1/9/2020 Scrivener and other tools to create your podcast

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THE L&L BLOG  /  SCRIVENER

Creating a Podcast for Your Platform

RS  /  31 AUG 2020  

Wherein Rebeca ponders venturing into the world of podcasting for her platform
campaign.

Back in May, I posted Planning Your Platform & Marketing Campaign for Your Novel and it got
me thinking that apart from writing essays, blogs, and social media posts that I could be a little
more ambitious and venture into the world of…drumroll, please…podcasting.

Why podcasting? The reasons are threefold: 

—  First, more and more people are tuning into podcasts for a vast number of topics
whether it’s the craft of writing to current events. They listen to them while they drive to
work, run errands, walk the dog, exercise, or any other activity. I tend to listen to them
when I walk the dogs or in the evening while I sketch.

—  Second, as writers we should be considering other platforms to promote our work. With
podcasting, we not only spread the word to a wider audience, we’re also adding a
different subset of skills.

—  Third, updating and learning new skills always makes you more marketable.

With that latter point in mind, take a look at most job listings for writers and you’ll see that
employers want us to have skills other than pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard. As much
as I hate to burst the bubble for so many writers who have a fear of new platforms and
technology, writing in the 21st century has become a multi-disciplinarian vocation. You should
have a basic understanding of how search engine optimization works, but also how to market

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/creating-a-podcast-for-your-platform?fbclid=IwAR25vxvlOKG61fmS32_5oYeC4O9oTmihI_lakNf23sj0laacbg6S… 1/8
1/9/2020 Scrivener and other tools to create your podcast

yourself via social media, and create basic websites so you can reach a broader audience (or
write for potential clients). In the case of podcasting, you’ll be using many of those skills in
addition to learning new technology like audio editing. 

After pondering whether I should take this leap, I decided it can’t hurt and it could be fun. But
before I actually made the mental investment of moving forward I had several questions on
how to start. 

I emailed my go to podcaster/consultant buddy Suzy Chase who has taken two passions and
turned them into podcasts: The Groove Radio, which is a soul music mix show that features
soul grooves from the late 1960s to the 1990s and Cookery by the Book, where she
interviews recently published cookbook authors. 

According to Suzy, the key to a successful podcast is to have a targeted niche. Although
there are a number of foodie podcasts, she drilled it down to a sub-niche that focused solely
on cookbooks and interviewing the authors. 

Once you’ve determined your targeted niche, the next step is the planning process and
there’s quite a bit to consider from the basic tools like a good microphone, the software to
edit the recording, the hosting platform, naming your podcast, and the most time-consuming
aspect—creating the content. If thinking of that already overwhelms you there are several
courses online—free and paid for— that provide a number of resources and templates to
help you with the preliminary prep work to get your podcast launched. 

Although speaking with Suzy cleared up most of the questions I had, I decided to purchase
Kelsey Murphy’s Podcast to Profit: 30 Days to Launch. The four week course, provides a
detailed plan and calendar, scripts for intro and outro, a spreadsheet (or Trello boards) that
includes daily checklists for four weeks; recommended equipment (mic, headphones,
soundproofing material—should you need it); software to edit your recording and
recommended podcast platforms. 

When I spoke with Suzy she mentioned you don’t need to spend a fortune on all the bells and
whistles (Kelsey also says this in her videos). There’s audio editing software like Audacity
that’s open source and you can get it for free or if you have a Mac, you can use the pre-
installed GarageBand. In terms of recording software, you can use Zoom, Zencastr, or even
Skype (you’ll need software to record those Skype calls). As for a microphone, there’s a
variety you can choose that can cost anywhere from $40 to $300. I chose the Samson
Meteor Mic USB Studio Microphone for $69.99, which was recommended via an Audacity
tutorial I found on YouTube.

Once you have the necessary tools, it’s the planning phase of creating your content. Enter
Scrivener. Using the blank template, I saved it with the title of the podcast. Because I already
have the Google spreadsheet of the daily tasks for all the prep work needed, I simply
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/creating-a-podcast-for-your-platform?fbclid=IwAR25vxvlOKG61fmS32_5oYeC4O9oTmihI_lakNf23sj0laacbg6S… 2/8
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downloaded it as a .csv file and imported it into the research section. But if you decide to not
go through the paid lesson route, you can create a task list by creating a new document and
use the checkbox feature that’s found in Project->Project Settings->Custom Metadata. A
window will open. On the left-hand side, select custom metadata.

To create the metadata, click on the plus sign and tap in your tasks in the field. In “Type”
select checkbox. 

The task list will appear in the General Metadata tab in the Inspector: 

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1/9/2020 Scrivener and other tools to create your podcast

Another option is to keep a running task list within your document or create one in Excel and
import it into the research section as I stated above. In this case, in my humble opinion, I think
using the Excel worksheet is the best option. In creating the content, you should have no
difficulty how to structure it in Scrivener. It’s up to you whether you want to have a weekly
show, twice a month, or once a month. When you've determined the timing, you can create
folders in the binder for your content. For example, for my podcast, I'll be airing two shows per
month—the first and third Mondays. Each monthly folder will contain two subfolders with that
first and third Monday's episode's intro and outro, guest bio, my script, show notes, and the
episode's transcript.

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My recommendation is if you’ve done so much research on your chosen topic that you’ve
become an expert, you might want to do a weekly show and grow your audience (hopefully,
that will sell some books).

Once you’ve determined the time schedule of how often you want to broadcast, now you get
into the fun part of creating the content and see whether you have enough material that you
can stretch it for a season or more. In some cases, you might only have enough material for a
few episodes. In Suzy’s case, there seems to be an unlimited amount of cookbooks published
so she has a wide selection to choose and highlight on her show for several seasons. For me,
I’m focusing on a specific historical period where there’s an abundance of material that I can
discuss as well as invite authors for interviews for several seasons.

Both Suzy and Kelsey recommend that you brainstorm ten episodes and create outlines.
From there, you’ll want to outline at least three key points of what you want to get across for
that episode. Don’t worry if you need extra episodes to cover the topic—especially if it’s one
dealing with a time in history that has many twists and turns like the Russian Revolution. Also,
determine whether the episode will be just you pontificating or whether you’ll be interviewing
an expert on the topic. 

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1/9/2020 Scrivener and other tools to create your podcast

If you decide to wing it on your own, I recommend you write a script. You can either write this
in the standard writing mode or you can use the Script mode and select transcription. To
format a script in Scrivener, select the format you want to use from the Format-
>Scriptwriting->Submenu. From the submenu, you have a number of choices that include: 

—  Screenplay
—  BBC Radio Scene Style
—  BBC Taped Drama
—  Comic Book (two types you can choose from either Antony Johnson or Alternative)
—  Interview
—  Stage Play (UK and US)
—  Transcript

Or simply create a new project using one of the templates in the “Scriptwriting” category.
Once you’re in scriptwriting mode, the binder icon for that specific document will be tinted
yellow with three-hole punches. The footer will display a number of scriptwriting tools unlike
the standard word count and characters display found in the normal prose mode for general
writing. To learn more about Scriptwriting mode refer to Chapter 19, section 19.1 of the
Scrivener Manual found under the Help tab. Finally, If you have a difficult time memorizing the
copy (as I do) there are a number of teleprompter apps you can download like Teleprompter
Premium from the Mac App Store. 

The next big questions is where to host your podcast? If you Google, you’ll find hundreds of
hosting platforms that offer free plans with limited features to enterprise plans that are quite
expensive but loaded with a number of features. From my research via friends who podcast,
their recommended podcast hosts include: 

—  Libsyn which is currently offering a free two-month trial for their paid versions.
—  Anchor offers a number of features and is 100% free.
—  Sounder offers a free version with several features and paid versions with more features
ranging from $30 and up.

For more tips, Suzy has a column in Medium that you can read and follow, but if podcasting
seems like a fun way to create your platform to promote your book I suggest the next time
you tune into your favorite podcast take note of the following items: 

—  Episode length. 
—  Music breaks as transitions. 
—  The length of the intro and outro.
—  Length of sponsorship announcements or commercial breaks.
—  Take a peek at the episode notes and see if a transcription is provided or any links that
you can check out. 

https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/creating-a-podcast-for-your-platform?fbclid=IwAR25vxvlOKG61fmS32_5oYeC4O9oTmihI_lakNf23sj0laacbg6S… 6/8
1/9/2020 Scrivener and other tools to create your podcast

—  Finally, take copious notes and examine what takeaways you get from those listening
experiences and how they can help you launch your own successful podcast!  

Disclaimer: Literature and Latte is not financially compensated or a sales affliiate of any of the
companies or products mentioned throughout this article.

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