I am ready.
I have many reasons why I have been stymied since summertime, doing almost everything but launching the Listen & Be Heard podcast. But now, at the very beginning of 2023, I believe that enough circumstances are aligned together for me to establish a routine that I can commit to.
So, what’s the point? The point for me is the same point I hope to serve for everyone involved, to create a platform for creative people to create a platform…
In my case, my goal is to get some of my backlog of writings, published. I want to work with editors, publishers and agents to make that happen. Research on how to attract such people to read the work of someone they have never heard of seems to suggest that if they never heard of you, they figure no one else has either, and they wonder…who will buy her books?
They call it a platform. In the literary world that means an audience to sell your published writing to. Back in the day, when I used to interview authors on WBAI Radio, I chose my books carefully. The ones I was interested in, I read, and then I invited the author to a live on-air discussion. Most of them, whether or not they were famous, were surprised and grateful that I had read the book when they arrived to an appointment that their publicist or publisher had made for them. They would literally light up with the passion that had driven them to write the book in the first place. In the process of doing those interviews, I learned a lot about writing. Listeners who had never heard my name also got to know me. I wasn’t selling or pushing anything, just talking about stuff that interested me and I wanted to know more about. (If you’re interested, I published some of those interviews at Amazon Kindle.)
My intention is to once again create a space to discuss books that interest me, and feature poets who are compelling to my ear. But, this isn’t just about me. It’s just as much about the guests I will feature, and the many podcasters, or aspiring podcasters, who I hope will choose to make Listen & Be Heard their home.
Why would you want to do that? Well, the only advertising that will occur on the site will be for the producers to feature their own wares. The larger the network, the more eyes and ears will see and listen sparingly to relevant rotating ads created by the producers themselves. This is one of several features that I will roll out in the coming days, as I create a countdown to launch day.
The first step is to gather my equipment, so the next thing to go from my desk to this column will be a discussion of my options to get started. Any suggestions or experiences to share? Please do drop a comment.
Would you like to be part of the original crew that is going to create something great for the community you want to serve? Now is the time to get in touch… editor@listenandbeheard.net
