen to one podcast—60 Second Science—that, despite the name—lasts for about two minutes. The podcaster talks about one science fact and restricts himself (or herself) to the most important aspects of the subject under discussion. It’s a good podcast.

On the other end of the spectrum is Dan Harlin’s Hardcore History. The very first Hardcore History podcast I listened to was over three hours long! I think it’s a safe bet Dan Harlin is never going to do one a day!

MacBreak Weekly is another podcast—a video podcast—that routinely goes over two hours. I love it and I’m not the only one, it’s very popular.

In my opinion you can make any length podcast work, from two minutes all the way to three plus hours, and obviously the length is going to have a bearing on how often you can podcast. Anything over, say, 30 minutes and I would imagine publishing once a day—or even five times a week—would be exhausting! Especially if you don’t have a co-host and must do everything yourself.

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Are you thinking of starting a podcast? I'd love to hear from you. What kind of challenges are you facing? What do you consider your biggest obstacles?

Have you podcasted? I'd love to hear about your experiences! What worked for you, what didn't. Please share!

Talk to you again Thursday. Until then, good writing!

Let's Write! Writing Prompt: You wake in the dead of night ...

You wake in the dead of night, deep in the forest with no idea how you got there.
You’re holding a dead flashlight and enough [fill in the blank] to choke an elephant.

Challenge: Write 250 (or more) words and try for a twist ending.

These challenges are designed to help us all improve our skills as writers. And, let’s face it, 250 words doesn’t take all that long to write!

I’d love to see what you come up with, please share!

Make Your First Podcast: Interview or Topic Based?

This is a question I’ve agonized over. That I’m still agonizing over!

I want to create a podcast, but what kind of podcast should it be? Should I have a co-host? If I do it by myself, should I do interviews with different writers/publishers or do something focused on a topic?

I’m going to examine these questions in more detail in a moment, but first I would like to acknowledge my debt to John Lee Dumas and his (free) Podcasting course.[1]

John’s podcast doesn’t have to do with writing or publishing but he has a successful daily podcast that I stumbled upon a couple of weeks ago and which has become one of my favorites.

What I’m going to talk with you about today is inspired by his lesson #9: “Interview vs Topic, Frequency and Length.” I couldn’t find a direct link to his podcasting course, but if you head over to EOFire.com and look for “Free Podcast Course with John Lee Dumas” you’ll find it. Okay, on with the post!

Interview vs Topic Based

I listen to a lot of podcasts. It’s my primary form of entertainment these days (I finally cut-the-cord on the TV) and I’d say that about 30% of the podcasts I listen use an interview format, 30% have a topic based format and the rest are a mix. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, Let's look at the pros and cons of each:

1. Interview Based

As I’ve mentioned, even though it’s not about writing, one of the podcasts I like listening to is John’s Fire Nation podcast. Why? In every podcast he interviews entrepreneurs and asks each of them the same series of questions. For example:

What is your worst entrepreneurial moment?
You’ve had a lot of ‘ah-ha’ moments, what is one of your greatest?
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

And so on.

The answers are always different, usually interesting and often helpful. His is one of the most effective podcasts using the interview format I’ve listened to.

Advantages to using the interview format

i. Provide value to your audience

The aim of any podcast, or any blog post, is to provide value to your audience. Each person you interview will have achieved some sort of success and will likely have knowledge you lack. Not only will your audience learn something new and of value, but you might too.

ii. Grow your audience

Your guests will likely have an audience of their own, one they will share their interview with. This helps your podcast acquire new listeners.

Disadvantages of using the interview format

i. Tricky finding guests

In the beginning it can be difficult to find people to interview. No one will have heard of your podcast so you can’t wow them with the number of your listeners.

ii. Scheduling

Even if you are able to get guests for all your podcasts, you’ll have to schedule them. That can be a nightmare.

iii. Repetitive

Asking the same sort of questions every episode might get repetitive for some listeners.

2. Topic Based

The other option is to do a topic based podcast. For me, the epitome of a topic based podcast is Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History. And it works for him. In a big way. Dan Carlin's podcast was the first time I listened to a three hour podcast and enjoyed every minute of it.

Advantages of a topic based podcast

i. You can talk about what you like

You get to set your own agenda since you provide your own content. You can talk about whatever you want. And you don’t have to schedule interviews!

ii. The podcast will be your baby

When you do a topic based podcast, you know that folks are listening to the podcast because of you, your ideas.

iii. Independance

You don’t have to rely on anyone showing up for an interview!

Disadvantages of a topic based podcast

i. You are responsible for all the content

YOU need to curate whatever content you use in your podcast.

ii. You are responsible for being entertaining

YOU need to be interesting. Entertaining.

iii. You alone are responsible for growing your podcast

YOU are responsible for promotion and content. For growing your podcast.

iv. Your podcast will be limited by your own knowledge

Since you’re the only one providing content to the podcast there is the danger of it getting repetitive. Whatever you discuss will, necessarily, be limited by YOUR knowledge of the topic. In an interview you have the advantage of being able to draw from the perspectives, the knowledge, of your guests, but when it’s just you and a topic you are drawing from your own reservoirs every single podcast.

That’s it for today! Next time I’ll discuss your podcasting schedule. How frequently should you release your podcasts? How long should they be?

Until then, good writing!

Please Help Me Improve My Blog! Reader Survey

Hi! Sorry, this is a day late. I’ve picked up a freelance writing assignment due at the end of the month and I'm in a bit of a crunch right now.

My plan for next month is to write a week of blog posts in advance—especially if I think it’s going to be a busy week!—so I won’t miss another post.

Anyway, today I want to talk to you about what you’re interested in. I want to know what your dreams are as well as what you feel are the biggest obstacles to these dreams. If you have time, I would SO very much appreciate it if you would answer a couple of questions. Your answers will help me write blog posts that are relevant to what you care about.

The 1-minute Survey: Google Form
(Here’s the url: https://goo.gl/forms/XdmFmiWyU0yqUiGc2)

If you would rather take the survey as a comment to this post, or in an email to me (I’d love to hear from you!), I’ve included the questions below:

1. In terms of my writing, I want to have the following accomplished in a year:
a) I want to have sent my writing to a traditional publisher.
b) I want to have self-published.
c) I want to have written a novel.
d) I want to have written a novella.
e) I want to have written a short story.
f) I want to be a member of a critique group.
g) I want to manage my writing time better.
h) I want to have my own website and blog.
i) I want to have increased my followers on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
j) I want to have a dedicated space in which to write.

2. If there are other things you would like to accomplish in the next year, please let me know.

3. In terms of fulfilling my dreams, these are my biggest obstacles:
a) I don't know how to go about sending my work to a traditional publisher.
b) I don't know how to self-publish.
c) I don't know if I want to self-publish or traditionally publish. I don't know what would be involved.
d) I'm not sure if my story is ready to be published.
e) I don't have enough time to write.
f) I don't have a place to write.
g) I don't know how to avoid disreputable publishers.
h) If there are other obstacles to fulfilling your writing dreams, please share them with me:

4. If there are other obstacles to fulfilling your writing dreams, please share them.

That’s it! Thank you to everyone who participates, and a big thank you to all my readers (all three of you! ;).

Talk to you again on Thursday, and good writing!

Make Your First Podcast: Hosting

Podcast Hosting. Even just the phrase sends a chill down my spine.

After you record your podcast you need to upload it to a server where folks can access it over the internet. But where? There are so many choices.

If you have a hosting package with a place like Squarespace or Bluehost you could simply upload the file to your hosting package and make it public. Doing this is—and I really want to stress this—NOT a good idea.

If your podcast catches on right away (say it's plugged on a couple of popular blogs), or if you have one especially popular episode, your website will be hammered and—if your luck is anything like mine—it will crash. If that happens, at minimum, you've given a lot of people, a bad experience. On top of that, depending on your hosting package, you might have to pay extra for the excess traffic.

I don't podcast, but I've read quite a few articles and watched more YouTube videos on the subject than I care to admit. The overwhelming consensus seems to be that it will involve you in the least headache in the long run if, from the beginning, you host your website and your podcast separately. And, as podcasts soar in popularity there are more and more hosting choices.

So, let's look at a couple of hosting solutions you might want to consider:

1. Libsyn (Liberated Syndication)

Libsyn is the original podcasting solution and is widely trusted.

"In October 2004, detailed how-to podcast articles had begun to appear online, and a month later, Liberated Syndication (Libsyn) launched the first Podcast Service Provider, offering storage, bandwidth, and RSS creation tools. "Podcasting" was first defined in Wikipedia. In November 2004, podcasting networks started to appear on the scene with podcasters affiliating with one another," (History of Podcasting)

An introductory package starts at $5 a month. To see all Libsyn's hosting packages, click here.

Many podcasters use Libsyn. I'll talk about the pros and cons of using Libsyn in a moment. First let's look at ...

2. Amazon Web Services: S3

With Amazon S3, you pay for only what you use. But what does this mean? Let's look at some figures:

Let's say that an average podcast is about 50 megabytes. Let's say (we've got to be optimistic, right?) you have 50 podcast episodes stored on Amazon S3 and that you publish four podcasts a month. How many downloads could you expect? Here's what the folks over at School of Podcasting have to say:

"According to Rob Walch VP of Podcaster Relations at libsyn.com (the largest podcast media hosting company) in September of 2013 a podcast episode that has been live approximately 30 days averages 141 downloads. If you have over 3400 downloads you are in the top 10%. If you have over 9000 downloads you are in the top 5%. Lastly, if you have over 50,000 downloads per episode (again after having it live for 30 days) you are in the top 1% (this would be the Marc Maron, Adam Corrola, Jay Mohr, etc)," How Many Podcasts Do Podcasters Average?

So let's say that you have 150 downloads a month. Now let's calculate the cost:

First, let's use the Amazon Web Services Calculator to figure out how much Amazon would charge you for simply storing your podcasts through S3.

Storage: 50 mb per file * 50 podcasts = 2,500 mbs = 2.5 gigabytes = about 5 cents.

So ... that's not an issue! Now let's look at how much Amazon would charge us for bandwidth:

150 downloads per month * 50 megabytes per file = 7,500 megabytes = 7.5 gigabytes -> Costs about 60 cents.

That's for one file, but (in our example) you have 50. Now, I would imagine that new files would get the most downloads, but let's just say that ALL 50 files on your account get 150 downloads per month. So that makes it 7.5 gigs * 50 which comes to 375 gigs which would kick up your bill to $32.40! But, for giggles, let's say that all your podcast episodes got 3400 downloads in a month (in this case your podcast would be in the top 10% of podcasts). In this case your bill would soar to $1,808!

Which is one reason why folks with popular podcasts seek out hosting solutions like Libsyn. Libsyn charges you according to how much you upload, not according to how much bandwidth your podcast uses. If all you want to do is upload four 50 mb podcasts a month then you'd be fine with their $15 a month plan. $15 versus $1,808! That's quite the difference.

My Opinion: The Best Choice For A Beginner

I think that if you are already hosting your website through Amazon Web Services it makes sense to start off using S3. Unless you already have a large following, in the beginning you are NOT going to come anywhere near to getting 150 downloads a month. And, even if you do, that's going to cost you all of 60 cents! As you start to upload more podcasts and things begin to get pricier, you would probably want to switch to another solution.

If, however, you don't host your blog on Amazon and you don't mind paying $5 a month, signing up with a host such as Libsyn is a no-brainer. Libsyn is trusted and, while many folks with popular podcasts use other hosting solutions, I think it's probably the best choice for the beginner podcaster (by the way, I don't have any sort of affiliate relationship with Libsyn).

Steer Clear of Free Hosting Solutions

One thing folks should be wary of are free hosting solutions. If you upload your podcasts to one of these and the service goes out of business, your files will disappear. Also, they may insert their advertising into your podcast. I think it's important to have total control over your intellectual property.

(You may think it's odd me saying this about free hosting because I have my blog on Blogger. That's fair. A couple of things. First, I'm in the process of transferring my blog onto my own blogging platform. Second, the process has been so incredibly painful that I feel I must try and warn readers not to make the same mistakes I have!)

Links:

Here are some links I've found to tutorials about podcasting in general, but they do also talk about hosting and the pros and cons of various hosting solutions:

How to Start a Podcast - A Step-By-Step Podcasting Tutorial (YouTube series. Excellent.)
The Definitive Guide to Setting Up and Marketing a Podcast to Help Grow Your Blog
Learn How To Podcast
How to Start a Podcast: Pat’s Complete Step-By-Step Podcasting Tutorial

Make Your First Podcast: Intro and Outro

This post continues my series on how to start a podcast. Last time (Make Your First Podcast On Your iPad) we talked about what software you might want to use. Today we're going to look at something almost as important as software: the podcast format, specifically the intro and outro.

Podcast Format: Intro Text

Every podcast I've listened to has an intro and outro. Here—thanks to Albert Costill and his article The Definitive Guide to Podcast Intros—are the common elements of an intro:

• Podcast name *
• Episode number
• Episode title *
• Music/sound effects
• Domain name
• Your name and (if applicable) the names of your co-hosts. *
• Subject of podcast: The idea here is to let your listeners know in one or two sentences what this episode is about.
• Sponsors: If you have sponsors, this is often a good place to mention them.
• Warning: Give your listeners a warning if the episode is going to be not safe for work.

Every podcast intro won't contain all these elements! I've marked (*) the ones every podcast I've listened to has (your mileage may vary).

Here's what this might sound like:

Hello and welcome! You're listening to my podcast, [Podcast Name], episode [Episode Number].

Today we're talking about [Subject of Podcast], so let's get started!

[Intro music for 2 or 3 seconds.]

Hello everyone. My name is [Your Name]. If this is your first time listening, it's good to have you with us. For everyone else, welcome back!

[Podcast Name] is produced every month and show notes can be found over at [Domain Name], forward slash podcasts, forward slash [Episode Name and/or Number]. If you enjoy listening to [Podcast Name] please consider subscribing so you don't miss an episode. You can also find me, [Twitter Name], over on Twitter/Facebook/etc.

Now, on with the show!

After that, launch into the podcast proper.

Outro Text

The outro is even simpler. From my own listening experience, here are some common elements of outros:

• Podcast name *
• Ask to rate the episode on iTunes
• Plug a sponsor
• Tell listeners other places they can connect with you (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, your website, etc.)
• Tell listeners what the next episode is going to be about.
• Ask listeners to comment and submit their own answers/opinions/observations for a question you answered in the podcast.
• Give listeners a challenge to complete.
• Tell listeners where they can download the show notes. *
• Thank listeners for listening. *
• Tell your listeners when the next podcast will be released. (e.g., I'll chat with you in a few days time.)

Here's what this might sound like:

You've been listening to [Podcast Name]. If you'd like to comment on any of today's topics or subscribe to the series, find us at [Domain Name], forward slash podcast. Tweet us at [Twitter Name]. Find us at Facebook.com forward slash [Facebook Name] or search [Podcast Name] on iTunes.

Thanks for listening to [Podcast Name]. If you like what you hear I would love it, if you have a moment, to head over to iTunes and give us a review or a rating. It really does help other folks find the podcast. Thanks for listening, chat with you again in [a few days/a week/etc.].

Well, that's it for today! Thanks for reading. This coming Thursday I'll blog about what options exist for the beginning podcaster in terms of hosting a podcast. Yes, this part can be pricy, but I've discovered a few options that—in the beginning at least—are either free or cost very little money, and by "very little" I mean one or two cents a month.

Stay tuned and good writing!

Other articles you might be interested in:

Write Now: 4 Tips For Growing A Readership
How To Record An Audiobook At Home
Aaron Sorkin On How To Write A Gripping Monologue

Make Your First Podcast On Your iPad

I LOVE listening to podcasts—I think it's fair to say that, apart from reading and writing, podcasts are my primary form of entertainment. Podcasts on nature, science, technology and, of course, writing. I've flirted with the idea of creating a podcast of my own, but how does one start? It seems there is SO MUCH one needs to know and do.

So, in an effort to educate myself about how to go about creating that first podcast, I've begun this blog series. Today we'll skim over what one needs to do to create a podcast—all the steps—and then, in this and future blog posts, we'll do a deep dive into each one. Today we'll talk about what recording software you might want to use as well as what your intro might look like.

 If I haven't covered something and you'd like me to, please do leave a comment.

Elements of a Podcast

I'll be going over each of these points in more detail, later.

• Recording software: One has to choose a software package (or packages) for editing audio files that both fits your budget and does what you need it to. Then one has to install it and get comfortable using it.
• Home studio: It's also a good idea to set up—even temporarily—a home recording studio. Obviously, if you buy professional equipment the resulting audio will sound best, but there are inexpensive improvisations that can make a marked difference in sound quality.
• Music/sound effects: The key is to be sure that the music you use isn't in any way pirated. The rule of thumb I use for art is this: If it's not clear how the item is licensed then I don't use it. Happily, it turns out there are quite a few places on the web where one can find public domain music and sound effects. I'll list the links to the ones I've found.
• Podcast format: Every podcast has what is called an intro and an outro. What information should they contain?
• Hosting: After you finally have your finished audio file you need somewhere to host it. There are a number of different solutions and we'll go over the most popular.
• Create your finished audio: You'll want to make sure that the sound is uniform throughout the podcast. You don't want your voice to be soft—encouraging your listeners to turn up the volume—and then blast them.

Recording Software

About the matter of sound quality, certain podcasts are created in recording studios—for instance, This American Life, Freakonomics, Nature—and the audio quality is, as expected, top notch.

Other podcasts, especially in the early days before the creators knew their efforts would be profitable, were recorded in carefully constructed home studios. Inevitably, the quality isn't as good but still okay. The question is: Is "okay" good enough?

 I think it depends on your audience. If care is taken in setting up a home studio, chances are most folks won't notice unless they stop and think about it. Hopefully, they'll be too engrossed by what you're saying to focus on the quality of the audio. Second, I don't think folks expect as much from a podcast as they do from an audiobook.

 I could be wrong, though. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

GarageBand

Let's face it, there are a LOT of choices. Just google "podcast recording software." If I was doing the recording on my iMac I would just use Audacity. It has a lot of features, is easy to use, has been maintained over the years and—this is important, especially in the beginning—it's free. Also, the manual is actually helpful. I've used it for years and will continue to use it. Highly recommended. 

That said, we're interested in recording on the iPad (or iPhone), and unfortunately Audacity doesn't have a version for the iOS.

 I've experimented with several apps and, honestly, the only one I can unreservedly recommend is GarageBand. It's not free, but it is relatively inexpensive at $6.99. I have no doubt that there is better software but chances are it costs a lot more money. My goal here is to help those who—like myself!—have never podcasted before to get up and running relatively inexpensively.

Using GarageBand

Not being musically inclined, when I first launched GarageBand I was a bit bewildered. Fortunately, I came across an excellent YouTube tutorial entitled, "Recording a Podcast with GarageBand for iPad" by Skip Via. I've embedded it below.

 

 I worked through the video and ended up with a recording that wasn't completely terrible.

 A couple of things:

• Turn off the metronome: Settings > Metronome Sound > Visual Only. I also set "Metronome Level" to 0.
• Start/Stop Recording: Press the round red button.
• Set "Song Sections" to automatic: There's a small "+" in the upper right hand corner, under the "?". Tap it and then select "Section A." Set it to automatic. This will let you record for as long as you have space to record.

Here's the recording I made (see below). Keep in mind that I recorded this on my iPad Air without using an external microphone. I think if I used a microphone the sound quality could be improved.
 

By the way, the quotation I read is: "Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work," by Stephen King.

 If you would like to edit the audio (and chances are you will) you could edit on your iPad using an app like iMovie or you could use, as I did, Audacity on your Mac.

That's it for today! Sorry for the long post. I've been working on this one for awhile. I hope you find it useful. If you do (or even if you don't!), please let me know! I would be interested to learn what worked for you and what didn't.

The next article in this series on how to make your own podcast:

Ever been curious about the structure of a podcast? Read on! Make Your First Podcast: Intro and Outro.

Other articles you might find useful:

Write That Story! Don’t Let Fear Win
Don’t Write, Bleed
Getting Motivated To Write

Write Now: 4 Tips For Growing A Readership

We talk, tongue-in-cheek, about the cult of Apple.

Of course Apple isn’t a cult, though it does have certain cultish aspects. Take myself for instance. My computer was made by Apple. My phone is an iPhone, my tablet is an iPad. I don’t have an Apple Watch—I have a Fitbit Flex (which I love)—but if and when my Fitbit needs to be replaced, I’ll likely buy an Apple product.

Why?

Because I trust Apple to make beautiful, quality, products that are both fun and easy to use. (I’m not sure a product could be fun if it _wasn’t_ easy to use. But we could debate that. What do you think?).

There are two Apple Stores in my area and they are both packed whenever I go shopping. There is also a Samsung and a Microsoft store in my area. Both are usually empty.

This got me thinking about what business principles I could glean from my (meager) knowledge of businesses such as Apple that might be able to help writers connect with their readers.

1. Core Readers Understand Your Work AND Love It

Personally, I don’t know of a better compliment than when someone reads a story of mine and says, “That was a good read.” Those people are special. They get your work AND they like it.

Some folks will read your work but don’t really understand it. Other folks understand it but it leaves them cold. And that’s okay. They’re not your target audience. Other folks though—and these are the ones you want to cultivate like they’re your long lost twin—both understand your work and love it.

I think of these folks as my core readers.

2. Understand Your Core Readers

Chances are—even though your core readers are unique, distinct, varied—the more you know about them the better you are at picking up on the kind of stories they would love to read.

Chances are these folks are a bit like you and many of the stories they’d love to read are also stories you’d love to write. Win-win!

The trick is to find out who these people are, to connect with them. What do they love? Hate? Fear? Desire? What makes them scared to get up in the middle of the night? What other authors do they understand and love? What other stories do they read?

3. Make Your Readers Feel That They Belong

What do you like to do? What are your hobbies? Do you hike, climb, garden or cook? How do you like to relax? Did something funny happen to you as you were jogging? Did you see something interesting and take a picture?

Why not share it with your readers?

I find it’s often the little things that connect us to others and doing these little things often takes only a few moments of our time.

4. Let Your Readers Know Why Do You Do What You Do

Simon Sinek’s famous TEDx talk, Start With Why, is awesome. Everyone should watch it at least once .

Briefly, Sinek talks about the importance of understanding why you do what you do. He draws a circle and puts “why” in the center. Around that circle he draws another and in that circle writes, “how.” Around that circle he draws another circle and in that one he writes “what.” He calls this the Golden Circle.

Simon Sinek's Golden Circle

The WHY is about your purpose. What do you believe? Why do you write? Why are you passionate about crafting stories others will want to read? Why should anyone care about what you write about?

The HOW is about how whatever it is that you sell is created.

The WHAT is about what it is you actually sell, its qualities and characteristics, it’s selling points.

Generally speaking, we all know WHAT we’re selling. Further, we more or less clear on HOW we write our stories. What we’ve often far less clear on is the WHY.

What Is Your Why?

What folks of any stripe are often unconscious of is WHY we do what we do.

Someone might be thinking: Well, I do it for the money, to pay the rent. At least, that’s what I was thinking, but Sinek calls that a result.

Sinek gives the example of Apple. Here’s what Sinek gives as Apple’s why:

“In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently.”

Here’s Apple’s how:

“The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, easy to use and user friendly.”

And, finally, here is Apple’s what:

“We just happen to make great computers.”

The Takeaway

There are a lot of great, wonderful, powerful readers in this world. Take Gillian Flynn of Gone Girl fame. Her prose is like a sucker punch, or at least it can be. Wonderful, wonderful book. (I listened to it as an audiobook first and recommend the experience. I loved hearing the voices change between the two narrators, I loved hearing the change in the tone of their voices as the plot progressed and we, the readers, received new (and surprising) information that transformed our understanding of the story. It was an incredible experience.)

I love Ray Bradbury’s books. I love reading his novels, his shorts stories. His prose has the power to weave a spell around me and change the world in which I live. Further, this experience doesn’t end with the story. The change seeps into my bones and transforms me a little bit. It leaves something with me. It’s special.

I guess what I’m trying to say is something you all know, that writing is magic! Part of that magic is finding your core readers, the people who can be—who will be—changed by your spell. And as you get to know them, you might be changed in return.

Well, that’s it for today! I’ll talk to you again on Thursday. Till then, good writing!

Other articles you might like:

How To Get Your Readers To Identify With Your Main Character
7 Secrets To Writing A Story Your Readers Won't Be Able To Put Down
Connect With Readers' Emotions: How To Make People Cry

Aaron Sorkin On How To Write A Gripping Monologue

Today I want to talk about how to write a gripping monologue. And who better to turn to than Aaron Sorkin, master of the monologue.

Aaron Sorkin

Sorkin's resume includes “A Few Good Men,” “Malice,” “The American President,” “The West Wing,” and “The Newsroom.” One of the things Sorkin is known for is his terrific, fantastic, get-out-of-your-seat-and-cheer, monologues.

Which seems like nothing short of a magic trick since monologues are often boring. They tempt a writer to dump a bunch of not-necessarily-wanted facts on her audience. Then readers become bored and irritated and meander away in search of something more gripping.

An Example of a Gripping Monologue

The first time I saw one of Aaron Sorkin's monologues I was watching “A Few Good Men.” At the time I had no idea who Sorkin was, but was captivated by Jack Nicholson’s performance—he played Colonel Nathan R. Jessup—when he took the stand at the end of the movie.

Tom Cruise’s character, Kaffee, attempts to get Colonel Jessup to admit he ordered a code red. This is what the entire movie has been leading up to:

Kaffee: *Colonel Jessep, did you order the Code Red?*
Judge Randolph: You *don't* have to answer that question!
Col. Jessep: I'll answer the question!
[to Kaffee]
Col. Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I'm entitled to.
Col. Jessep: *You want answers?*
Kaffee: *I want the truth!*
Col. Jessep: *You can't handle the truth!*
(From: Quotes for Col. Nathan R. Jessup )

It’s a great scene. So, how did Aaron Sorkin do it?

Aaron Sorkin’s Tips For Writing A Gripping Monologue

1. Make Your Audience Want The Information.

Sorkin writes:

“A song in a musical works best when a character has to sing—when words won’t do the trick anymore. The same idea applies to a long speech in a play or a movie or on television. You want to force the character out of a conversational pattern.” (How to Write an Aaron Sorkin Script, by Aaron Sorkin)

The idea is to make your audience want the information the protagonist uses in his rant. In Jessup’s case, this was the information that he did in fact order the code red. It’s the information we’ve been waiting for all movie long. It’s the information that will save Kaffee’s hide.

2. Have The Monologue Reveal That The Character Is Exceptional

Chances are, your character has hidden depths. He can do things that none of your other characters can do. Jessup says:

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom.”

Whatever you might think of him, Colonel Jessup is, in his own way, an extraordinary individual.

3. Have The Monologue Reveal That The Character Is Human

Yes, Colonel Jessup made mistakes. Big mistakes. But he is also, in his way, honorable. He is committed to defending his fellow Americans. Jessup’s monologue brings out aspects of the man that humanize him. For example, here’s a line from Jessup’s speech:

“We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it.”

And that’s it!

I’ll talk to you again on Monday. Till then, good writing!

Other articles you might like:

What Writers Can Learn From Aaron Sorkin
The Key To Being A Productive Writer: Prioritize
12 Tips On How To Write Antagonists Your Readers Will Love To Hate

Stephen King’s Best Advice For Writers

Today I continue my previous discussion of Stephen King’s book, On Writing. (see: The 5 Best Books on Writing)

At the end of my last post I promised I would talk about Stephen King’s best advice for writers. Let’s do this as a countdown. Starting us off, here’s number five:

5. Fear Is The Muse-Killer

“I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing. If one is writing for one’s own pleasure, that fear may be mild.... If, however, one is working under deadline … that fear may be intense.” “Good writing is often about letting go of fear and affectation. Affectation itself, beginning with the need to define some sorts of writing as “good” and other sorts as “bad,” is fearful behavior.”

4. The Magic Is In You

“I’m often asked if I think the beginning writer of fiction can benefit from writing classes or seminars. The people who ask are, all too often, looking for a magic bullet or a secret ingredient or possibly Dumbo’s magic feather, none of which can be found in classrooms or at writing retreats, no matter how enticing the brochures may be.” King uses Dumbo’s magic feather also as an analogy for the illusory appeal of adverbs (and quick fixes of all kinds) and a writer’s desperate clutching at them. At the base of this clutching is—as we’ve just seen—fear. Stephen King admonishes us to remember that Dumbo didn’t need the feather to fly. And neither do we.

3. Have An Ideal Reader (I.R.)

“When I write a scene that strikes me as funny (like the pie-eating contest in “The Body” or the execution rehearsal in The Green Mile), I am also imagining my I.R. finding it funny. I love it when Tabby [King's ideal reader] laughs out of control—she puts her hands up as if to say I surrender and these big tears go rolling down her cheeks. I love it, that’s all, fucking adore it, and when I get hold of something with that potential, I twist it as hard as I can. During the actual writing of such a scene (door closed), the thought of making her laugh—or cry—is in the back of my mind. During the rewrite (door open), the question—is it funny enough yet? scary enough?—is right up front. I try to watch her when she gets to a particular scene, hoping for at least a smile or—jackpot, baby!—that big belly-laugh with the hands up, waving in the air.” When you write your first draft, write it for yourself. But stories are meant to be told. They are crafted with an audience in mind, even an audience of one. On the first draft—door closed to the world—write for yourself, write imagining your ideal reader. Would he/she laugh? Cry? Be bored? Scared? Irritated? When you rewrite you are no longer writing just for yourself and your ideal reader, now you are writing for the world (door open). Now you want to do two things. First, remove everything that doesn’t serve the story and, second, twist it as hard as you can. If you’re going for a laugh, make it the biggest laugh you can. If you want to scare your reader, terrify them.

2. Writing Is Seduction

“Language,” King writes, “does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes. The object of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story …, [it is] to make him/her forget, whenever possible, that he/she is reading a story at all.” Yes! That. Of course King doesn’t mean that anything goes. He explains: “It is possible to overuse the well-turned fragment … but frags can also work beautifully to streamline narration, create clear images, and create tension as well as to vary the prose-line. A series of grammatically proper sentences can stiffen that line, make it less pliable. Purists hate to hear that and will deny it to their dying breath, but it’s true. … The single-sentence paragraph more closely resembles talk than writing, and that’s good. Writing is seduction. Good talk is part of seduction.” Okay, we’ve reached it! Stephen King’s best advice for writers:

1. Write To Make Yourself Happy

Stephen King writes not because it makes him millions of dollars—I’m sure he would continue to write even if he flipped burgers for a living. He writes because it makes him happy. “Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy. Some of this book—perhaps too much—has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it—and perhaps the best of it—is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.” If you haven’t read Stephen King’s, On Writing, I would encourage you to. If I could point to any one thing that made me a better writer, it would be King’s advice in this book. In the end, that’s all we can shoot for, not to be as good as the writers we admire, but simply to be better than we are.

Other articles you might like:

The Magic Of Stephen King: How To Write Compelling Characters & Great Openings
Stephen King: How His Novel "Carrie" Changed His Life
My Analysis of 16 books: Stephen King is correct, the adverb is not your friend.