“EarthCore is the world’s first podcast-only novel: you can’t find it in stores, you can’t download the full audio, and the 
only way to find out what happens is to subscribe to the podcast. My goal is to generate 5,000 subscribers to this book, which will demonstrate the power of Podcasting and generate attention from publishers. This novel is a cross between episodic modern-action fare like ’24’ and classic sci-fi movies like Predator and Starship Troopers.” – Scott Sigler, author.
The TeleRead take: Get it? Podcasting and e-books are converging. The word is that an hour of audio will come out each week, with a total of 20 episodes. Impatient to hear EarthCore on your iPod or MuVo and enjoy it during your walk or workout routine? You can download the first MP3 now, then make EarthCore part of your iPodder routine. Best of luck to Scott. (Thanks to Colin at MobileRead, the source of this pointer.)
I would question EarthCore’s claim at being the world’s first pocast-only novel. Although it is no longer available, EarthCore was originally sold as an eBook, so it hardly qualifies as “podcast-only” IMHO. Some media have mistakenly claimed that EarthCore is the first audio book to be podcast, which is clearly wrong. There are several other audio books being podcast.
Of course, I applaud the author for doing this podcast, but there are several other audio books being podcast which are being ignored by the press.
Trojan Horses (from Packet Switched Press – http://packetswitched.blogspot.com/) is a free audio book, which is available via podcast at http://radio.weblogs.com/0141320/
Plus there are more audio book podcasts which can be found at ipodder.org – my current favourites being SherlockHolmesAudio (a chapter from a Sherlock Holmes novel podcast every day or so) and The Wizard of Oz.
Scott Sigler here, author of EarthCore. Let me address Arb’s comments one at a time. EarthCore is the first podcast-only novel. I’m unfamiliar with any media that say the book is the first “podcast novel,” I’m making a clear distinction that EarthCore is a form of podcast-only entertainment, while the other contenders have their stories available in other formats.
Trojan Horses: This is not a “novel.” This is a 15-page sthort story. And you can read the whole thing by clicking on the name in this post and downloading the 10-page PDF. There is a HUGE difference between a 30-episode novel, which covers some 450 pages of plot and character, and a 10-page PDF. And, of course, if you don’t like podcasts, or can’t get them, you can download the book and read it. You can’t do that with EarthCore.
And, obviously, you can walk into any bookstore in the world and buy a copy of any Sherlock Holmes novel, and you can do the same for The Wizard of Oz.
And that’s my point — to discover the action-packed story of EarthCore, you need to LISTEN TO A PODCAST. There is no other format in which you can hear the book.
Another important point is that EarthCore went through the professional editing process at the highest levels — TimeWarner. They are the ones who produced the e-book, as a promo for print release. The print version didn’t happen, unfortunately. The significance of this is EarthCore has major publishing house quality — this isn’t something as aspring writer crapped out and just threw online. Listeners of EarthCore get, for free, mind you, a high-quality product.
So there you go. There are other podcast novels, and there will be thousands of podcast novels within the next 12 months, because it’s a great format in which to tell a story. And the best part is that listeners win any argument, with all that juicy, free podcast content to listen to anytime they choose.
Scott Sigler
http://www.scottsigler.net
Scott seems to have misunderstood my comments. I am not denigrating Earthcore in any way. In fact, I am a subscriber to the podcast and it is a good story so far. But to refute his refutations:
Many articles in the media have referred to Earthcore as the first podcast novel. These are not Scott’s claims, but instead it is how the media has misinterpreted his claim.
http://www.podcastingnews.com/archives/2005/03/earthcore_first.html – EarthCore is the first “podcast novel”
http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/03/21/daily36.html – That’s part of the description of what is being billed as the world’s first “podcast” novel, “EarthCore,” written by Scott Sigler of San Francisco.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050324/deth019_4.html – EarthCore is the first “podcast novel” because it is not available in any other format.
Now I still contend that Earthcore is _not_ a podcast-only novel. It was originally sold as an ebook. While the ebook may no longer be available, that doesn’t mean it never existed. I cannot walk into a book store and purchase a new copy of “French for Cats” but that doesn’t mean it never existed! EarthCore is plainly and simply a podcast novel. No “only” required. If it reached the ebook best-seller lists, then someone somewhere must have purchased copies of it.
While EarthCore might be a professionally produced novel, that still does not make it the first podcast novel. The distinction between a short story and a novel is irrelevant. Trojan Horses may not have the same high-level production as EarthCore, but it is still worthy of mention. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books (A Study in Scarlet and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes so far) being read by a podcasting enthusiast is equally deserving of mention. There’s not a lot of difference between a 450 page modern novel and a 150 page classic novel.
I think it is valid to point out other podcast audio books – whether they are short stories, new novels from an aspiring author, nvoels from established authors, classic novels of previous centuries or even radio-plays and dramas. There is a plethora of material available via podcast, ranging the full spectrum of quality, from a single guy reading his favourite novel to a professionally produced audio book. EarthCore isn’t the first and it won’t be the last. Congratulations to Scott for drumming up a lot of media attention, and I hope that EarthCore does see print one day, because to me, there is nothing like holding a real book and reading it whereever I want without worrying about batteries running out before I finish.
This comment is for all of you who are holding on to the hope that there will never be a replacement for the printed and bound novel. I must admit that I enjoy sitting down to read a book as much and possibly more than most people (my father insisted that TV ‘rots the brain’ and I grew up reading or listening to the radio). Unfortunately, much of my time is spent either at work or making the 2 hour commute every day. As with most modern adults with a job and family, there just seems to be no time to sit and read like I’d like to. I tired quickly of the endless ‘talking heads’ and $#&%^! radio shows that pervade the airways, so I began looking for an alternative. *memories of radio plays and stories broadcast for hours of family enjoyment* The first thing that came to mind was a radio play I’d heard when I was 8 years old, sitting beside my brother, with our heads stuck in the bottom shelf of the bookcase which held the small ‘shelf system’ that would hardly pass as a radio in modern standards. A radio station out of Oswego, NY would broadcast radio plays nightly and my favorite was “the Keeper of Eight”. A SciFi thriller that, at the time, seemed almost real to me. (search THAT one out on the web…I actually bought it for my brother a couple of years ago) I began to search the stores in the local malls for audiobooks and soon discovered that although there are many available, the cost is quite high. Enter the podcast novel! While I was browsing the web for ‘free audiobooks’ I came across a blog that mentioned Scott Sigler’s podcast-only novel “EarthCore”. I was able to download the prologue to my hard drive, burn it to CD, and the next day on the way to work, I enjoyed my first taste of his awesome narrative! (without having to worry about the battery going dead) So, although I will always enjoy a good book, the podcasts will likely become one of my favorite ways to enjoy a good book. I expect that, with the digital age in full swing, novels in this form will one day be more popular than the printed word.