I was thinking about my writing and my podcasting the other day and I came to realize how much benefit my writing actually gets from being podcast. It might stem from that advice you hear many professional authors give to “read your work out loud”, but there are definite positive outcomes to doing it:

• You end up with a much cleaner manuscript. That is a direct advantage to podcasting. I know, when I did GalaxyBillies, I would take a scene that I thought was pretty clean, especially the dialogue parts, and find little niggly errors that interupted the flow. I was able to clean up many of those problems during recording. Now that I’m preparing GalaxyBillies for submission, I’m amazed at how little in the way of changes are necessary. The areas where I have to do more are already known to me because I did read and listen to the work. I’m also experiencing the story in a different way (now that I’m reading for comprehension) than when I podcast it. I’m gaining a brand-new appreciation for it.
• You give yourself something additional in terms of motivation. Writing a story, whether it is a short or a novel can be daunting. Getting started on it is great, but how do you keep the writing going? In fact, sometimes the question is, “How do you find the time to fit it into your schedule”? For example, that is a story I’ve wanted to write for quite a while. I call it “Boy Scouts of the Apocalypse”. I’ve written it in a few, shorter forms, but never the novel I wanted. Something else has always taken precedence. Now that I have committed to the Action Pack Podcast (www.actionpackpodcast.com) I have a project where it fits and fits perfectly. I have the motivation to write it because I don’t want to let my co-contributors or listeners down. I will finally have that story written. The same was true of GalaxyBillies. I knew I had another episode coming up so I couldn’t let anything get in the way of the writing.
• You can actually get an audience interested in your work before it is ever done. That is very gratifying and motivating when you see people subscribing to your story AND commenting on it. Feedback is important and it is very nice to know when things are working and when they are not.
• Similar to the previous point, you can get your name out there in another way. As I noticed while revising GalaxyBillies, the experience of reading a story versus listening is different. People who like one method of consuming a story may not use the other. By podcasting, you are tapping into an entirely new audience.
• Content is King. You want people to visit your website and keep coming back. Constant and varied content is important to keep that happening.
• Networking. When you start podcasting you become a part of the Podcasting Tribe. The Podcasting Tribe is an incredibly creative and interesting group that you need to know. Take the time to interact with them and you never know what opportunities may come from it.

I know I’ve probably missed a number of advantages to podcasting your work. Don’t get me wrong, it IS work and takes time. But I have found the rewards much higher than the costs. If you have had benefits I haven’t mentioned or have questions about how to do it, please drop me a line.

I’ve preached the networking mantra for quite some time now talking about how important it is for writers (well, anyone actually) to go forth and meet other people through whatever means possible. In the past few months I have seen just how fantastic good networking can be. Let me give you a brief rundown of some networking successes I’ve had lately:

• Twitter – I have met a huge number of very cool people on Twitter. Those contacts have resulted in friendships, interview guests for Get Published, collaboration projects, publishing opportunities.
• World Fantasy Convention – I met lots of great new people that meant more interview guests, publishing opportunities and yes, more and better friendships with previously virtual friends.
• Facebook – renewed old acquaintances and made several new ones.
• Goodreads – as above.

Now, those sound great and all, but where’s the details? Well, from a collaboration perspective, JRMurdock and I now have a book to begin finding a home for and we are already planning the next in the series. JAHite and I are co-editing an anthology/handbook for Mad Scientists (http://madscientistanthology.wordpress.com) and you will soon see the new ActionPack Podcast out featuring JRMurdock, Spiritualtramp (Scott Roche) and myself doing a monthly serialized set of stories that I know is going to be fantastic.

Looking at the publishing opportunities, my networking through the various mediums has meant four short stories in print with various e-publishers like http://www.wolfsingerpubs.com/ and http://flyingislandpress.com not to mention my book deal with Five Rivers Publishing. I’ve also got some interest in GalaxyBillies and a few of my other projects.

Then there is Get Published. I just celebrated my third anniversary with episode 74 and I’ve got to say how great doing the podcast has been. I’ve been able to talk to so many fantastic people that, without networking, I would never have known. And trust me when I say, there are lots more awesome interviews to come along with the useful information each guest has to impart.

Is networking and getting yourself out there easy? Not by a long shot. It is work just like many other activities, but my life, writing and otherwise, have been enriched by the effort.

So, what ways do I personally network? Well, here’s my list:

• Face-to-face whenever possible. That could be at book stores, conventions or just on the street
• Writing Groups
• NaNoWriMo
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Goodreads
• LinkedIn
• My blog and website
• My podcasts
• Email
• Skype.

I know there are other places to meet, but I either haven’t discovered them personally or haven’t had the time to properly use them. If you have suggestions for some that might be important, please let me know.

The opportunities are out there if you look. Sometimes, as is the case with a couple of my projects, they find you. But that will only happen if you are out there to be found.