► Tell us about you and your podcast
I'm a science fiction author. I've had one novel published traditionally, a few short stories published, and have a self-published a couple of other short pieces.
I was tired of going through the submissions grind and receiving rejection after rejection. I believed in the quality of my work, though not to an arrogant degree. I knew there was something I was missing. Trawling the internet only yields so much, and I knew I would get greater information from having real conversations with people in the know. So the idea for Chronscast came about after a conversation with my wife Jo. I started sketching a plan for what a podcast might look like, and it grew from there.
My listeners are readers and writers of Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror. I treat the books in genre fiction seriously, and with respect, as they deserve. If readers want to uncover deeper truths and meanings behind the books they read, Chronscast is a great place to start.
We also providing information, tools and direction for authors looking to make a step in a writing career. Writing is extraordinarily tough. Being part of the Chronscast community helps to furnish your ambitions with a little knowledge, and hopefully a bit of inspiration, and even the odd laugh.
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
Writing books is one of the wonderful things one can aspire to. But if you want an audience, the act of writing is no longer enough. I've been an aspiring author, a published author, and back to an aspiring author as I've worked through my publishing contracts. For authors, the hustle never stops, and there is always much to learn. I was hungry to learn from other authors, and see what opportunities were out there.
And though writing is by necessity achieved through prolonged bouts of self-isolation, I knew that the best opportunities come about from real interactions with other people. Rich conversations, rather than shallow networking, lead to the best type of opportunities.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
I've funded Chronscast completely myself. It's vital for me to minimise outgoings and use the wonderful tools the internet provides to their full effect: Anchor for hosting, Zencastr for recording, Audacity for production, and social media to help dissemination.
One thing I ensured was that I wanted to maximise the quality of the podcast. That's one thing that's totally in the podcaster's control, so why wouldn't you? I planned for around six months before the first episode aired. That allowed Christopher and I to create our artwork, design our episodic structure, invite and secure our first roster of guests, and promote the podcast to our writing and SFFH communities.
This planning helped enormously. Too often I've heard podcasts that have been started by people who are enthusiastic but have no plan, with the net result that the podcast peters out and there's little left to say after a half-dozen episodes. I found a USP for Chronscast: it's part literary discussion, part toolkit for authors, and part interview, with even the odd comedy skit thrown in for levity. I don't know of any other podcast that does that. I certainly don't know any others that do it well.
Spending time up front planning helped me to reduce the amount of time I spend each month. I have limited free time owing to job and family commitments. Having a strong structure means I know exactly what I need to do each month, and each month I become more competent and efficient at doing it. It shows that with very little money you can set up a successful podcast.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
Chronscast isn't yet at the stage where I have sponsorship, but it's definitely part of my plan for 2023. I'd want to feature very targeted sponsorship relevant to my audience. I don't want to bombard listeners with ads for products unrelated to the podcast. That's not added value to me; that detracts from the intimacy and quality of the experience.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
We use Anchor to host Chronscast. Its interface is very easy to manage, and the fact that it's linked to Spotify is attractive.
I use Zencastr to record. It's locally-recorded audio is high quality (though I've learned you are at the mercy of the quality of your guests' internet connection... switch to audio only for a good recording in that instance!). It costs a few measly dollars to get access to Zencastr's mastering suite. Totally worth it.
And I use Audacity to produce the podcast and optimise the audio quality. Free and open-source, Audacity is a godsend for any aspiring podcaster. Learn to use it.
As for guests, I drew up a list of guests that I wanted, and traded off my charm and good will! It's amazing that people will happily give you a couple of hours of their time for free (!) if you approach them with the offer of talking about something they're genuinely enthusiastic and passionate about. Not everybody said yes, but most did, and it gathered momentum from there.
I take preparation very seriously. We are partly a literary discussion show, and I make sure I read the texts in question and I usually write a full essay on it as well, which I publish to my website (links below). It's treating the podcast with respect, and being prepared also gets the best conversation out of your guests.
► How do you market your show?
The majority of my listeners comes from web browsers and Apple podcasts. Together they make up just over 50% of my listeners. The rest are spread over a variety of providers, with Anchor and Spotify being the largest.
We promote using Twitter, Instagram, and I blog about each episode on my personal site. I am trying to boost visibility by being a guest on other podcasts. We also get listeners via SFF Chronicles, our parent website, the world's largest SFF community, with over 20,000 members.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Have a sense of what you're offering that's different; have something to say (you'd be surprised how many podcasts are just two mates sitting in front of a mic and just saying what comes to mind. The results are.... not compelling); and PLAN.
Don't rush into it. Plan your attack, and be focused. Listen to other podcasts and try to emulate the ones you admire, maybe borrow some structural ideas from different podcasts and come up with your own unique mix of things covered.
But do make a plan. It'll make things so much easier.