How do we sound?

This morning, in anticipation of this package arriving today I thought of three pieces of news to include in this blog post.

I don’t remember them now.

So instead let’s focus on the unboxing of our new Fifine K683A microphone.

If you want to hear some cat and Parisian Phoenix babble, which gets interrupted by a visit from my neighbor and favorite little dog, you can watch that here.

But if you want to know why we decided to buy a microphone, read on.

1. I hope to be appearing on some podcasts later this spring and I don’t want to be the guest that doesn’t come across clearly due to lack of external microphone.

2. Our authors often attend open mics and Zoom events that could theoretically be preserved and shared if we could record them properly.

3. We can record our own audio. At this point we have no plans to record our own full-length audiobooks, but I would like to record our authors reading from their books as part of our promotional material.

4. We have set up a potential podcast via Anchor.fm that will show up on a Spotify search— just know that until we official launch season 1 (I have a list of episode topics but refuse to commit until my staff and I have time to dedicate to doing it and doing it as best we can) the episodes that are there are lackluster. It’s called, “Parisian Phoenix Presents with Angel Ackerman.”

5. Our research has shown that many authors and publishers have found success converting their backlist of audiobooks into podcasts or YouTube videos, generating potential monetization on those platforms and generating interest in the author. This is not my current plan, but I can see combining excerpts of a manuscript with a discussion to create a podcast that could entertain readers and educate writers.

6. Even brief recordings could be beneficial marketing materials.

So wish us luck!

As always, look for our titles wherever you buy your books online. Such as here on Barnes & Noble.

And we hope to launch our (we think monthly) email newsletter later this month or perhaps in early May— we hope to share news, opportunities, titles and inspiration so consider signing up.