Building the Oracle - with Jay Swanson

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An author and an editor interview entrepreneurs and world-class artists as they chronicle their journey to create their own publishing house and film studio around the fictional fantasy universe "The Oracle of the Dread Gods" by host, Jay Swanson.

Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey

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  • Jun 15, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
  • every other week NEW EPISODES
  • 58m AVG DURATION
  • 15 EPISODES


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Latest episodes from Building the Oracle - with Jay Swanson

01.12: Season 1 Finale - What have we learned and where to next?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2020 62:55


In our final episode of Season 1, we look back on our initial hopes and dreams for the podcast, and discuss what we learned, which goals we achieved, and those that we failed to reach.

01.11: The business of being a writer in 2020 with Jane Friedman

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2020 62:28


Jane Friedman, author of The Business of Being a Writer, and one of the most trusted consultants in the publishing industry, gives us the reality check we definitely needed.

01.10: Cataloguing a universe with Archivos founder David Robison

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2020 68:40


What's the best way to keep track of a sprawling fictional universe? We talk with Dave Robison, the founder of Archivos, our worldbuilding software of choice.

01.09: Worldbuilding with Mike Underwood, Adam Rakunas & Patrick Tomlinson

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2020 70:50


Veteran SFF authors, Mike Underwood, Adam Rakunas, and Patrick Tomlinson talk to Jay and Richard about their research and worldbuilding processes.

01.08: Kameron Hurley on perseverance and building a resilient creative career

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2020 63:07


Hugo Award-winning author, Kameron Hurley, talks about the challenges of living a creative life, and what it takes to support yourself as an author.

01.07: Michelle Kuo and the power of reading and telling stories

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2020 65:47


Author, teacher and lawyer, Michelle Kuo, joins us to talk about the power of storytelling, and the importance of listening to, and lifting up, diverse voices and viewpoints.

01.06: Michael R. Underwood and the modern art of selling books

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2020 64:18


Michael R. Underwood talked to Jay and Richard about the best ways to help your book stand out in the modern book marketplace.

BONUS POD: How Rick Morton lost it all before hitting #1

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2020 61:59


Radio host, Rick Morton, joined Jay and his sister, Kaarin Howard, in San Diego to talk about the ups and downs of pursuing an "on air" career, and how losing it all can be the best thing to ever happen to you.

01.05: Community building with r/fantasy creator Steve Drew

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2020 68:31


"Please be kind!" Steve Drew shares his experience creating the Fantasy subreddit, as well as his business development expertise, to give us some great advice on how to build healthy online communities and a successful long-term business.

01.04: Kate Weber & Zach Egan on building the Swanson Team in Paris

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2020 60:20


Asking for help and building a support team can be one of the most difficult but important things for a creative entrepreneur to do. We brought the whole Paris team together to talk about what we do and where we want to go as a company.

01.03: Lindsey Tramuta on Writing About a Changing Paris and Business When Living Abroad

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2020 55:54


Lindsey Tramuta, author of The New Paris and the voice behind @lostncheeseland, talks about collaboration, publishing, and freelancing in Paris as an expat.

BONUS POD: Should authors bother attending conventions? Live from ConFusion

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2020 48:11


Jay was recently at ConFusion and he took the opportunity to talk to other authors about the value of SFF conventions, why they attend, and how to get the most out of them for your writing career.

01.02: Natasha Ngan on what it takes to write a bestseller & what it takes out of you

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2020 65:11


Every author dreams of hitting the bestseller list and many publishers count on it to succeed. So we talked to an author who already made it to see what was involved.

01.01: Building a Podcast with Oliver Gee and John Clarke

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2020 54:02


Welcome to Episode 1 of "Building the Oracle", in which we take our first step towards building a publishing house by ... learning about podcasting.

Introducing Building the Oracle with Jay Swanson - TRAILER

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2019 1:58


Introducing a podcast about an author and an editor building a publishing and film studio from the ground up. Every episode we'll interview authors, publishers, illustrators, entrepreneurs, and other creatives to see what it takes to successfully bring an entire fantasy universe to life in book and film. Jay Swanson and Richard Bilkey are on the mic for this quick trailer to whet your appetites.

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