Audio Recording Instructions and Tips
We appreciate your time in adding an audio component to accompany your work. We've heard positive feedback from listeners, who particularly enjoy hearing the voices and stories behind the pieces from the contributors themselves. In addition to appearing alongside your work, your recording will also be featured on our podcast.
For the Summer 2025 issue, send audio files to julie@vitapoetica.org by Monday, July 7. If you’re not able to make this date, please get in touch and we can schedule you for a later podcast episode so you have more time.
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If you have access to recording equipment, you’re welcome to use it. Otherwise, the voice memos app on a smartphone will work fine. (This app is usually included with the smartphone. You can do a search for “voice memos” by pulling down on the screen on the iPhone or following these instructions for the Android.)
Please include the following, in order, on a single track (for multiple poems, please record on same track):
Casual introduction for creative pieces: This is optional, but strongly encouraged! Please introduce yourself and include something about your work(s). Something along the lines of, “My name is… and this piece came about when…” Listening to a piece straight-through differs from having the words at the reader’s disposal. If there’s some context or info that’s helpful to know while listening, please include that here.
Reading: State the title and author (restate even if you already said it in your intro). Then proceed to read your piece.
To help with sound quality:
Read from an electronic device so that there are no page-turning sounds.
Turn everything off in the room (fans, etc.).
If a carpeted room is an option, this helps reduce echo.
Use a headset with microphone if available. Otherwise, set the recording device on a steady surface at an optimal distance from you.
Do a test replay to determine the best position for the microphone from your voice. Keep a steady distance from the mic so that your volume does not fluctuate in the recording.
For shorter pieces (e.g., poetry): please re-record if there is an interruption or mistake.
For longer pieces:
Feel free break up the reading into separate recording files. End each part at a natural stopping point like a section break. Please record all parts in the same room and same position to keep the acoustics consistent.
If you make a mistake, feel free to start that sentence over, and we’ll edit it accordingly. If an interruption should occur, please pause or simply stop the recording. When the interruption is over, restart the recording, repeat the previous line, and continue on. We’ll edit the recording before publishing, but if you’re able to let us know where to listen for the errors or interruptions, that would be extra helpful, though not required. :)