Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the purpose of The Storytellers Blog?
Sometimes it’s wonderful to just sit back and listen to someone else read us a story. Sometimes we write stories which are just crying out to be read out loud. Every writer wants their tales to be read or listened to. This seemed like a good way to combine these needs

How do I create an audio blog post?
See this post: Creating Audio Blogs for Blogger...

How long should my recording be?
There aren’t any strict limits, however, by nature of the way we tend to use the Internet, the chances are shorter stories will be listened to by more people than longer ones. Obviously attention spans are going to vary from person to person, but not everyone has several hours free to listen to an epic tale.

To begin with I would suggest short stories of less than 5 minutes, but if you have a corker of a tale that you know will keep everyone enthralled for longer, then go for it.

Do make sure you include a note of how long the recording is in the introduction, though.

Does it need to be a story I have written myself?
Not necessarily. If you’ve found an unusual or interesting story that you have a passion for and would like to share it with others, you can record and post it. Just make sure you give appropriate credit to who wrote it and where you got it from.

What should I write to go along with my recording?
Listeners will decide whether to listen to your recording based on your written introduction, so it is worth saying what inspired you to record this piece, or what it is you love about the story.

However, please keep it restricted to a paragraph or two as The Storytellers Blog is primarily a listening environment.

Are there any topics I can’t post about?
Clearly anything defamatory, racist, or inciting hate or prejudice will not be tolerated.

What about religious stories?
There are a wealth of beautiful stories from all religions around the world and there is certainly room for them here. However, please keep in mind that The Storytellers Blog is a place of diversity, variety and tolerance, not a place for conversion.

X-rated or Adult Material?
This is not an adult entertainment site, but if your story contains language or themes that are not suitable for particular age groups then please state so in your introduction

What about copyright?
Copyright of all author/narrator stories remain with the author. The Storytellers Blog makes no claim on anything posted here. If you wish to use someone’s recording on your own blog or for any other purpose, please seek their permission first.

If the story you record is not your own, please credit the author and source, and where possible point the listener to a place on the web where they are able to buy the book. If we receive any requests by publishers to remove recordings or their material we will do so immediately.

I’d like to join the fun and submit my own recording. Who do I send it to?
As a group blog, members upload their own recordings. If you would like to join in please email Kim Ayres (email address is on his profile) with a bit of background info and a link to your own blog or website. He will probably run it by a couple of others and if no one objects then you will be invited to join.

Who has final say on who joins or what’s allowed to stay posted on the blog?
The founders of The Storytellers Blog are Kim Ayres and Eryl Shields and they have the ultimate say, however more controversial decisions will probably be discussed with other members

How do I add a banner to my blog?
If you are using Blogger, sign in, go to your dashboard and then to Layout or Template.

On the sidebar area, click on "Add a page element"

In the window that pops up, select HTML/Javascript.

If you want you can write "The Storytellers Blog" in the Title area

In the Content, paste the following

[a href="http://thestorytellersblog.blogspot.com"]
[img border="0" alt="The Storytellers Blog"
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AhbyT9eC14ADvPVkqFSSiEInKWEZvkhgmRyg39rpSLYWdfffeHXOZNGe-J60YpGvcwdz2LdoE45nJ1HHKQ5j8yxENCfSZdKK4wgQ5iBvEhzDlripwJCFykb-EjgcJzaOchHfyzYbNBM3/s1600/storytellers.gif"/]
[/a]

Change all the square brackets [] for angular ones <> then click "save changes"

You can now drag the element up or down the sidebar to where you want it before clicking "Save" on the Template page.

Shouldn’t there be an apostrophe in Storytellers?
Yeah, probably.