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They Turned Their Fandom Into A Podcast

· Time to read: ~5 min

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Ginger Wiseman and her sister Summer Reynolds host two podcasts. Each follows a set of books that have been, or are being, adapted for television. They are The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness.

While the show is on the air, Ginger and Summer produce episode discussions purely about the television show. In between seasons, they do chapter-by-chapter read-alongs, sprinkle in some whisky tastings, road trips, fan events, and interviews with authors, producers, actors, and directors. Anything and everything even tangentially related to Outlander is fair game.

While they still work full-time jobs, Ginger and Summer are making money podcasting, thanks to advertiser live reads and listeners who donate through Patreon. The Outlander Podcast has 73 Patrons donating $271.00 per month.

The Outlander Podcast has 37,500 Twitter followers and The All Souls Podcast has 3,800 Twitter followers.

Ginger and Summer were the first to host podcasts in both spaces, and now there are several in each space. Their formula is to discuss the book, then discuss the TV series. They’ve been press at San Diego Comic Con since 2015, and they’ve hosted the (only-ever) two Outlander fan panels at San Diego Comic Con – and they’ve covered red carpet premieres for both series.

PBJ: How long have you been podcasting and when did you start? Ginger Wiseman: We began our first podcast, The Outlander Podcast, the summer of 2013, after we learned that our favorite book series was being optioned for television under the auspices of the likes of Starz and Ron D. Moore. We knew we were in good hands. That was our first foray into podcasting, period. Before then, I was a fan of podcasts since about 2008, and Summer had never heard of a podcast.

PBJ: Why are you podcasting? Ginger Wiseman: We began podcasting as fans of a book series and wanted to contribute in a unique way to the excitement of the upcoming production. We understood what it was like to be long-time fans of something and wanted a way to encourage and engage other fans. We began a year before the television show premiered, and are the original podcast in this space. Now, in 2018, there are quite a few podcasts in existence.

The All Souls Podcast began in much the same way. Summer, this time, asked me if we could do a podcast on Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy, which at that time had been optioned for television by the BBC. It has since been produced by the fantastic BadWolf Studios in Wales. Here, too, we were the first podcast in the space, and now there are at least four.

We began, and continue, to podcast because, selfishly, we want an outlet for our own fan-ness. And to a wider degree, we LOVE engaging other people in the fandom who are just as excited about their favorite series being adapted for television as we are.

PBJ: Tell us about the podcasts. Ginger Wiseman: Both The Outlander Podcast and The All Souls Podcast follow book series that have been adapted for television. Outlander, a thus-far eight-book series by Diana Gabaldon, is being adapted by Starz for television, a series by the same name (the first book in the series). The All Souls Podcast is after Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy and covers it and the Sky One/Now TV production A Discovery of Witches (named for the first book in the trilogy). Both series are favorites of ours, and we wanted to be part of the fan conversation early in the development of the adaptations. We do a chapter-by-chapter read-along for each book of each series, followed by a discussion of each episode of the television series. Sprinkled in between are interviews with cast, production, authors, directors, composers, historians – anyone and everyone who is even tangentially related to the content of the books.

PBJ: How are you marketing your podcast? Ginger Wiseman: Our show is promoted on the day it’s published, and then we schedule two tweets per day for the week after it airs. These tweets then become evergreen and are randomly used in the future. So during any one week, there will be 10 scheduled tweets targeting our current episode, and once or twice a day, an evergreen tweet will share some past episode. We also post about our new episodes to Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.

PBJ: How many downloads/listens are you getting? Ginger Wiseman: Our most popular episode to date has just under 60K downloads.

**PBJ: What are your biggest challenges?** Ginger Wiseman: Our biggest challenge has always been time. We both have full-time jobs and rather long commutes. Summer is a single mom. Time has always been our most valuable resource and our biggest challenge to manage.

PBJ: Are you making any money? Ginger Wiseman: Yes, a few years ago we began doing live reads for sponsors. We also have some very dedicated listeners who support us monthly on Patreon. It was never our intention to make money, though we, of course, welcomed the opportunity.

PBJ: What advice do you have for other podcasters? Ginger Wiseman: Have a passion for what you’re talking about; otherwise, you won’t last. If you’re doing it with hopes of making money, it is possible, but you will most likely have to build a following first. Do not expect to be able to have supporters or sponsors right off the bat (unless you are already someone of note or have a large platform elsewhere that you can bring to your show).

PBJ: What equipment are you using? **Ginger Wiseman: **We use ATR 2100 mics, Audioboom is our media host, record with ZenCastr, and use Audacity to edit our shows.

How to find Ginger, Summer and their podcasts: The Outlander Podcast Web: outlanderpod.com Twitter: twitter.com/outlanderpod IG: instagram.com/outlanderpod Tumblr: outlanderpod.tumblr.com FB page: facebook.com/outlanderpod FB Community: facebook.com/groups/outlanderpod PodAbroad 2019 (our upcoming/second international tour): podabroad.com

The All Souls Podcast

Web: allsoulspod.com

Twitter: twitter.com/allsoulspod

IG: instagram.com/allsoulspod

Tumblr: allsoulspod.tumblr.com

FB Page: facebook.com/allsoulspod

FB Community: facebook.com/groups/allsoulspod

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