#podfic resource

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

documenting my journey to really actually making podfic!

EDIT!!! 2026.02.11 we are at 1 1/2 YEARS bedtime stories podfic ~~ ヽ(´ー｀)ノ posted something today for the first time in forever!

this post is gonna be an ongoing series of links (in the replies) for blog posts that inspired me to DO THE THING! it's like tracking what bits of tumblr i was interacting with almost in real time.

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EDIT: 2025.03.10--i've also been making updates of podfic resources and personal stories in the replies!

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to everyone i have reblogged with the xk_s_reads tag, and especially those who replied to me: i just want to tell you that your post was part of the inspiration & motivation that led me to making & posting my very first podfics!!! tysvm!!!

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follow my podfic tag — xk_s_reads !!!

what's possibly coming up next for recording??? 🔮 podfic teaser (...used veeeery sporadically lol)

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my self-aimed ao3 work notes / instruction guide so i remember how i do the podfic thing (CONSTANTLY UNDER REVISION lol)

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BABY'S FIRST AO3 POSTED WORK !!!

[podfic] Just One More by MaelstromOfEmotions

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baby's first podfic experiment

https://www.tumblr.com/xiaokuer-schmetterling/772445948782821376/hope-poem

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tyvm for the support & encouragement in chats

@ferntasie @maelstrom-of-emotions @travelingneuritis @keriarentikai @geck-motj

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ao3 resources

the list prev in this section compiled into the 'references' chapter of my podficcing notes to self/instruction guide: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62233522/chapters/160984369

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pinyin pronunciation resources (bc i make a lot of danmei-origin podfic)

i took a semester of mandarin chinese in community college forever ago and this is something i found that is catchy and quirky and funny and memorable. it's part 1 of a 4 video playlist. actually really helpful if you pay attention to the shape of the mouse's mouth. the grouped consonants all have the same mouth shape with sequentially further back positioning of the tip of the tongue on the roof of your mouth fyi

this is a pinyin guide by user @pumpkinpaix and it has an accompanying transcript with tone markers and embedded audio!

https://pumpkinpaix.tumblr.com/post/619038202237452288/hello-cyan-you-have-the-cutest-voice-one-thing

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btw this is the image in my mind anytime i say I DID THE THING or similar

motivational art by @thelatestkate

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end post

[captaingondolin]

Oooh, podfic asks. I'd love to know more about the app you use for downloads!

I have an android phone, I use Simple ABP Free (icon is a black play button, link to google play store). Sometimes it loads the cover of the last podfic you listened to on your current one, but eventually it will get it right. Other than that, it’s amazing! You can set it to go backwards or forwards by 10 or 30 seconds, much like Audible. You can set bookmarks, but even if you don’t actively save a bookmark, it will keep track of where you were in one file, even if you go and open another one or if you close the app entirely (which was my main beef with google music, it kept sending be back to the start of hour long pods!). It reads mp3 and m4b.

Another one that was recommended to me is Smart Audiobook Player (icon is a red book, google play link). I had some trouble getting it to find my files, but that might be due to the fact that my phone loves hiding my downloads in general. 

Both apps are free and have no ads, though both offer paid updgrades (I’m told the Smart Audiobook Player ones are worth the one-off price).

If anyone uses an iPhone or mp3 player, feel free to chime in with suggestions!

[from this post - asks are always welcome!]

[starwarsficresources]

a directory of links for podfic resources

the podfic resources tag on this blog

thedragongirl’s podfic guide (this was incredibly useful to me)

a guide to audacity chains by the amazing godoflaundrybaskets

basic GarageBand editing

joining the podfic discord and ask Cool People for tips (would recommend) / just talk to any podficcer you come across. i can’t guarantee everyone will have the time or energy to help, but in general every single podficcer i’ve talked to is incredibly excited to talk about their craft

listen to Behind the Pod (the eps i’ve listened to are more chatty than nittty-gritty technical, but it’s still a very good listen if you’re getting into podfic!)

AO3 posting

posting guide

template

hosting

a general hosting guide

kiwi6 (you can create direct links for streaming, including mobile streaming, and it works with a player you can embed on AO3)

archive.org (it has a player that can be embedded on AO3 and it is NOT a flash player)

mediafire

dropbox

star wars sound effects

my sw sound effects playlist

sw ambient noises

official Batuu music

downloadable lightsaber sounds

downloadable star wars sound effects

non sw sound effects

free BBC sounds library

Tabletop Audio - ambiences & music for tabletop games

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

podficcer resource (mxtx specific)

pronunciation example videos (this is cool bc you can watch the speaker's mouth shape !!!)

the untamed / mdzs

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heaven official's blessing / tgcf

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didn't watch this one yet. saving it for later (bc it's 90mins long lol). might be useful!

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[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

PODFICCER (and fic author) RESOURCE: things i learned about HTML today

-> from this reference work on ao3: A Complete Guide to 'Limited HTML' on AO3 by CodenameCarrot (please go leave a comment if you find anything here useful !!!)

EDIT: OMG Y'ALL I HAVE BEEN HAVING SO MUCH NERDY GEEKY FUN TWEAKING MY PODFIC HOW-TO GUIDE WITH THIS STUFF

headings, blockquote, div

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html currently allowed by ao3 html sanitizer

a. abbr. acronym. address. b. big. blockquote. br. caption. center. cite. code. col. colgroup. details. dd. del. dfn. div. dl. dt. em. figcaption. figure. h1. h2. h3. h4. h5. h6. hr. i. img. ins. kbd. li. ol. p. pre. q. rp. rt. ruby. s. samp. small. span. strike. strong. sub. summary. sup. table. tbody. td. tfoot. th. thead. tr. tt. u. ul. var.

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in-line (text) formatting tags supported by ao3

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OMG LOOK AT THIS !!! IDK WHEN I WOULD EVER USE THIS BUT LOOK HOW COOL !!!

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paragraphs & p formats: archiveofourown.org/works/5191202/chapters/161901154#AddParagraphs

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omg I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW TO GET THAT LINE BREAK THINGY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE !!!

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[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

PODFICCER RESOURCE

https://cloudconvert.com

CloudConvert is an online file converter. We support nearly all audio, video, document, ebook, archive, image, spreadsheet, and presentation formats

UPDATE: YOU CAN SET THINGS TO AUTOMATICALLY UPLOAD YOUR CONVERTED MP3 FILES TO GOOGLE DRIVE !!!

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BLESS THIS AMAZINGLY USEFUL TOOL ✧｡٩(ˊᗜˋ )و✧*｡

so as part of my podficcing project, i want to include readings of tumblr ficlets. (will be referring to these as podlets) was trying to figure out a way to do this without involving archive.org as a middleman everytime. AND THEN I REMEMBERED THIS EXISTS [discovered it while in college lol extremely useful to convert PDF scans to more easily editable formats and vice versa] !!!

now without having to put down my fire tablet i am able to:

read the ficlet, which records into a .wav format, convert it to .mp3 so tumblr will accept it, and then add the podlet directly to a reblog without having to do any of the workarounds i was considering (involving my screen busted iphone or the library computer or emailing myself files to download on the necessary device)

I AM VICTORIOUS

[captaingondolin]

this!! will be so good! i discovered it 5 seconds ago and already there’s an amazing Jyn Erso fanmix giving me all the feelings

you can prompt themes, characters or ships for any fandom

[thgpodficexchange]

📬 How to post podfic

All right, you've made your podfic, as we went over in this post. This will be about how to post your podfic on ao3. I would also encourage you to browse the Podfic tag on AO3 here to get an idea of what podfic can look like, but no worries if you keep it bare bones and just include the link in the work. Now, onto the guide:

1️⃣ Pick your hosting site

AO3 doesn't support its own audio files, and so you need to pick a place to host. Popular sites to host include Internet Archive, SoundCloud, and Google Drive, and to a lesser degree Spotify and YouTube.

2️⃣ Posting a new work on ao3

For the brand new, you'll need to start out by posting a new work. This can be done by clicking "post" at the top right of the site or on your dashboard, as shown here:

OR if you are posting to a collection (such as the Hunger Games Valentine's Podfic Exchange) then the easiest thing to do is to go to the collection link on ao3 and click the "Post to Collection" from there:

3️⃣ Fill out the information about the podfic

A new work has come up and you will now need to fill out the information for the fic including title, rating, pairing, tags, summary, etc.

For your title, it should include the title of the fanfiction and podfic in any variation. For example:

[Podfic] Probably a Song Lyric

Probably a Song Lyric (Podfic)

The rating, archive warnings, categories, fandoms, pairing, tags, and summary should match that of the original fanfic. Additional tags to include can be things like: Podfic, Podfic Available, Podfic Length: 0-10 minutes, Podfic Length: 10-20 minutes, Audio Format: mp3, Audio Format: streaming. Start typing in these options and the one for yours may pop up.

Continue to fill out the information as applicable to your podfic. The one thing that you must include is the "inspired by" box. Underneath "Associations," check the box that reads "This work is a remix, a translation, a podfic, or was inspired by another work" and include the url that the original fanfiction is from. See below:

4️⃣ Author Notes and Work Text

Now comes the time to show off the podfic you made! In the "Preface" you can click the box for Notes ("at the beginning" or "at the end") for any information you want to include, such as encouraging listeners to check out the "inspired by" work or thanking people for coming by. Let your personality come through here. :)

In the work text, you can include any images you created for the podfic but most importantly, you include the podfic! Work Text can be "rich text" or "html text." You can switch back and forth with these. Personally, I'm more comforable with rich text, but sometimes I switch over to html to complete something that I can't do in rich text. Toggle back and forth or if you're comfortable in html, go for that!

AO3 has a guide to embedding audio and video links here. For this part, you will want to be on html if you choose embed. From their site, this is the code to use:

<audio src="AUDIO URL"></audio>

<video src="VIDEO URL"></video>

Now, if you are uncertain or uncomfortable with embedding or can't figure it out, just use links to the audio. You can do this in rich text as well if you aren't comfortable with html.

5️⃣ Post!

All of this hard work and you're almost done! You can "Save Draft" at anytime, but be aware AO3 erases after 30 days. I always do "Preview" to make sure that my formatting is right and make tweaks as necessary. Once things are ready to go, click "Post" and you are up and live on AO3! (or at least once the collection is posted)

If you have any questions, please reach out for help!