EpiCast webserial news, recaps & chat

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Welcome back to our EpiCasts! This fifteenth edition, almost exactly coinciding with the fifteenth anniversary of the EpiGuide webfiction community, offers a bunch of juicy previews of what you can expect in several webserials for the rest of the year, news in the webserial world, and our discussion related to writing partnerships.

Hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael begin with our Fall 2013 previews (just how do you pronounce "2013," by the way?) for a batch of serialized fiction to take us through the end of the year. Find out what happens next, including defamation, divorce, death, and lots of other fun plots.

Next we dip into the news focusing our own happy tidings thanks to our community's generosity, introductions to several new webfiction serials, and a controversy about a hot topic related to, well, hot topics too hot for certain ebook retailers.

And finally, this episode we talk about the webserials who boast not just one but multiple authors, and find out how they handle working as a team: dealing with differences of opinion, dividing labor, and the joys of brainstorming on a jointly-created fictional world. There are several methods to their madness, so take a listen to learn all the ways people have partnered up to give us some new and longrunning serials.

Once you've listened, hop on over to our Podbean site, the EpiGuide forum, or our new Webcast Beacon site (links below) to share your own thoughts on these topics and this episode. Many thanks to everyone who helped out by submitting your recaps and news stories!

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded on October 22, 2013.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:08: Opening pleasantries and teasers for the episode ahead

01:09 - 18:49: Webserial previews for the end of 2013

18:50 - 36:04: Webfiction and webserial news

36:05 - 36:44: How to submit news to the EpiCast

36:45 - 01:18:30: Discussion: Webserial writing teams: pros and cons

01:09:50 - 01:11:06: Thanks to sponsors, podcast sponsor ad

01:11:07 - 01:12:37: Closing thoughts and fare-thee-wells

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

EpiGuide at the Webcast Beacon Network

American Legacy

Autumn Lake

The Blackthornes

Blissful

Blood Binds

Capital Offense

City of Roses: The Dazzle of Day

Euphoria

Guasti Cose

Kandy Fangs: Venom

Peacock King

Ready or Not

Suburban Ways

Wonderland

Woodwyrm Academy

Article: "Self-Published Authors eBook Porn Crackdown" (The Guardian, Oct 18, 2013)

Petition: Leave Our Self-Published/Indie Authors Alone

Kobo eReaders and eBooks

Smashwords Self Publishing

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening and closing theme), "The Future Soon" (Preview intro), "Good Morning Tuscon" (News intro), "The Big Boom" (News submissions theme), "I'm Your Moon" (Discussion intro), "You Ruined Everything" (EpiCast sponsor intro), as always all written and performed by Jonathan Coulton, host Kira Lerner's personal musical demigod.

These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #014

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A quick follow-up EpiCast to share the latest news about webfiction and the publishing industry, but especially to talk about... the Seventh Annual Web Serial Writing Month, which is almost upon us!

Hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael begin with a varied selection of news items, including some serial premieres and finales, a new way a massive serial community is trying to help writers fund their work, and an upcoming convention for those in the indie publishing world.

From there we shift into WeSeWriMo Prepration mode, reminding everyone that Web Serial Writing Month is nearly here, with a deadline of August 1 for signing up (meaning you can register up to and including August 1, just to be clear). After explaining exactly what WeSeWriMo is, we then offer some incredibly useful tips, offered by past participants of the month-long writing challenge, on how to best ensure that you succeed without driving yourself crazy in the process.

An EpiCast first follows: a brief commentary plus an inspiring musical break (at least I think so) from me regarding battling the fears that can cripple writers no matter what their experience level. Finally we give our thanks one last time to the donors for last year's fundraising drive, thank our participants and say our farewells as we gear up for the EpiGuide's yearly marathon.

Once you've listened, hop on over to our Podbean site, the EpiGuide forum, or our new Webcast Beacon site (links below) to share your own thoughts on these topics and this episode. Many thanks to everyone who helped out by submitting your recaps and news stories!

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded on July 14, 2013 (except for the commentary at the end, recorded on July 21, 2013).

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:19: Opening pleasantries and teasers for the episode ahead

01:20 - 16:07: Around the Webserial World News

16:07 - 36:54: WeSeWriMo 2013: Tips for Success

36:54 - 45:23: Commentary and Song: "Fraud," by Jonathan Coulton

45:23 - 47:53: Thanks to sponsors, closing thoughts and fare-thee-wells

Lyrics to "Fraud," by Jonathan Coulton. (As with all songs written and recorded by Coulton, these lyrics are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.) From the album Artificial Heart, individual songs and complete collection available for purchase on JonathanCoulton.com

It wears you thin

Unpacks a bag and it settles in

Ten times an hour you'll wish it dead

Ask it to leave but it stays instead

So unkind

Acting as if you could read its mind

Making it hard to explain without

Finding new things to complain about

Sharp teeth test your skin

Too late, you let an angel in

It's all been done

So many accidents, only one

Paints you the picture you want to see

Cover one eye and look carefully

Big surprise

It doesn't care about second tries

You're afraid whatever choice you make

Won't be exactly the right mistake

Sharp teeth test your skin

Too late, you let an angel in

I bet you feel tapped out and nothing left to talk about

I guess you're right

You fraud

It tells you lies

You say you won't but you compromise

Just don't imagine you'll ever win

Any race you aren't running in

It follows through

Four in the morning it's calling you

What's the over-under on getting it

Done without always regretting it?

Sharp teeth test your skin

Too late, you let an angel in

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

WeSeWriMo: Web Serial Writing Month

WeSeWriMo 2013 Sign-up Thread at the EpiGuide

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

EpiGuide at the Webcast Beacon Network

American Legacy

Blissful

The Book Designer

Copyblogger Web Content Blog

Indiegogo

Kickstarter

Lovergirl

Metal Shadow Prelude

One Day at a Time

Online Novel Blog

Self Publishing Book Expo

Sitepoint

Storm Lake

The Street

The Surprising Life and Death of Diggory Franklin

Tales of the Big Bad Wolf

They Live Among Us

Twitter

Wattpad: Fan Funding

Web Fiction Guide

Wordpress Blog: "Going Serial..."

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening theme), "The Big Boom" (News intro/closing theme), "Sticking it to Myself" (WeSeWriMo discussion closing theme), "Fraud" (Commentary), "Take Care of Me" (EpiCast sponsor theme), and "I Feel Fantastic" (closing theme) as always all written and performed by Jonathan Coulton, host Kira Lerner's personal musical demigod.

These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #013

This supersized EpiCast (the title has a double meaning!) has plenty of everything: recaps of the latest webserial installments, news about several returning webserials, a response to some listener feedback, and the massive main course in this feast: a discussion about long-running webserials and just how one can create--and maintain--a serial that has staying power.

Hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael start things off with summaries and bickering--all in good fun, of course. Learn what happened on a variety of webfiction serials over the past month, and find out why pronouns can make the difference between a standard sleazy politician's ploy and a storyline straight out of a V.C. Andrews novel.

Next we offer a quick look at the news, which includes some returning serials (a few that have only been gone a couple of months, while another is making a resurrection from a years-long absence) and an announcement of a chat devoted to serialized tales.

And as promised, we embark on an extensive, in-depth discussion about some of the longest-running webserials, with plenty of advice from their authors, a varied group that represents a combined total of more than fifty years of serialized fiction experience! Interested in learning how to writers ensure their plots and characters have such phenomenal staying power? Get comfortable because we've got a ton of tips and tricks, as well as commentary from our hosts (who alone have thirty years' experience behind 'em). Of course, we end with our sincere thanks to our sponsors and a teaser of our next episode, which will be posted in less than a week!

Once you've listened, hop on over to our Podbean site, the EpiGuide forum, or our new Webcast Beacon site (links below) to share your own thoughts on these topics and this episode. Many thanks to everyone who helped out by submitting your recaps and news stories!

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded in two sessions on June 10 and July 14, 2013.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:28: Opening pleasantries and teasers for the episode ahead

01:29 - 20:23: Webserial recaps and commentaries

20:24 - 25:07: Editorial / Response to listener feedback

25:08 - 30:37: Webfiction and webserial news

30:38 - 01:18:30: Discussion: Creating webserials that pass the test of time

01:18:31 - 01:20: Thanks to sponsors, closing thoughts and fare-thee-wells

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

EpiGuide at the Webcast Beacon Network

All or NothingAmerican Legacy

The Blackthornes

Blissful

Guasti Cose: Something Red

Hobson & Choi

Legion of Nothing

Memory of AUSOS

Nox and Grimm

One Day at a Time

Online Novel Blog

Storm Lake

Strangers & Neighbors

Stunt

Tales of the Big Bad Wolf

Twitter

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening and closing theme), "Not About You" (Recaps intro), "So Far, So Good" (Recaps ending music), "Good Morning Tuscon" (News intro), "Just as Long as Me" (Discussion theme), "Take Care of Me" (EpiCast sponsor theme), as always all written and performed by Jonathan Coulton, host Kira Lerner's personal musical demigod.

These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #012

Our new EpiCast goes back to the basics: recaps of the latest webserial installments, and news (and plenty of discussion) related to the world of webfiction and online publishing.

As always, hosts Kira and Michael begin by sharing summaries and commentary on a varied selection of webfiction serials, including what we believe is a first--three out of four series included in our recaps are brand new to the EpiCast. We also talk a little bit about how writers can improve their recap writing if they want to entice us readers to their sites. Writers, pay attention!

Next we look at the news, where you'll hear chat about a real life scare turned into a believable but fictionalized upcoming webserial storyline, a controversial venture from Kindle (what else is new?), an exciting opportunity for a wider audience for one extremely popular series, and a recently launched webserial about a rarely visited subject... zombies. And finally we have a call for submissions out for authors who'd like to have a selection of their work read on our affiliate network, the Webcast Beacon. (Heard the announcement and are interested? Write webfictionworld (at) gmail.com to have your serial considered.) Don't miss the request for news items and our sincere thanks to our sponsors!

Once you've listened, hop on over to our Podbean site, the EpiGuide forum, or our new Webcast Beacon site (links below) to share your own thoughts on these topics and this episode. Many thanks to everyone who helped out by submitting your recaps and news stories!

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded in two sessions on June 2 and 10, 2013.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:02: Opening pleasantries and teasers for the episode ahead

01:03 - 19:42: Webserial recaps and commentaries/reviews

19:43 - 20:28: Invitation to submit installment recaps

20:35 - 41:43: Online entertainment and ebook news and discussion

41:43 - 44:57: Request for news items, thanks to our sponsors, and closing remarks

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

EpiGuide at the Webcast Beacon Network

American Legacy

Animal Kingdom

Bad Influences

The Legion of Nothing

Worm

The Zombie Knight

Amazon Kindle Worlds Announcement

Author John Scalzi's "Instant Thoughts" on Kindle Worlds

"Captive Prince" Publication Announcement

WebFictionGuide Forum Post: Kira's guide to writing a good recap

Webfiction World

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening and closing theme), "Not About You" (Recaps intro), "So Far, So Good" (Invitation to submit recaps), "Artificial Heart" (News intro), "The Big Boom" (News request), "Take Care of Me" (EpiCast sponsor theme), as always all written and performed by Jonathan Coulton, host Kira Lerner's personal musical demigod.

These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #011

The latest EpiCast takes a look at the design and website features integral to every webfiction site. Hosts Kira and Michael sought input from readers to find out what attracts--or, worse, distracts--visitors who check out an author's site.

First, however, we start by continuing to share some news items from the world of webserials, including some newcomers, an ending of a serial, and a Kickstarter campaign for a new graphic novel by a webserial author.

And then it's time for our discussion topic. Most writers hope that great content stands on its own, but like it or not, appearance matters...and thanks to our audience responses, we have a list of Design Delights and Disasters that every webfiction writer will want to hear. What ranks highest on the list of "Likes" and "Dislikes"? Listen and find out... you might just be inspired to fix your site accordingly!

There are also a couple of questions at the end of the episode that we hope you'll help answer by visiting the EpiGuide and taking part in the conversation. Join us and let us know your thoughts on these topics and this episode. And thanks as always to everyone who took part!

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded on April 7, 2013.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:24: Opening greetings and teasers for the episode ahead

01:25 - 08:26: Webserial news

08:27 - 46:29: Discussion: Design Delights and Disasters

46:30 - 49:43: Podcast sponsors, questions for the audience, and closing pleasantries

(In case you're wondering, the news intro song, "Good Morning Tucson," is a bouncy number about a morning news anchor who's so sick of the banality of his job that he sets fire to his studio. Yes, the awesome never stops with Jonathan Coulton!)

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

All or Nothing

American Legacy

Animal Kingdom

Beyond Beauty Kickstarter Campagin

The Blackthornes

Blissful

Emerald Heights

Fangs, Liver, Muscle

Nightingales

One Day at a Time

Strangers & Neighbors

Tales of the Big Bad Wolf

Valley of Angels

Thanks & Invitation: Join in! We received a couple of questions at the end of the podcast, and we'd love to hear your opinions and ideas on those as well as the sites and design topics we covered here in the official thread for this podcast at the Eppy. As always, keep an eye out over at the EpiGuide for a Call for Submissions where we'll be asking for webserial recaps and news, listener questions, and topic ideas.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening theme), "Good Morning Tucson" (News intro), "Code Monkey" (Design discussion intro), "Take Care of Me" (EpiCast sponsor theme), and "I Feel Fantastic" (Epicast closing theme), as always all written and performed by Jonathan Coulton, host Kira Lerner's personal musical demigod.

These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity and The Levelator for editing/post-recording fine-tuning, and Podbean for hosting. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #010

Hi everyone! We're back with an episode focusing on what's coming up this spring in the world of webfiction serials, with dramatic revelations, bizarre coincidences, terrifying tragedies, and convoluted romances aplenty. Your co-hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael also offer up some news items focusing on the online reading community Goodreads, Amazon, and a new take on an old classic tale that uses the multifaceted nature of the web to provide an original look at characters we've loved for 200 years.

This podcast is actually the first of two, the second of which will be posted next week; the recording was just too long to keep as a single podcast due to our in-depth discussion (we were feeling particularly chatty!) on this month's topic -- web design and what readers like, and hate, when it comes to webserial sites. So look for that conversation, as well as more news items related to new webserials, later this month.

Episode Notes:

Recording date: This episode was recorded on April 7, 2013.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:20: Opening greetings and teasers for the episode ahead

01:21 - 22:12: Spring Previews 2013

22:13 - 29:23: Online Reading/Web Entertainment News

29:24 - 30:58: Podcast Sponsors and closing pleasantries

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

All or Nothing

American Legacy

Animal Kingdom

Bastion: The Last Hope

Goodreads

Goodreads Reader Poll

Hobson & Choi

Holly(Woods)

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Mind the Thorns

The Morpheus Reports

One Day at a Time

Strangers & Neighbors

Wired Article: Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Thanks & Invitation: Join in! We'd love to hear from you about any of the sites or topics we covered in this episode. Keep an eye out over at the EpiGuide for a Call for Submissions where we'll be asking for webserial recaps and news, listener questions, and topic ideas.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening and closing theme), "First of May" (Spring Previews intro), "The Future Soon" (News intro), "Take Care of Me" (EpiCast sponsor theme), all written and performed by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton . These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity for editing, and Podbean for hosting.If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #009

Hi everyone! We have a fresh batch of webseries/webfiction news, recaps, and discussion, not to mention revolting self-promotion on the part of one of our hosts, all ready for you to enjoy in EpiCast #009. Your co-hosts Kira (yours truly) and Michael, the latter back after a break, offer up a few quick news items ranging from simple schedule changes to a site redesign (and our opinions thereof), a call for serial submissions from a renowned publisher, and a social media webseries in the making.

There are also the aforementioned storyline recaps, all but one submitted courtesy of some generous writers -- and the lone instance of one of our hosts going rogue was Michael, who very generously decided to recap About Schuyler Falls, another series that reached its fifteenth birthday this year like his own Footprints, which we spotlighted last month. He then proceeds to embarrass his co-host by going on about it for a bit.

And finally, once that's done, we get to a debate/discussion, which focuses on the nature of how writers treat their webserials: should these be fixed works that stand or fall proudly on their own, or fluid entities that can be revised after publication?

Listen on and decide for yourself!

Episode Notes:

As ever, sound quality remains a cruel beast who won't be tamed. One of us sounds like she's in a tin can, the other is apparently in an echo canyon. We apologize, as always, for the weirdness.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on November 24, 2012.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:51: Opening pleasantries, thanks to last month's sub host Ira, comments from our co-host about the previous episode in his absence, and teasers for the episode ahead

01:52 - 13:31: Around the World in Webseries, plus call for news submissions

13:32 - 30:35: The Story So Far: webserial storyline recaps

30:36 - 35:11: Chat re: the season finale & 15th birthday of About Schuyler Falls

35:12 - 35:43: Writers: Call for recap submissions

37:00 - 57:30: Discussion: Should webserials be fixed or fluid?

57:31 - 58:56: Closing pleasantries, contact info, thanks to podcast sponsors, goodbyes!

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the other sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

One Day at a Time

American Legacy

Twitter, Hollywood Working on In-Stream Video Series (via Ad Week

St. Martin’s Griffin E-serials (via TuesdaySerial)

All or Nothing

Animal Kingdom

Spy Like Me

"The Graceful Retcon" forum topic at the EpiGuide

Emerald Heights

The Blackthornes

Thanks & Invitation: Join in! We'd love to hear from you about any of the sites or topics we covered in this episode. Keep an eye out over at the EpiGuide for a Call for Submissions where we'll be asking for webserial recaps and news, listener questions, and topic ideas.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening theme), "The Big Boom" (News intro), "Not About You" (Recaps intro), "So Far, So Good" (Recaps submission theme), "You Ruined Everything" (Intro to Fixed or Fluid discussion), "Bills, Bills, Bills" (EpiCast sponsor theme), and "I Feel Fantastic" (Closing theme), all written and performed by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton (except "Bills, Bills, Bills," which is his cover of the Destiny's Child song). These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity for editing, and Podbean for hosting.If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #008

The latest EpiCast is here and it's a special one indeed: in addition to our regular webserial recaps and webseries/webfiction news, we have an in-depth tribute to Footprints, a webserial that's reached its remarkable 15th anniversary this month! Our co-hosts are Kira Lerner and Ira Madison III (subbing for Michael, who in addition to being busy happens to be the author of the serial we're honoring so we figured we'd let him sit back and enjoy the applause), two longstanding members of the EpiGuide community who share their thoughts on the serial's place in webserial history, its strengths and weaknesses, their personal likes and dislikes and generally go crazy over this amazing milestone as well they should, because, c'mon, fifteen years, people!

But before the party begins, we have the aforementioned webserial storyline recaps (current as of October 17, when this episode was recorded) and news of recent or upcoming text and video serial premieres, as well as a highly useful resource for anyone who loves the online serial format.

Dig in and enjoy the celebration!

Episode Notes:

Again, we apologize for some sound quality issues. One of our hosts, who shall remain nameless but let's just say she couldn't get her microphone to work correctly no matter how much it was thrown across the room in disgust.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on October 17, 2012.

Rundown:

00:00 - 03:59: Opening pleasantries, introduction to Ira, teasers for the episode ahead, updates on our community fundraising drive and WeSeWriMo

04:00 - 24:57: The Story So Far: webserial storyline recaps

24:58 - 25:44: Writers: Call for recap submissions

25:45 - 37:00: Webserial and Webseries News

37:00 - 37:30: Call for submission for news

37:30 - 01:14:17: Footprints at 15: history, highs, lows, and everything in between

01:14:18 - 01:16:45: Closing pleasantries, thanks to podcast sponsors, general contact info

Many thanks to the special donors who helped make this podcast possible! Please see the sidebar for the list of Podcast sponsors.

Links to the other sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

Official Web Serial Writing Month Site

About Schuyler Falls

Nightingales

American Legacy

Animal Kingdom

The Blackthornes

Blissful

Covington Bay

Drifter: Broken Road

Footprints

Guasti Cose: Something Red

Independence Day (Author Bex Aaron's Site)

On Concrete Shelves

Soma

Spy Like Me

Storm Lake

TuesdaySerial.com

Thanks & Invitation: Join in! We'd love to hear from you about any of the sites or topics we covered in this episode. Keep an eye out over at the EpiGuide for a Call for Submissions where we'll be asking for webserial recaps and news, listener questions, and topic ideas.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening and closing theme), "Not About You" (Recaps intro), "So Far, So Good" (Recaps submission theme), "I'm Having a Party" (Intro and exit theme for "Footprints" Anniversary discussion), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity for editing, and Podbean for hosting.If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #007

The EpiCast is back -- with a special episode looking forward to our annual writing marathon, Web Serial Writing Month (WeSeWriMo). In our seventh episode, we take a break from the past and focus on the future: webserial previews for the rest of the summer, where you'll get some hints and teasers for some exciting storylines in the weeks ahead.

But the lion's share of the podcast is devoted to WeSeWriMo, the only marathon dedicated to the unique world of web-based writing, from webserials to video and audio webseries to serialized novels, webcomics and beyond. And as far as we know, it's also the only writing challenge that lets the writers choose their own goal. With registration open through August 1, that leaves just over a week as of this writing for you to take part.

For this supersized edition, co-host Kira Lerner interviewed six very different writers of very different forms of web entertainment series, and in our discussion about WeSeWriMo with them you'll learn about the project itself, how the writers choose their ambitious goals, what obstacles they've faced over the years, how successful they've been, and their own tips on how to cross the finish line with your all your goals triumphantly met. Kira and fellow co-host Michael also discuss the history of how WeSeWriMo came about, and share their own thoughts on what this challenge means to them--and the entire webserial writing community.

Episode Notes:

We apologize in advance for some differences in quality of the interviews, which were conducted over Skype but with different technical set-ups on each end of the conversations. Edits in the interviews have been made for time purposes, but all interviewees' words are their own. Over the next couple of days we'll be posting the full versions of these interviews, which contain much more information and let you hear some fascinating tidbits we couldn't include due to time or content constraints (Kira, being the inquisitive type, asked the authors questions about their serials and other aspects of their writing process that didn't involve WeSeWriMo; those didn't make it into the podcast, but were so interesting we wanted you to get a chance to listen in).

Recording date: This episode was recorded on July 19, 2012; the interviews were conducted from July 9 - 15.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:58: Opening pleasantries, teasers for the episode ahead

01:59 - 16:00: The Future Soon: summer storyline previews

16:00 - 16:37: Music break!

16:38 - 20:55: Introduction to WeSeWriMo

20:56 - 59:23: The Writers' Challenge: interviews and discussion with eight writers on Web Serial Writing Month

59:24 - 01:01:20: Closing thoughts, information on signing up, and a final quote from one of our interviees

Many thanks to the writers who participated in our discussion:

Angie Capozello, Nox and Grimm

Ashley, Spy like Me

Cecilia Tan, Daron’s Guitar Chronicles

Max Pilote, Squeaky and Squawky

Murazrai, Chaos Fighters: Chemical Warriors

Ty Junior, Mysteries of Our Lives

Links to the other sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

Official Web Serial Writing Month Site

WeSeWriMo Sign-Up Thread (free EpiGuide registration required)

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

All or

Nothing

The Blackthornes

Dark Haven

Euphoria

Guasti Cose

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

New Yorkers

Nightingales

One Day at a Time

The Penny Dreadful

Q10 Text Editor

Storm Lake

Typewriter (not mentioned by name; no backspace wordprocessor tool

Write or Die (for the free version, click "Web app")

Thanks & Invitation: We're grateful to everyone who submitted previews and interview questions by email or through Skype conversations. We haven't scheduled our next month's edition yet, but keep an eye out over at the EpiGuide for a Call for Submissions where we'll be asking for webserial recaps and news, listener questions, and topic ideas.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening theme), "The Future Soon" (Preview intro), "A Laptop Like You" (Music break / WeSeWriMo intro), "I Feel Fantastic" (closing theme), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation and interviews, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity for editing, and Podbean for hosting.If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!

Download EpiCast #006

Welcome to the latest (in every way) EpiCast. For our sixth episode, "Crossing Over," we focus on the usual web entertainment news and recaps, as well as answer a pair of interesting questions courtesy of our listeners. Topics range from your hosts' promotional pet peeves to a bunch of new webseries launches to our advice on learning HTML to the merits, challenges and technical considerations of webserial crossovers -- when two or more series exchange or share storylines and characters.

Episode Notes:

Sorry for the delay in posting the episode! Some technical issues were causing us great agita this time around. On the plus side, this is our longest episode yet; on the downside, this means the new deadline for submitting any news or recaps is only a week away (May 20th).

Michael also apologizes in advance for his bullfrog impression, but the poor dear was dealing with a cold, so excuse his increasingly hoarse voice throughout the 'cast.

Finally, this episode is dedicated to the memory of Bart Kahn, one of Kira's closest friends from elementary school through college and beyond, who passed away suddenly on April 21, 2012, at far, far too young an age. He is missed by all the people whose lives he touched with his humor, talent and support.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on April 24, 2012.

Rundown:

00:00 - 01:01: Opening pleasantries

01:02 - 19:07: The story so far: episode/installment recaps

19:08 - 19:55: Invitation to submit recaps/news

19:55 - 30:35: Web entertainment news and previews, plus our self-promotion pet peeves

30:35 - 31:05: Music break!

31:05 - 57:28: Discussion from our inbox     31:05 - 34:40: HTML Tutorials

    34:41 - 57:28: Serial Crossovers

57:44 - 59:52: Closing remark and special note

Links to the sites mentioned in this episode:

EpiGuide Webseries and Webserial Community

About Schuyler Falls

Footprints

All or

Nothing

Aztec Springs

The Blackthornes

EpiGuide Directory: Production Resources / Websites

Funky Chickens HTML Help

Guasti Cose

Level 51

Lissa Explains It All (HTML Tutorials)

Nightingales

SitePoint

Spy Like Me

Suburban Ways

Wandering Falls (under construction)

West Lake

Wonderland

Thanks & Invitation: We're grateful to everyone who submitted recaps, previews, questions and/or news items. As always, the recaps and news focus on the EpiGuide.com community but we do try to expand and look at a variety of serials whenever possible. To participate with your own webseries/webserial recaps, or to submit news for next month's edition, please send the info to us by May 20 (for recaps) or May 25 (for everything else). The email address is mentioned in the podcast, or you can visit The EpiGuide, register an account, and send a private message to either me or Michael.

Music credits: "Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance" (EpiCast opening theme), "Not About You" (Recap intro), "So Far, So Good" (under recap segue), "Code Monkey" (Music break, listener mail / HTML tutorial discussion intro), "Summer's Over" (Dedication / closing theme), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: We used Skype for the conversation, Replay Recorder for recording, Audacity for editing, and Podbean for hosting.If you have any suggestions, questions, comments or brickbats you want to throw at us regarding this episode, please let us know!