Welcome back, my fellow creatives!

We all find ourselves at the crossroads sometimes. You know the place: the different paths you should take with your platform. To YouTube or not? To TikTok or not? To Meta or not? This isn’t even counting the in-person platform paths one can take with conventions, libraries, schools, etc.

Back in 2021, I decided to give podcasting a go. Podcasting has exploded as a form of media people enjoy for entertainment, education, inspiration, celebrity gossip, and, of course, book reviews. If you visit Spotify and search book reviews, the results never stop populating.

Were there that many podcasts when I started?! Maybe. It’s hard to dive into a market that is already several leagues ahead of you with a James Bond-ified speedboat.

Harder still when you try to reboot the podcast with a new title and an altered approach that no longer attempts to keep up with the trends.

Around the holiday season, I found myself back at that crossroads: to podcast or not? One episode per month was not a tax on my time, and I was enjoying encounters with books and authors I might not have tried before, but still… was it worth it on top of the blog, X, and Instagram? Was I connecting with readers? Were my books reaching consumers?

I can’t speak for your choice in paths, but I’ll break down what led me to choose mine.

accessibility.

I have been doing a LOT of research on Neurodivergence for my university ever since my twins were diagnosed with ASD/ADHD. Podcasts are far more accessible to Neurodivergent audiences (such as Dyslexics) than text-heavy media.

affordability.

So long as I have a decent microphone and internet (which I need for teaching anyway), I don’t have to spend anything else to maintain the podcast. Not every author platform is free, so why not harness what is?

audience.

I have no intention of using TikTok, which admittedly is a huge market for authors thanks to review realms like BookTok. That means using another form of social media that offers an intimate level of connection, because you’re sharing more than just static images. Sure, Instagram has reels and stories, so I could record videos if I chose. But that requires more time to produce compared to audio files. Podcasts are immensely popular in both long- and short-form content, and they’re easy to share on other platforms like the evergreen Instagram.

authors.

I have met a whole new realm of amazing souls through platforms like blogging and Instagram, to be sure. But it is over-the-moon cool when the authors of books I’ve reviewed reach out to me and share their thanks and even access to their latest book–all because of a podcast. I NEVER would have thought that would happen when I first started!

and therefore…

You bet your boots I’ll keep podcasting! I may not have those trendy algorithms that BookTok boasts, but the podcast has been an amazing way to lift fellow writers and contribute to the writing community in my own way. (Not to mention support my local library system!) Sure, I’m not marketing much, but that season will come someday. In a world where AI is pushed more and more as a convenient way to read stories, summarize stories, and even write stories, authors must ignite the light of creativity wherever they can, sharing their own stories as well as celebrating the stories of others. I promise to keep that spark alight.

Will you?

Save that tiny little ember of spark. And never give them that spark because as long as you have that spark, you can start the greatest fire again. -Charles Bukowski

Coming up, I’m determined to buck a trend. Blondie’s going to show up at some point. Plus, we have more interviews, Story Empire highlights, and of course, some podcasts. Oh, and summer is coming, so you know what that means…

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!