{Image: “The World in 2030” by E McKnight Kauffer, as shown on the wonderful blog BibliOdyssey.}

My friend and excellent literary writer Catherine Mayo (C. M. Mayo) is also a tech and Social Net wiz (although she would never admit it). She’s making audio podcast interviews with writers and making them available on her website, iTunes and other sites.

Here’s how she does it.

First, you will need:

1) A Mac. (Sorry! This process can no doubt be done on a PC, but Catherine and I are Mackies.) You will also need the software GarageBand, which comes with the Mac.

2) Skype software and an account. (Free.) To record an interview, both parties must be on Skype.

3) Skype recording software, Call Recorder: download here. (This is an add-on to Skype, $19.95 U.S., but you can try it out for free.) Once installed into your Skype software, select Skype preferences, and then click “Recording” on the far right.

I selected AAC Compression for Audio Encoding (because I have a newish Mac), High Audio Quality and, under Recording Options, “Audio Only.”

I opted to “Show Recording Controls at Launch” and to “Keep Recording Controls in Front During Calls.” I also checked “Record Voicemail Playback Automatically” — although I don’t know what that means.

I opted to save the audio file to my Desktop so that I wouldn’t lose it.

4) An account (free) with podOmatic.com.

Then:

1. She interviews the person on Skype, using Call Recorder.

2. She edits the recording with the Mac software GarageBand, using the “podcast” instrument setting. (Okay, I’ve a bit to learn here!)

3. She then uploads the audio file to PodOmatic.com, which will send it to iTunes.

4. She puts the link to the interview on her website.

5. She also makes the interview more widely available — and thereby giving it more exposure on Google — by uploading the podcast as a .mov file onto YouTube and Vimeo.

Okay … I’m going to give it a try and report back.

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