podcasts

Today, fabulous author and podcaster, Elizabeth Guizzetti, talks about how she turns prose stories into entertaining audio delights.

Thank you for having me today, Jennifer. I’d like to share some ins and outs of crafting a podcast specifically in regards to recording and editing

Recording:

Every podcaster has different preferences in recording equipment. When I first started in 2020, I used a Blue Yeti. However, it got knocked off my recording table and never sounded the same. That led me to test every display microphone at Guitar Center.  This experience helped me better hear the nuances of my voice.

A Sterling Audio ST155 connected to my desk via a boom arm provides the sound quality I want within my budget. I’ve also recorded other voice actors and been happy with the results—although certain baritones, in particular, can produce an unintentional whistle.  Lip gloss reduces this.

I’ve done my best to create a controlled recording studio in my closet. Voice actors do not have to look at my clothes, but they must walk through my bedroom to get inside. My setup includes a windscreen, a pop filter, a thick shield around the microphone, and foam lined walls and a quilt set up behind the actor over my bookcases. That being said, it’s more important to get started than to have the best setup. If all you have is the microphone on your phone, then put a blanket over your head and start recording!

After EVERY recording session, I save a version of the file entitled PROJECTTITLE_RAW_DATE

Editing Process:

Just like editing a story is about creating enjoyment for the reader, editing a podcast is about creating an enjoyable experience for the listener. This requires patience and attention to detail. I use Logic Pro X, but some people like Audacity, Garage Band, or Adobe Audition. The important thing is that you find what works for you and your setup. I started with Garage Band, so upgrading to Logic Pro X made perfect sense.

Roomtone:

The most important tool in your editing arsenal is roomtone – the ambient sound of your recording environment. It captures the subtle, unique noises, such as the hum of lights, a fridge, or distant traffic. Without changing the gain on the microphone, my dog and I leave the closet. I shut all the doors and then go into the living room and count to 100. This audio becomes invaluable during editing—it smooths transitions, masks cuts, and even helps when I flub a word and need to stitch a sentence together.    I make a few different lengths: 1 beat, 2 beats, 4 beats, etc. My first step is to remove awkward pauses and distractions, like sirens, door slams, or other interruptions. Long mistakes are deleted and roomtone of an appropriate length is added. Between sentences there is 3-4 beats. To make it sound natural, listen to your own pause and make your roomtone that length. It sounds natural and unique to you.

Next, I listen to the entire recording and balance the audio levels. This ensures my voice sounds clear while leaving room for atmospheric background sounds. This phase includes EQ adjustments, compressing the audio to eliminate harsh peaks, and sometimes re-recording sections. I save another version of the file at this point. It is entitled PROJECTTITLE _Edit_DATE

Sound Effects and Music

For sound effects, I occasionally create my own, but often, I purchase licensed tracks from Pond5 or Storyblocks. Most editing software also offers handy patches for effects. For instance, to create the effect of someone speaking over a telephone or radio, I use Library > Voice > Telephone. For ghost voices, I use Library > Voice > Chorus and fine-tune it further under Section-Based Processes.

I save another version at this point entitled PROJECTTITLE _Sounds_DATE

Mastering:

Mastering the final track ensures consistent sound quality across different episodes and listening devices. My goal is for my podcast to sound great, however, every speaker system is different, so I focus on consistency rather than chasing perfection.

I save another version of the file at this point entitled PROJECTTITLE _Mastered_DATE

After bouncing the project, I listen to it in a few different places: headphones, monitors, car speakers.  I readjust for large mistakes, but little things I let lie. I may notice tiny clicks or imperfect fades, most listeners won’t. Mistakes are inevitable. Over-editing drains the joy from the creative process, and ultimately, I need to move to the next episode to keep the stories coming.

Thanks for having me; I hope this is helpful to your readers!

—

Elizabeth Guizzetti is a podcaster, illustrator, and author passionate about the eerie and the macabre. She is the creative mind behind the brand new podcast: Scary Stories Whispers in the Rain, a bi-weekly horror podcast where listeners enjoy haunting narratives and her thoughts on books she recently read.  In addition, Elizabeth writes and performs as Loretta, a 300-year-old vampire historian on Vampires of the Paper Flower Consortium. Whether crafting her own tales or amplifying other horror authors’ voices, Elizabeth’s goal is to create podcasts where fans can indulge in the mysterious, eerie, and sometimes terrifying. She exists with her husband and dog in Seattle, WA.

As the world continues to spin and time slips away, life happens. I’m back to writing as well as editing while trying to ignore social media. In the meantime, here’s what’s crossed my desk.

Awards: BattleTech: Crimson Night, Rogue Academy Three, has been nominated for a Scribe award! It’s always an honor to be nominated, but just look at that lineup. I’m in such good company.

Interview: I was interviewed on the Douglas Coleman show. This was a fun one. Listen to it on Youtube or in Podcast form.

Open Call: Announcing the 99 Fleeting Fantasies anthology open call. All genres of flash fiction fantasy. One month open call from July 15-Aug 15. (Also, might I  direct your attention to: Round One of Slush Reading from the 99 Tiny Terrors call. Or The Reinvented Detective Slushpile Tweets round up for insider tips and hints on making it through a slushpile.)

Publication: For the HWA Of Horror and Hope anthology: Words to Fill the Well. I wrote this one because I was in a terrible mood and needed to write it out. It did me so much good.

Released: New thing I edited now for sale from Priebe Press… 2d6 Superfast One Shot character sheets and game mechanics! It’s a fun, quick system to use.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Leeloo in my suitcase, trying to make sure I don’t leave without her.

The last Bubble & Squeek for 2021 on the first day of winter!

•    Open Call: The Reinvented Detective anthology, edited by me and Cat Rambo. Closes on Jan 15. SF crime and mystery stories set in the future.

•    Podcast: I voice one of the characters. The Paperflower Consortium: The Value of Patience. A great little podcast with 20+ episodes. By Elizabeth Guizzetti.

•    Published: 99 Tiny Terrors anthology, me as editor. Flash fiction horror from all over the world.

•    Published: Me as author: “Seven Steps to Immortality” in Daily Science Fiction! This is one of my favorite little stories in one of my bucket list venues. I’m so pleased with this.

•    Review of Me: Publisher’s Weekly Review of Last Cities of Earth anthology edited by me and Jeff Sturgeon. They liked it!

•    Writers: Right. So I’m going to take Sandra Wickham’s Word Warriors 14 Day Quest in January. Want to join me?

•    Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Deadlines, like lemmings, all rush to the same point. Same thing with updates and book releases. July was a huge month for me.

•    Audiobook Release: BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident audiobook. This is my award-winning YA BattleTech book read by the ever-talented Liisa Lee.

•    Reading: Shadow Bytes for Wily Writers. I read the origin story for By-the-Numbers for Wily Writers, a group that is designed to help all writers succeed. This was one part of Shadow Bytes hosted by The Violent Life podcast. (YouTube video.)

•    Release! Shadowrun: See How She Runs. YA Shadowrun novella set in Barcelona. Ridley Ruiz has plans. Big ones. However it seems that the shadows have plans for her, too.

•    Release! BattleTech: Crimson Night, Book Three of the Rogue Academy trilogy. Just released! Can Jasper and Nadine Roux save their planet from a rogue Draconis Combine warlord? Winner takes all in this explosive conclusion to the Rogue Academy trilogy.
 

•    Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Awards: Woot! A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods has been long-listed for the Bram Stoker award in superior achievement in an anthology.

Blog: A Decade in Review. How does one review a decade of growth, change, expansion, and experience in a single career? Start with the stats and end with the lessons learned.

Podcast: Dire Multiverse, part 5 – A Wild, Hopping Tale. Answers and alliances come at the point of a gun as our heroes try to make it out with their lives intact while learning more about what’s driving Dana Lessington — and one of their own. 

Publication: SEASONS, the latest Valdemar anthology, has my 7th Valdemar story in it, “One Town at a Time.” It’s the opening story. I love having anchor stories in anthologies.

Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Spike in snow.

How does one review a decade of growth, change, expansion, and experience in a single career? Much less in an industry like the publishing industry? I suppose by starting with some of the stats from 2010 – 2019. Note, this is an imperfect list of stats. It doesn’t mention the number of words written, the stories submitted then rejected, the novels written and trunked, the journals, articles, and blog posts. But, really, you’ve got to start somewhere. That is what I’ve done.

• Short stories published: 65
• Fiction collections published: 4
• Novellas published: 5
• Novels published: 11
• Omnibuses published: 2
• Podcasts produced and published: 2
• Comic books published: 1
• Anthologies edited: 16
• RPG books contributed to: 7
• RPG books written/co-written: 6
• Award nominations: 18 (including 2 Bram Stoker awards and a Hugo award)
• Awards won: 7 (including an AU Shadows award, an ENnie award, an Origins award, and a Scribe award)

Gotta admit, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. In 2010, if you’d told me that one day I’d be an internationally published author and editor who’d been nominated for both the Bram Stoker and the Hugo award, I would’ve laughed at you and said it was a nice idea. I thought those things were so far out of my reach that I couldn’t imagine it. If you’d told me that I’d get to write for some of my favorite non-RPG properties like VWars, Valdemar, and Predator, I would’ve wondered what you’d been drinking. Stuff like that didn’t happen to me.

Then again, I didn’t know I was going to start my own publishing house.
…Or serve a term as a Director-at-Large of SFWA.
…Or volunteer for the HWA.
…Or be a Guest of Honor at ten different conventions, including conventions in Sweden and Finland.
…Or get an agent after I’d given up the search.

In truth, this is no real way to quantify a decade of my career in a meaningful manner that gives the scope of “everything.” I’ve always been ambitious when it comes to my career. I’ve got plans for the next decade. I’m sure they’ll change. But, that’s all right.

I’ll leave you with some lessons I’ve learned along the way.

• Share the love. Publishing is not a zero sum game. No one has to lose for you to win. Eventually we will work together on a project.
• Default to being kind. Publishing is a small industry.
• Write what you love and what you want to read. My greatest success has come from settling in to write exactly what I want to write and to love what I do.
• Figure out what kind of writing career you want. Casual? Part-time? Full-time? Just hang out with other writers? It’s all good. The sooner you realize what you actually want, the better it will be for you.
• You are allowed to change your mind and to change direction. Shift gears on the type of story telling you do. Flash? Podcasts? Epic novel series? One-off books? Tie-in work?
• You are allowed to stop. To quit. To take a break. To rest.
• You are allowed to start again. No one is going to take away your writing card.
• There is no one path to a successful writing career. YOU determine what makes you a success. Self-pub? Big 5? Hybrid? It’s all fair game. This is one of the most exciting times in the publishing arena. Nothing is off-limits.

Of course, the last decade wouldn’t have been as successful as it’s been without the Husband’s support. He helped make it all possible. For that, I am ever-grateful.

It has been an eventful couple of weeks. I didn’t have a chance to cheer about the final ShadowBytes podcast episode being released. With that, the eight episode series is done. I wrote and recorded each of the ShadowBytes episodes after Damien from The Violent Life Shadowrun podcast asked if I would like to work with him. Three of the episodes were excerpts from my Shadowrun novella, DocWagon 19. The other five episodes were a loosely linked story that told the origin and motivation of a shadowrunner who’d once been a happy corporate wage slave.

• ShadowBytes 01 – Worthy
• ShadowBytes 02 – Chrome Holly (DocWagon 19 excerpt)
• ShadowBytes 03 – Non-Compliant
• ShadowBytes 04 – Hey Jude (DocWagon 19 excerpt)
• ShadowBytes 05 – Hunger and the Hand That Feeds It
• ShadowBytes 06 – Miyazaki (DocWagon 19 excerpt)
• ShadowBytes 07 – Literal Milk Run
• ShadowBytes 08 – The Gift of Callousness

There are a couple of little things in each episode that I really like. The short format of the stories leans itself to hint at a much greater world without spelling it out. In one episode, I foreshadow the end. In another, I get to use a character who starred in a Shadowrun story called, “Between a Corp and a Hard Place.” In another episode, I hint at the origin story of another shadowrunner… assuming she survives long enough to run the shadows. In still another, I play with the trope of an easy run. In the final episode, a take an emo trope and turn it on its head. It’s a fun series.

If you are interested in other podcasts by me, I have Five Minute Stories. All 26 episodes are online and free. Each one is a standalone modern day supernatural flash fiction piece. I am also voice talent in an urban fantasy podcast called the Dire Multiverse. I voice a couple of different characters.

I do like podcasting. I’d like to do more of it. I’m just not sure what. Yet.

As the year moves into the last month of the year, it’s time to remind the world what you had published in 2019 and is eligible for the forthcoming awards season. For me, it was 1 anthology, 2 novels, 3 short stories, and 1 podcast. Not bad despite the horrendousness of my personal life this year.

Anthology: A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods. YA, Lovecraft.
Teenagers fighting Elder Gods in the modern ages. Sometimes they win. Sometimes they lose. Sometimes they fall to temptation.

Novel: BattleTech – Iron Dawn. YA, Military Scifi.
The first of a trilogy. Orphaned siblings need to take matters into their own hands when the enemy comes knocking on their adopted home world. This is where hard-bitten military veterans come from…if they can survive.

Novel: Shadowrun – Makeda Red. Adult, Science fantasy (the Matrix meets Tolkien meets Bladerunner).
An homage to Casablanca’s back story. It begins with a train heist across Europe and gets messy, complicated, and deadly in a hurry. High adventure, fun, and a bit sexy.

Short Story: Shadowrun – “Between a Corp and a Hard Place.” Adult, Science fantasy.
This one was a five part serial short story published in Gama Trade Magazine. It’s a kidnapping become willing extraction as two factions bargain with the same runner team for the same target. And, of course, nothing is what it seems to be.

Short Story: Emberwind – “Written in Red.” Co-written with John Helfers. Adult, Steampunk fantasy.
Available online, this story skims the top of the double and triple dealings that happen in the Red Market of Adriel. The question is…who controls who?

Short Story: Valdemar – “One Town at a Time.” Adult, Traditional fantasy.
For those who love the Heralds of Valdemar, sometimes it’s fun to go back to normal Heralds in the field, dealing with unexpected discoveries the best they can. One of my most upbeat Valdemar stories.

Podcast: Shadowrun – ShadowBytes. Eight episode series hosted by The Violent Life podcast.
Available online. Eight pieces of Shadowrun fiction. Three are excerpts from my novella, DocWagon 19. Five are linked flash fiction pieces that give you a glimpse into the hard life of running in the shadows. Dark and gritty.

Over all, I’m pleased. Every story was commissioned and contracted. These all came out in and around writing a novel, a novella, writing several short stories, attending multiple conventions, dealing with the death of my father, dealing with the death of a mentor, and one of my cats having surprise surgery.

Life has been a bit rough lately. Not just for me. It is getting better. Slowly, surely, life moves on. Still working on BattleTech: Ghost Hour. The words are returning. In the meantime, here’s a Bubble & Squeek for you.

•    Podcast: The Dire Multiverse. I am voice talent on this urban fantasy podcast, mostly playing the character Dana Lessington…who you will find out is more than she seems. I occasionally play other NPC character parts, too.

•    Podcast: ShadowBytes 06: Miyazaki – From DocWagon 19. The team rescues someone they know. Trivia: Miyazaki stars in the serialized Shadowrun story in GTM magazine, “Between a Corp and a Hard Place.”

•    Podcast: ShadowBytes 07: Literal Milk Run – This is my play on a heist supposedly being so easy it’s like running out for milk. This is the penultimate episode of ShadowBytes.

•    Publication: “Written in Red” by Jennifer Brozek and John Helfers. This is my first collaboration with John and it turned out be a good one. Tie-in story for Emberwind, the RPG.

•    Recommendation: The Imaginary Corpse by Tyler Hayes. My blurb: “This book is messed up in all the right ways. It’s as if Pixar’s Inside Out mugged Toy Story in a surrealist Raymond Chandler novel. Weird, fun, scary, and a great mystery to boot. Hayes sticks the landing.”

•    Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

Spending a lot of time with my head down and fingers on the keyboard. Turned in a couple of lingering projects including an Emberwind story and another Shadowrun novella.

• Release: Shadowrun: Makeda Red has been released! I know this is old news, but I’m super happy with this book.

• Podcast: ShadowBytes 04: Hey Jude. This one is called “Hey Jude” and you learn about this ork’s background and one of her surprising hobbies.

• Podcast: ShadowBytes 05: Hunger and the Hand that Feeds It. This is one of my favorite in the series. I think it really captures the fragility of life running the shadows.

• Review: Skiffy and Fanty review: A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods. They liked it.

• Review: Tor.com review of A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods – “Us and Ours” by Premee Mohamed. The snark is beautiful in this review.

• Support: As always… if you appreciate my work and would like to support me, I love coffee. I am made of caffeine. This is the quickest way to brighten my day.

And a cat picture. Just because.