Indie Writers Club, Podcasting with James Blatch and Cara Clare

[@winkletter]

I love their Discord-it's a great place to lurk. One nice thing about Discord in general is the lack of an algorithm deciding what I get to see.

[@RealMiSeRey]

I wish I had more time for all the interesting podcasts and KZbin. I listen to the Wordslinger podcast when I’m driving generally. Busy trying to catch up on KZbin. I know it's the same content (ish). The visual element makes it still rewarding. Keep it up man 👍

[@IntuitiveWriters]

I don’t think you can underestimate the tone of your voice for transmitting that same resonance of reason we all crave so much these days… just sayin’ (I was a fan from way back for that reason… before I had time to prioritize much actual listening. You were down to earth, honest, balanced, reflective… all the good things in the world.) And you’re right… hearing your voice just reflecting is grounding, unifying and speaks common sense. We hear that. 🎊

[@WordslingerPodcast]

I’m sorry I’m only just seeing this! Thank you for this wonderful comment. I really appreciate the kind support!

[@RealMiSeRey]

I have an AKA question for you, well maybe two. First, what equipment do you use for the podcast? For example, which microphone, what lighting, and which iPhone and its supporting arm do you have? Second, it’d be interesting to see the photos of your writing space. But maybe that is a bit of a cheeky ask. Just curious FYI you may know me in Substack as The Everyday Solopreneur AKA Mike😁

[@WordslingerPodcast]

Mike! I'm catching up on comments (I really need to work out a way to keep up with these here... it just falls off my radar). Ok, since you had to wait two months for a response, let me answer right here: For podcasting, I use a Samson Q9U microphone, which I've loved. Great quality at a good price. I recently put a small logo sticker on it, to make it completely my own. :) I use a 100 LED light panel that I've had for several years for my lighting, and I bounce that from the ceiling over my desk. My office has a slanted soffit that works perfectly as a reflector/diffusor. Without it, I'd either have to use a soft box (which I do own) or some kind of reflector/flag. Or I'd need to just invest in a more modern light kit... which I've considered. Finally, I use my iPhone 14 max for a camera. I used to use my MacBook's built-in camera, but Apple introduced their Continuity feature a couple of years ago, and the camera on my iPhone can shoot in 4K. It ended up being perfect. Explaining how it's mounted is a little tricky... but let's give it a shot. I use a 42" Samsun Monitor/TV that's mounted on an arm on the wall above my desk. I have the desk at an angle, so the corner behind the TV is open. Back there I have a light stand that has my LED panel mounted on it. And attached to that is a sort of jointed arm I made from a few different clamps and camera mounts, as well as a magsafe mount for the phone. It's a little hard to describe... I'll have to work out a way to share a photo of it. But when it's time for me to do a podcast or record something, I mount the iPhone to this, swing it up so it's at eye level, and for good measure I run a charing cable to it from a USB port in a powerblock I have on my desk. That keeps the Phone from dying during a session... I'd have to go for several hours to run it down to zero (which has happened in the past). If it's just a real quick recording, no need for the cable, but I do it out of habit at this point. So there's some setup for every session, but it's very quick. And when I'm done, everything swings out of the way, and I get an unobstructed view of my giant monitor. I'll try to get a full view of the writing space at some point, but for now, if you can see this image on Facebook, you can at least see a hint of the podcasting setup. In that space under the monitor you can see the "arm" i built, in it's "not in use" stage: scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/467430598_10160695468927076_6510355864029783248_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=5kxMKRlTjUgQ7kNvgHZdCtF&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&_nc_gid=AunXe2d4LYSWJxTP5zWCIXQ&oh=00_AYDk8IvzmBOG-ta-X2jLYgjhCuDwQ1nVTR4tl3XGzAsNJg&oe=677B193C

[@RealMiSeRey]

Phew. That's quite a reply😁 New Year catch up I think. Thanks for the information, really appreciate it 🙏