New Review Collection Incoming
Continuations and Completions
Happy New Year! We’re starting off strong with an announcement. Before that, let’s go back in time to the origins of Audio Drama Reviews (ADR). I started ADR in 2011. Back then I didn’t own the domain. Two years later and I bought it. Coinciding with the domain purchase I started collecting my reviews into an ebook and published the book on multiple platforms in 2014. The motive for doing this was three-fold. One reason was posterity. The second was discovery. The last was financial.
Publication History
A year after “Audio Drama Reviews: Three Years 100 Reviews” released, I published the second book in the collections series. Its subtitle was “Four Stars and Above.” As the name suggests it collected reviews with ratings of four stars or more. I believe I hadn’t started ratings until around this time so it felt natural to go in this direction for the second book.
Book three, “Audio Drama Reviews: 2011-2018” was about quantity than quality. Collecting roughly every review since the site’s inception was a daunting task for a solo entrepreneur. I definitely cut corners when it came to editing and most notably the cover design.
Book Four and PodTales
The fourth book I went physical for the first time for the first PodTales event in 2019. Originally only available as a paperback, in 2023 I decided to make an ebook of the collection. I gave away books to people who had their works in this edition. Tentpoles of the medium like Gabriel Urbina of “Wolf 359,” Fred Greenhalgh of Realm, Alexander Danner and Jeff Van Dreason of “Greater Boston.” Just to name a few of the exhibitors including myself. That doesn’t even include people who flew to simply attend the convention. Danner and Van Dreason were also the founders of the event.
In terms of profit, I lost more than I gained when selling the paperback. It always felt wrong to sell to people who — without their audio dramas — I’d have no product. I’ve gone back and forth on what is moral and whether the ends justify the means. The fourth book might have been the last collection I published. That is until library sales entered the chat.
Past and Future Hoopla Sales
A little after the event, the first book in the collection started gaining traction on the digital library service Hoopla. I could get into the details of publishing with libraries. But, to keep it simple — for each copy borrowed, I’d get anywhere from 26-34 cents depending on when it was borrowed. Inflation probably being the reason. Since 2021, I’ve consistently gotten a borrow or two each month and “sold” 58 copies from when this trend began to August 2025. My other books in the collection are not on Hoopla but can be found on other library sites like Libby. The PodTales ebook should also be there, but it says the link is invalid. Hoping for an update from them, but I’m not holding my breath.
What I am doing is being proactive. For those not aware Hoopla decides what books they allow on their storefront. It’s why the other two books “2011-2018” and “Four Stars and Above” aren’t listed on Hoopla. Of course, I published those before the consistent bump in sales each month. I imagine they’d accept them now. Maybe a repackage is in order. Before that potentiality, however, let’s finally get into the reason you clicked the link to this article. The new review collection. But …
ADR: Continuations and Completions
The fifth book in the Audio Drama Reviews’ Collection series currently has the subtitle: “Continuations and Completions.” What does that mean?
It means I’m taking on a huge load of work. If you’re wondering why reviews have been so sporadic lately, let me explain what creating this book entails. But first, the tentative cover art. If you any good cover designers, send them my way.
“Continuations and Completions” is my chance to continue and complete the vast number of shows with only one season reviewed. Rather than post them online, I’ve decided to put them in a book instead. These reviews will have much more depth than the typical review found on the site. For instance, they will include spoilers.
Here’s a screen shot of the reviews I’ve completed thus far:
… and here’s how much I have left:
And, finally, the unfinished chapters which couldn’t fit on one screen:
There Will Be (Spoiler) Blood and FAQ
While this will explained in the book itself, some seasons will be consolidated into one chapter, depending on the length of the chapter. 2000 words is the upper limit and 500 is the minimum. In an attempt to answer questions that might pop up, here are some answers to some FAQs
Question One: How far back does this book go in terms of reviewed audio dramas?
The start date is December 2014 all the way to the cutoff date December 2024. Anything in that window is fair game, with a few exceptions (see Question Two).
Question Two: What shows won’t be included in this collection?
Fan productions and Graphic Audio titles will not be included. I may change my mind on whether fan works make the cut, but there won’t be any Graphic Audio productions for the simple fact that it takes time to listen to the full full-cast audiobook and that’s time I could spend on other shows. Fan works like “Star Trek: Outpost” currently show in the table contents, but I’m waiting to finish the other works before ultimately deciding. My reasoning boils down to copyright for the shows in question. The last thing I want is to be responsible for someone’s podcast receiving a cease and desist letter. I enjoy fan works as much as the next person, but it’s a risk I’m not willing to take.
Question 3: Why are some seasons combined and Others Not?
That boils down to word count and how much I have to say on a particular season. There may also be seasons that dovetail into the next that lend themselves to having two back-to-back reviews in a single chapter. The chapter list shown above is in its early stages. I will say this, the table of contents will not be alphabetical. See next question for reason. I will combine two seasons together if a review is too short or the season finale and the following season premiere dovetail nicely into each other.
Question 4: How are the table of contents (ToC) going to work?
Because most retailers allow readers to download samples and my reviews tend to be short, the first few chapters will focus on the more well-known productions. Enough to entice the reader to keep reading. The middle will contain the lesser known shows and the final chapters will be for a previously reviewed show’s subsequent season. Needless to say the order of chapters is one the last things on my list.
More Updates to Come
I’m changing the listening recap a bit for 2026. There will still be a recap of sorts, but they’ll be more updates on the status of reviews inside the book. Things like start and stop times, word counts and that’s about it aside from graphics I’ll create. I’ll aim for bi-weekly drops of the new recaps, but I don’t expect that’ll last long.