Meet Britt & Hannah | Podcast Co-Hosts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Britt & Hannah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Britt & Hannah, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
When we first took on the podcast, we had zero clue what we were doing. We dove headfirst into something by just watching YouTube videos, reading articles, and figuring it out as we went. This led to us having extremely long hours of recording episodes (we’re talking 6-8 hours for one book), editing for 12-14+ hours, losing sleep and not seeing a return on investment. Every episode we were reading a book, recording an episode for hours, and then pouring ourselves into the edit. It was exhausting, but we learned so much about planning and how we can move forward.

Hannah is now a first time mom, so adapting to her pregnancy during the podcast actually caused us to step back and reflect on how we do things. We started a process of alternating detailed outlines, recording well in advance, learning new systems and skills. We have our recording down to 1-2 hours per episode, editing takes under 5 hours now. We have all of our books scheduled through June. And this new flexibility has awarded us the ability to add more content for less work than we were originally doing. We’re on a solid schedule and we feel like we’re in a really steady rhythm, seeing consistent growth, and really proud of the changes we were able to make.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We approach our book reviews by first picking a song that we think pairs well with the book. It could be a song that is associated with a character, a theme song, or one that matches the vibes of the book. We’ve been able to reconnect with our childhood passion of reading and combine it with our love of music. We love to read as a form of escapism and entertainment, and we love that we can provide a little extra content around the books that people read.

While we both work outside of the podcast, we’re working toward making this a full-time career. We think that the hard work we’re pouring in now will result in something great on the other side. Growth isn’t linear, and we are so proud of everything we’ve accomplished thus far. We started with minimal knowledge on how to create a podcast. We’ve worked so hard to morph the brand into something we’re proud of and see a future with.

We are most excited for the future of the podcast. We’ve had the honor of interviewing a few authors and we hope to continue to highlight the incredible work of other creatives. We want to bring more guest hosts on. Just so many incredible opportunities coming forward.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First we would tell them to visit in the fall, so we would start the weekend by taking them out to Armada to visit Blake’s Cider Mill.
Then we would take them to Downtown Detroit for either a Red Wings Game (or a Lions Game). Show them some of the delicious local food and drink at places like Ottava Via, The Whitney, Mom’s Spaghetti, or Eastern Market.
We would spend a day visiting local bookstores like John K King’s Books, Brooks Books in Wyandotte, Love & Other Books in Ferndale, and 2 Dandelions Bookstore in Brighton.
We would finish up the weekend by walking around downtown Plymouth and Wyandotte for the vibes.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First we want to shoutout Grand Valley State University where we met and became friends! Second, we want to shoutout our friends and family who have been so supportive of us. There are so many people involved in the success of us trying this dream out, so this is a general statement for everyone in our circle who has supported us. Friends and family who share our podcast, people who help contribute content, people who help us during recording time and preparation. We appreciate all of you more than you know. Lastly, shoutout to the authors and musicians working hard to create the art we are able to read and listen to.

Website: https://linktr.ee/musicforabookpod

Instagram: https://instagram.com/musicforabookpod

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicforabookpod

Other: https://tiktok.com/@musicforabookpod