Dien,

I use the technique you mention quite a bit. Since I am on a Mac, I use Sound Studio to record my thoughts via a Plantronics mic plugged into the USB port.

I can then save as an MP3 file or aiff file or quicktime file. If I want to I can convert to a wave file using another program. In any case, I have a file I can then upload to a service to transcribe, but more often than not, I keep the audio files and burn them to disc. (I haven't written a novel yet)

Just a note for Mac users.

Millard