Podcasting was a bit of a roller coaster for me. I’m not fond of listening to myself talk so each time I would spend the day dreading the recording. By the second one, though, I was a bit more comfortable, and I think it showed in the podcast.
I found it interesting from a technical perspective, since I have a headset with a good mic that I use for conference calls with clients and other agents, but the sound quality for recording was horrible. So I wound up using my iPhone and though that was more likely to pick up background noise, it did a great job with the sound quality.
I think I could see these being very useful for me as an agent in one way and as an author in another.
As an agent, I could put out a weekly recording of publishing industry information that could be useful for authors who are in the stages of seeking representation. Or I could talk about the indie publishing side of things and help out the countless authors who have made the decision to publish themselves. I can think of many different podcasts about money I could do – though it seems to be a taboo subject I think it would be helpful for authors to hear about the realities of advances and such. A podcast at the end of every night of any given conference would be interesting, I think, to talk about what stood out for me. There is so much to absorb at a conference, it would be interesting to hear a run-down – even interesting for me, since by the end of the conferences my brain is usually so full I don’t remember much until I start seeing the emails come in.
As an author, I could talk about the writing process, what I’m working on, what’s coming up in terms of releases for me. Perhaps even talk about tips and things I’ve picked up along the way, or review the books I’m reading. This part is more difficult for me, since I feel like it’s shameless promotion which makes me feel a bit narcissistic. One thing I would be very interested in doing as an author would be to write a serial novel for podcast purposes and release it in five minute segments. I would have fun with that.
I’d be very interested to hear any other ideas for podcasts, or if any of you are interested in a certain aspect that I have mentioned here.
The hardest part for me, like everything, will be to find the time to use this in a regular way. Because I believe that in order to gain listeners, you have to be regular. Perhaps the next class I should take should be time management…
If you write MG and have a diverse background, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities, you may be interested in submitting a short story to We Need Diverse Books. They are putting together an anthology of children’s literature to be published in January 2107. 
Magical things. Beautiful things. 