How to Change the Length or Duration of a NotebookLM-Style Podcast

Controlling podcast length is crucial for listener engagement—too long and you lose attention, too short and you miss your impact. Here’s how to adjust the length or duration of a NotebookLM-style AI podcast, including actionable tips for both NotebookLM and Jellypod.

How to Adjust Podcast Length in NotebookLM

NotebookLM lets you prompt the system for longer or shorter episodes while generating your script.

• Prompting: You can ask it directly, e.g., “Make this episode under 5 minutes,” or “Expand this section to be more detailed.”
• Massaging the output: Sometimes NotebookLM follows your length requests closely; sometimes you’ll need to edit or re-prompt to get the timing right.
• Script editing: After generating, manually cut or expand sections to further refine the total duration.

Tip: Because NotebookLM’s timing is based on the amount of script it generates, tweaking your prompts and editing output is the best way to hit your target episode length.

How to Control Length in Jellypod (More Direct)

Jellypod gives you precise control over episode duration using the outline editor and script editor:

1. Outline Editor

• Each section in your episode outline is roughly 3–4 minutes of audio.
• Add or remove sections to set your target length. For example:
  • 1 section = ~3 minutes
  • 5 sections = ~15–20 minutes
  • 10+ sections = ~40 minutes
• Want it short? Use fewer chapters. Want a deep dive? Add more.

2. Script Editor

• Fine-tune each segment’s length by editing the script.
• Rule of thumb: 25 words ≈ 10 seconds of audio.
• Delete words/paragraphs for a shorter episode, or add more speech blocks for extra detail.
• For best performance, keep episodes under 40 minutes.

Pro tip: With Jellypod, you always know how long your episode will be before you generate it—no guesswork.

Final Tips

• Test what works best for your audience—commuters might love 10-minute episodes, deep-dive fans might want 30 minutes or more.
• Always preview your audio or check the word count before publishing.
• For longer podcasts, consider breaking into multi-part series for easier listening.

Need more control over your AI podcast?
Jellypod makes episode timing simple—just edit your outline and script for the perfect fit.