EpiCast webserial news, recaps & chat

EpiCast #011: Webfiction By Design

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:14:54 +0000

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!

EpiCast #010: Webfiction Spring Previews 2013

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:43:59 +0000

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:

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!

EpiCast #009: Fixed vs. Fluid: Should Webserial Authors Change Old Installments?

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:12:36 +0000

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:

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.

EpiCast #008: Footprints at Fifteen

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 04:59:11 +0000

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:

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.

EpiCast #007: WeSeWriMo (Web Serial Writing Month)

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:54:49 +0000

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.

EpiCast #006: Crossing Over

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:38:29 +0000

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:

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!

EpiCast #005: Networks

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:17:14 +0000

Download EpiCast #005

Celebrate spring with a new EpiCast, our fifth episode devoted to the world of webfiction, webseries and all original entertainment available on the web. This month cohosts Kira and Michael offer recaps, previews and new series introductions, as well as discussion about webserial networks and whether they help or hinder either the audience or the creators. (Spoiler alert: we like ‘em.)

Finally, we also discuss some new serials both text-based and video, share some news about an awards show for webseries, and welcome back an old series that’s returned from the dead.

Thanks to everyone who submitted recaps, previews 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 April 15 (for recaps) or April 20 (for news bulletins). 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.

Recording date: This episode was recorded on March 18, 2012.

Rundown:

0:00 - 1:12: Opening pleasantries and intro
1:13 - 22:47: “The Story So Far…” (Recaps and commentary on recent storylines from a selection of webfiction serials and webseries. This month we also include a review of one of the serials that one of our hosts considers a stand-out.)
22.48 - 23:32: Invitation to serial writers to submit recaps for our next podcast
23:33 - 34:04: “Around the Webseries World” - We introduce several new webserials and webseries, reveal the winners of the Indiesoaps awards, share news about some webserial authors who’ve moved to the ebook world–including one former Featured Site, and welcome back another former featured site that’s returned after a very long break.
34:26 - 52:16: Our chat session focuses on webserial networks, including describing a selection of networks and their different themes, the pros and cons for both webserial staffs as well as their potential audiences, and why sometimes networks implode rather than thrive.
52:32 - 53.59: Wrap-up.

Links to sites mentioned:

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast opening & closing theme), “Not About You” (Recap intro), “So Far, So Good” (under recap segue), “The Big Boom” (after news segue), “Take Care of Me” (network discussion intro), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

Technical notes: If anyone’s interested, 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!

EpiCast #004: Awards

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:29:45 +0000

Download EpiCast #004

Hey everyone. For our fourth EpiCast episode, Michael and I have the usual recaps, previews and new series introductions, as well as discussion on how much easier it is to read webfiction that’s been carefully edited. We answer a listener’s question about semi-controversial topic: Awards, and whether the EpiGuide will ever hold another award ceremony again–and also some chat about the pitfalls and benefits of awards in general. Finally, we also discuss some new developments in the ever-converging world of TV vs. video webseries, such as the new original programs appearing on Hulu and Netflix, share some new useful tools to help authors self-publish, and introduce you to new webserials and webseries.

Thanks to everyone who submitted recaps, previews 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 March 11 (for recaps) or March 17 (for news bulletins). 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.

Recording date: This episode was recorded February 19, 2012.

Rundown:

0:00 - 1:01: Opening pleasantries and intro
1:02 - 17:53: “The Story So Far…” (Recaps of recent storylines from a selection of webfiction serials and webseries)
17:54 - 18:16: Invitation to serial writers to submit recaps for our next podcast
18:17 - 23:19: Chat about the aforementioned recaps, and why editing can make or break a webserial
23:20 - 39:42: “Around the Webseries World” - We discuss the convergence of TV and webseries via Hulu and Netflix’s original content, services to help authors self-publish, and recent webserial/webseries launches.
39:43 - 54:15: Responding to listener email: the Eppy Awards (and whether they’ll return), and for that matter, the pros and cons of awards presentations in general. Errata: The Eppys were held in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
54:16 - 55:54: Wrap-up.

Links to sites mentioned:

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast intro), “Not About You” (Recap intro), “So Far, So Good” (under recap segue), “The Big Boom” (News intro), “We are the Champions” (awards discussion intro) and “I Feel Fantastic” (end theme), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton, except of course “We are the Champions” is a cover of Queen. These tracks are licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

EpiCast #003: Extras

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:10:45 +0000

Download EpiCast #003

Hello all, and welcome to our first EpiCast of 2012. This is our third episode, #003: Extras., and we have the latest batch of recaps, some discussion about storylines that affected us during the past month, a few news items, and a rather extensive examination of the difference between self-created HTML sites and blog/CMS-based sites, and the related issue of ways to supplement one’s writing with extra features — what works, what’s not so great, and what our hosts (Michael and Kira, as usual) actually think is mandatory. Yep, we totally go there. Nervy, huh?

The recaps and news focuses on the EpiGuide.com community but we do try to expand and look at a variety of serials whenever possible. If you don’t see your favorite genre being represented, please encourage the author / producer to submit material to us! We do hunt down topics and serials ourselves, but it sure makes life easier for us when the writers give us tips themselves.

As mentioned, this episode is hosted by Kira Lerner (yours truly), admin of the EpiGuide, and Michael, longtime community member and webserial producer.

Recording date: This episode was recorded January 15, 2011.

Rundown:

0:00 - 1:22: Opening pleasantries and chatter
1:35 - 22:00: “The Story So Far…” (Recaps and discussion of recent storylines from a selection of webserials)
22:00 - 26:30: Commentary on a storyline in Footprints
26:30 - 27:34: Invitation to serial writers to submit recaps for our next podcast
27:34 - 29:05: “Around the Webseries World” - News, announcements and interesting topics from around the community.
29:05 - 58:48: Discussion about HTML sites vs. blog-/CMS-based sites, different ways of presenting one’s story, useful extra features.
58:48 - 1:01: Wrap-up.

Links to sites mentioned:

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast intro and wrapup music), “Not About You” (Recap intro), and “So Far, So Good” (under recap segue), all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton and licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

EpiCast #002: Finales

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:17:32 +0000

Download EpiCast #002

Happy holidays, everyone! And a little late in arriving but no worse for the delay is our second episode of the EpiCast,#002: Finales. As always, we focus on discussion, news and recaps from the world of original web entertainment, and more specifically, the EpiGuide.com community. This month’s installment is chock-full of recaps in particular from a variety of serials in a variety of genres, which is just how we like ‘em. From sci-fi to fantasy to melodrama, there’s surely something for everyone. We also take a look at the end of one highly popular serial, answer a related question from a listener that allowed us to reminisce about serials gone by, and finally offer some discussion topics and news tidbits for everyone.

Hosted by Kira Lerner (yours truly), admin of the EpiGuide, and Michael, longtime community member and webserial producer.

Recording date: This episode was recorded December 11, 2011.

Errata: During our news segment Kira incorrectly identified a publishing platform that was mentioned by M.E. Traylor on the EpiGuide. The correct name for this platform is PressBooks. Sorry about that!

Rundown:

0:00 - 1:09: Opening pleasantries and chatter
1:10 - 18:05: “The Story So Far…” (Recaps and discussion of recent storylines from a selection of webserials)
18:06 - 25:20: Recap, review and commentary on the final episode of The Blackthornes
25:20 - 26:05: Invitation to serial writers to submit recaps for our next podcast
26:06 - 32:46: “The Audience Asks…” We answer a question from a listener re: our most-missed webserials.
32:56 - 36:17: “Around the Webseries World” - News, announcements and interesting topics from around the community. Introducing Special People, eBook resources, and a blog post about publishing platforms
36:26 - 37:30: Wrap-up

Links to sites mentioned:

EpiGuide
About Schuyler Falls
American Legacy
Autumn Lake
Black Hat Magick
The Blackthornes
Covington Bay
Crescendo Cove - Also for sale as an eBook!
The DSR
Ebook Service Professionals Directory
@elizabethscraig
Emerald Heights
Fluffy-Seme
Footprints
Hanging By a Thread: The Storylines We Missed
Mr. Anyone
MZP-TV
One Day at a Time
Pandamian
PressBooks
Special People
Spy Like Me
Weblit Platforms: Pandamian vs. Fluffy-Seme (Here’s the discussion on the EpiGuide)

Music credits: “Chiron Beta Prime” (EpiCast intro), “Not About You” (Recap intro), “So Far, So Good” (under recap segue), “The Big Boom” (News intro), and “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast wrapup music) all by the brilliant Jonathan Coulton and licensed Creative Commons by-nc.

EpiCast #001: Pilot

editor@epiguide.com (Kira Lerner) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:49:18 +0000

Download EpiCast #001

Welcome to the EpiGuide’s first podcast. This series of broadcasts will feature discussion, news and recaps from the world of original web entertainment, and more specifically, the EpiGuide.com community. We’ll cover everything that the Eppy does — from online fiction and web serials to webseries and webcomics, in all forms and in all genres.

This pilot episode is a bit of a test-bed for us, so please bear with us as we get used to and refine the format. It’s longer than we’ll probably aim for in the future (and actually we cut about twenty minutes of extra material, which may show up at a later date as “deleted scenes” or outtakes, if there’s interest).

Hosted by Kira Lerner (yours truly), admin of the EpiGuide, and Michael, longtime community member and webserial producer.

Recording date: This episode was recorded November 13, 2011.

Rundown:

0:00 - 3:04: Introductions and brief history of the EpiGuide; rundown of the EpiCast’s content
3:05 - 13:15: Recaps of recent storylines from a selection of webserials
13:16 - 20:37: Recap commentary focusing on Strangers & Neighbors and The Blackthornes (re: storyline endings/serial finales)
20:39 - 21:23: Invitation to serial writers to submit recaps for our next podcast
21:24 - 28:43: News and discussion on topics of note in the web serial world, including: warnings about predatory publishers; online fiction venues for reading publishing webfiction; WebfictionWorld podcasts (erratum: the WeSeWriMo podcast was episode #5, not #7); the new season of the webseries Venice… and hints on how to make life difficult for potential paying audience members.
28:43 - 29:45: Wrap-up and big sighs of relief from your hosts!

Links to sites mentioned:

Music credits: “Dance, Soterios Johnson, Dance” (EpiCast intro/wrapup music) and “So Far, So Good” (played under recap segue), both by Jonathan Coulton and licensed Creative Commons by-nc.