Podiobooks, eh?
I thought I’d take a gander at Podiobooks, so favorably was it praised by other authors at Balticon. And, sure enough, it’s got more high-quality free audiobooks than a thousand-eared beast could listen to all at once.
I’ve been reading from authors like Lindsey Buroker that giving something high-quality away for free is a really great way to convince new readers to take a chance on your titles. For her, that’s the “Book Ones” of all her serieseses. It’s clearly rocking for her– Emperor’s Edge is great fun– and I look forward to adopting that strategy ultimately.
For Nathan Lowell, his golden freebies were the self-produced audiobooks of his “Trader’s Tales” series, all released on Podiobooks. People ate them up, he churned them out quickly while keeping quality high, and his sales of ebooks and physical books became more awesome the more free downloads he “gave away.”
So shoot! I should make The Wizard That Wasn’t an audiobook, says I!
After much playing around with technical specifications, my first chapter got the seal of approval from Podiobook mastermind Evo Terra and some kindly mentorship from (among others) Mr. Lowell himself! I’m currently recording the rest of the chapters now. As soon as they’re done, I’ll be able to announce a release date!
Then you’ll be able to snatch up The Wizard That Wasn’t in serialized form at Podiobooks or on iTunes, and listen on whatever device pleases you. All totally free!
More to come on this score over the next few weeks. Stay tuned, intrepid one!
"I told you that story so I could tell you this one."
Ben Rovik 
The sample sounded cool, Ben.
I can’t wait to hear the whole book.
Thanks, Nathan! My goal is to have it finished in the next month. I’ll let you know as soon as it’s up!
-B
Ben, I am a big fantasy guy, and have read more than my fair share of books, i am currently on part 7 of your book, but could not wait to write. I really love the audiobook the only criticism I have for it is the fact the the first chapter doesn’t explain the world well (this is a VERY common problem with fantasy novels. you don’t want to bore the reader, but at the same time just dumping them in is hard on them and will sometimes lead to just leaving the book.). other than that, I am loving the book and am eagerly waiting for your next one to be put up on podiobook. Keep writing, because you’ve got a fascinating story to tell, and after i finish this i will eagerly be awaiting the next one.
Hey James! Thanks for checking out the audiobook. I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying it!
You bring up a great point about a first chapter needing to set up the world so readers aren’t lost, but not being so exposition-heavy it gets boring. I’ve read plenty of books that fall on one side or the other of that spectrum too! Thanks for sticking with mine on to subsequent episodes 🙂
I’m eager to get recording on The Mask And The Master too! It’s twice as long as The Wizard That Wasn’t, so it’ll take a while (especially now that I’ve got a little one at home.) If you can’t wait for the audiobook, you can read a sample of the ebook here on the blog or buy the full thing!
I’ve got a favor to ask once you’re done listening– would you be willing to rate the book on Podiobooks or Amazon? Even if you just copy-pasted your comment here on the blog to one of those venues, that would make a bigger difference to a scrappy young writer like me than a podiobooks donation.
Thanks again! Stay tuned for more Petronaut adventures on the way soon.
-Ben