podfic feedback: how (when, why) do you do it?

[lomedet]

Amplirecathon is making me think about podfic, feedback, and me. Or, more accurately, about how much I love podfic and how that love is in no way represented by the amount of feedback (read: very, very little) I have left for podfic readers or the authors of stories I have discovered through podfic.

My process for listening to podfic goes something like this: I download a story from the archive or from a link on a podfic community. I close the download tab. I load the story on to my ipod. Then, hours or days later, I listen to the story as I'm riding on or waiting for a bus. Or maybe doing dishes or folding laundry. In any event, I listen to the story when I am far away from my computer, and even if I'm not physically so far away from my computer, I've already clicked away from or closed the page which tells me where I can leave feedback for the author or the reader. And I am lazy, so I don't usually think about going back to look for it when I have the opportunity.

I am contrasting this process with that of reading fanfic, where if I am moved by a story when I finish it, I can click a button and let the author know how I feel right then and there.

So, I want to know: what do y'all do? Have you come up with a successful strategy for leaving feedback that doesn't feel unduly labor-intensive? Have you given up on direct feedback in favor of recs? If you do go back and leave podfic feedback, does it feel strange to do so at a remove from your immediate response? Am I missing something totally obvious that will make my feedback-leaving life ten times easier?

Comments

[darkemeralds]

Great thoughtful post. And I have that same problem. Podfic IS more labor intensive than fanfic--there's more technology involved, more steps (for the podfic reader as well as the listener), more intermediaries (like an archive or a filesharing site)--it's harder work.

So I guess my thinking about it is that that one more step of going back and leaving a comment somewhere is part of the extra work, and I really try to do it.

As to what kind of feedback? I've gotten a little on my small podfic contributions, and it's a joy just to hear that I read a story well, or did it justice, or had a nice voice, or was clear in my pronunciation, or I made it easy for you to tell which character was speaking.

Bonus gravy points for "Nothing in your recording bothered me" or "your edits were inaudible--I didn't notice any big clicks or breaks" or "thank you for dividing that giant file up into four logical pieces (or zipping it all into one, or whatever)".

If you liked the reader's use of music--or appreciated there being no music; if you liked her inclusion or exclusion of things like author's notes; if you thought she used a good pace for the story; if her voice is just the right type for the story she chose...

There are lots of ways to think about podfic that aren't technical.

Oh, and if you think her particular voice would be fantastic for thus-and-such fandom or particular story, that would be a great piece of feedback.

Heh. As you can see, I have some thoughts on this!

[luzula]

Podfic IS more labor intensive than fanfic--there's more technology involved, more steps (for the podfic reader as well as the listener), more intermediaries (like an archive or a filesharing site)--it's harder work.

This is not true for me at all! I'm both a writer and a podficcer, and it takes me far longer and is far more difficult to write a story than to record a podfic of the same length. This probably varies a lot between different writers and podficcers.

[lomedet]

What a great list of (non-technical) ways to give feedback!