NOTE: The deadline is a week earlier than usual.
The email address to send the clips to is TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com.
Dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/FISIOmLU09r9yK5Gwb3d
The Previews Spotlight episodes cover the items in the order they are in the catalogs so listeners can follow along in catalogs if they want to.
As of January 2024, there are a few changes to the file naming convention:
The file naming convention is:
C-####-#-ItemNameAndIssueOrVolumeNumber-YourName.mp3
C: The first part of the file name is a single capital letter indicating which publisher/catalog the item is from:
B = BOOM! Studios
D = DC Comics
M = Marvel Comic
I = Image Comics
J = IDW Publishing
N = Next Phase catalog (if the item is only in the Next Phase catalog)
P = Diamond Previews (if the item is in Diamond Previews and not a publisher specific catalog).
T = Titan Comics
U = an uncataloged item such as for crowd funded campaigns or digital only items
X = sign-off clip
Note that the letter for the catalog needs to be uppercase.
A dash (-) is needed between the catalog letter and the page number.
####: the four digit page number with leading zeroes for where the item is in the catalog. For example, an item on the first page would have 001, an item on the seventeenth page would have 017 and an item on page three hundred would have 300. If the item is not from a catalog, use three zeroes for the page number. If you don't know the page number, that is fine. Just use "000" instead and I'll look it up.
A dash (-) is needed after the page number.
#: If there are multiple items on the page, such as often happens in the DC Connect and Diamond Previews catalog, include the number of the item on the page. If there is only one item on the page, this isn't needed and a 1 will be used. If the item number is included, there needs to be a dash after it.
A dash (-) is needed before the ItemNameAndIssueOrVolumeNumber.
ItemNameAndIssueOrVolumeNumber: This is the name of the item. I need is enough to determine which item it is. The more complete this is, the better. Capitalize the first letter of each word and don't include spaces or punctuation. For example, "AmazingEventTitle1". This part of the filename isn't parsed but it does need to be informative enough I can tell what the pick is for. Do not include dashes in the item name/description. Please include more than just the title as often multiple items for a series are offered in a given round of solicitations.
A dash (-) is needed between the ItemNameAndIssueNumber and YourName.
YourName: All I need here is enough to properly credit you in the show notes.
Examples:
B-0010-BoomStudiosTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
B-0010-2-SecondBoomStudiosTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
D-0020-DcTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
D-0020-2-SecondDcTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
H-0030-DarkHorseTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
H-0030-2-SecondDarkHorseTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
I-0040-ImageTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
I-0040-2-SecondImageTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
J-0050-IdwTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
J-0050-2-SecondIdwTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
M-0060-MarvelTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
M-0060-2-SecondMarvelTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
N-0070-NextPhaseTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
N-0070-2-SecondNextPhaseTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
P-0080-DiamondPreviewsTitleWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
P-0080-2-SecondDiamondPreviewsTitleOnPageWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
U-0090-UncatalogedItemWithIssueNumber-YourNameGoesHere.ext
X-0000-SignOff-YourNameGoesHere.ext
Following the file naming convention can save me a surprising amount of time putting the episode together. I've got some automation around the episode assembly process which uses the dashes to parse the filenames. Please do not include spaces in the filename. Not all of the tools I use to prepare the clips for the episode handle spaces or other odd things in filenames gracefully. The filename for the clips are used sort the tracks in Audacity to put everything into the proper order. Audacity sorts all of lowercase letters before any of the uppercase letters. Obviously, I can fix the filenames if needed but it slows down the process of assembling the episode.
If you pick is something not in Previews, please provide a URL or whatever information might be needed to get the item so I can include that in the show notes if needed.
If you have a link you'd like me to include in the show notes, include both your name and the link it in the email to me and I'll add it to the system I use for doing the show notes.
The Previews Spotlight is released in mono, not stereo. If you record in stereo, I'll convert it to a mono record by dropping one of the tracks.
The Comic Book Page podcast is an all-ages podcast and is profanity free. I will have to edit out any profanity in the clips, including any unfortunately named comic book titles. If that section of the clip can't be easily removed I will have to replace the profanity with the DTMF tones for "profanity". In addition to this being my personal stand on profanity, it is also an iTunes policy: If your audio includes explicit language, we require you to set the explicit tag- regardless of why it is spoken (title of comic, name of street, etc.) This includes any profanity in the title or solicitation text.
Please post which comics you will be sending in submissions for here on this thread with the full title including the issue number of comics and the volume number of collected editions. That way we can reduce the number of duplicate submissions and maximize the number of different items that are covered. If someone has already posted that they will be covering something you are passionate about discussing, we are okay with more than one submission for the item but want that to be the exceptional case.
Remember: Anyone can send in a short audio clip talking about any book in the upcoming Previews (or slated for release around that same time). This includes creators, publishers and other people directly involved in the project. This is your chance to promote items, including ones you have worked on.
Useful Links
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Diamond Comics (Previews): https://previewsworld.com/catalog
Lunar (DC Connect/Next Phase): https://www.lunardistribution.com/
Penguin/Random House (Marvel Previews): https://prhcomics.com/catalog/category/ ... -catalogs/
Alternate Worlds (PDF version of pre-order catalogs): https://alternateworlds.com.au/preorder-catalogues/
Comic Book Relief (PDF version of pre-order catalogs): https://comicbookrelief.com/PreviewsCatalog/