What is it like for a writer to go on a radio show for the first time? Utsudo was invited for the first time onto a radio program, 《警廣臺中臺FM94.5－難得好時光》 (Police Broadcasting Service Taichung FM94.5), recorded online in advance. The host sent a list of questions beforehand, but she barely looked at her notes during the recording, since talks and interviews often ask similar questions. Her voice cracked with nerves at the start, but it smoothed out once they got talking. She later learned the host had found her through the 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series on POPO.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

My first invitation to a radio show

My first invitation to a radio show—how novel!

I thought it would be face-to-face, but maybe because of the pandemic, or to save both sides time, we chatted and recorded online. It would be edited afterward and scheduled for broadcast.

The host gave me a list of questions for reference so I’d have a rough idea, and I made some notes before recording. But once we started, I was so focused on chatting with the host that I basically never used them XD

Maybe it’s because some questions come up often at talks and interviews. The details differ each time, but the gist is similar, so I don’t need to prepare much.

But thinking back to my first online interview, I practically read a 10,000-character script from start to finish (covers face). I can’t bear to look back at it now—total dark history.

Nerves and a scratchy throat during pre-recording

Since it was pre-recorded, we first recorded the opening and greetings. Maybe I was too nervous—even a simple greeting made my voice crack several times. So embarrassing.

I didn’t want to make the editor’s job hard, but my throat wouldn’t cooperate QQ

Strangely, though, once we moved through the flow, my throat fixed itself. Maybe it was just stiff from not talking for a while. After that, I focused entirely on the questions.

Accidentally talking too much

Afterward I realized that because I had so much I wanted to share, I ended up doing most of the talking. When I used to host, I tried hard to avoid that, yet when I became the interviewee, I made the same mistake. So sorry QQ

And because I got so hyped, I think I accidentally spilled quite a few secrets. While chatting, I kept asking, “Can I really say this?” The host said it was fine and they’d cut things as needed, so I relaxed. Anyway, you won’t hear those in the final version (X

The host found the Ghost Island series on POPO

After we finished, we chatted a bit more.

That’s when I learned the host had noticed me through my 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series on POPO and sent the invitation.

I thought that was amazing, because I only post on POPO on Wednesdays, and POPO has probably the highest traffic of any platform in Taiwan, so it’s easy to get buried. Finding me in that situation feels like fate XD

He later said it was in the recommended reading on the side.

But as someone who posts and runs, I didn’t even know what POPO’s recommended reading was (covers face). I guess it must be something lovely.

Strangely, my works on POPO often get picked as editor’s recommendations, but the Ghost Island series has been running so long with decent popularity—why doesn’t it get recommended?

Anyway, the radio program is called 《警廣臺中臺FM94.5-難得好時光》. The first part aired last Sunday, and the second part airs this Sunday. The first part is about my debut, and the second covers my experiences in commercial publishing and advice for newcomers.

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #143: The Art of Accumulation
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.