10 Comments
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Isabella's avatar

Huge fan of the voiceover! Yes!!!!!!!

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Nick's avatar

It's great to have you back. I didn't listen to the voiceover. Perhaps I've heard to much. But will check this out.

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Dexter Penhaligon's avatar

I don't know if you remember the "Good Olde Days" back in the 70s. Victorian music hall-style entertainment. The host/compere introduced the acts with multi-syllable pre-ambles that would go on and on...I'm sure he used something like... The Spectacular Crepuscular Omnifabulous....etc

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Julian Baker's avatar

... for your delight and delectation

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Dexter Penhaligon's avatar

"The crepuscular hours"... more please.

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Julian Baker's avatar

Thank you, although I suspect you don't just mean write "the crepuscular hours" in every post from now on.

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Valerie Stevenson's avatar

For meat and murder I recommend Orlando Crispe’s Flesh-eaters Cookbook, magnificent Grand Guignol, haute cuisine cannibalism.

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Julian Baker's avatar

Um? Thank you?

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Dr Andreas Matthias's avatar

At least with my readers, the voiceover never took off, and it was a huge investment in time every week. I eventually stopped doing it and used the same time to record a podcast that was more than a voiceover and that appealed to a different audience. The problem with the voiceover, as I see it, is that you are serving the same audience that you already have, so you're spending double the time without getting any more return on your investment. A different podcast, perhaps shorter or longer, perhaps on different topics, and certainly in a more "spoken" style (rather than reading a written text) might net you new listeners who wouldn't read your Substack. Just my thoughts, though. I may be wrong.

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Julian Baker's avatar

Thank you for such a considered reply. You have confirmed what I suspected, that readers are readers, and not listeners.

I'm going to take half your advice, and do a podcast. But I am just going to read it out. I spend a fair amount of time trying to get the words in a presentable order, so no chummy ad libbing. I have always fancied myself as a raconteur, so I shall be channeling the album artwork for Donald Fagen's The Nightfly

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