Dear Reader, Issue 2, Volume 1
Change for the better, experiments with audio and publication.
Dear Reader:
I made a decision this past week that will have cataclysmic impact on the universe. Not the universe or even your universe. Okay, it just impacts me, but it seemed important enough to share. I have decided to focus exclusively on writing fiction. To start that meant changing my welcome message slightly and the banner for subscriber emails, which now reads, “Astonishing tales of fantasy and science fiction.”
For those of you that are primarily interested in my slice-of-life essays, I hope that you’ll stick around, but I understand if your inbox needs decluttering. Those essays are fun to write and can be interesting to read. They’re just not where I want to focus my energy. Now that I’m nearing “middle-age”, it’s important I make decisions like this earlier than later. There’s only so much time in the day.
In the past, this kind of decision would be met with angst over whether or not followers (when I was on Instagram) or subscribers would be upset or feel cheated. Not anymore. That’s nothing I can control. People come and go for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they like what they read, maybe they like you, maybe they are family, maybe their journey is similar to yours, maybe you said the one thing they can’t stomach — that’s a lot of maybes.
Experiments with Audio
I created my very first audio narration, a small drama for the short story I wrote, The Michigan Dogman, which can be found here:
There are a few things I will change if I do this again. The process requires understanding the nuances of voiceover acting and audio production. I’m still learning, watching tutorials on YouTube and experimenting. I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life and I would like to believe we have no accent; I’ve been told otherwise. Our accent can be a little nasally with words shortened for brevity. Running through my head is a constant reminder to intonate.
Some subscribers to other Substacks mentioned that they would prefer to listen rather than read, which is one reason I created the complimentary audio. Embedded audio may not ultimately be the right approach. Using Spotify and linking off from the story appears to be a popular solution for podcasts. All of that has yet to be flushed out, and if you have suggestions, I’m all ears. This was something I had fun with and want to know if it provides a real benefit to you.
For those with an adventurous side, here are the technical details:
I use Audacity for sound editing. This is free, easy to use and has a large user base. A number of professional voiceover artists on ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) use it.
I use Freesounds.org for many of the sound effects. Be sure to check the licenses, as there are several flavors of Creative Commons, requiring attribution or limited commercial use.
For music you have so many different options it would be hard to list them all. One artist that I enjoy is White Bat Audio, and recently I’ve discovered Incompetech.
Publication
Every month I’m still focused on publication. I decided to submit another story to Elegant Literature for July. As a paying Elegant+ subscriber, I can submit as many stories as I like to their monthly contest. It’s well worth it. I plan on submitting until I win or I’m not allowed anymore! Future Thief will have a backlog of stories ready and waiting if I receive all rejections in August.
Another publication I discovered recently that is accepting submissions is IZ Digital (Interzone). The science fiction being posted online for free to read is absolutely top notch. It’s a bit intimidating because they are out of my league. Interzone is a UK print publication that has undergone some changes, has a new editor and publisher, and is accepting submissions as well.
While being paid for publication does give me some additional confidence, it has more to do with establishing credentials. Those are important to traditional publishers as well as to outside readership. I’m guilty of looking up published short story authors on Substack, Twitter, social media, etc., to see where else they have a presence. It’s all about stalking my competition and taking over the world.
So, if I were to get those sweet credentials, what would I do then? No idea. That’s too far ahead to even consider. Maybe work on a book of short stories or a novella, or novel… or, maybe I’ll have a vicious keyboarding accident that leaves me without thumbs. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Your Uncredited Amateur Author,
Brian Reindel
Hey "stalking the competition" is just doing your research! Those that have already done the thing we are trying to do can be a valuable learning experience.
Do your thing. The last thing we need is another publication trying to sort itself to meet someone else’s expectations. And yeah, Michiganders don’t have accents!