NCW Podcast Guest Appearance
Can you really say it's a “podcast guest appearance” even if it's only audio?
The Northern Colorado Writers group, of which I'm a member, produces a regular podcast, the NCW Podcast. Richard Keller, of Wooden Pants Publishing, is the host, and had me in recently to talk about independent publishing, science fiction romance, and my books.
It's been posted to PodOmatic as NCW Podcast #38: Independent Publishing Part I with Award-Winning SciFi Author Carol Van Natta. It's also available on iTunes and Google Play.
Since I'm not actually visible, I'm not sure “appearance” is the correct word, but I'm going with it anyway. This photo is of me outdoors in the sun, as opposed to sitting in a dark studio wearing headphones and talking into a mic. Rich and I started out with good intentions, to discuss my books and science fiction, but we mostly ended up talking about independent publishing, and some of the choices I've made as far as my books. Oh, and the importance of a production and marketing plan. There is no one, right, or best way to market books these days, because we're in a paradigm shift as far as the publishing industry goes. And for that matter, as far as marketing goes. All we independent authors can do is try new things and stay nimble, so we can connect with readers who want to find our books.
Where are the books I want to read?
Speaking as a reader, I have as much trouble finding about new books, or new-to-me books, as everyone else. All-purpose search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, are too generic. The search features in online bookstores are better, but only Amazon does a tolerable job. Barnes and Noble's search feature, for example, insists that both Frankenstein and On Walden Pond are “science fiction romance.” I can sort of understand about Frankenstein — Mary Shelley invented science fiction with that book — but Walden Pond? Really? Even Amazon has its issues, with the top 100 lists in the science fiction romance categories regularly littered with paranormal and “Kidnapped by My Tentacled Billionaire Stepbrother for Breeding” stories.
FWIW, I've found a lot of my favorite authors on Facebook, where I can “Like” their pages and gently stalk them. You could do the same to me, if you'd like (hah!): http://www.facebook.com/CarolVanNattaAuthor. Most authors have newsletters these days, and I try to sign up for those, too, since you never know what Facebook will condescend to show you on any given day.
