I don't think you can blame Podiobooks for authors not landing book deals, in part because: a.) not all authors are looking for traditional print deals after podcasting, and b.) there is still a question of quality in some cases.
As far as looking for book deals, I can name three Podiobook authors with print deals right off:
Scott Sigler The Infected Trilogy
J.C. Hutchins The 7th Son Trilogy
John Lenahan Shadowmagic
Now I know that's not a ton, those are just the ones I know off the top of my head. I can think of at least one other who is (in my humble opinion) every bit as skilled as the others: Mike Bennet, with his Underwood & Flinch series. Mike, crazy man that he is, doesn't seem to be looking for a traditional deal. He has self published both in ebooks and print.
Podiobooks are similar to ebooks in that the quality isn't always consistent. (Though to be fair to Podiobooks, the quality is pretty darn high to be a free service, unlike with ebooks where there's a wide range of variety.) So there are some books, that while of a high enough quality to listen to, are probably not ready for a traditional market. Then there are those that are very, very good, but the author has substandard cover art/recording skills/etc. It doesn't make these not be brilliant stories, or even not be brilliant audio stories, but I would imagine it hurts how many people listen, and that's what gets the attention of print publishers when the author isn't actively trying to get publisher attention at the same time.
All that said: I love Podiobooks, and podcast audiobooks in general. It's something that I would definitely consider in the future, for that reason. (Also I love voice acting.) And while I don't think it's a sure-fire route to trad publishing (what is?) I don't think there's a reason to discount it for those possibilities either, as long as that's not all you're in for.
As far as looking for book deals, I can name three Podiobook authors with print deals right off:
Scott Sigler The Infected Trilogy
J.C. Hutchins The 7th Son Trilogy
John Lenahan Shadowmagic
Now I know that's not a ton, those are just the ones I know off the top of my head. I can think of at least one other who is (in my humble opinion) every bit as skilled as the others: Mike Bennet, with his Underwood & Flinch series. Mike, crazy man that he is, doesn't seem to be looking for a traditional deal. He has self published both in ebooks and print.
Podiobooks are similar to ebooks in that the quality isn't always consistent. (Though to be fair to Podiobooks, the quality is pretty darn high to be a free service, unlike with ebooks where there's a wide range of variety.) So there are some books, that while of a high enough quality to listen to, are probably not ready for a traditional market. Then there are those that are very, very good, but the author has substandard cover art/recording skills/etc. It doesn't make these not be brilliant stories, or even not be brilliant audio stories, but I would imagine it hurts how many people listen, and that's what gets the attention of print publishers when the author isn't actively trying to get publisher attention at the same time.
All that said: I love Podiobooks, and podcast audiobooks in general. It's something that I would definitely consider in the future, for that reason. (Also I love voice acting.) And while I don't think it's a sure-fire route to trad publishing (what is?) I don't think there's a reason to discount it for those possibilities either, as long as that's not all you're in for.