By Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey
4.8
2828 ratings
The podcast currently has 15 episodes available.
We made it to the end of Season 1 of Building the Oracle! And everything went exactly according to plan ... well, not quite.
In our final episode of Season 1, we look back on our initial hopes and dreams for the podcast and discuss what we learned, which goals we achieved, and those that we failed to reach. We reflect on world events over the last six months, how they have impacted our plans, and influenced our vision for the publishing project.
And finally, we talk about what's coming next: why we are planning to pause the podcast for the foreseeable future, and the ways in which we are going to shift our focus and energy to the writing and book production.
To follow the growing discussion about inequality and bias in the publishing industry, check out #PublishingPaidMe on Twitter.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
\Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
BUY A COPY OF JAY'S MEMOIR
Sea of the Unknown - How I got to Paris.
Grab your copy here now: https://jayswanson.me/sea-of-the-unknown
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur and Jody Ferguson. When the last free corporation is finally absorbed into The Supreme Monopoly, these are the people we want toiling beside us in the Supreme Corp TM content factories.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Jane Friedman is the author of The Business of Being a Writer, and one of the most trusted consultants and reporters in the publishing industry. We asked her for some advice on our own publishing plans, and she gave us the reality check we definitely needed. Jane also shared some of the wisdom she's learned through building her own business, pointed us in the direction of some essential indie-author resources, and even managed to craft a media strategy to launch Gustave the dog to mega-stardom.
If you are an author or publisher of any stripe, then you need to be following Jane. It's that simple. Her website, janefriedman.com, is a great place to start. Follow her on Twitter @janefriedman, and check out her free Sunday Business Sermons. Her industry newsletter, The Hot Sheet, is essential reading for everyone in the book trade.
Here are some of the resources Jane recommended in this episode:
The 6-Figure Author Podcast - 6figureauthors.com
A podcast hosted by Lindsay Buroker, Joseph R. Lallo, and Andrea Pearson, that aims to help authors take their writing careers to the next level.
Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant provide some excellent information and advice for independent authors on their website, sterlingandstone.net and in their Story Studio podcast.
David Gaughran is one of the world's leading experts on marketing for authors and indie publishers, and a must follow for anyone planning to publish a book. His website is davidgaughran.com.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
BUY A COPY OF JAY'S MEMOIR
Sea of the Unknown - How I got to Paris.
Grab your copy here now: https://jayswanson.me/sea-of-the-unknown
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur and Jody Ferguson. When the last free corporation is finally absorbed into The Supreme Monopoly, these are the people we want toiling beside us in the Supreme Corp TM content factories.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
What's the best way for an author to keep track of a sprawling and evolving fictional universe? And how can we take of all these wonderful little worldbuilding details to help readers explore and discover our universe beyond the pages of a book?
We discussed these questions, and much more, with Dave Robison, the founder of Archivos, a visual story-mapping tool that weaves characters, events, and places into relationship webs, live maps, and interwoven timelines.
Dave is also a podcaster, voice actor, and storyteller with multiple ongoing stories that you can jump in on right now, including the Shattered Worlds series. You can discover more about Dave's many projects on his website, wonderthingstudios.com, or by following him on Twitter @DaveRobisonTN.
Extra Tidbits:
For an awesome discussion on how puppetry (or any performance art) can make you a better author, check out Writing Excuses 3.14 with Mary Robinette Kowal.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
BUY A COPY OF JAY'S MEMOIR
Sea of the Unknown - How I got to Paris.
Grab your copy here now: https://jayswanson.me/sea-of-the-unknown
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur and Jody Ferguson. When the demon apocalypse comes upon us, and we are forced to retreat to our mountain fortress, these are the people we want fighting beside us.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Worldbuilding! It's one of the defining elements of the science fiction and fantasy genres, in which the world itself, and how it differs from our own, is a central feature of the story. Readers should feel like they can escape into, and explore, and tell their own stories in the worlds we create for them, and so these worlds must be imbued with enough depth and detail to spark their own life in the reader's imagination. But how much detail is too much? And how do you know when your research has wandered too far down the rabbit hole? With such an ambitious worldbuilding project ahead of us, we turned to three veteran SFF authors for advice.
Mike Underwood, Adam Rakunas, and Patrick Tomlinson are three of Jay's oldest, and best friends in the SFF industry. They were able to catch up with each other at ConFusion, back in January, to discuss their research and worldbuilding processes. They also banter about such important topics as gas station Indian food, the victory of nerd culture, and the global threat of Funko Pops.
And speaking of alternate worlds, this episode was recorded back before our own world became stranger than fiction, and international travel was still something we could all actually do. It was recorded in Novi, Michigan, at ConFusion, with Richard calling in well past his bedtime back in Paris. The call quality was not great so we apologise for poorer than usual audio quality during the interview.
Michael R. Underwood is the author of the forthcoming Space Opera, Annihilation Aria, available wherever books are sold. We highly recommend you also check out his previous novels. If you're looking for somewhere to start, go with the Genrenauts series. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeRUnderwood, on his website at michaelrunderwood.com, or on Patreon.
Adam Rakunas is the author of the Windswept series, which was nominated for the Philip K. Dick award, and combines mystery and action with labor politics through rum distilleries on the edge of space. Follow Adam on Twitter at @rakdaddy or sign up for his mailing list on his website giro.org.
Patrick Tomlinson is the author of Starship Repo, Gate Crashers, and the Children of the Dead Earth trilogy. You can follow Pat on Twitter at @Stealthygeek, or discover more about his writing at patrickstomlinson.com.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
BUY A COPY OF JAY'S MEMOIR
Sea of the Unknown - How I got to Paris.
Grab your copy here now: https://jayswanson.me/sea-of-the-unknown
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, and Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur. If we are ever on an interstellar adventure, these are who we'd want as our crew.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Kameron Hurley is a Hugo Award-winning author and a trained historian. She was the guest of honor at this year's ConFusion, and she joined us on the pod to talk about the challenges of living a creative life, along with what it takes to support yourself as an author. We discuss the importance of perseverance and why it is crucial to develop multiple revenue streams for the content you create. Kameron and Jay both shared their experiences trying (and failing) to balance their health and well-being with the constant demand to grind out new content.
The interview with Kameron was recorded in late January 2020, but was not released until 15th April. In the interim the Coronavirus completely upended the world, and the intro and outro to this episode were recorded during the lockdown in Paris. The topic of the conversation seems even more timely and immediately relevant, as everyone has been confronted with a medical and financial emergency that puts our lives and livelihoods at risk. So after the interview, we discuss how Jay's prior experiences have shaped his response to the Coronavirus crisis, and what practical things we can do now to help our businesses, and more importantly, help each other get through the pandemic.
There is a language warning on this episode!
You can find more information about Kameron and her writing on her website www.kameronhurley.com, or follow her on Twitter and Instagram on @KameronHurley. And if you love her writing, then consider joining her awesome Patreon and get a new short story every month, plus a lot more.
Sea of the Unknown - How I got to Paris.
Grab your copy here now: https://jayswanson.me/sea-of-the-unknown
Have you hit on hard times with the pandemic? You can use this code MAKE2020BETTER to get 100% off the eBook (the code is good through May 10th, 2020). If that's the case, we really hope things get better for you ASAP! Take care of you and happy reading 😊
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, and Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur. If we are ever on an interstellar adventure, these are who we'd want as our crew.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Michelle Kuo is an immigration lawyer, and currently teaches on issues of race, punishment, immigration and the law, at the American University of Paris. She is also the author of Reading With Patrick, a deeply moving memoir about the power of storytelling to connect with, and learn from, each other. We talked to Michelle about the importance for authors and teachers of all types to listen to, and lift up, diverse voices and viewpoints, and why we should approach our role as storytellers with humility, and an awareness of our own blindspots.
We also discussed how genre and the rapidly evolving media landscape change the way we share and consume stories, and what that might mean for the upcoming generation of storytellers.
And most importantly, Michelle drops the dirt on her current favourite student, our very own producer, Zach Egan!
You can follow Michelle on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @kuokuomich, or find out more information directly from her website michellkuo.net. Don't miss her Ted Talk on The Healing Power of Reading.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve, Jane Baker, Founder Timeless Capital, and Mr & Mrs DJ Poseur. High class human beings, every single one.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Mike Underwood is a rare jewel in the publishing world - a successful author of several (very excellent) SFF novels who also happens to have invaluable sales and marketing expertise with some of the leading publishers in the world. He was also one of Jay's first and best friends within the professional SFF community, so when Jay attended ConFusion, they took the chance to catch up and talk shop - and bookshops in particular.
We discussed the state of the current market for science fiction and fantasy books, and the impact of reduced shelf-space in bookshops around the world. Mike explained why it's so important for publishing houses to craft their own unique voice, and create distinctive sales and marketing material to help ensure your books stand out, even through the complex network of distributors and booksellers.
Mike's new book, Annihilation Aria, is available for preorder now, and we highly recommend you also check out his previous novels. If you're looking for somewhere to start, go with the Genrenauts series.
You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeRUnderwood, on his website at michaelrunderwood.com, or on Patreon.
*** Our Patreon Special Offer ends March 17th - Season One Shout-Outs! ***
You'll get a producer shout-out at the end of every remaining episode for the remainder of season 1!
(Minimum $10 membership)
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve and Jane Baker. High class human beings, every single one.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Rick Morton is the host of San Diego's highest rated breakfast morning show, Hey Morton!, on radio Z90. But Rick's career path has been anything but smooth.
He started at the very bottom of the radio food chain, doing everything he could to get his chance on air. From 3am radio slots to driving around in a giant boombox, rising through the ranks took grit. And just as he made it to the top, his ego pushed him right over the edge. His path back to #1 would cost him everything, including trading his post-show beach time in Southern California for the frozen valleys of Southern Idaho.
Jay and his sister, Kaarin Howard, met Rick in his studio in San Diego to talk about navigating the extreme highs and lows of an "on air" career, and why you should never try to pull one over on NSYNC fans.
You can follow Rick Morton on Instagram or Twitter at @Rickz903.
You can follow Kaarin on Instagram at @kaarins and on Twitter at @studiokaarin.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
- Support us on Patreon.Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates, Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose, David Guy, figures.seven.three, Steve and Jane Baker. You guys all rock.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
r/fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for speculative fiction, and one of Reddit's most popular and inclusive communities. It has almost 800,000 members and has become the go-to location for SFF fans of all stripes, including the authors and publishers themselves. Its success is in no small part due to the efforts of its creator, Steve Drew.
Steve shared his experience creating the Fantasy subreddit, as well as his business development expertise, to give us some great advice on how to build healthy online communities and a successful long-term business.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
-Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates and Mystery Man, Susan French, Dixie Rose and David Guy.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
Asking for help and building a support team can be one of the most difficult but important things for a creative entrepreneur to do as their business grows. Jay was as surprised as anyone to discover that his youtube channel had grown too big for him to handle on his own. Over the last two years he brought in Kate, Richard and Zach to help him manage his ever-expanding list of projects. This episode we brought the whole team together to talk about what we do everyday, and where we all want to take this little company, including what's in store with Jay's books and what his vision is for the future (and thus, the core of this very podcast).
Want more Kate and Zach in your lives? Find them on Instagram at @kmriaweber and @z.egan24.
HOW YOU CAN HELP BUILD THE ORACLE?
- Rate and Review Us on iTunes or your favourite podcast app.
-Support us on Patreon. Production of Building the Oracle is only made possible with the support of our listeners.
Help us out here »
- Send us your feedback by emailing us at [email protected]
- Subscribe to our newsletter at jayswanson.me/newsletter
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Building the Oracle posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. It is hosted by Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey. You can tweet at us on @jayonaboat and @rich_bilkey, find us on Instagram at @jayswanson and @rich_bilkey and follow Jay on YouTube.
Our Super Patrons at the time of recording were Kevin, Karin Bates and Mystery Man.
This episode was produced by Zach Egan.
Our theme music is "Glory" and our ad music is "Light," both by David Cutter.
We record everything on a Rode Procaster and mix in Adobe Audition and/or Audacity depending on how out of our workflow we've fallen.
The show's art is from Jay's book Into the Nanten, illustrated by Nimit Malavia.
Gustave the dog sleepily protects us every week as we record.
The podcast currently has 15 episodes available.