Indie Authors Should be Using Twitch

When you are writing a book, sometimes its best to read passages aloud in order to gauge if its flows correctly. In other cases you may want to create an audiobook edition of your upcoming title. No matter where you are in the writing pipeline indie authors should be using Twitch. You may have heard of Twitch in the news, when it was purchased by Amazon last year. In essence, it got its start by being one of the best platforms for E-Sports and other gaming-related programs. Content on the site can either be viewed live, or viewed on an on-demand basis. In the last six months the platform has expanded to include categories for audio and creative pursuits. Twitch is in the top 10 of most popular websites in the United States with 43 million people per month watching live video streams. This is the perfect avenue for authors to build a non-conventional base of users and correspond with them directly in real time. Once you have amassed over a few thousand followers Twitch will cut you in for a revenue share program, in addition to being able to accept donations immediately. I think right now Twitch is an untapped market for authors who want to read passages of their book and cultivate a following. It will give them practice on reading in a public forum and aid them in eventually self-narrating their own audiobook. In order to get started on Twitch you want to download a free program called Open Broadcast Software. It is the most intuitive to use and works on MAC, PC and Linux. It took me a few days to setup all my scenes properly, because I have more of an advanced setup, but you can get started the day you install it, as long as you have a webcam. You also need to create a Twitch account and setup your channel details. If you have a Facebook Author Page or Blog, this shouldn’t be difficult. When you click on your Twitch Dashboard under Playing you want to add either “creative” or “music” so people on Twitch or using one of their apps can easily find your broadcast. Finally, in a separate window make sure your channel is up, so you can talk directly to fans. Obviously with Twitch, it isn’t as easy to use as Twitter or Facebook, but millions of authors have saturated those platforms. It may not be the most simple thing in the world, but I would always recommend getting in on the ground floor of a new category to self-promote your work and get immediate feedback from your fans.

URL: http://goodereader.com/blog/commentary/indie-authors-should-be-using-twitch