Spanning the Globe

Did you know you can promote a book across the globe without ever leaving your desk? Podcasts have made it possible for me to connect with readers from Australia to India to Canada—and everywhere in between. Remember the opening to Wide World of Sports?  Jim MacKay said "Spanning the globe...." then it ended with everybody's favorite part...the guy falling off the ski jump. Mr. Agony of Defeat.

No danger of that in podcasting.

It's odd though, sometimes the production qualities in say, India, are fantastic, it sounds like we're in the same room with no breakup in audio or video. Other times podcasts from Illinois sound like they were recorded on eight track cassettes then streamed from Neptune.

Podcasting has given me a fascinating window into how my books perform around the world. For instance, Australia has consistently been my second-best market...ever since Be Sincere Even When You Don't Mean It. That book sold more copies in Australia in 2024 than in the U.S. And every month I get some royalties from Japan.

On the other hand, I can't give the books away in the UK...For some reason, my sense of humor doesn’t seem to click with readers in England. Maybe I should brush up on my Monty Python references—though, truth be told, I’ve never quite gotten the hang of British humor!

And Ireland’s a tough nut to crack for me—though I did have an interesting podcast experience out of Dublin. Let’s just say the host and I had very different senses of humor!

I don't send out links to most of the podcasts in the last couple of years. The hosts tend to ask the same questions, and as charming and witty as I am, I tend to give the same answers. I don't want to wear you guys out.

I'll schedule some more podcasts when I'm about to release the fourth JR Johnson book: The Final Password. Should be out in a couple months. Starting to work on the book cover---with Sean, the artist---from England! I can't even get him to read any of the books.

Have you listened to any great podcasts lately—or are there any you’d recommend I check out? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Click below to get in touch:

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