It’s appropriate that I send all of you a thank you on Valentine’s Day. The love fest just keeps on building.
A year ago Quarter Share went up onto the Podiobooks.com servers. The first six episodes cleared review and were posted on Feb 18, 2007. Since that time, the outpouring of support has been overwhelming. I remember watching the numbers in those early days and wondering how long it would take to break into two digits, and then into three. Now, with the listings on iTunes, I have no idea how many subscribers I really have, and I’ve come to realize it’s not about the numbers.
It’s about the stories and it’s about the people who care about the stories.
We’ve always had the ability to tell stories to ourselves. There are piles of typewritten pages all around the globe. There are moldy journals with painfully scratched out stories in them in attics on every continent. But with the internet, we have the ability to tell stories to each other in ways that seem miraculous. Podcasting, print-on-demand, blogs, and even simple webpages provide the distribution channel that permit my simple stories to flow out into the world.
And it’s about finding the audience.
You all are the best audience in the world. I know every podcaster/author/performer says that. I used to think, “Ya, right … a little biased are we?” whenever I heard somebody use that phrase, but the truth is, you are. The nature of audiences is that you’re the ones listening/reading/watching. By your actions — fan mail, donations, reviews on iTunes, and podiobook rankings — you offer encouragement and give back something that I’ve come to appreciate more as the year has worn on. You’re not just responding back to me, you’re spreading the word to your friends and families. You’re finding others and — through the stories — connecting to them. You’re the reason that – a year later – Quarter Share is back on the Top Ten Subscriptions for the Month list at Podiobooks. You’re the reason that all four of my titles have been camped out on the Podiobooks charts for the last month. You’re the reason Scott Sigler hates me. And believe me, it’s an honor to be hated by The Sigler.
New stories are on the way, although not as fast as we’d all hoped. I’ve had some other projects get in the way – some of which you’re going to be happy about when I can actually talk about them. There’s a new novella coming out, but it’s not one of my stories. I’ve recorded a “SF Classic” for SFFAudio as a way to recognized the giants upon whose shoulders we all stand. It’s all recorded and only needs a few hours of editing before I dump the whole thing up onto Podiobooks. And no, that’s not one of the projects that got in the way.
So, Happy Valentine’s Day, shipmates.
Safe Voyage.
Congrat’s on the podiobook.com numbers and or the getting Scott Sigler to hate you. That must have been way hard to do given how he’s so full of love love feeling’ s for everyone and everything. I don’t think Scott even has it in him to harm a fly ;) now annihilating it with enough nucular weapons to wash the galaxy into another dimention yes but harming it no way.
Keep up the great work and have an even better day.
I would imagine that one of the hardest things for an author to do is to create characters and stories that people care about. I, for one, care a whole heckuva lot. And I’m tellin’ as many people as I can.
Thanks for sharing Ish, Pip, Bev, Diane, Cookie, Sarah, Richard, Otto, and all the others with us. I look forward to their future travels, whether it’s down to the beach in search of driftwood or across the stars.
I’m glad to be aboard. :-)
This is a sign of the quality of work that you have produced and it is nothing short of entertaining. I can say this with a straight face because I have listened to the whole series…twice. You deserve all the accolades that are being spouted about you. The funny thing is that if it wasn’t good nobody would notice and it would just float on by.
Nate – right back at you… Thanks!! I find myself in a similar position to many of your fans. I can listen to your work over and over again. I’ve subscribed to Audible.com for around six years and listen to many audio books. There are a few works I can listen to numerous times. You are in the company of some of the greats (Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury…) As a matter of fact, something struck me while listening to your recent interview. Ish and Heinlein’s Juan Rico (Starship Troopers) are just regular Joes that I can somehow relate to.
Also, it’s a good sign to be the target of Sigler’s good natured rancor. His ramblings just get you more exposure.
Keep up the great work.
Scott shouldn’t be upset because if your not listening to a rants feed are you really getting a Scott Sigler experiance and yes I all ready ordered both the CD and Hardcover of whatever Infected is currently call at the big coffee shop with the books.