Escape Artists
Escape Pod => About Escape Pod => Topic started by: davekirtley on June 19, 2008, 02:07:59 PM
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Hi. I'm an author who's had stories on Escape Pod and Pseudopod. I'm able to track visitors to my website (www.davidbarrkirtley.com (http://www.davidbarrkirtley.com)), and based on the number of EP & PP listeners -- and the number of people active in the forums -- I would've expected a lot more people to be clicking through to my site. When I listen to an episode I almost always check out the author's website, but then I probably have more reason to than most people.
So I'm just curious to hear the perspective of casual listeners. Do you ever click through to the author's website? Why or why not? Is there anything EP & PP could do that would make you more likely to visit the author's site? (Not saying they should, I'm just curious.)
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Hi. I'm an author who's had stories on Escape Pod and Pseudopod. I'm able to track visitors to my website (www.davidbarrkirtley.com (http://www.davidbarrkirtley.com)), and based on the number of EP & PP listeners -- and the number of people active in the forums -- I would've expected a lot more people to be clicking through to my site. When I listen to an episode I almost always check out the author's website, but then I probably have more reason to than most people.
So I'm just curious to hear the perspective of casual listeners. Do you ever click through to the author's website? Why or why not? Is there anything EP & PP could do that would make you more likely to visit the author's site? (Not saying they should, I'm just curious.)
I usually don't, but that's due to barriers to entry -- specifically, that I'm usually in the car when listening to the stories. I know intellectually that I can go to the site later and click through from ep.org or pp.org, but by the time I get home or to work, the urgency just isn't there.
Usually I find author sites because I notice them in a book or publication I'm physically reading, either on paper or on my phone or on the web. Then, if they have RSS feeds, I add them to the reader; if they have a MySpace or Facebook, I add them to that; and if the story moved me sufficiently, I might sign up for an email list.
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I generally don't, most likely due to the brevity of the stories. In contrast, when I listen to a novel on podiobooks.com, I always visit the author's site (though usually not until I am halfway into the novel).
There have been some EP or PP stories that were so exceptionally good that I had to visit the author's website to see what else I could get my hands on, but I've only done that a handfull of times.
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I'm more likely to look them up on Wikipedia than go to their site.
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I always appreciate when authors come here to talk to us. I though "Save Me Plz" was quite good. So thank you for your attention to fans.
I would say that I rarely visit author's websites because I don't expect interesting content. I am much more likely to go to a publisher's website (e.g. Baen) because they often have free samples and there is a much more diverse selection. Like others have mentioned, the podcast format is not ideal for seeking out an author's website.
Also, I am one of those luddites who still enjoys brick and mortar book stores. Therefore, I tend to think of Escape Pod and the like as recommendations. So, although I will rarely order on-line, I am much more likely to consider an author or book I've heard on Escape Pod or the Daily Show than one I've never heard of before.
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For everyone who hasn't noticed the author's website is in every episode comment thread. Just click the author's name.
BTW. On average I click to the author's webpage twice while setting up the thread entry, so two of those hits are just me.
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Honestly, it's pretty occasional. The only one I definitely remember exploring was Samantha Henderson after listening to "Cinderella Suicide," because I'd never heard or read anything by her before. Maybe because I'm already somewhat familiar with some of the authors when their new story pops into the feeds: People like Greg van Eekhout, Tim Pratt, Mur Lafferty, Matt Wallace, Eugie Foster, Ann Leckie, and Cory Doctorow.
Still, a lot of those people were introduced to me via Escape Pod.
Also, when I tend to look up authors, I tend to spend more time checking out their blogs than I do on their websites. Blogs are usually more interesting to me for some reason.
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I usually listen on my way to work or while walking my dogs so, like Listener, I'm not near a computer.
But I usually take the time to leave feedback once I get on a computer so I think I'll take the time going forward to check out the authors' sites, especially for authors whose stories I liked. I never really check the authors' sites for books I read, either.
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I don't usually visit author's websites, though I occasionally do, especially if A - I didn't understand something about the story and wonder if they provide some commentary on it (rare, but it happens), or B - I really liked the story and want to see what else they wrote. If neither apply, then no.
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I listen to EP/PP/PC almost exclusively in the car, in my commute back and forth to work (50 minutes... perfect time for a lot of the EA stories). If I've ever been so blown away by the story as to want to know more, then, like Listener, by the time i get an opportunity then the urgency is gone. However, if an author posts here and has the link to his Web site underneath his avatar, i'm about 99% more likely to check out the site. Also, a lot of the times author bio in the intro tells me as much as i may have been curious about. And, like Qwints, I don't expect interesting content. I rarely even visit my favorite authors' sites just because the content just isn't that compelling. :-\
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I'm in the "commuter" column, too, but I've also noticed that despite my deep affection for the whole Web 2.0 (http://del.icio.us/tadmaster/web2.0) thing, I often just don't think of it. It's not that I'm not interested, or motivated, or anything like that... it's just that I've got a head full of crap, and I don't always remember to do all the things I want to do in a given day.
I blame society. :D